On second thought, why not try something different.

[Qcrazy]

The ongoing results occurring in the " Let's settle this once and for all." thread gave me pause.

Well, I’m humbled! I collected Spyderco’s for years and slowed way down when so many knives and makers went tactical. The Military, too large for me, the Para 2 the same, I had a bit of interest in the Para 3 since it met my 3-inch maximum blade length for carry. I’d played with one years ago at Mother Spyderco and thought it was nice, but refused to consider it since it was a Para.
My go to carry knife has always been a Native. I’d be carrying one today if I hadn’t given so many away. My best friend and I have an annual weeklong fly-fishing and camping trip. This year was our 37th year meeting up. For many years it was just he and I, it later morphed to me, him, and his then old enough son, and has now changed to include up to ten guys each year. The younger guys aren’t or weren’t really knife guys. They’d show up with some gas station counter knife that would endanger anyone that was gullible enough to think they could cut something with it, or since they didn’t have a knife of their own had to borrow whatever knife (I use that term loosely with what many were carrying) was at hand.
Well as we’ve added friends and family throughout the years, each time I run into this situation, I end up gifting away the knife I’m carrying. This has gone on for years. Each year another Native gone to a new, owner and me deciding what to carry next. It has always been, grab another Native from my collection and put it in my pocket.
Well, this year is now different. I reluctantly decided to make a change. I picked up a Para 3 at a great price and have decided that this is my new pocket laser. I just got it in the mail and WOW not only is it a wonderful knife, it’s a fidget toy, and a piece of mechanical genius. Fit, finish, and the compression lock are all top notch. I know Spyderco only makes quality knives. Since both the Military and the Para 2 are larger than I like to carry, I refused to give the Para 3 a chance. That changes today! I should have known that one of these three knives would meet and exceed my needs. Seems like a Goldilocks situation, and I ended up with the baby. It fits just right. Lesson learned!!

[Naperville]

Congratulations on the new knife.

[Wandering_About]

Nice. The Para 3 is an interesting one for me... in a lot of ways I shouldn't like it, but I actually enjoy the model (the G10 version anyway) quite a bit. The one change I have to make is switching to a deep carry pocket clip.

Most of the time I prefer a Paramilitary 2 for its size, but the smaller size of the Para 3 is nice for certain situations for me.

[ImHereForTheMilitary2]

Hey I'm glad my poll brought this about! Congrats on the new para! I absolutely love mine, even though I favor larger knives. I got the combo blade and it's really a great all around EDC. You're also right about it being a great fidget device and engineering masterpiece.

This is kinda why I've been buying so many lately. For years and years I had a very myopic view of what a proper EDC should be, and Spyderco changed that. I guess in a way I'm trying to play catch-up and find out what I missed.

I never gave much credit to SE now I love it. I never liked small knives, now I see their value. I never would consider any knife but assisted open because I thought that was the only way to quickly and easily open knife one handed. (I hate thumb studs)

Heck I didn't even know there were so many different steels until recently. So yeah, pretty much every new knife I've bought (despite what some people here think) is basically a knife I never would've considered buying before.

Turns out I love them all. And now I'll never run out of knives and I definitely have knives for every possible situation imaginable.

In short, this is more than a hobby or collection for me, it's some personal growth, and in taking these lessons and applying them too other aspects of life. Trying new things, learning new things, it's great.

[WyoJon]

I fly fish all over the rocky mountains. I carry a nice scandi blade when ever im fishing or hunting. Expensive, but solid knives. Sometimes i have it in a pack or leave it in the jeep. Then i just pull out my endura or tasman, ive gutten many trout with these. Im not super picky about knives as long as they are sharp.

[WyoJon]

These threads die fast

[ImHereForTheMilitary2]

These threads die fast

Well the grumpy old timers here like to shake their canes at you if you make a comment that doesn't follow their idea of what a proper comment should be, so that's how threads die.

[WyoJon]

These threads die fast

Well the grumpy old timers here like to shake their canes at you if you make a comment that doesn't follow their idea of what a proper comment should be, so that's how threads die.

They wouldnt be grumpy if they fly fished

[ImHereForTheMilitary2]

These threads die fast

Well the grumpy old timers here like to shake their canes at you if you make a comment that doesn't follow their idea of what a proper comment should be, so that's how threads die.

They wouldnt be grumpy if they fly fished

excellent point

[WyoJon]

These threads die fast

Well the grumpy old timers here like to shake their canes at you if you make a comment that doesn't follow their idea of what a proper comment should be, so that's how threads die.

They wouldnt be grumpy if they fly fished

excellent point

Its a great feeling. The pursuit of the perfect cast. Especially when your casting to your backing line in the wind with a size 20 dry fly. Better pick a good leader.

