He-Man Military Lover's Club - Enlist Here

[Wartstein]

Since I think the Military should be a tough knife, and not just one capable of slicing, I've leaned toward hoping for 3V, 4V, or Cru-Wear to carry the day.

Given the results of Larrin and Shawn's testing, I think Cru-Wear may be the best choice for the combination of toughness, edge holding and corrosion resistance. Unless I'm missing the mark, no other steel in the test has the same balance of properties. Ease of sharpening is also a factor,

Of course, if you think a Military should simply be the best slicing knife, without regard for toughness, then you will obviously draw a different conclusion.

4V would probably be next in line in my view, though I still have a weakness for 3V due to having had a utility blade made of it by Ed Schott for many years.

In the end, any Military is a good Military, but those are my reasons for preferring to put toughness toward the front of the list of characteristics I'd want to see in such a knife.

I am with you on emphasizing toughness of a steel when it comes to the Millie. Mostly cause it has a rather fine / delicate tip. On the one hand this kind of tip is very usefull, on the other hand I was always a bit worried it could snap off on the Millie I had (it never actually did though). Wouldn't want that tip in a "brittle" steel in a knife like the Millie.

[jdw]

Since I think the Military should be a tough knife, and not just one capable of slicing, I've leaned toward hoping for 3V, 4V, or Cru-Wear to carry the day.

Given the results of Larrin and Shawn's testing, I think Cru-Wear may be the best choice for the combination of toughness, edge holding and corrosion resistance. Unless I'm missing the mark, no other steel in the test has the same balance of properties. Ease of sharpening is also a factor,

Of course, if you think a Military should simply be the best slicing knife, without regard for toughness, then you will obviously draw a different conclusion.

4V would probably be next in line in my view, though I still have a weakness for 3V due to having had a utility blade made of it by Ed Schott for many years.

In the end, any Military is a good Military, but those are my reasons for preferring to put toughness toward the front of the list of characteristics I'd want to see in such a knife.

I have really been curious about the differences between the two. 3V seems a lot more common in production but 4V has all of the current love. I wonder what the discernible differences could be?

[Matt David]

I'll just say the Military is my favorite all around Spyderco model. I've been carrying one for about 2 years now (please make a tip up model!). It's just the standard black in S30V but I don't think I'll buy another one unless something happens to this one. I tend to not buy identical knives in different steels, that may change in the future as I get more experience with different steels though.

[blues]

I have really been curious about the differences between the two. 3V seems a lot more common in production but 4V has all of the current love. I wonder what the discernible differences could be?

3V appears to be the tougher steel but lags 4V in edge holding.



Take a look at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

3V @ 60 Rc cut 463 mm of the medium

4V @ 63 Rc cut 538 mm of the medium

Cru-Wear @ 62 Rc cut 528 mm of the medium

So, 4V has a very slight edge over Cru-Wear in the cutting, but is less tough and less corrosion resistant. (Which is why I am leaning toward Cru-Wear.)

3V is tougher than both, but is about 14% behind 4V in cutting performance.


Takeaway, is that Cru-Wear is a nice balance of performance, toughness and corrosion resistance. I see little reason, per this test, to opt for 4V over it except for curiosity's sake, since I don't own any knives with it.

And 3V is the choice for maximum toughness...but many feel that is unnecessary in a folder. I still like it a lot but I only have a small fixed blade with the steel.

[5-by-5]

Military 2 is a horrific abomination!

[5-by-5]

My first Mili became a S90V blade swap. Perfection!



My second Mili was a bad *** mod S90V



S90V rocks. Have always been a fan!

[markg]

I'm in...

Have had many over the years, but it took some time to warm up to it for me. Let me state my first was from the first run in the mid-90's I had a pre-order in for ever with Cutlery Shoppe way back. For some reason I kinda "got out of knives" for a few years and it arrived during that time.

Then in around 2006 I got another and fell in love. It is simple, dependable, and classic.

