Why drop the "Military" on the blade?

[demtek9]

Does anyone know why Spyderco dropped the word "Military" from the C36 model? I kind of liked it. Did they ever make one with the bug logo and the word Military on the blade?

[The Deacon]

Spyderco sells knives world-wide. The word Military is not universally held in high esteem. In some countries it is all to often followed by the word "junta" or "dictatorship" to be a selling point. There were also some questions raise about potential negative impact it might have in a courtroom setting if the knife needed to be used for self defense. Finally, there are those, myself included, that prefer our blades unadorned and there were some discussions on the forums about that. Heck, I've considered getting my user Stretch ground down a bit just to get rid of the bug. All those reasons also played a role in the removal of the lettering from the Police Model.

[demtek9]

Well I guess I never miss something until its gone. It would be nice if they release some with the model name and some without for each side of the fence.

[Padawan]

Well I guess I never miss something until its gone. It would be nice if they release some with the model name and some without for each side of the fence.

I'm relatively sure you could request custom laser etching if you really wanted to, but I doubt Sal would want to create an entire second SKU just to offer the name on the blade.

[demtek9]

I'm sure...just wishing out loud.

[clovisc]

i'm much happier with the non-militarized military. :D it makes my knife appear less of a "killin' tool" ... and it always felt kinda weird carrying the old military, because, well, i'm not in the military! :D

[noddy]

It was the thing that prevented me buying one for ages - just looked like someone trying too hard

[zephyr]

It was the thing that prevented me buying one for ages - just looked like someone trying too hard

Agreed, I much prefer them without

[demtek9]

I'm sure...just wishing out loud.

I guess I liked it because I was in the Army and had my rank and name diamond dragged on the back of my 440V version. I understand why it was dropped. Like everyone looking for that rare unmarked "Police" blade before the latest version....makes sense but the bug doesn't look as cool to me.

[The Deacon]

I guess I liked it because I was in the Army and had my rank and name diamond dragged on the back of my 440V version. I understand why it was dropped. Like everyone looking for that rare unmarked "Police" blade before the latest version....makes sense but the bug doesn't look as cool to me.

To me, the engraving on the original Military looked classy, the later style did not. Similar deal for me with the Police - the only lettering that really looked good to me was POLICE MODEL. I don't find any of the other styles they used over the years attractive. Can't say I'm a fan of the :spyder: either. I can understand why Spyderco feels compelled to use it, but the blades did look better to me without it.

[Scottie3000]

I prefer it without also. I think it makes the knife look cheap and like its trying too hard to look official.

[Toad310]

Well, I come from a family with military traditions, and I liked it. If it is a military knife, then call it that.

[demtek9]

Well, I come from a family with military traditions, and I liked it. If it is a military knife, then call it that.

True, True! It even says in the description it was designed if one of Sal's very own was going off to the military and could only take one knife.

[Buffalohump]

I recently got an early one with the logo in a trade. I think its a great logo. I really like the early models. This one is S30V so I'm not sure how old it is. Didn't have a box.

[demtek9]

If it is thick handle with the "Military" it is somewhere late 2002 or early 2003. That is when I got mine from SFO and the thick handles were a new feature. I stupidly sold it later not knowing they would drop the logo.

[Buffalohump]

Hmmm.... not sure if the handle is thicker, but it does have a single liner. The clip also has the 'patent pending...' blah blah on it.

I checked and the top slab is thicker.

[The Deacon]

I recently got an early one with the logo in a trade. I think its a great logo. I really like the early models. This one is S30V so I'm not sure how old it is. Didn't have a box.

It's not really all that "early", considering the Military's been around since 1996. Steel is S30V, so that puts its earliest possible build date at 2003, when that steel was first used for the Military. Think the lettering got dropped in late '05, so that one would fall somewhere in that date range. Clip may be "older" than the knife, since I imagine Spydeco has them made up in fairly large batches.

[Manix Guy 2]

Personally I could care less if any blade tells me what the model is on the blade that is not why I purchased the knife . No biggie for me , rather have a well made knife . MG2

[Halfneck]

I remember when it came out I was planning on getting one since I was in the Army at that time. When I saw the "Military" on it I decided not to. I'd already gotten poked fun at for carrying an Al Mar Warrior on my 1st field exercise so I decided to play it safe.

[demtek9]

I remember when it came out I was planning on getting one since I was in the Army at that time. When I saw the "Military" on it I decided not to. I'd already gotten poked fun at for carrying an Al Mar Warrior on my 1st field exercise so I decided to play it safe.

Its not like you wrote it on your helmet. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.