How strong is the Liner lock for Spyderco Military?

brj said:
took 11 pages and +200 posts to find the single useful post this thread offered :thumbup:
Click to expand...

TheCarbideRat said:
Point taken, however, he could have made it clear that the post in question was the only one useful to him, [if that really is the case anyway] by simply stating that, instead of leaving it open to interpetation as he did,

So which was it Mr. One Useful Post? Only useful to you, your friends, everyone....what?
What were you really trying to say? May we know?
Click to expand...

Actually he just believes it's useful because he thinks it serves to prove a point he wants to make. Calling everything else of no use just proves that his mind was already closed in the first place. A closed mind is really no problem, it's just when it's paired with an open mouth does it become a liability.
 
Vess said:
I just gotta chime in on this one. Going to be a long one, I apologize in advance.

I've used my old 440V SE Military for pretty much anything, from cutting steak to rigging holes to sawing through roots. The tip never broke, and I don't believe I've ever had the lock fail.

This knife has been through hell. I sheared the pocket clip off more than once, that's the old 2-screw clip, which I later converted to a 3-screw with larger diameter screws. Two of the screws in the handle fell out and had to be replaced with larger screws. Again, old model, the screws are different now and don't fall out nearly as easily. The serrations got worn off, it's so toothless that it's almost a plain edge now. The blade is scratched up something awful, you can barely read the writing on the blade because the top layer of steel got worn off, though it's hard to tell from the pictures. You name it, this knife has had it done to it.

And here's what it looks like today:
Picture01.jpg

Picture07.jpg

Picture08.jpg


Now, let's look at the lock:
Picture09.jpg


Is it pretty far gone over to the other side? Yeah. But keep in mind how old the knife is, and that is had absolutely zero maintenance in years aside from occasional sharpening. Still works. Just whacked the knife full force on the edge of the table, still holding. With enough pressure I can see the lockbar flex a bit, but it holds. The knife is full of dirt and mud and who knows what, but the lock still engages extremely reliably. That's gotta be tough enough.

There's also been a lot of talk in the thread about the tip being too delicate. I really don't believe it is as weak as some people seem to think. I mean, I've never been gentle with this knife, or my Catcherman, and yet I've never managed to break the tips off from either one.

Here's a tip comparison on my three most abused knives, going clockwise from left to right: SOG Pentagon, Spyderco Catcherman, old 440V SE Military, NIB S30V PE Military.
Picture02.jpg

Picture03.jpg


The Pentagon was used in house renovations. Yeah, I know, hardly ideal blade shape, but I found it just too convenient to have a full plain edge and a full serrated edge in the same knife at the same time. Cut carpeting with it, cut soundproofing with it (Safe'N'Sound), opened bags (including thick cement ones) and even caught other people prying with the tip as recently as last weekend. I actually found the knife in the toolbox, next to hammers and prybars. The blade got scratched up and developed a ton of rust spots, but otherwise stayed in great shape for what it's been through. It was a factory second, by the way, so stop looking at me like that! :D

The Catcherman was used to cut frozen seafood, three times daily, over the last three years. We used to have a large saltwater fish tank, and the fish was fed stuff like octopus, cuttlefish, shrimp, etc., all frozen of course.This may not sound like much, but essentially what we did was take out a large frozen block of baby cuttlefish, for example, then stab the Catcherman point-first into it and move the knife back and forth and side to side to try and chip off a piece large enough to cut into smaller bite-size pieces. As you can imagine, when the block gave way, the Catcherman was driven with considerable force, again point-first, into the cutting board below (usually plastic, sometimes wood). The tip never took any damage. The blade rusted a bit near the pivot, and developed a few spots, and the handle is full of gunk, but for the most part the tip of the knife held up superbly well.

