I find both to be a bit short behind the choil, but the less pronounced point on the Stretch is less annoying. If I were stuck between these two and size wasn't a concern I'd go with the Stretch XL.
Doc Dan wrote:
I have both knives. The PM2 doesn't have enough room for my hand. The Stretch does have enough room. I like the Straight Spine Stretch so much more than the PM2 that there really isn't any comparison. The lock is better, the handle is better, and for me it is better in every way.
David, are you sure you´re talking about the Stretch 2? Or rather the discontinued Stretch 1?
The "1" actually has almost exactly the same handle space behind the choil as the PM2, perhaps a hair more.
The "2" though offers a lot more space there! Clearly more than a PM2, I´d say concerning the space for the hand behind the choil it is like a Millie!
And if Docs big hands fit there, yours should too?
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
I find all of the Stretch variations more ergonomically comfortable than the stock PM2. However I recently re-scaled a couple of PM2s with the Flytanium contoured Lotus scales, one in G-10 and one in linen micarta. These knives have totally revised my feelings about the PM2. It's gone from being a safe queen that I rarely carried to now being one of my favorite EDCs. Contoured scales transformed this knife for me.
I find both to be a bit short behind the choil, but the less pronounced point on the Stretch is less annoying. If I were stuck between these two and size wasn't a concern I'd go with the Stretch XL.
David, are you sure you´re talking about the Stretch 2? Or rather the discontinued Stretch 1?
The "1" actually has almost exactly the same handle space behind the choil as the PM2, perhaps a hair more.
The "2" though offers a lot more space there! Clearly more than a PM2, I´d say concerning the space for the hand behind the choil it is like a Millie!
And if Docs big hands fit there, yours should too?
You might be right. This is the biggest reason I stopped buying Para 2's though, and I guess I probably didn't even consider the Stretch 2 because I wasn't sure how much better it would be for me. Plus there are so many other models ya know, sometimes it's just easier to go with a sure thing.
I have both and like their different feel (“all good, just different”).
I can find just enough real-estate when I grip behind the choil of both, though not as handily as with a Military Model or a Stretch2 XL.
But what I want to do, of course, is cut, so with acceptable grips, I also consider blade-shapes and handle-blade relationships.
I love the PM2’s pointy tip and blocky handle for the brief precision work they afford, say, package-opening. But I also love the Stretch2’s rounded-handle and flattish belly for the repetitious work they afford, say, box-reduction.
Can one do the other? In my experience, sure, but perhaps not with the same ease.
The PM2’s pointy tip is easier for targeting than the Stretch2’s tip. The Stretch2’s flattish belly lessens the fatiguing wrist-cocking that the PM2’s continuously-curved belly may induce.
In highlighting these distinctions, I feel like I’m trying to get blood from a stone. Why? Because my now quite varied collection tells me that most any Spydie, provided it’s sharp, can do most jobs a folder is meant to do, and it will do so with panache.
EDIT TO ADD: The straight-spine Stretch2 offers the PM2’s precision-point but not the handle that locks in this precision. Relatively speaking. YMMV.
-Marc (pocketing an S110V Native5 today)
“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
David, are you sure you´re talking about the Stretch 2? Or rather the discontinued Stretch 1?
The "1" actually has almost exactly the same handle space behind the choil as the PM2, perhaps a hair more.
The "2" though offers a lot more space there! Clearly more than a PM2, I´d say concerning the space for the hand behind the choil it is like a Millie!
And if Docs big hands fit there, yours should too?
You might be right. This is the biggest reason I stopped buying Para 2's though, and I guess I probably didn't even consider the Stretch 2 because I wasn't sure how much better it would be for me. Plus there are so many other models ya know, sometimes it's just easier to go with a sure thing.
This should give you an impression of how much more handle space the "2" offers over the "1"...
And: I had a Rock Jumper and as far as I recall its handle (which I think you do like) is very similar to the Stretch 2 behind the choil
Top three going by pocket-time (update March 24):
- EDC: Endura thin red line ffg combo edge (VG10); Wayne Goddard PE (4V), Endela SE (VG10)
-Mountains/outdoors: Pac.Salt 1 SE (H1), Salt 2 SE (LC200N), and also Wayne Goddard PE (4V)
Seki lockback ?! No thank you. I hate when blade play develops. Comp lock wins. I even like the edge shape on the PM2 more. I might give the slicing ability to the Stretch but that’s all. Comfort in hand ? I wouldn’t know since I don’t own a Stretch but I guess they are quite similar. Maybe it’s time to purchase the K390 ss Stretch to see for myself. I own a drop point HAP40 Stretch1 but that’s a different animal. I like that one quite a lot.
Marius
" A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it "
( Rabindranath Tagore ) Proud member of the old school spyderedge nation
Compared side by side the top of the back of the Stretch is rounded, this conforms to the normal hand better. Looking at the PM2- an enterprising person could remove the lanyard tube and round off the back of the handle similar to the Stretch. It would be interesting to see one done that way.
I find both to be a bit short behind the choil, but the less pronounced point on the Stretch is less annoying. If I were stuck between these two and size wasn't a concern I'd go with the Stretch XL.
David, are you sure you´re talking about the Stretch 2? Or rather the discontinued Stretch 1?
The "1" actually has almost exactly the same handle space behind the choil as the PM2, perhaps a hair more.
The "2" though offers a lot more space there! Clearly more than a PM2, I´d say concerning the space for the hand behind the choil it is like a Millie!
And if Docs big hands fit there, yours should too?
You might be right. This is the biggest reason I stopped buying Para 2's though, and I guess I probably didn't even consider the Stretch 2 because I wasn't sure how much better it would be for me. Plus there are so many other models ya know, sometimes it's just easier to go with a sure thing.
Gernot is right. The Stretch 1 didn't fit my hand, nor did the PM2. The Stretch 2 does fit, barely, but it fits.
I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! (John Adams regarding the White House)
Follow the Christ, the King,
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King--
Else, wherefore born?" (Tennyson)
I find all of the Stretch variations more ergonomically comfortable than the stock PM2. However I recently re-scaled a couple of PM2s with the Flytanium contoured Lotus scales, one in G-10 and one in linen micarta. These knives have totally revised my feelings about the PM2. It's gone from being a safe queen that I rarely carried to now being one of my favorite EDCs. Contoured scales transformed this knife for me.
I agree with this 100%. The Flytanium scales revitalized the first PM2 I bought, but never carried. I've since made it a practice to order contoured scales at the same time I order a PM2.
I do appreciate the ergos of the Stretch family, though, and I like the feel of the XL better than either the Stretch 2 or a contoured PM2.
Thanks everyone! Glad to see so ouch love for the Stretch. Ordered a K390 straight spine last night. Here’s hoping it lives up!
Hello Sharpe 24/7.
Didn’t for me. I have both PM2s (standard and aftermarket scales from VotixEDC and AWT) and a Stretch 2 (K390 straight spine). Like others here, I think either works and will serve a person well. I suppose the best option all comes back to hand size (mine are XL) and application.
I like the Stretch 2 but find the grip doesn’t feel as secure as the PM2. I think it is the shape more than the material. For me, it does move around more under use. I find the the pinky and ring finger grip on the narrower PM2 is more secure than the Stretch 2.
I am interested in how things work out for you.
All the best in your search.
And the Stretch 2 seems to be the winner. Haven’t don’t any heavy work yet, since it arrived less than an hour ago, but gripping it for the first time reminded me of when I first got a Sage and a Manix. Holding each is just a joy, and same for the Stretch 2. Eager to see how is holds up under prolonged use.
