I finally got the Police 4

cbrstar

cbrstar

Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
965
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When I first wanted to get a my fist Spyderco I felt a bit of a conundrum. I saw the new K390 version and at the time it was only a little more expensive then a PM2. Even though the styling really spoke to me. I kinda let people talk me out of it saying it was ridiculously big. I then happened upon the PM2 at the store and fell in love with it. But I always kinda wondered if I should have gotten the Police 4? Especially since I really loved my Police 3 I was able to buy used.

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With it getting discontinued I finally pulled the trigger and bought one.

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First impressions:

I was under the impression that this knife was just a Police 3 with upgraded steel and boy was I wrong!

The first thing I noticed the G-10 has a different texture. At first this really really worried me, as I had bought the knife from a place I never have before. But now I think it's OK.

The second thing is the blade is a completely different shape and the hole is bigger. I hate to admit it but I prefer the Police 3 shape with the swedge on the the top. It's just more tacticool and stylish!

3rd the handles are a little different and so is the lock bar. Haven't decided which one I like better.

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This thing cuts amazing and it's worth the money, so It's really too bad that it's getting discontinued.
BUUT I can kinda see why it didn't sell well. IMHO the Police 3 is just somehow much cooler. Sad to say I probably would have bought something else from Spyderco in person after owning my Police 3 all this time. It's the blade shape of the P4, as it's just kinda blah. It reminds me too much of the Military and other Spyderco's

I'm glad both these knives are actually different more so then just the steel. I'm gonna use both and see if the Police 4 grows on me as much as the Police 3
 
Reading this over I realised this is more of a review lol. Sorry guys!

How many of you have also bought a P4 recently?
 
Congrats OP! Police 4 K390 is a great work knife. My P4 is a dedicated cardboard box cutter. Visually there is nothing of this knife that attracts me; the hump is actually too tall, to me. BUT, K390 is just a killer steel that I love. Despite the thin blade stock, I wish it could be thinner behind the edge. Compare it to PM2, I dont think P4 is thinner BTE.
 
sharp_edge said:
Congrats OP! Police 4 K390 is a great work knife. My P4 is a dedicated cardboard box cutter. Visually there is nothing of this knife that attracts me; the hump is actually too tall, to me. BUT, K390 is just a killer steel that I love. Despite the thin blade stock, I wish it could be thinner behind the edge. Compare it to PM2, I dont think P4 is thinner BTE.
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Thanks man! I can't believe how well k390 does cut into things. When I was taking my pics pushing it into wood took no effort, where as the V10 was good but no where near as easy. I agree with you on the hump being too tall, the P3's blade is just a lot more sleeker.
 
Sal has described the P4 as essentially a back lock Military. I picked one up at the Seconds Sale last year. I like it, but it hasn't displaced my Millie. The Police Model just isn't the same without the saber grind and swedge tip, and that's coming from a guy who doesn't like saber grinds.
 
yablanowitz said:
Sal has described the P4 as essentially a back lock Military. I picked one up at the Seconds Sale last year. I like it, but it hasn't displaced my Millie. The Police Model just isn't the same without the saber grind and swedge tip, and that's coming from a guy who doesn't like saber grinds.
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I didn't know that what Sal was aiming for to make it similar to a lock back Military. I bet over the years he's had numerous requests for a lock back Military and this seemed like a good compromise.
I agree the original design is still the best. I dunno if it's because I grew up in the 80's and 90's but something about it excites my inner mall ninja lol. It's a design that would fit perfectly in a old Hong Kong gangster movie lol. Sal needs to consider bringing it back.
 
Well some folks go for the cool factor, (I understand), but as a retired law enforcement officer, the Police 4 is the first one that I felt I wanted to have and that met the characteristics of what I wanted out of a carry knife, whether on or off the job.

Mileage will vary, but I'm with Sal on this one.
 
Blues said:
Well some folks go for the cool factor, (I understand), but as a retired law enforcement officer, the Police 4 is the first one that I felt I wanted to have and that met the characteristics of what I wanted out of a carry knife, whether on or off the job.

