I said in another post that, this place has a way of influencing me despite the fact that i'm pretty set in my ways on a lot of things. The hype surrounding the Para/Para 2 was enough for me to give this knife another chance. Handling it at the knife shop didn't impress me a lot the first time and i wasn't sure about the compression lock.
My first impression is, i REALLY wish this was a Para 2. I haven't even handled the 2 yet but i can tell a few things off the bat that i would change that have been changed on the 2...first and foremost is the way the spine of the blade sticks out at the pivot when closed. When the knife is in your pocket and you reach in, this is right there to greet the side of your hand and give it a nice scrape. I even filed it down and rounded it down as best as i could without taking it apart...still sucks. Second is the one option for clip carry...i've never been a tip down guy but i figure this knife will also give me a fair assessment of tip down carry as well as a fair opinion of the compression lock.
One thing i absolutely LOVE about this knife is how incredibly simple it is all around...i love how clean and bare bones the design is...no crazy jimping down the spines like the Manix 2 has (not that that's a bad thing), no shiny liners showing everywhere...i love the basic two slabs of G10 making up the majority of the handle, and i LOVE how light it is while being so **** solid at the same time...light usually equals cheap but i don't get a cheap feeling from this knife.
I also love the thickness of the blade. Being a big Delica fan, i've been wanting a Delica like knife with a thicker/stronger blade...i've also been wanting a Delica with a 50/50 choil....and in a strange sort of way this knife reminds me of a my perfect Delica...i know that probably doesn't make much sense to some of you..
One thing i thought i would hate is the big hump at the butt of the handle right by your pinky. A lot of people have complained about it, and it got "fixed" on the 2, but honestly it doesn't really bother me in the least bit. I have to say that out of every Spydie i've handled this handle probably fits my hand better than any of them including my beloved Caly 3 which is a big deal for me. In another way, this knife also reminds me of a "hard use Caly 3" in the way it feels in your hand.
Getting it clamped and set up right in my Lansky was interesting...i'll have to post pics of what i ended up with. I didn't think it would work out at all and i expected some funky bevels but it came out really nice and is crazy sharp after a very very slight reprofile.
I think the two things i'm going to hate about it are the spine thing i mentioned, and the fact that it carries so far up out of your pocket, since i'm a big fan of deep carry knives. If i can get around those two issues, and adjust to the tip down carry, i really think this knife is going to grow on me in a major way. I've been practicing pulling it out and Spydie dropping it and that feels pretty fluid...it's just different from pretty much every other knife i've carried.
The one thing this knife makes very clear to me is, i am absolutely buying a Para 2....there's no doubt about it. The fact that they took care of the spine sticking out and gave it a 4 way clip and a huge lanyard hole are all really worthwhile improvements and all things i know i'm going to like better than this knife. I can't say i'm totally in love with the compression lock yet but we'll see how it goes. I do love how solid it locks up, and it's much easier to unlock with my forefinger instead of using my thumb like i tired to do before...
I'd post pics but it's your basic black G10/PE S30V Para :D
Oh one HUGE thing i'm upset about, is the shop had a price tag sticker on the blade and the glue from the sticker left a damned shadow in the blade....does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of that? :mad:
Oh, and in other news, i finally got to handle a Civilian today....it was like a religious experience LOL.
So i bought a Paramilitary...first impressions
congrats on the new para. there must be some way to remove a sticker stain short of wet or dry paper. might try stropping the flat of the blade a bit. ive done that on some of my ffg blades just to brighten them up a bit.
my knives:
kershaw Leek Buck 119 Cold Steel Recon tanto
Cold Steel Ti Lite VI ,
Spyderco: Tenacious ,Persistence, Endura 4 blue Stretch zdp blue, Manix 2 ,Native s30v . Sage2 titanium, Gayle Bradly cpm m4, Muleteam mt 10, woodcraft mule s30v. Orange Delica 4
Bark River PSK 154cm, Gunny, Bravo 2, Canadian Special
kershaw Leek Buck 119 Cold Steel Recon tanto
Cold Steel Ti Lite VI ,
Spyderco: Tenacious ,Persistence, Endura 4 blue Stretch zdp blue, Manix 2 ,Native s30v . Sage2 titanium, Gayle Bradly cpm m4, Muleteam mt 10, woodcraft mule s30v. Orange Delica 4
Bark River PSK 154cm, Gunny, Bravo 2, Canadian Special
-
Fred Sanford
- Member
- Posts: 5736
- Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:41 pm
- Location: Ohio, USA
-
merthyrmafia
- Member
- Posts: 167
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:57 am
- Location: I live in Merthyr Tydfil South Wales.