The SE Military got it worse than any of the other knives. I've used it to cut carpet, cardboard, dig holes in the yard, saw through roots deep in the ground. Often it was just me kneeling on the ground, elbow-deep in the hole, sawing away at a root at the bottom, with roots being anywhere from 2-4" in diameter. The knife would come out covered in dirt and stuffed full of mud, I'd just smack it on the side of the shovel a few times to clear out most of it, fold it up, and leave it like that until next time. On occasion I'd hit a rock, a brick, a piece of porcelain or glass or some other junk the nice people who lived here before us saw fit to bury in the back yard. I've cut asphalt shingles with it, I've punched holes in those shingles with it. I've cut wire with it, and rope, and any packaging material known to man. I've pried staples (thick industrial ones) from cardboard boxes with it. You name it, I've done it.

Here's some upclose shots of the blades:
Picture04.jpg

Picture05.jpg

Picture06.jpg


Bottom line is, if I had to dig a hole, would I be more comfortable with a shovel instead of a Military? Of course! If I had to choose between digging a hole with a Strider SMF or a Military, I'd go with the Strider, it's just thicker. But if all I had was the Military, would I hesitate even for a second before using it to dig a hole? Not at all. Is the tip more likely to break on the Millie than on a shovel? Yes, but I've yet to see it happen. Shovel is nice, but it's too heavy to EDC, not to mention people looking at you funny when you walk around with one! :D Strider SMF is tougher, but it's also roughly 30% heavier, has a far shorter cutting edge and ergonomics are not as great at least for my hands, not to mention it is much bulkier than the slim Military. Like Sal said, there's always a tradeoff somewhere.

To me personally, Military strikes a near-perfect balance of handle ergonomics, blade size, blade geometry and weight, all in a slim package. It may not be perfect, but what is? And is it tough? Certainly tough enough to go through anything I've put it through so far.
Click to expand...


good post :) I enjoy reading other people's real world experiences using their knives beyond the scope of cutting/slicing.
 
TheCarbideRat said:
:jerkit: thanks for disrespecting everyone, including Sal Glesser. Dork of the week award to this guy?

Anyone second the motion?
Click to expand...

hi TCR,
do you think you can keep it civil and jerk off elsewhere when the need arises? thanks,

singularity35 said:
Actually he just believes it's useful because he thinks it serves to prove a point he wants to make.
Click to expand...
mm, nope, that's not it...
actually, he belives it's useful because it's the single documented post that showed to the OP that the liner lock of the Millie is a safe lock that would give many years of unfaltering service
moreover, the post showed documented real-life usage where the tip of the Military passed with flying colors, which was beyond the OP's questions but a good answer to a derailed thread
 
brj said:
hi TCR,
mm, nope, that's not it...
actually, he belives it's useful because it's the single documented post that showed to the OP that the liner lock of the Millie is a safe lock that would give many years of unfaltering service
moreover, the post showed documented real-life usage where the tip of the Military passed with flying colors
Click to expand...

Like I said, what you want to see. ;)
 
[Edited due to mis-reading, sorry]

As far as documentation goes i will leave the posts in this thread alone, but documentation [generally] needs
confirmation by a second source to be valid. Just sayin.

As far as tip strength goes my money would go with alot of other knives first before the Military, and not just Striders and Hinderers but knives within and below the price range of the Mil.
 
Last edited:
Why are some Millies stamped MILITARY on the blade?

My kind of recent G-10 linerlock offering had nothing on the blade but the regular stuff on the tang area S30V, Golden CO etc..
 
cziv said:
Why are some Millies stamped MILITARY on the blade?

My kind of recent G-10 linerlock offering had nothing on the blade but the regular stuff on the tang area S30V, Golden CO etc..
Click to expand...

Hmmm.... no chance those may be fake? Are there fake Spyderco knives out there? When I put that word fake in the question, I mean real, exact copy fakes... not the sort of stuff where screws are in the wrong positions and so on, but clones... And if they do exist, how does one protect oneself from shelling out the cash for a phony product?
 
