PM2 - Always Tip Down from Factory?

[mad german]

Hey gang,

I'm working on a trade for a PM2 and was wondering if all PM2s came from Golden, CO in tip down. I thought I recall reading this someplace but I can't find the thread. My Sage 5 came tip up, but it's from the Taichung factory. I think my Native 5 and Para 3 both came right hand tip up as well. However, the PM2 (from what I recall) seems to come from the Golden factory in tip down.

The PM2 is probably one of the most faked knives out there, so I'm trying to be cautious. I'm working on the trade with a Gold Member from BF, if that makes any difference.

Thx for any input you can offer.

[Evil D]

Every PM2 I've had (3) came tip down.

[dplafoll]

AFAIK they all come tip-down, along with the Military. Interestingly, the leftie Para 3s I've handled came in Right-Handed tip-down. :)

[blueblur]

Every PM2 I have came tip down.

[mad german]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty sure that the knife in question is legit. However, there's something in the back of my mind that says "What if you get a really good fake?" Like all of you folks, I work too hard for my money to waste it. So, I'll stick with my original plan and hoard few more dollars and take a drive to GP Knives.

If it were almost any other knife, I'd probably do the deal. But with the prevalence of fake PM2s out there, why take a chance. Plus, this was the S30V version and my heart is really set on trying out the S110V blade.

[Evil D]

Peace of mine is worth paying a little extra.

[palonej]

DEFINITELY worth the drive brother!!
GP is run by some of the nicest people you'll meet!! True knife knuts that will go above and beyond to hook you up!!
Post up pics when you get your knife!!
Joe

[bdblue]

PM2 is always tip down but many people move the clip as soon as they get the knife, then maybe they end up not even carrying the knife. Something I've found interesting is that the PM2 comes tip down but other 4-way knives such as the GB1 and Vallotton come tip up.

There are some very good dealers online. I can't say I've bought from GP but I've bought from KW and CS and gotten very good service from both of them. There are some trustworthy people on the BF sales forums, including me, but I've also gotten cheated out of a good Spyderco by a BF member. BF has a feedback system so you can check up on a seller, and you can also search the feedback forum to see if they have had problems with past transactions.

[Evil D]

One thing to look for would be some slight flattening of the peel ply texting where the clip would have been mounted for tip down. It's usually pretty obvious when a clip has been in a different position.

[sal]

Eric redesigned the Para 2 to be his ideal personal carry and he likes tip down for this model.

sal

[Liquid Cobra]

It's cool to finally find out why the Para 2 comes tip down, thanks for the info Sal.

Does Spyderco keep any stats on the number of PM2's they receive for sharpening or repair that come back set up for tip up? I'd be willing to bet it's high.

I feel like if the majority of folks is flipping it to tip up, wouldn't it be better to have it come that way? It's always a bummer for me when I have to switch the clip and see that wear on the g10 from where it used to sit (on a brand new knife).

I mean, Isn't it easier for Eric to switch his personal carry to tip down than the rest of us?

[bearfacedkiller]

The mark doesn't really bother me but it may bother some tip down person too.

What about shipping the knife without the clip installed? I guess not everybody has a torn set? That could be a problem. You may have to include a small 90 degree torx like an Allen wrench for the user to install the clip with.

Just a thought and probably not a great one but thought I would throw it out there. :)

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Eric redesigned the Para 2 to be his ideal personal carry and he likes tip down for this model.

sal

This actually leads to an interesting discussion (or maybe not!). While I can appreciate Eric's redesign of the PM2 and his personal choice for tip down, I find it somewhat confusing and a bit against Spyderco's philosophy to continue to ship these knives like that versus either putting the clip in the tip up position or not installing it at all (which is a doubtful third option).

We've run polls on clip position preferences and I seem to remember 80-85% of folks prefer tip up. Every single custom PM2 scale set that doesn't include all 4 clip positions like factory, ALWAYS have their single hole positioned for RHTU (right hand tip up).

So, here we are with most of the PM2 owners moving their clips to the desired position and leaving that marred G10 spot under the original clip position. We have all custom scales sporting the RHTU option if they only go with that single available position. And we have our favorite knife company who listens to us and performs CQI as a mantra, yet we continue to have discussions on why the PM2 isn't coming stock as RHTU.

Seems to be a bit of a conundrum here (and a ridiculously easily solvable one at that). Continue doing what 15% of ELUs want (and Eric), or listen to the hundreds of users asking for RHTU? I've had way more than my fair share of this knife's different permutations and on every one, I hated to see that leftover ding on the G10.

[sal]

Hi Cobra,

We don't keep that statistic, but we do recognize that most prefer tip up at this time, and we make most tip up. Eric and I do have our own idiosyncrasies, no doubt. You'll probably have to tolerate that at this time :o We provide as many options as possible and there are also many aftermarket clip makers so clips have evolved much in the past 37 years.

When we "invented" the knife carry clip in 1980, they were all ti down and 20% were made left handed. Then we evolved from there.

Hi RS,

In general, we try to provide the models in the "preferred position". Most folks don't change or mess with their clips.

sal

[mad german]

DEFINITELY worth the drive brother!!
GP is run by some of the nicest people you'll meet!! True knife knuts that will go above and beyond to hook you up!!
Post up pics when you get your knife!!
Joe

Yep, I agree. GP is a great shop. I'm lucky that there's a decent knife shop within driving distance.

[timlara]

The main reason I carry my PM2s tip-up is that in the tip down position, the knife is a bit wider at the top in pocket and the jimping on the opening hole hump tends to scrape my hand when reaching into my right front pocket. For me, that's really the only reason I have a strong preference between tip-up or tip-down - whichever makes the knife more comfortable in the right front pocket is what I choose.

However, I do find that the ergos are slightly better on the PM2 with the clip in the tip-down position as the one tradeoff (at least for my hand) is that there's a bit of a hotspot with the clip in the tip-up position.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hi RS,

In general, we try to provide the models in the "preferred position". Most folks don't change or mess with their clips.

sal

Thanks for the response Sal. I'm not convinced though that most folks prefer to leave it as is:

//forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?t=60004

I didn't figure this discussion would go anywhere but I said my two cents for now. Cheers, Radioactive :)

[bearfacedkiller]

That poll is knife AFIs, not average Joes. Most people I know do not even own a T6 torx bit. I converted quite a few coworkers to Spydies and none of them seemed to care much about clip position and none of them owned a t6. Seems like they would have been happy either way.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hi Darby, I was waiting for someone to make the exact comments you just did (thanks!). If they don't care about the clip position, then they wouldn't care if it was supplied tip up from the factory either. So that "reason" is actually not a reason at all...

[bearfacedkiller]

I completely agree with you!