The Final (probably) Three, Revised

[MichaelScott]

As some of you may know, I have had my ups and downs over the past few years. Making each day as good as I can. Knives have now become important to me for what they represent as well as how useful (to me) they become. My limit now is three Spydercos at any one time. I am not a collector so I am careful of what I buy. If I have three and there is another that I think will carry more meaning for me and will be useful in my somewhat restricted life I will by that one and move another along to make room. As you can imagine this can cause a certain amount of anguish and indecision.

Tomorrow I will take delivery of my first ever Military. A good mate has been lauding the Military’s virtues to me for some time. Being I like my Para 3 so much I finally gave in and ordered my Millie from SFO.

So, my Three will be the Millie, Schempp Bowie and Para 3 S30V.

I am also keeping three Great Eastern Cutlery slip joints for the other pocket.

Now, if you chose to have only three, which would they be, and if you care to say, why?

[bearrowland]

An Ayoob, PM2, and a Millie, because I think everyone should have a Millie (including me!).

[ladybug93]

probably a dlc manix 2, yojimbo 2, and black se pacific salt. those are definitely my three favorite. i might switch out the pac salt for a caribbean, but i haven’t had a chance to handle one yet.

[VooDooChild]

Im going to say,
Siren
Shaman (any version)
Native 5 salt se

I think that would cover all my needs. They are not necessarily my top 3 favorites, but when I think about my edc and salt series use, Im pretty sure those 3 will do it.

[wrdwrght]

Like you, it took me quite a while to get a Military Model. I now have three...

I’d not complain if my three Spydies were these:

52100 Millie
S90V Shaman
SE Pacific Salt

[rabbitanarchy14]

i guess if i had to choose 3

pm2 blue dlc M390
manix 2 brown M390
lil native red BD1N compression lock only

[Mike Slayer]

My three are easy

1. Spydiechef
2. Spydiechef
3. Spydiechef


In all honesty I only have two right now. My wife lost my third Spyderco. It was a stainless police. My two are my Spydiechef and Titanium Military.

[Ngati Pom]

Chapparal FRN
Jazzlica
Sliverax

The Li'l Temp would be missed though.

[Mattysc42]

Dlc M4 Manix XL
S90V/CF Shaman
ZDP-189 Dragonfly, though it’ll be replaced by a K390 version ASAP.

[Nate]

Not a huge collection by any means, but with over 40 Spydie folders, this type of question is always challenging. Fun to think about, but also could probably list a dozen "top 3's."

Today I'll go with:

Baby Horn: An unexpected all-time favorite. Like everything about it as a "modern traditional." Solid and compact, great blade shape, unintimidating.

UKPK: Would like to say the HH exclusive, but frns are carried the most, especially in the summer when weight matters more. Never expected to become such a big fan of Spyderco's Slipits (have lots more,) but they've never let me down.

Pac Salt 1: Going with my newest aquisition here, black/black PE, (also have a yellow SE inbound). Have a couple other contenders here for my large folder, but am really impressed by how slim and light the Pac 1 is, how well it carries, etc. Also had been missing a "blacked out" knife in my collection since I sold my black/dlc Para2. If I could get a dlc lefty Military or Para2, one of them might have snuck into this spot, but it's probably not gonna happen and I can hardly complain about discovering the Pac Salt.

[jdw]

Military because it is my favorite knife design of any maker and you can pretty much pick your flavor of steel. Dragonfly because of its cutting power and friendly design on the opposite end of the size scale. GB1 because it is the toughest folder that I own and my second favorite knife of any that I have.

[Sonorum]

Number one will always be my Native, a knife that is so good that it works as my palate cleanser. When I don't know what I need, the Native is never wrong. Also orange S90V CS special is nice.

Second is my Gayle Bradley 2. Sturdy, slicy, pretty. Lovely neutral handle which can take any grip i use.

Third is the Endela SE for when you don't want to think about how you cut, because it cuts anything, anywhere. I sometimes think I need a Carribean for this but I'm not that thrilled about the compression lock.

[TkoK83Spy]

Michael, I'm still surprised your ever got rid of your One Eyed Jack! You seemed to really love that knife. How did that fall out of favor for you?

My 3 would have to be...

Manix/Rex45 - with Putman micarta scales (knife perfection!)
Shaman/4V
HH UKPK/S30V

Being a fairly heavy daily user at work, the top 2 are quite obvious as to why they are there. Then the UKPK for light use, classy carry, or athletic shorts.

[Evil D]

Your first impression of the Military will probably be that the thing is massive and the handle is double massive. If you're used to a Para 3 the Military is gonna feel like a sword. The good news is the more you use it (I think) the smaller it becomes, especially if you have big hands. For me the move to bigger folders felt like I had spent my whole life wearing shoes that were a size too small and I finally moved up to a size that fit.

[Red]

Interesting to see all the different answers. My three would be..

Manix XL
PM2
Native

Military is a close one for the 3rd spot but the Native it is.

[ChrisinHove]

Both the OEJ and Watu departed, Michael ... :eek:

Kapara - PM2 + size blade in a slim but swish handle
UKPK (just don’t make me choose which one!) - legal excellence
Kiwi 4 - the past couple of weeks I’ve really fallen for this again, but it’s a toss-up with my cf scaled Brouwer. Both are a great size for my XL hands.

[Foundry81]

Tough one...
Cruwear shaman
PM2
Respect

I never carry the Respect, but if i had to pick three, that would have to be one of them.

[SG89]

Hi Michael, you are going to love the way the Military opens and locks up. So solid and has it's own special "sound". If the Military had a tip up option with the regular 3 screw clip I would still own one. But I will probably buy the rumored Military 2 with compression lock and 4 position clip.

My 3 are:
Lil Native comp lock dlc s30v. My most carried.
Manix2 G10 Rex45. Perfection.
Watu. Something special.

[MichaelScott]

Michael, I'm still surprised your ever got rid of your One Eyed Jack! You seemed to really love that knife. How did that fall out of favor for you?

My 3 would have to be...

Manix/Rex45 - with Putman micarta scales (knife perfection!)
Shaman/4V
HH UKPK/S30V

Being a fairly heavy daily user at work, the top 2 are quite obvious as to why they are there. Then the UKPK for light use, classy carry, or athletic shorts.

Selling the One-Eyed Jack was a difficult decision. But, that was a time when the medical expenses were piling up and we just needed some extra to see us through. I’m happy to report that we got through that and times are better. I always have my “third eye”open for one at a reasonable price. As you know, I consider the One-Eyed Jack as a marvelous expression of A.T.’s exceptional design of a gentleman and gentlewomen’s folding knife. If they were still available through SFO I would not hesitate to buy another. And, I hope that Eric, Sal and crew produce a less costly example for more folks to enjoy.

[MichaelScott]

Hi Michael, you are going to love the way the Military opens and locks up. So solid and has it's own special "sound". If the Military had a tip up option with the regular 3 screw clip I would still own one. But I will probably buy the rumored Military 2 with compression lock and 4 position clip.

My 3 are:
Lil Native comp lock dlc s30v. My most carried.
Manix2 G10 Rex45. Perfection.
Watu. Something special.

I like carrying larger knives like the Para Military 2 tip down and when I had one I switched to clip to that position. The knife felt better in hand with that clip mostly it of the way. And, I agree, the Watu is something special. That’s why the final (probably) three is so difficult to adhere to.