Folderguy said:
Hmmm.... no chance those may be fake? Are there fake Spyderco knives out there? When I put that word fake in the question, I mean real, exact copy fakes... not the sort of stuff where screws are in the wrong positions and so on, but clones... And if they do exist, how does one protect oneself from shelling out the cash for a phony product?
Click to expand...

They aren't fake. Old style Military models had "Military" etched on the blade.
 
Folderguy said:
Hmmm.... no chance those may be fake? Are there fake Spyderco knives out there? When I put that word fake in the question, I mean real, exact copy fakes... not the sort of stuff where screws are in the wrong positions and so on, but clones... And if they do exist, how does one protect oneself from shelling out the cash for a phony product?
Click to expand...

I believe military’s made before from 1996-2004 had the word “Military” on the blade, those made later then that didn’t. Also there have been a great number of rolling changes, updates and improvements to the knife. If you want to read about the production history spydiewiki is a good place to start.

Insofar as fakes are concerned, use common sense when buying. Reputable knife stores are safe, members with good reputations are safe etc, in other words no different then any other knife on the market.
 
J.Mattson said:
I believe military’s made before from 1996-2004 had the word “Military” on the blade, those made later then that didn’t. Also there have been a great number of rolling changes, updates and improvements to the knife. If you want to read about the production history spydiewiki is a good place to start.

Insofar as fakes are concerned, use common sense when buying. Reputable knife stores are safe, members with good reputations are safe etc, in other words no different then any other knife on the market.
Click to expand...

Thanks; most appreciated.

So does that mean eBay is a safe place to seek them out?
 
Folderguy said:
Thanks; most appreciated.

So does that mean eBay is a safe place to seek them out?
Click to expand...

Sure so long as you read their feedback, as well as poke around “the good the bad and the ugly” here on BFC to see what kind of a reputation they have. Basically the same thing you should do before each and every purchase. Anything less is foolish.
 
Making an exact copy of a knife like a Military, that is good enough to fool the public. Would cost more than the counterfeiter would gain, IMO.
 
Thanks for the answers - that has always made me wonder? I like them clean but I'm sure the older models have their own appeal too. :)
 
So have we settled the matter? Just how strong is the liner lock? I know how seriously to take the Internet but this is a good forum. I honestly can't tell what people really think of the Military. Very pointy tip. I won't be prying or batoning. If I wanted a blunt tip sharp folding prybar, I guess I'd get one of those crazy Extrema Ratio Tanto style blades where the tip is nearly 90 degrees to the edge.

So back to the liner lock. Is the Spyderco Military liner lock going to last as long as I would expect a $200 knife to last? Which would be, with just a little bit of care and caution, forever? Will I be leaving a Spyderco Military to my son and grandson? Assuming I don't pry or batton or dig with it? I have one of my grandfather's knives now, albeit a fixed blade, and it is a really serious cutter so I do have some expectations. If it won't, then I'll go a different route...and buy two of something else (Endura and Delica with VG-10and flat grinds). I have an Endura from about 20 years ago and it locks up like a bank vault.
 
Last edited:
HoosierQ said:
So have we settled the matter? Just how strong is the liner lock? I know how seriously to take the Internet but this is a good forum. I honestly can't tell what people really think of the Military. Very pointy tip. I won't be prying or batoning. If I wanted a blunt tip sharp folding prybar, I guess I'd get one of those crazy Extrema Ration Tanto style blades where the tip is nearly 90 degrees to the edge.

So back to the liner lock. Is the Spyderco Military liner lock going to last as long as I would expect a $200 knife to last? Which would be, with just a little bit of care and caution, forever? Will I be leaving a Spyderco Military to my son and grandson? Assuming I don't pry or batton or dig with it? I have one of my grandfather's knives now, albeit a fixed blade, and it is a really serious cutter so I do have some expectations. If it won't, then I'll go a different route...and buy two of something else (Endura and Delica with VG-10and flat grinds). I have an Endura from about 20 years ago and it locks up like a bank vault.
Click to expand...

The liner lock on the Military is excellent/Strong and the knife is well worth the money IMO. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top