Pick another Favorite (XL edition)

[xceptnl]

Military, by a long shot.

honorable mention to the Calypso..... this knife is gaining favor with me each day.

[HarleyXJGuy]

I have yet to find a folder that is as easy to use with gloves on as the Military. I wore gloves at work a lot, I wear gloves doing yard work and I am a winter lover and an ice fishing addict. I live somewhere that has almost 6 months of winter and often have bulky gloves on. I can even operate the Military with big mittens on.

On side note, that may be part of the reason I have no love for deep carry. I have never worked in an office, I live in the woods and being discrete isn’t much of a concern of mine but easy extraction, even with gloves on, is important to me. I also think tip down is easier with gloves. With tip up you sort of reach into your pocket and pull the knife out. With tip up you pinch the exposed part of the handle, draw the knife and then allow it to rotate down into position. The latter is easier for me with a glove on.

All very good points. The Military is a lot more purpose built than it may seem. I think some of the people who don't get it may just never need to use a knife in the ways that the Military excels. I've also used one in a -20 degrees freezer with huge wool mittens that were so thick that when you held the knife you couldn't see any of the handle anymore, but I was still able to open it and unlock it with ease.

Never thought about it but whenever I was doing tactical type things I had gloves on.

Might explain some of why I Iove the Millie so much.

[thewoodpecker]

Southard. Packs the same cutting edge of the Endura into a sub-8" package.

[Evil D]

Southard. Packs the same cutting edge of the Endura into a sub-8" package.

Man that is a great knife. If you like the size you should check out the Sliverax. They're nearly identical in size but the Sliverax has a much better performing blade grind and in my experience has been a much better user, and I'm a big fan of the Southard. I even once said it was better than a Military, though I might have exaggerated a little bit lol.

[thewoodpecker]

Southard. Packs the same cutting edge of the Endura into a sub-8" package.

Man that is a great knife. If you like the size you should check out the Sliverax. They're nearly identical in size but the Sliverax has a much better performing blade grind and in my experience has been a much better user, and I'm a big fan of the Southard. I even once said it was better than a Military, though I might have exaggerated a little bit lol.

Sliverax is definitely on my radar and I much prefer the FFG vs the Hollow on the Southard. Big fan of good Edge/Handle ratios which are facilitated by the negative blade angle of both these blades. I want to like the Military but the super XL handle puts me off. Really holding out for the Pac Salt LC200N. The Salt 1 style handles are my absolute favorite. Thinking of doing a G10 handle in that style for my Byrd Hawkbill.

[Evil D]

Sliverax is definitely on my radar and I much prefer the FFG vs the Hollow on the Southard. Big fan of good Edge/Handle ratios which are facilitated by the negative blade angle of both these blades. I want to like the Military but the super XL handle puts me off. Really holding out for the Pac Salt LC200N. The Salt 1 style handles are my absolute favorite. Thinking of doing a G10 handle in that style for my Byrd Hawkbill.

I was just looking at the numbers and it's no surprise I like them both so much, they are dimensionally almost identical.

Sliverax:

Overall Length: 8.00"
Blade Length: 3.48"
Cutting Edge: 3.48"
Handle Length: 4.52"


Southard:

Overall Length: 7.96"
Blade Length: 3.46"
Cutting Edge: 3.46"
Handle Length: 4.50"


The difference comes in thickness and weight..

Sliverax:

Blade Thickness: 0.14"
Handle Thickness: 0.45"
Weight: 3.30 oz.


Southard:

Blade Thickness: 0.16"
Handle Thickness: 0.53"
Weight: 4.10 oz.

With the Southard being a rather low height blade and low height hollow grind on a thicker blade, it just can't compete. The Sliverax is also ground more on the thin side for a production blade. When I really compare the two, the Sliverax is everything I wished the Southard was, it "fixes" the main gripes I had with it.

[bearfacedkiller]

This poll is so lopsided. I expected the Military to come out on top but not by this much. Being a Military fan it brings a smile to my face. :D

Since this is a thread about larger knives I might add that I am so eager to see the larger versions of th Caribbean come out. A contoured handle, compression lock and 4+ inch blade could possible give the old Military a run for its money. :)

[cabfrank]

I figured the Military would win also. It's a great, iconic knife. I thought the Pac Salt would get more votes though.

[thewoodpecker]

I figured the Military would win also. It's a great, iconic knife. I thought the Pac Salt would get more votes though.

Same. Pac Salt is great all around and a beast for performance.

[Evil D]

This poll is so lopsided. I expected the Military to come out on top but not by this much. Being a Military fan it brings a smile to my face. :D

Since this is a thread about larger knives I might add that I am so eager to see the larger versions of th Caribbean come out. A contoured handle, compression lock and 4+ inch blade could possible give the old Military a run for its money. :)

I am very eager to see the large sheepsfoot version. I'm betting my only wish will be for more non Salt oriented steels options.

[wrdwrght]

I did not purposely go large until late last year with the Police4. It has blown me away. Magnificent slicy lines. And spectacular K390. It wouldn't let me rotate it with anything for months.

Until I got the Police4, my Tatanka was my undisputed large knife, and it remains my largest. I like it well enough. It's my sculpture in mysteriously wavy VG10. But it's hardly a user.

I've also had a Manix2 XL for a while that I never thought of as large, just a larger Manix2 that had a steel (S90V) I wanted.

And really, my much-loved PE and SE (the latter loved more) Endura-patterned Pacific Salts are just a tad bigger than my PM2s.

So, once I consciously went for big users with the Police4, my resistance to the Military's tip-down carry all but vanished.

I'd have to say I now favor my new Millie, in 204P (my absolute favorite stainless), over my Police4, but only by a vascillating smidge.

It's a back-and-forth dealio, which it ought to be. We're talking Spydercos, after all.

[farnorthdan]

Military all the way but must admit, I'm very excited to see the sabotage when it drops.

[ThePeacent]

voted the Pacific, and I wouldn't mind it a bit larger :p

[ShunChiang]

Hundred Pacer for sure