First Spyderco in decades - first impression of my new PM2

[Taypo]

Thanks to Amazon Prime, got my new Black/Black PM2 today - late Christmas present from the wife.

Pros:
1. This thing feels a LOT lighter than the Kershaw Junkyard Dog I've been carrying for several years - I carry a lot of gear every day so saving a couple ounces definitely sounds like a good thing, hopefully not at the cost of durability. Time will tell on that, but I'm not terribly concerned given Spyderco's rep.

2. The G10 scales are grippy, but not obnoxiously so. Slides in and out of my pocket just fine. Havent had a chance to do any any walking around with it yet but its slightly shorter and skinnier than the Kershaw,so its gonna be just fine there.

3. Its MEAN looking, in the good way. I underestimated how gnarly that black blade with the etching looked. Love it.

4. It took a couple minutes to get the hang of the thumb flick, but its getting there. Not as fast as the flipper yet, but I'm sure practice will iron that out. I've also gotta figure out the middle finger flick - Ive got really bad hands and my thumb doesnt always do what its told. Definitely feeling like that will work out.

5. Lockup is SOLID. Not a trace of blade play in any direction - the grips are flexing before the blade does.

Cons:
1. Out of the box, I'm not terribly impressed with the level of sharpness. Its cutting paper, but only at a very shallow angle. Anything past 15 or 20 degrees is pushing, rather than cutting. Maybe its the blade angle or user error. The tip is scalpel sharp, though.

2. The action is a bit stiff right now - the blade doesnt swing free when I release the lock and I feel like I'm putting a bit too much effort into the flick. I'm going on the assumption that it needs some break in, so this may not really be a con in a few hours...

3. Its cool that Spyderco offers the 4 position clip, but the 3 sets of unused holes are a little annoying.

I'd post pictures but everything appears to be too big to use as an attachment. Any suggestions there?

All in all, I'm really pleased with the knife. I'll update once I've had more of a chance to use it normally.

Thanks

[jabba359]

I'd post pictures but everything appears to be too big to use as an attachment. Any suggestions there?

All in all, I'm really pleased with the knife. I'll update once I've had more of a chance to use it normally.

Thanks

Welcome back to the Spyderco family! I'm glad you're liking the knife.

As for pictures, I generally use photobucket.com to host my pictures, though flickr.com is also quite popular.

[Nate]

Congrats Taypo!!

I think the all black Para2 is one of the best looking blades out there, one of my all-time favorite :spyder:'s. Imgur and Tinypic are a couple of other free file hosting sites.

In the meantime, here's a pic of my precious :D:

[Doc Dan]

Fear not. That blade stiffness will disappear pretty quickly with use. It will be dropping free in no time. Don't loosen anything yet. Just let it break in. Spyderco tolerances are pretty tight.

[Taypo]

Thanks, guys. Pretty much non stop flipping last night (to the dismay of my wife) loosened things up a little bit. I'm not going to do anything to it anytime soon.

[Skidoosh]

I got one a month or so ago and am still on the fence.
1) Love the lock up and choil
2) Disappointed with fit and finish around the ricasso - I have cleaned it up but would have expected better
3) I do not like the handle size, it is more than I need and it doesn't carry as nicely as I would like.

I will check out the para 3 but I don't find the PM2 blade size to large.

[ZMW]

My PM 2 is still stiff. So it can happen, and I am well past 1k in flicks. It opens just fine, but takes a good amount of effort to close. it does Not swing freely when disengaging. In fact, it stays put perfectly when disengaged and trying to allow gravity to swing it down. But, opening action is good and with a wrist flick I can close it.

I sent it back to warranty for them to take a look, and I took it apart and I think 1-2 of the washers are loctite sealed unto the blade so that might be the issue with the lack of free swinging...

Great blade, great knife. At first I was a little disappointed but I really like the knife now.

Love the Choil, blade shape, opening action, and ergo's!

[Taypo]

Not that anyone was clamoring for it, but thought I'd post an update after 3+ months.