Brown spots?
Regarding those marks on your blade, I use a product that I believe will remove those marks, if you would care to try it out, I use a Turtle wax product call safe cut for removing light marks and scratches from paint work on cars without marking or leaving any trace. You apply a very small amount to a well rung out damp cloth rapped tightly around your finger and use a circular motion, iv'e had excellent results with this.
Jamie
Jamie
-
Bluntrauma
- Member
- Posts: 1338
- Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:50 pm
- Location: DFW, Texas
If you like the para 1, you'll love the 2. I have the original and have always loved it but it did not see a lot of pocket time because it stuck up too high clipped to the pocket, only right hand carry and the way the blade stick out when closed.
The Para 2 addressed all those issues. I have found that the new one does not fly open as quickly as the old one but I figure that tolerances had to be made for the tip up carry. It is barely noticeable to me and pretty much not a problem.
It really is interesting to me how a few tweaks could turn a knife that I carried now and again to my absolute grail. I seriously do not think that Spyderco can issue anything from this point forward that I will like as much as I do this knife.
For me, it's perfect.
The Para 2 addressed all those issues. I have found that the new one does not fly open as quickly as the old one but I figure that tolerances had to be made for the tip up carry. It is barely noticeable to me and pretty much not a problem.
It really is interesting to me how a few tweaks could turn a knife that I carried now and again to my absolute grail. I seriously do not think that Spyderco can issue anything from this point forward that I will like as much as I do this knife.
For me, it's perfect.
Sometimes you gotta kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight.
AKA: Liveitloud on Blade Forums, USN, EDC, Benchmade forums and basically everywhere but here.
liveit_loud on Ebay.
AKA: Liveitloud on Blade Forums, USN, EDC, Benchmade forums and basically everywhere but here.
liveit_loud on Ebay.
Well, mine had a crap load of side to side play right out of the box...so much so that the pivot screw could be turned by pressing your finger on it and turning it (not tightening/loosening it, both sides spun) so the first thing i did was tighten it up. Mine doesn't flick open as easily now but it locks up nice and tight. I lubed it up with Triflow and it's really smooth but it won't drop closed by blade weight alone.
~David
That mark on the blade looks to me like the rest of the blade has a patina but the sticker prevented, masked if you like, the discolouration in that area.Your edge is shiny & so is under the sticker. Buff the blade with some compound in the direction of the grind lines, not along the blade but accross & it should come up all nice & shiny. Be carefull not to rub out your bugs colour.
They are a nice knife.
O.
They are a nice knife.
O.
You know you might be onto something there. I have a feeling this knife sat in the case for quite a while....it's the same Para i first handled way back before i joined this forum and who knows how long it sat there before that. I'm gonna look into the Turtle Wax stuff that Jamie mentioned and see if that helps any. Otherwise i might just do some crazy mustard forced patina stuff on it. You know how it goes....little things like that just bug the **** out of you. I've already scratched the blade with my Lansky but it doesn't bother me at all because i put it there lol.
~David
Well i took the Dremel to the spine and rounded off that edge, it's a lot nicer now with that point ground off the spine, and i took the edge off the jimping some too but there's only so much you can do with the blade being on this side...which is one reason i prefer tip up since that puts the spine against the side of your pocket.
~David
The Para has a lot going for it but there is room for improvement as well.
I love the Para blade and feel that is one of the best 3" blades out there. I also like the G-10 handle but not the shape of it. I hate the Compression lock and really wish Spyderco would just drop it.
The compression lock has become a deal breaker for me. I won't buy a knife that has one now. Not only are they the least easy to use for me but every single one of them that I have owned (about 6) have been sloppy and had a lot of play. I have had three Paras but can never keep them because they just don't work for me. The Para 2 might be the answer.