[standy99]

Oddly I had the reverse.. I had been on a Para3 year or two long daily carry run and picked up a Native 5 in maxamet a few years ago at the online factory seconds. It was basically all that was left by the time I knew there was a seconds sale online.
It has replaced the Para 3 ever since.


Same in the fishing with others, some of the knives I see people proud of $20 fishing store bought Chinese knife as blunt as a butter knife….

[Naperville]

Hey I'm glad my poll brought this about! Congrats on the new para! I absolutely love mine, even though I favor larger knives. I got the combo blade and it's really a great all around EDC. You're also right about it being a great fidget device and engineering masterpiece.

This is kinda why I've been buying so many lately. For years and years I had a very myopic view of what a proper EDC should be, and Spyderco changed that. I guess in a way I'm trying to play catch-up and find out what I missed.

I never gave much credit to SE now I love it. I never liked small knives, now I see their value. I never would consider any knife but assisted open because I thought that was the only way to quickly and easily open knife one handed. (I hate thumb studs)

Heck I didn't even know there were so many different steels until recently. So yeah, pretty much every new knife I've bought (despite what some people here think) is basically a knife I never would've considered buying before.

Turns out I love them all. And now I'll never run out of knives and I definitely have knives for every possible situation imaginable.

In short, this is more than a hobby or collection for me, it's some personal growth, and in taking these lessons and applying them too other aspects of life. Trying new things, learning new things, it's great.

Sounds good!

I prefer flippers and auto or assisted, but do collect Spydercos. I do not consider opening mechanism my hill to die on. I look at the blade length, knife and blade profile, steel used, what country the knife is made in, build quality, lock type....there is a lot more to a knife than the opening mechanism.

[Notsurewhy]

Glad you are enjoying your para 3!

I try to keep an open mind, but I have biases just like everyone else. Sometimes I branch out and it reinforces the bias, sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised.

At a big knife shop a couple of years ago, I purchased a blade type (tanto) from a manufacturer (cold steel) that I've always avoided because of their "tacticool" image. I was quite surprised at how useful the blade shape is. The forward cutting edge is good for scraping cuts along flat surfaces and the obtuse point where the grinds meet is nice for shallow piercing cuts where you don't want to penetrate too deeply. The hollow primary grind also made it a relatively good slicer for the thickness of the stock and lack of distal taper. It's not my favorite knife, but it was a reminder things I scoff at could have real virtues that I'll never experience if I never try them. On the negative side, it also reinforced my dislike of metal handles.

Overall, it opened my mind to the utility of the tanto blade shape and that even if I don't like their marketing schtick, cold steel makes a quality product.

I'm now kinda hoping for another run of the tanto PM2 so that I can try out a tanto with a handle I like. Who would've thought.

[Qcrazy]

I'm liking the feedback I've gotten on my post. Yes, I'm a grumpy old man with way too many Spyderco's, if there is such a thing. I too look at steels, country of origin, and lock design when making my decision on what to carry. Especially for the carry component. It is nice to hand someone a knife that is stamped "Golden, Colorado, USA Earth". This is not meant to take anything away from knives manufactured elsewhere, it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. I have Spyderco's from all the manufactures and am stunned by their quality.
Well, It's hopper and dropper time here. I think I'll try to dredge up a big brown! Thanks all.

[Skywalker]

Appreciate the story about the annual Native giveaway; the whole trip sounds like a fun time. :)

I got stuck on the Para3 for a while myself - I picked one up in August of 2019 and didn't buy another Spyderco for over a year, until December 2020. (In fairness, there were certainly other things going on that year that limited discretionary hobby spending.)

These days for 3" knives I rotate a lot more, between that Para3, several Delicas, an Astute, a new Sage 5 CF, and the occasional Native.

But the Para3 remains a favorite

[jwbnyc]

I have a bias against the Para 3

Never tried one, no interest.

Just seems to me to be the shorter Paramilitary 2. That’s the only reason.

I have a lot of 3ish Inch knives as is.

But, I also had a bias against the Native 5 until I tried one, so; never say never.

[ImHereForTheMilitary2]

I have a bias against the Para 3

Never tried one, no interest.

Just seems to me to be the shorter Paramilitary 2. That’s the only reason.

I have a lot of 3ish Inch knives as is.

But, I also had a bias against the Native 5 until I tried one, so; never say never.

I thought the exact same thing until I got one in hand. I also never thought I'd like a knife such as the lil native but it turned out to be one of my all time favorites.

[TkoK83Spy]

Cool story OP, I can appreciate tradition like that! Para 3 is one of those knives that had CRAZY success and exclusives/sprints around 5 years ago. Very popular knife, that around here at least, seems to have lost some popularity. I at one point had 5 G10 versions myself, now down to 1, but it's a keeper!! I've always found it to have nice ergos and certainly not a dainty knife for its size.