Para 2 rust? (Some questions)

Fred Sanford · #1

Hey folks,

I still don't yet own a Para 2 but I'm thinking about buying one. However, I've seen a couple threads and a couple of YouTube vids that show Para 2's with rusted stop pins or rusted spacers and other hardware.

Do any of you have this problem? If so, I wonder what the difference is with the new Para's? I have some original Para's and they have ZERO problems with rust. Even with me living in Ohio and it getting mad humid (like 93%) and 90 + degrees and sweating.

I want to buy one but.....I have no interest if the thing has parts that rust with a tiny bit of sweat.

Thanks!

Evil D · #2

Man, i carry my Para 2 every single day, without fail, and i'm in the same 100 degree 93% humidity you're in and i haven't had any rust issues yet. Besides work, i've mowed my grass a couple times lately and sweat so much i looked like i peed my pants, and still no rust. I haven't been real picky about keeping this one clean either.

I always wonder about nested liners forming rust between the liner and the G10, but then again besides sweat i don't really get my knife totally wet unless it needs washed, and then i try my best to dry it out. I think the next time i take it apart, i'm gonna spray the liners down with WD40 before i put it back together, at least between the liners and the G10.

pmbspyder · #3

I have 4 of them and none have shown even the slightest sign of rust. I would say the ones that were written about in other threads were either lemons or their was some type of strange accidental oxidation going on somehow...

Absolutely not something to even worry about for 1 second!!!

Pneumothorax · #4

Ive seen those threads and cannot figure why PM2 and not any other knife with S30V, liner/comp lock is 'rusting', etc...seem like anomalies to me. I will admit that I dont carry my PM2 except for maybe 1x/week and live in SoCal so my non-rust experience wont help you at all. Buy one and if it starts to rust a bit, send it to me I will buy it! :eek: Now, before anyone gets on me, I am not soliciting a purchase, just giving a David an option and no excuse not to get one of my favorite Spydies!! :D :D

Menace · #5

My PM2 is my exclusive EDC and has been for a year now with minimal cleaning and shows no signs of rust anywhere

Fred Sanford · #6

Cool deal. Thanks folks! I expected it to be limited and I'm going to go ahead and purchase one. :)

I've been holding out 'cause I'm such a Para 1 fan and didn't really like the P2. I guess we'll see.

Cheers!

Roundabout136 · #7

Not even a spec anywhere in mine. EDCing it for a few months now.

Absolutely great knife, my favorite folding knife by far. Fits your hand like it was meant to be.

Frapiscide · #8

I've had surface rust on my stop pin. It hasn't gotten any worse, so I'm not really worried about it. I'm assuming it was due to some of the steel rod stock they got had a rust anomaly.

Tdog · #9

If I were worried about rust on a Para 2, I'd probably hold off buying one for at least four or five years. By then, Spyderco will have the problems worked out. :confused: :confused: :confused:

Just kidding.........pick up your favorite and enjoy it. THEY ARE GREAT! Really looking forward to the blue M390.

gundude73 · #10

my stop pin and parts of the blade have corrosion. no big deal IMO. cleans off easy.

The Mentaculous · #11

I own two Para 2's, one regular and one 20CP sprint, and neither have so much as stained on any part. Also, I have handled a few others, and none showed any corrosion either.

For what it's worth, the reports and picture I've seen of the "rusted stop pin" problem also showed corrosion on the blade itself (as the guy before me experienced). We all know that S30V is very stain resistant, and if cared for properly, will not rust. So I believe that the instances of rusted hardware probably were because the knife was not kept clean and/or was allowed to remain wet for long periods or contacted something like saltwater.

So in short, properly cared for (wiped down, kept dry, and oiled if you're paranoid like me), it should be no problem whatsoever. I'll practically guarantee you that the hardware is MORE rust resistant than the blade. S30V is rust resistant, but still high carbon..usually the steel used in hardware has much less carbon and close to as much Cr

DEFINITELY don't let it stop you from getting one...any knife can rust, if you let that stop you from getting it, you'd have a nice collection of Salt knives and nothing else :D The Paramilitary 2 is a knife that should be experienced by any Spyderco lover, as is its big brother the Military.