[Cycletroll]

The Military has always been my overall favorite Spyderco. Got my first one (black G10/s30v) in 2008 or so? That well used example now resides with my buddy Uday in Bangalesh India.
Currently my assortment has grown to include: 204p, 52100, Rex45, s90v, and s30v.
Can decide for sure which is my favorite but the Knifeworks Ti/CF s90v sure does tick a lot of boxes.
I've been considering swapping around some blades like 52100 into a 'rusty orange scale? And Rex45 into CF? Or maybe Ti/CF and then s90v into straight CF? Of course Mille blade swaps don't always work out due to lock face variances.
If Sal would just make me a Cruwear blade in a unique CF handle maybe like the 4v Manix Exclusive? Then I would have my ultimate Grail Mille.

[PStone]

Was really hoping to at least see a Spy27 or S45vn in this latest reveal.

[Woodpuppy]

If you want a Millie to be a slicer, you’re going to need a regrind (personal experience sample of 1; YMMV). My cruwear millie is quite thick behind the edge. When I got it used, I thought it had been sharpened at a much lower angle because the edge bevel was so tall. Turned out to be right close to 15dps. In any case, I really enjoy it and would be interested in a second version if it’s interesting enough. And not much over $200!

[TkoK83Spy]

I have really been curious about the differences between the two. 3V seems a lot more common in production but 4V has all of the current love. I wonder what the discernible differences could be?

3V appears to be the tougher steel but lags 4V in edge holding.



Take a look at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

3V @ 60 Rc cut 463 mm of the medium

4V @ 63 Rc cut 538 mm of the medium

Cru-Wear @ 62 Rc cut 528 mm of the medium

So, 4V has a very slight edge over Cru-Wear in the cutting, but is less tough and less corrosion resistant. (Which is why I am leaning toward Cru-Wear.)

3V is tougher than both, but is about 14% behind 4V in cutting performance.


Takeaway, is that Cru-Wear is a nice balance of performance, toughness and corrosion resistance. I see little reason, per this test, to opt for 4V over it except for curiosity's sake, since I don't own any knives with it.

And 3V is the choice for maximum toughness...but many feel that is unnecessary in a folder. I still like it a lot but I only have a small fixed blade with the steel.

I know you've been following my weekly use tests/review thread, I honestly found Cruwear not to be much better in use than S30V. I've found 4V to be about equal at the top with Rex45 thus far. 4V held an edge way better and received no rolling at all, where my Cruwear Shaman did. Composition aside, that's just what I personally experienced.

I plan on carrying my Cruwear Manix this coming week, to try and give Cruwear another fair shake and hope I can see what many people find so great about this steel. I found Cruwear to be quite underwhelming in the Shaman, compared to the 4V Shaman. Manix will be the perfect platform for this comparison as my top 2 are my Manix/Rex45 and Manix/4V.

[attila]

I think the Cruwear is underperforming in the Shaman, because it is so much softer than the 4V Shaman. I was disappointed to see a Cruwear Shaman tested at just 59.5 hrc. In contrast, a grey checkered G10 Manix from several years ago measured 63.3 hrc. I’d bet there’d be far less of a difference between your 4V and that Manix. I’d like to see future Cruwear at 63-64 hrc with an absolute minimum of 62. I know better than to actually expect such hard Cruwear, though.

Which Cruwear Manix fo you have? Grey checkered, CF, or smooth G10?

Edit: sorry for the tangent away from the Military discussion.

[TkoK83Spy]

Wow! I didn't realize it actually tested that low in the Shaman. I guess that could explain some things. Still a great knife and a keeper though

I have the smooth G10 version of the Cruwear Manix, though I did swap some CF scales to it.

[JuPaul]

I have really been curious about the differences between the two. 3V seems a lot more common in production but 4V has all of the current love. I wonder what the discernible differences could be?

3V appears to be the tougher steel but lags 4V in edge holding.



