At this point in time, a Para Military 2 review might seem a bit unnecessary. The original Para Military folder designed by Sal Glesser was introduced in 2004 and the current generation Para Military 2 (which I’ll refer to as the PM2 from this point forward) designed by Sal and Eric Glesser has been around since 2012. As with the even older Delica and Endura models, the Para Military design has been around for so long that just about everyone who is into knives has already decided that they either love it, hate it, or they are indifferent to it. But there are always new people coming into the knife community—so new that they haven’t yet had the opportunity to handle a PM2—and it is primarily for them that I am writing this review.
I first acquired a PM2 way back in 2017, a blacked-out DLC model in S30V. I had, of course, read the many online complaints about the PM2’s supposedly fragile tip and I did end up damaging the tip of my first PM2 eventually when I accidentally dropped it tip first onto a concrete floor from a height of about 5 feet, but that was a drop that would have damaged the tip of just about any knife. It took less than an hour for me to fashion a new tip with just a file and a very coarse diamond plate, no big deal.
- My first PM2: note the recreated tip
I liked (and still like and use) that first PM2. It wasn’t as efficient of a slicer as my main work folder (the hollow-ground
Yojimbo 2), but it still cut very well due to the height of the blade giving the PM2’s full flat grind enough room to come down to a relatively acute angle. I also love the PM2’s blade shape: the pairing of the low tip and the gradual, continuous curve to the edge has it performing almost like a Wharncliffe on most utility cutting tasks, but it still has enough of a belly that cutting against a flat surface is no problem. I wasn’t too thrilled with the PM2’s feel in hand at first—to me it felt almost like a much boxier Endura 4—but it grew on me over time and I also came to appreciate the extra gripping area for choking up provided by the forward finger choil. The action on that first PM2 was also rather good, despite being from an earlier production run before the CQI change that introduced the pivot bushing system found in all current-production PM2s.
- My current PM2 collection: S30V DLC, S45VN DLC/Camo G10, S110V, Cru-Carta, 15V, Salt, and Salt DLC
Over time, I’ve managed to pick up a few more PM2s as a platform to try out different steels such as S110V, Cru-Wear, S45VN, 15V, and MagnaCut. I think one of the reasons why the PM2 is so popular is because of how many “flavours” it comes in. Currently,
the Para Military’s Spydiewiki page lists the PM2 as having been produced in 22 different steels across regular production runs, Sprint runs, dealer exclusives, distributor exclusives, and very limited special editions. That is a mind-boggling number before one even takes into account the different variations in handle materials, blade finish/coating/cladding, and more radical departures like tanto and Wharncliffe blade shape models, models with integral Emerson Wave openers, and models with custom laser-engraved blades.
Through years of regular work use and across multiple variants, I have found the PM2 to be a very effective, utilitarian design, even though its very prominent “Spydie-hump” isn’t something I’m overly fond of (because of how I like to grip a knife, I generally prefer Spydercos with low-profile or non-existent thumb ramps like the Yojimbo 2,
Lil’ Temperance 3, Caribbean, and Shaman). Still, the PM2 is among the handful of knives that I would be perfectly happy with if they were the only folder I could use for the rest of my life.
This brings us to my experience with the PM2 Salt DLC in MagnaCut. I spend a fair amount of my free time outside of work helping maintain the many local public forested areas (what the city officially refers to as “Urban Forests”). The city does employ workers who are tasked with clearing deadfall and fallen trees after storms and planting trees and shrubs to maintain forest cover, but volunteers are always needed to help with this work and many times, the job of clearing deadfall and fallen trees on forest trails is put on the back burner because the priority is clearing them from populated areas.
- A picture from a recent volunteer tree planting work party, I'm the 2nd person from left
When volunteering for this type of work, I have always carried a small-fixed blade like the Street Beat, a Ronin 2, or even a Swick 6 for small outdoors knife tasks, not because I need the added robustness of a fixed-blade—many modern Compression Lock and CBBL folders are plenty strong for small outdoors knife work—but because the work can get very dirty and wet, especially in the fall months. Anyone who has ever used a folding knife for a long time in the mud and dirt and had to clean it afterwards knows what an absolute pain it can be to have to take it apart, not just to ensure that all the parts that are susceptible to rust can be dried, but also to get all the grit out from the nooks and crannies and get the knife operating smoothly again.
For the longest time, this kind of activity was my primary use case for a small fixed-blade. Last year, however, I started bringing the PM2 Salt with me to the forest instead of the Ronin 2, Street Beat, or Swick 6. There are advantages to using a folder for small outdoors knife work, chief among them is that I can just carry it in my pocket, instead of having to deal with a sheath clipped to my belt or waistband. Sheaths (and the knives they hold) can catch on all sorts of stuff when maneuvering through dense growth and crawling under/clambering over fallen trees, and they can poke you in the side or on the belly when having to do all sorts of contortions to get into inaccessible spots. There is also the familiarity factor: I’ve already built up muscle memory for deploying, using, and pocketing a folder from using one for years at work. Sure, pulling a fixed-blade out of its sheath is faster than deploying a folder from the pocket, but at least in my case, closing and safely pocketing a folder is faster than safely resheathing a small fixed-blade (have you ever pricked yourself in the side or on the hip with a knife while hastily resheathing it? I don’t recommend it, AT ALL).
- PM2 Salt DLC used as an object for scale in measuring this earthworm in the field
On a recent woody shrub planting session to help with soil-stabilization in sloped areas, I used the PM2 Salt to cut through roots I encountered while digging planting holes. The rain was coming down really hard during this time so I was working in the mud, with very muddy gloves. While I think a PM2 with regular G10 handles wouldn’t have been too slick to use in these conditions, I appreciated how much traction I could get on the PM2 Salt because of the ribbed, Caribbean-style texture pattern on its scales. And even though I was wearing gloves absolutely slathered in muck, I did not have any issues accessing the Compression Lock cutout.
- Using the PM2 Salt DLC to cut through roots while digging planting holes
When I had finished with the planting, I simply walked over to a nearby lake and dunked the PM2 Salt in the water a few times to get rid of the worst of the mud and grit, just like I would have done with a fixed-blade. And when I got home, I was able to get rid of the rest of it with some well-placed bursts from the kitchen sink sprayer and a few minutes of scrubbing with an old toothbrush and plain dishwashing liquid. To me, it is this ease of cleaning and maintenance that really sets apart the PM2 Salt (and really, all of Spyderco’s Salt folders) from many of the MagnaCut or LC200N-bladed folders made by other companies, and what makes it a truly viable small fixed-blade replacement. When I clean out the PM2 Salt or any of my other Spyderco Salt folders after a day of using it in a wet and muddy environment, I can rest assured that the entire knife, and not just the blade, is optimized to resist corrosion. Had I used one of my other non-Spyderco Salt MagnaCut folders, I would have had to take it apart for cleaning anyway because there is always the chance that the hardware and liners would rust from retained moisture.
- The PM2 Salt DLC got all mucked up after a day working in the woods...
- ... but it cleaned up really easily
It is for these reasons that I highly recommend the PM2 Salt (or really, just about any Spyderco Salt folder that fits one’s budget) for anyone who spends time working in or just enjoying the outdoors.
