Has the Paramilitary 2 ship sailed?

[Soulrack]

It used to be most everything Paramilitary 2 would sell out in 7 minutes or less. The recent Cutlery Shoppe and Fradon Lock exclusives are still lingering with availability even to the point Cutlery Shoppe has increased the maximum purchase from two to four. It appears to be the end of an era. The most popular knife of all time has bell bottomed out. Thoughts?

[Chleiti]

I think it's mostly the over-saturation of the market right now. Quick count on the Sprints/Exclusives thread, there have been 33 PM2s released since Jan 2019; 28 since the beginning of the pandemic, which seems to have been when a lot of people stuck home surfing the internet while on lockdown started using their going-out money to buy knives.

[Wandering_About]

Too many variants too fast. Still an excellent design in my opinion, and I hope it sticks around for a good long time. To be honest, this forum is about the only place I see such vocal negativity toward the PM2.

[Sharp Guy]

You're judging whether or not the most popular Spyderco model ever is done based on two recent exclusives that were instant sell outs? This is after there were a few other recent exclusive drops plus it's right after the holidays. So most people are tapped out.

My answer is NOPE! It's definitely NOT the end of the PM2 era. Based on what we've seen in the past there's still much more to come

[nerdlock]

Objectively, I think it's just oversaturation, plus most people's money are probably spent out during the holiday season.

Deep inside, honestly though, I hope it's bottoming out already and people are getting tired of the same old model. So that the dealers will be forced to order exclusives in other models too.

[Sharp Guy]

...this forum is about the only place I see such vocal negativity toward the PM2.

I've seen it in the FB groups too. I don't think it's really negativity against the model itself. I think most Spyderco enthusiast will agree it's a really good model. I think a lot of people are tired of so many exclusives being PM2s and they want to see something different

[ladybug93]

i'm not a pm2 fan. i've never had one and never wanted one. i have handled them and they're great, i just happen to prefer other models. i still wouldn't say the ship has sailed though. it will always be a popular model. the market saturation comment is 100% accurate. when the tide ebbs, people will clamor for them again.

it's like marvel movies for me. i'm really getting sick of super hero movies, but i'm still going to watch them because they are reliably entertaining. the fatigue is real and i miss the '80s action movie, but it doesn't make marvel movies less good.

[Jared]

I love the PM2, but I won’t blow my kids college fund chasing every exclusive. I can think of a combo of steel/scale color that may motivate me to buy, but it’s not currently offered.

Now a FRN PM2 LW (basically a bigger version of the Para 3 LW) I would buy. Especially if they did it in BD1N. Yes, I know Blade HQ just did an exclusive in that steel, but I want a real LW treatment.

[GarageBoy]

Otoh, one can finally get some rex45 without having to jump on a run

[Soulrack]

I started the thread and I am one of the biggest PM2 fans. I have almost all of them and wish I had more. I like other models but it is my favorite by far. I hope it never dies but I'd like to see Militaries, Native Chiefs and Sage 5 exclusives. Can an FRN Paramilitary 2 with liners be lighter than the recent Aluminum BD1N? If not, and I sorta doubt it, can it be called light weight?

[Wright.88]

No it hasn’t bottomed out. The more expensive PM2 exclusives generally take a while to sell out, and the Fraden Lock one is one of the pricier ones in a while. The Cutlery Shoppe exclusive is pretty unique with two different colored scales so maybe it turned people off somewhat. I’m sure there is also some oversaturation at play since there have been a lot of PM2 exclusives the past few months.

I think if there is a little hiatus in the PM2 exclusives then people will get excited for them again, especially if one comes out in an exciting steel/handle material and is priced reasonably.

[mikey177]

I only have one PM2, a basic S30V model. The only other PM2 I am interested in buying is the CutleryShoppe PM2 wharnie, if they ever make another run.

[Manixguy@1994]

I only have one PM2, a basic S30V model. The only other PM2 I am interested in buying is the CutleryShoppe PM2 wharnie, if they ever make another run.

Email from Cutlery Shoppe That I received , a Wharnie is in the works but no timeline. I only have two PM2 models , nothing wrong with the knife I just want different knives that interest me . MG2

[bearrowland]

I love the PM2 but I'd love to see other models on sprint/exclusive duty. I don't think it's even near being the end of the PM2 run though.

[Mushroom]

I think there is still plenty of life left in the PM2.

[Danke]

Cutlery Shop spoiler alert. Way fewer Denver Bronco's fans than you thought.

[mikey177]

I only have one PM2, a basic S30V model. The only other PM2 I am interested in buying is the CutleryShoppe PM2 wharnie, if they ever make another run.

Email from Cutlery Shoppe That I received , a Wharnie is in the works but no timeline. I only have two PM2 models , nothing wrong with the knife I just want different knives that interest me . MG2

I wonder if they will make it in CTS-XHP this time. Regardless of the steel they use, it's something I look forward to. Thanks for sharing the good news

[Blnd]

Caveat: I’m not a collector. I’ve never purchased a sprint run, let alone an exclusive. I fully realize I’m not the intended customer…

How many people are actually buying these? Obviously enough to sell out but I can’t help but think it’s 50% eBay flippers with the other 50% made up of the same ~1k people every time.

Not sure how sustainable that would be in a saturated market. Blood from a stone and all that.

[steelcity16]

I had written off the PM2 and was down to only owing Seki models. The Cru-carta PM2 gave it new life and it is now my only non-Seki Spyderco. I carry it often. Still prefer my Endelas any days though. A Cru-carta Endela Wharnie may just be my grail.

[kobold]

I have the one in Maxamet with custom scales - I can't ask for anything more.
I think the PM2 is here to stay, but the economic relief money is gone.