Spyderco Forums

I’m sure everyone wants more of their favorite knives released, but as a Military fan, I find it odd that the only new Military being released this year will be the Rex45? (According to the 2018 released thread).

Are more and more people trending towards the little knives like the Para 3 and Native and ignoring the full size options? Don’t get me wrong, I like the little fellas too, but I carry a full size knife in addition to a little model of some sort.

Maybe the Military has been around for sooo long, a lot of variants have already been released and I’m just late to the party? I really hope the Military doesn’t get phased out soon, because no other knife in the Spyderco lineup is a true replacement of the Military.

What are your thoughts? What am I missing?

We need a maxamet military. And more of the m390/20cv/204p.

TomAiello wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:00 pm

We need a maxamet military. And more of the m390/20cv/204p.

+1

And a 4V or 2017+ Cruwear one :) All the militaries I need, really. (on last count, I had 5)

I'll be very happy when the REX45 drops, but I'm still waiting for the BHQ M4 DLC.

ferider wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:06 pm

And a 4V or 2017+ Cruwear one :) All the militaries I need, really. (on last count, I had 5)

+1

These 2 here are the two I am literally hoping for. An updated CQI Military with DLC Cruwear, and a St Nick's Knives exclusive Red G10 / DLC 4V CQI Military. Maxamet would be great as well. And I wouldn't turn down one in the Grey G10 / DLC 52100 combo that the Knifeworks exclusive Manix has. All of these plus a Rex45 and my S110V and I should be all set on Militaries. Well, I take that back. If BHQ were to do a DLC version of their Jade/M4 I'd be all over that as well. Then i'd be set...until some wise dealer does a 3V exclusive. :D And if we ever see a G10 Salt Military with LC200N or H1....well...that would be something

rgrad80 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:47 pm

I’m sure everyone wants more of their favorite knives released, but as a Military fan, I find it odd that the only new Military being released this year will be the Rex45? (According to the 2018 released thread).

Are more and more people trending towards the little knives like the Para 3 and Native and ignoring the full size options? Don’t get me wrong, I like the little fellas too, but I carry a full size knife in addition to a little model of some sort.

Maybe the Military has been around for sooo long, a lot of variants have already been released and I’m just late to the party? I really hope the Military doesn’t get phased out soon, because no other knife in the Spyderco lineup is a true replacement of the Military.

What are your thoughts? What am I missing?

I think it boils down to the PM2 and Para 3 sell much quicker than the Military. Most dealers probably don't have the luxury on being able to sit on 10s of thousands of dollars of inventory in one single knife. Why not do a Para 3 and sell them out in a day and plow the profits into a PM2 exclusive...rinse and repeat. Spyderco included the Military in their Rex45 sprint, which was a good sign. But I agree with you that more dealers should do some Military exclusives. I think if St. Nick's Knives did the Military for their next exclusive in the Red G10 / 4V combo it would sell out quickly. 4V is a great match for a Military. I'd like to see BHQ revisit the Military for a DLC run of the Jade / M4 like they did with the PM2.

I think the military has 4 problems that limit it's popularity.
1. Price - It is expensive. I don't understand why it has to cost so much more than a PM2. Sure the blade/handle is a little bigger but that can't explain the big price increase. And i would think that the liner lock would be cheaper to make than the compression lock.
2. Fidget factor - Nothing wrong with a good liner lock, but it's less fun to play with than a compression lock, axis lock etc.
3. Size - It's a bit intimidating for use among the general public.
4. Knife laws - Some people just can't carry it legally.

I don't own one yet, but i am planning to add one to my collection. Possibly the new Rex 45 one since i love the steel in my PM2. The military seems like a classic to me and great for when wearing gloves in the garden or winter time. I wear my knives in my right pocket together with my phone which is pretty large (Samsung Note 8). But i can carry a PM2 next to it no problem. But that is the max i can go with in how tall a knife can be. The military is only longer so that should not be an issue.

I noticed the same thing - lots of Para3 exclusives (which is great), a number of PM2 exclusives (which is REALLY great), but no Militaries (?). Steelcity and Rutger make some good points about why the milie might be getting short shrift. Maybe over the next twelve months or so the Para3/PM2 output will cool down and other models will get some more attention. I for one would LOVE to see 52100 spread around over the product lineup; I realize it may not be everyone’s cuppa but my humble opinion is that high quality modern stainless steels and tool steels are well represented in Spyderco’s lineup, and that 52100 is a great simple carbon steel with which to round things out. Steelcity’s thought for a Military DLC 52100/gray G10 sounds just AWESOME !

Waiting for a LC200N one to use when in/around the ocean. Otherwise I'm good :D

I think most people go for the smaller models in general. I agree though that I would like to see more exclusives/sprints of the military.

The Military has really grown on me the last couple of years and I too usually carry one along with a smaller blade. I'm surprised they didn't release the REX45 Military first as I feel more people would have bought that one to try out the steel. Anyone looking to try out the steel that already has the PM2 or para 3 may not pick up the big boy. Between my M4 and S110V Military's I'm set but still may get the REX45 and if they ever came out with another in Cruwear, I'd be all over that one.