Evil D · #12

David Lowry wrote:Cool deal. Thanks folks! I expected it to be limited and I'm going to go ahead and purchase one. :)

I've been holding out 'cause I'm such a Para 1 fan and didn't really like the P2. I guess we'll see.

Cheers!

I was in the same boat. I thought for the size and purpose of the Para, i would never buy another knife unless they do a Para sprint i the future someday. But, hype being what it is, i couldn't resist checking out the Para 2 that Clark Knives got in, and at first i was not impressed whatsoever. The second time i handled it, i don't know what changed but it was like the light switched on. Now when i pull my Para 1 out, the handle feels cramped, the choil feels too small, and the blade (which i shaved down to 3 inches exactly) feels short. Overall i think one of the best design improvements was how the pivot got closer to the end of the handle, which in turn moved the spydie hole closer to the end of the handle, which greatly improves opening ergonomics.

I'll still hang on to my Para though...i've decided to reserve it for those 3 inch blade limit places i might travel to.

Ankerson · #13

I have 3 Para 2's - S90V, 20CP, and S30V and haven't seen any rust on mine at all.

gbelleh · #14

Ankerson wrote:I have 3 Para 2's - S90V, 20CP, and S30V and haven't seen any rust on mine at all.

I have these 3 also, and carry them a lot. There's no rust on any of them.

dalefuller · #15

I haven't d/a a P2, but I've had a couple of my P1s apart and there was never any corrosion anywhere on any metal parts. I'm in north GA so I'm in hot & humid conditions a lot of the year.

Mr Blonde · #16

First time I read news about rust on PM2's. My two samples have been carried and used frequently but not on a long term basis. My 440v Millie with nested liners has seen a lot of abuse and neglect. After a while I just rinsed it out with fresh water and let it dry by itself. After 5 years I took it apart and found some gunk between liner and handle, but no rust.

Don't forget, there's rust and then there's rust. I've had some rust develop on the inside of the opening hole of my Tiger coral Kopa (gasp, I know). It was my mistake of not cleaning it more thoroughly after using it on a fruit salad. A little brass polish took away the rust and improved the finish of the opening hole. If rust were to show itself, it could very well be easily fixed.

brj · #17

Ankerson wrote:I have 3 Para 2's - S90V, 20CP, and S30V and haven't seen any rust on mine at all.

gbelleh wrote:I have these 3 also, and carry them a lot. There's no rust on any of them.

^ same here
I've been EDC'ing the 20CP for 3 months now, and prior to that a regular S30V for 6 months with no rust issues whatsoever.

Evil D · #18

Strangely enough, i pulled my Cento 4 out this morning to carry for a change, and found rust on the blade and inside the hole. I'm sure it's just surface rust, but it's really strange since i wipe down all my knifes before they go in the box, and VG10 has been known to stand up to rust pretty well. I got curious and pulled out all my other knives and they're all clean.

angusW · #19

There were a lot of days this summer that I was sweating a river and none of my Para 2's showed any sign of rusting. I did put some Tuf-Glide on the pivot and stop pin area when I first got them so I don't know if that helped or not.

I think that even though a lot of us sweat quite a bit I think maybe some people's sweat is more acidic than others. I did have a Piranha PocketToolX in my pocket and after a few days I noticed that it was rusting. I removed the rust and then covered it in Brodi 5in1. That was about six weeks ago and it hasn't rusted again. From what I understand new knife blades coming from Spyderco are coated with some type of protectant. Maybe some of the Para 2's had missed this step in factory.

Handwrecker · #20

Evil D wrote:Man, i carry my Para 2 every single day, without fail, and i'm in the same 100 degree 93% humidity you're in and i haven't had any rust issues yet.

Same here, and I completely agree. I think I also read somewhere that those stop pins aren't actually rusty, just unfinished/polished when being manufactured. Unfortunately, I can't find a link for it.