Pros:
-Blade broke in nicely, to the point of swinging free when the compression lock when engaged.
-Maintained the factory edge nicely over the last 3 months without any sharpening
-Awesome looking knife

Cons:
-Compression lock never got any better. Pretty much as sticky as it was on day 1.
-DLC scratched entirely too easily - put a scratch on one side cutting cardboard. No, it didnt come out with oil, ballistol, pencil erasers or mineral oil.

Neutral:
-Never learned to love the Spidey hole. Personal preference, not the knife's fault at all

Conclusion:
I was very much on the fence about this knife for weeks, then returned to my old EDC for a couple days and realized the PM2 didnt belong in my pocket. It was sold today and I'll be starting the search for the perfect knife again soon. Unfortunately, its not going to be a Spyderco. Good knives, just not for me. Thanks!

[ZrowsN1s]

Ya, if you didn't like the PM2 and prefer thumb studs, probably not your brand. Thanks for the update, good luck out there.

[ericnpeterson]

The PM2 (camo) is the second Spyderco i got.
I love everything about this knife.
Opens and drops real smooth, breaks in over use.
I can flick it, drops real easy too.
For a work knife this is amazing, strong and razor sharp...
light on carry too.

[PayneTrain]

Yeah, there are a lot of different hands out there and a lot of different knives to put in them. The PM2 seems to be one that fits in a great many hands and pockets incredibly well, including mine! Good on you for giving it such a long time to prove itself, and good luck finding your handmate!

Though I wonder if you could elaborate more on what you do like in a knife. Could be helpful for people also wondering about the PM2 to get a better idea of who it works for and who it doesn't. What are you drawn to about the JYD and others that the PM2 lacks? Dimensions? Style? Function? Just curious! :)

[jdw]

Unlike the OP, I prefer my other Spydies to other brands but I am not a PM2 fan at all. I know that is sacrilege to a lot of folks on the board but I just do not like the way the knife fits my hand or rides in my pocket. I recently put a deep carry clip on it, enjoyed it for a few days, but it still just doesn't "feel" right. It's a vague answer but the right knife for a person just speaks to them. It's not a knock against the paramilitary. My PM2 is well made and I understand why people are attracted to them but my Cruwear version will soon be sold just due to general preferences.

[Taypo]

Yeah, there are a lot of different hands out there and a lot of different knives to put in them. The PM2 seems to be one that fits in a great many hands and pockets incredibly well, including mine! Good on you for giving it such a long time to prove itself, and good luck finding your handmate!

Though I wonder if you could elaborate more on what you do like in a knife. Could be helpful for people also wondering about the PM2 to get a better idea of who it works for and who it doesn't. What are you drawn to about the JYD and others that the PM2 lacks? Dimensions? Style? Function? Just curious! :)

I'll give a quick rundown - trying not to turn this thread into a commercial for a competitor. Remember, this is MY opinion and I'm not dogging the PM2.

Ergos are better for me on the JYD - the extra bit of curve in the handle makes a difference.
The extra 3/4" of blade is a huge plus
Believe it or not, I appreciate the extra weight - its almost twice as heavy as the PM2.
I'm less hesitant to go after something solid with the JYD - thicker blade stock at the spine and the extra weight makes me feel better about prying with it.
Probably the biggest pro is the flipper, vs the Spydiehold. Maybe its because I shoot a fair amount, but using my finger to get it running feels more natural that the flick.
Lastly, the compression lock on the PM2 just feels like too much work to engage.

Again, just my 2 cents worth. YMMV

[adamlau]

I am a big fan of the PM2. If anything, I feel the tolerances are a bit loose. I have some where (upon lock disengagement) the blade drops freely, others which drop slightly and some in which the blade does not drop at all. The ones which fail to drop freely almost always show uneven washer wear upon inspection. So I end up going CRK on them and bring down the washers through progressive 1000-5000 grit passes. Too much and you end up with blade play. Too little and its not enough to overcome lock stick. Then some where lock disengagement requres only a light touch, others that require increased pressure towards the front of the lock bar and others still which only release the blade when the center bottom of the lock bar is depressed. I suppose you can consider this as a showcase of individual PM2 character :)