Hi Semfi,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

It does not make me smile. It does not make me laugh. I am not filled with joy over the fact that Spyderco is losing potentially millions in sales when I search for "204P," "M4 DLC," "M4" OR "Rex45," and the term Native 5, Military, Paramilitary 2, Paramilitary 3....and there are no knives in stock anywhere.

A custom shop would alleviate this by keeping a rolling inventory available for purchase. It seems as if the powers that be like scarcity. A few here and a few there... to satisfy Collectors Club and a few that can get them.

The only place that I know of to obtain an M390 sample is BBS, and if they are in stock around the 5th of next month, I'll get one!

JonLeBlanc wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:52 pm

52100 is a great simple carbon steel with which to round things out. Steelcity’s thought for a Military DLC 52100/gray G10 sounds just AWESOME !

+1 on the above.

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:31 pm

Hi Semfi,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

Thank you, glad to be here!

I would love to see more Ti framelock Militaries. Ti/cf, Ti/Micarta, even Ti/pakkawood would be excellent. New steels would be great too... 4v, CQI cruwear, Maxamet, 20cv, REX 121?? Just not sure if demand would justify these coming to fruition.

All right!! All right!!! But before you all start throwing rocks at me please at least let me finish. OK I know I've probably bored you all to tears at times for my constant bragging about my M390 Military :o But let me explain something :spyder: :cool: I had owned several C-36 Military models before I had landed my M390 Millie in what I now call a "mega-trade">>> when I acquired it the knife was even just slightly used and the previous owner did a lot of custom work on folding knives especially. He also did an acid bath treatment on the blade to give it somewhat of a "stonewashed" appearance >> but actually I kind of even liked it just a bit better than I do my two stonewashed blades.

I had not up till that time had gotten to use an M390 blade but from what I had heard I was wanting an EDC with a newer supersteel blade. For the first week I intentionally put it through some really mean cutting jobs and it performed like a folding laser beam :eek: . And for that reason among at least a half a dozen more reasons I truly want to see another M390 Military in the near future. That blade has been nothing short of a "Super-Beast" of an EDC.

OK I know what you're all going to say>> "But We've already had an M390 Sprint Run" :rolleyes: Well I maintain that this is one Sprint Run Millie that truly deserves and requires a second run. And for the record I won't shut up till I get me another one or two extra C-36 M390 Military models for a serious BUU ( back up unit) :cool: . That particular C-36 Military Sprint Run is just that good IMHO. I don't just "want" because I feel that I truly "need" another M390 Military. It's been that good to me :cool: :spyder: I rest my case :cool: :spyder:

I'm sure there are many reasons, but I imagine one of them is the market for large knives. Here in Spyderville a Military is a "full sized" pocket knife. Out in the wild I think many people would consider the Para 3 a "full sized" or even large pocket knife. I think when the majority of people who are looking for their first or maybe second pocket knife, think "pocket knife", they think of a SAK, Buck, or something small like that. Or maybe I'm completely wrong :o

Not to say there isn't a market for Military size knives, I just don't think it can be anywhere close to the market size of something like a Delica or Para3. Even here on the forum, the Military crowd can't even be half of us right? And we're hardcore knife enthusiasts. Just my 2 cents, hope I didn't offend the large knife fans and I hope you get your Sprint! :D

My heart goes out to the flippers who are abandoning Ti frame locks since China has flooded the market with $199 Ti flippers. Who can make money ? I know, they're bored with Ti/CF knives. Poor babies.

I'd still like to see a Ti/CF framelock Military in 4V, Maxamet, M390, Serrated H1, etc...

There's been a lot of sprint runs with the Military, but there's lots of steels left to go.

ZrowsN1s wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:11 pm

I'm sure there are many reasons, but I imagine one of them is the market for large knives. Here in Spyderville a Military is a "full sized" pocket knife. Out in the wild I think many people would consider the Para 3 a "full sized" or even large pocket knife. I think when the majority of people who are looking for their first or maybe second pocket knife, think "pocket knife", they think of a SAK, Buck, or something small like that. Or maybe I'm completely wrong :o

Not to say there isn't a market for Military size knives, I just don't think it can be anywhere close to the market size of something like a Delica or Para3. Even here on the forum, the Military crowd can't even be half of us right? And we're hardcore knife enthusiasts. Just my 2 cents, hope I didn't offend the large knife fans and I hope you get your Sprint! :D

Hey I know what you're trying to get across "ZROW" but if you would do like I did and EDC one of your favorite C-36 Military models and preferably with a Supersteel blade you will very quickly get over what most everyone perceives as a "Size Problem">> because when I started to constantly EDC my M390 I felt that way for at least a month or so. But when I quickly realized how super handy a larger PE blade can be it wasn't long before I gravitated toward a larger/longer EDC. Now I would feel sort of naked if I didn't have my Millie or C-60 Ayoob in my pocket :cool:

Hey I know you're in Sunny CA where they are known to have some very draconian, restrictive knife laws and I understand that. So maybe a Para2 Supersteel model is your best bet. But if you ever got to using a C-36 Millie on a steady basis it wouldn't take long for you to insist on one for an EDC.

Not to mention being GOLDEN, CO USA made and with a supersteel as well. Maybe you need to move out here to Missouri ZROW :D They just don't really give a hoot here at all.