Leatherneck wrote:A lower riding clip would be my only request. Have come to love tip down! Seems to me it's what you get used to. After carrying my tip down Para for a month I couldn't get my mini grip back in my pocket without thinking about it. :confused:
I'll second the low-riding clip (tip down). Although I don't have a Para yet, I carry my Manix tip down and it rides pretty low even for a big knife. It is excellent.
My input regards manufacturing and not design: manufacture the new Para with the same TLC and attention to detail that the Para D2 was manufactured with.
I purchased two Para D2s (C81FG) when they were being discontinued and recently purchased a newly manufactured basic Para SE (C81GS.) The D2s are my smoothest operating Spydies and they came that way right out of the box! I expected the SE to operate just as smoothly, but that was not the case.
The SE's opening and closing was slightly abrasive, the compression lock required significant force to unlock, and the corners of the jimping on the thumb ramp were sharp enough to snag the pocket when clipped.
I speeded up the breaking-in period of the SE by applying CLP to the contact surfaces and repeatedly opening and closing it at least a hundred times. The compression lock still requires deliberate force to unlock, but is more usable now. Looking through a magnifying glass, the locking surface on the D2's blade is clearly smoother than that on the SE's blade.
I also used ceramic files to round the corners of the jimping on the thumb ramp to eliminate pocket snags. The magnifying glass showed that the jimping on the D2 already has rounded corners.
So no matter what modifications are made for the new Para, please manufacture it to the same high standards that were done with the Para D2.
Thanks for listening.
Regards,
Ira
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I missed it! I had been away from this forum for a while and only recently checked back in.
I remember some good ideas for the Para Military, and my favorite had to do with the pivot screws. Wasn't it something about how the pivot has two screws, rather than one fixed part with a flat side (like, for example, the Endura wave) so that you need use only one torx bit? I still favor that change. Now I have to go peruse the parts of this thread that I've missed...
"Within this frame an ocean swells -- behind the smile -- I know it well..."
Don't get mad at me all of you Para fans, but the knife would be better as a liner lock. Put on a liner lock similar to the one on the carbon fiber Sage--a thinner, though super tough piece of steel that is not as aggressive as the Military's liner lock. I have a Paramilitary and its one of my favorite knives. BUT I'd like it more if it was a liner lock. Say what you will, but the compression lock is non-intuitive and not as easy for one handed close as a liner lock. Its only advantage is that the handle feels more like a fixed blade when in the open position because your fingers don't squeeze against a liner lock mechanism. I like that part of it but I would buy another one if you came out with a liner lock version.
Is it truly stronger? its just a liner lock in a different spot isn't it? I guess I can see the safety issue if youare talking about the possibility of the knife shutting when squeezing hard and accidentally moving the liner lock. What do you think of the Benchmade NAK LOK whcih is essentially a compression lock witha push button? I have a Nagara and though there area few things I don't like about it, the lock is pretty slick--and great for a right handed person unlike the compression. I simply go on record here saying that the compression lock being on its current side is not user friendly and appealing. Though many "get used to it" I just think that a lock should knock your socks off right away--I hated my para for the first 2-3 days, but now I love it, but would like it more with a different lock. Forgot to mention before that the Compresion lock makes for terrible closed retention even when the pivot screws are tightened quite a bit--which I did. Its a slick opener but that is only part of the equation.
also if the comp lock was to twist (not likly ) it would failsafe to not unlocking as it would jam in between the lock pin and the tang
im a fan of the comp lock but know there might be bigger and maybe better in the pipeline
streamlining the para might work jsut fine for me as the knife works great
When we break 'em, which we do with custom gear, we can get about twice the lock strength out of a Compression Lock over a Linerlock.
We can get very heavy duty (MBC) rating (over 200 inch/lbs per inch of blade length) out of a Compression lock. The best we can get our Military (which is one of the stronger Linerlockis) is about 125 inch/lbs per inch.
Look closely at the direction of force wetween the two locks.
Our first goal with locks is reliability, then strength.
The locks might activate similarly, but the way they resist the closing of the blade are fairly different.
In a compression lock, basically the only force involved is direct compression across the width of the locking mechanism as it is squeezed between the the tang of the blade and the stop pin.
If you think about it, the lock bar in a liner lock In a liner lock has to deal with much higher forces. The lock bar is compressed differently than in a compression lock-instead of being compressed across the width of the lock, which is a fairly short length, it is compressed longitudinally-which means that the lock bar has to be a lot thicker to deal with the same force. In addition, the lock bar also has to deal with a moment/torque (bending force) put onto it. As the blade tries to close, it tries to bend the lockbar because it is rotating about the pivot. I believe that compression locks have to deal with bending as well, but the forces are much higher in a liner lock-again, the additional length of the lock multiplies the forces that develop significantly, which means that the lockbar has to be thicker to provide the same strength.
I think I have a better understanding of the compression lock strength--many thanks for good feedback. I guess you can't argue with the stress breakage testing.
I have had liner locks fail. I have never had a comp lock fail. To me the paramilitary was made for that lock. There are a few aesthetics on the para that could be refined, edges and such, and I really would appreciate a lefty friendly folder. To be honest, I have 4 of them and love them all even without the lefty friendly option.
The paramilitary has to be one of the best knives in the line.
Please don't lose the pointy tip. :D
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Compression lock is one of the best lock ever! I wish more models would come out with it!
"If you wish to live and thrive, let the spider run alive" "the perfect knife is the one in your hand, you should just learn how to use it." If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all
This knife oozes of something that should have been issued to me while in the Corps. Absolutely the best folder I have ever owned and the nested lock is a thing of beauty and function.
Eric's refinement of the Paramilitary to the "2" model does eliminate most of the issues with sharp edges, etc. It also has a 4 way clip. He's done an exceptional job.
We'll still use the short detent (cut-out in tang or ball bearing) until we nail down the new self close.
Sal, is the Paramilitary 2 looking like a 2010 release? I don't mean to bust your chops but I'm feeling that with these refinements, courtesy of Eric, that it may well become my "grail knife." And I need to know if I should start saving my pennies. :)
Oh, sorry but I just wanted to ask you something. Have you encountered a hot spot with the bump at the end of the handle? I saw a reviewer on youtube (Bluntruth4u) claim that the end bump caused discomfort under harder use and that he recommended smoothing it down. Could you share your thoughts on the ergo's of the Para's handle? Thanks.
D1omedes wrote:Sal, is the Paramilitary 2 looking like a 2010 release? I don't mean to bust your chops but I'm feeling that with these refinements, courtesy of Eric, that it may well become my "grail knife." And I need to know if I should start saving my pennies. :)
Oh, sorry but I just wanted to ask you something. Have you encountered a hot spot with the bump at the end of the handle? I saw a reviewer on youtube (Bluntruth4u) claim that the end bump caused discomfort under harder use and that he recommended smoothing it down. Could you share your thoughts on the ergo's of the Para's handle? Thanks.
I saw that review, too. That guy has massive hands, which is why he had issues with that bump. I have medium size hands, and my hands fit the Para perfectly.