I love the Para blade and feel that is one of the best 3" blades out there. I also like the G-10 handle but not the shape of it. I hate the Compression lock and really wish Spyderco would just drop it.
The compression lock has become a deal breaker for me. I won't buy a knife that has one now. Not only are they the least easy to use for me but every single one of them that I have owned (about 6) have been sloppy and had a lot of play. I have had three Paras but can never keep them because they just don't work for me. The Para 2 might be the answer.
Well, i'm now a week into owning and carrying my Para...and i gotta say i'm a changed man..i LOVE this knife. As you put it..for a 3 inch blade this thing is gonna be seriously hard to get out of my pocket. So far none of the ergonomics have bothered me whatsoever.kgriggs8 wrote:I love the Para blade and feel that is one of the best 3" blades out there. I also like the G-10 handle but not the shape of it. I hate the Compression lock and really wish Spyderco would just drop it.
The compression lock has become a deal breaker for me. I won't buy a knife that has one now. Not only are they the least easy to use for me but every single one of them that I have owned (about 6) have been sloppy and had a lot of play. I have had three Paras but can never keep them because they just don't work for me. The Para 2 might be the answer.
As for the lock...i will tell you something i found out recently. I noticed on mine that for some reason the pivot screw was pretty loose (so much so that it would push "side to side" through the handle) and i had some side to side play so i snugged it down to my liking, and while i was at it i tightened up the other 2 screws holding the handle together....the next time i opened it, the lock barely engaged the blade at all and was almost impossible to unlock.
Well, turns out that over time with enough repeated openings, that front screw/barrel assembly that the blade hits when opened will BEND and the whole knife/lock/blade break in as one unit...and when i turned that front screw it turned the whole barrel part, which changed where the blade contacted, and threw off the lock. It took me forever to figure this out but i think it's definitely an issue with this lock design.
I was able to turn the barrel part around to where it originally was and my lock works great now...but i wonder how this is going to effect the long term performance of the lock when the blade/lock contact start to wear. If something as simple as stripping one of those screws out happens and i replace it...is it going to upset the whole balance of the lock setup and screw it all up?
~David
I thought it might be funny to dig this thread up, because i just recently had the chance to finally handle a Para 2 (i know, i'm late to the game). I had said in the original post that i wish my newly purchased Para was a Para 2 and that i was so sure i would like it better...well it turns out i was quite wrong. Having both of them in hand, the ergonomics, at least for my hand and size of my hand which i would say is larger than most, i felt that the Para 1 was a much better fit when choking up on the choil, and when not choking up on it the Para 2 felt too small on the bottom end of the handle and the contours for your fingers felt too small. I felt like i was stuck between choosing to choke up or not to and neither grip felt just right. The Para on the other hand, fits my hand so perfect when choking up on the choil, it feels like a custom grip. It fits my hand better than any other knife i've picked up, with the Caly 3 probably being equally as nice.
So now, having about 7 months of carry experience, having fallen in love with the compression lock, i must say i am totally satisfied with this knife. I did smooth out the tang corner that sticks out from the handle when closed, and that's one thing i do wish were more like the Para 2. Also, i do prefer this knife carried tip down, but i still would like the option of a 4 way clip just for different carry situations. I also do like the large lanyard hole on the 2 because it's much easier to get 550 through it. Besides all that, this knife has become my go-to knife for nearly everything i cut and i find that i prefer to carry it more than any other knife. I'm a big Delica fan, but the grip ergos absolutely pale in comparison and that alone is enough that i always reach for the Para.
So with that said, it's time for some knife porn :D
So now, having about 7 months of carry experience, having fallen in love with the compression lock, i must say i am totally satisfied with this knife. I did smooth out the tang corner that sticks out from the handle when closed, and that's one thing i do wish were more like the Para 2. Also, i do prefer this knife carried tip down, but i still would like the option of a 4 way clip just for different carry situations. I also do like the large lanyard hole on the 2 because it's much easier to get 550 through it. Besides all that, this knife has become my go-to knife for nearly everything i cut and i find that i prefer to carry it more than any other knife. I'm a big Delica fan, but the grip ergos absolutely pale in comparison and that alone is enough that i always reach for the Para.
So with that said, it's time for some knife porn :D
~David