Take a look at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

3V @ 60 Rc cut 463 mm of the medium

4V @ 63 Rc cut 538 mm of the medium

Cru-Wear @ 62 Rc cut 528 mm of the medium

So, 4V has a very slight edge over Cru-Wear in the cutting, but is less tough and less corrosion resistant. (Which is why I am leaning toward Cru-Wear.)

3V is tougher than both, but is about 14% behind 4V in cutting performance.


Takeaway, is that Cru-Wear is a nice balance of performance, toughness and corrosion resistance. I see little reason, per this test, to opt for 4V over it except for curiosity's sake, since I don't own any knives with it.

And 3V is the choice for maximum toughness...but many feel that is unnecessary in a folder. I still like it a lot but I only have a small fixed blade with the steel.

I know you've been following my weekly use tests/review thread, I honestly found Cruwear not to be much better in use than S30V. I've found 4V to be about equal at the top with Rex45 thus far. 4V held an edge way better and received no rolling at all, where my Cruwear Shaman did. Composition aside, that's just what I personally experienced.

I plan on carrying my Cruwear Manix this coming week, to try and give Cruwear another fair shake and hope I can see what many people find so great about this steel. I found Cruwear to be quite underwhelming in the Shaman, compared to the 4V Shaman. Manix will be the perfect platform for this comparison as my top 2 are my Manix/Rex45 and Manix/4V.

Like Rick, I was pretty shocked to see 4v perform about on par with cruwear in Larrin's recent test. I like Cruwear quite a bit, but in my subjective experience (using the cruwear manix and shaman vs the 4v shaman), 4v seemed to hold an edge much longer than cruwear and have much greater edge stability. So I'm wondering if this is a heat treat issue, and what we're noticing is that spyderco just runs its 4v harder than it's cruwear (64-65 for 4v vs 61-63 for cruwear on the hrc database here).

Edit: Atilla beat me to it! But I didn't know the shaman had tested so low - that's crazy low, really.

[Bdubs808]

I like the Military so much that I broke my 6 month dry spell and bought a REX 45 version the other day. I'm stoked for it, but will probably be more excited when I can order a Military 2.

Here's the only Military I currently own, CF and TI with 204P

[blues]

Well, if Sal is reading this, I hope he chimes in with what he knows about the difference between the Rockwell hardness of Spyderco's recent offerings in Cru-Wear and 4V.

Clearly, differences in heat treat and edge geometry will make for different results. Hopefully, we can at least get some info we can work with to narrow the focus.

[PeaceInOurTime]

My first Mili became a S90V blade swap. Perfection!



My second Mili was a bad *** mod S90V



S90V rocks. Have always been a fan!

How do you like those Veff serrations? So cool to see them on a S90V Military! :)

[JD Spydo]

Be proud! Be loud!

Taking a cue from my heroes Spanky and Alfalfa, thought it time to raise our collective voices (once again) and beg, demand, cajole and wheedle the powers that be until there is light at the end of the tunnel. Except we will happily allow women into the club should they deign to be seen with us.

Personally, I'd like to see one or more in 4V so I can add it to the group and check out the hoopla for myself, but I'd happily embrace others as well.
(3V, 10V, K390, and other high end steels always welcome...)

A strong Military presence. It's the patriotic thing to do.

Let 'em hear from us. If we grow our numbers, our collective strength will carry the day. :cool:

I'm with you 1000% of the way on the C-36 Military model. My main EDC is my M390 unit and I also have an XHP and an older 440V. I would jump on a 4V unit even if I had to pick up aluminum cans for a week. Bring it on is all I can say!!

The C-36 and Para2 along with all the great blade steels they make them available in just makes them the quintescential super EDC. I'm very fortunate here in Missouri that we have really good knife laws and I can legally carry the C-36 and my beloved C-60 Ayoob.

I'm always had an affinity for those GOLDEN, CO USA made Spyderco knives.

[blues]

Right now I like alternating the Shaman and Military as one of my daily EDCs. One a bit more robust, the other a bit more of a slicer. Though my Shaman ain't no slouch there. Push cuts telephone paper which is good enough for me.

[5-by-5]

S90V Mili monday