Mileage will vary, but I'm with Sal on this one.
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Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful knife and I'm enjoying it more and more. I am curious, what knife did you choose to carry when you were active? Here in Canada it seems like the Police here traditionally went for smaller knives like buck 110's or swiss army knives, but my perception could be wrong.
 
cbrstar said:
Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful knife and I'm enjoying it more and more. I am curious, what knife did you choose to carry when you were active? Here in Canada it seems like the Police here traditionally went for smaller knives like buck 110's or swiss army knives, but my perception could be wrong.
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Smaller knives like Buck 110s? o_O

I’m eyeballing the P4 more and more. I carry my Endura a lot and wish it was just a tad longer. Seems like that’s pretty much what it is, with a slightly different shape.
 
cbrstar said:
Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful knife and I'm enjoying it more and more. I am curious, what knife did you choose to carry when you were active? Here in Canada it seems like the Police here traditionally went for smaller knives like buck 110's or swiss army knives, but my perception could be wrong.
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For several years I carried a Benchmade AFCK in M2, (with the licensed Spyderco opening hole). You can see the continuity with the Military and Police lineage to some extent. (I also had several Spydercos that were part of the rotation back then as well.)

Part of the reason it became a favorite, as well, was because the co-designer, former SEAL Chris Caracci, (who used to have a forum here on BF), was my first SWAT instructor back in the late 80's or early 90. He was a police officer with a large metropolitan department at that time. I actually did not know of his connection with the knife until after I had already purchased it and was carrying one. Still a great knife which makes it into the rotation from time to time.

These days the Police 4, Military or PM2 seem to get the call more than any of my other knives.
 
AntDog said:
Smaller knives like Buck 110s? o_O

I’m eyeballing the P4 more and more. I carry my Endura a lot and wish it was just a tad longer. Seems like that’s pretty much what it is, with a slightly different shape.
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lol Yeah I realize now how ridiculous that sounds as it's only a bit shorter. I think the Police in my brain just seems much larger because it looks more threatening then a Buck.

Blues said:
For several years I carried a Benchmade AFCK in M2, (with the licensed Spyderco opening hole). You can see the continuity with the Military and Police lineage to some extent. (I also had several Spydercos that were part of the rotation back then as well.)

Part of the reason it became a favorite, as well, was because the co-designer, former SEAL Chris Caracci, (who used to have a forum here on BF), was my first SWAT instructor back in the late 80's or early 90. He was a police officer with a large metropolitan department at that time. I actually did not know of his connection with the knife until after I had already purchased it and was carrying one. Still a great knife which makes it into the rotation from time to time.

These days the Police 4, Military or PM2 seem to get the call more than any of my other knives.
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The Benchmade is a classy and sleek looking knife! They need to remake it with the axis lock.

When I was a kid in the late 80's and 90's the law here in Canada was different and they were allowed to "Fish". Because my next door neighbor was probably one of the biggest drug dealers in the city. I would get stopped and searched by the Police at least 2x a week. Never committed a crime in my life, but I was in the Boy Scouts and I would have my SAK Officer in my pocket. Well some Officers would measure it against the width of their hand, but others would pull out their Buck 110 and measure it against that. I once got a stern "Warning" if he ever caught me with something larger then his 110 I was going to jail, but I think he was just looking out for me and trying to keep me from becoming a punk. In my professional life I worked as a Insurance agent who actually worked in the office that insures all the RCMP. So I got to talk to a lot of officers that retired and out of everything many of them kept their old buck. It wasn't until I came on this site I actually saw Officers using Spyderco's and even the Police model. With lots of makers trying to brand knives as police models I'm always curious if that's what police actually buy, or is it a sales gimmick?
 
Most guys I worked with had Spyderco and Benchmade knives in their pockets if they carried a knife. Others that carried but didn't care to spend the money, carried lesser knives. The rest were the guys who asked "who's got a knife?"

Buck 110's (and similar models from other makers) were a popular item to see on belts.

Most officers and agents carried mid-sized knives...not the larger blades, in my experience.

There's no end of gimmicks out there. In the end, the cream rises to the top and guys learn what works.
 
cbrstar said:
I didn't know that what Sal was aiming for to make it similar to a lock back Military. I bet over the years he's had numerous requests for a lock back Military and this seemed like a good compromise.
I agree the original design is still the best. I dunno if it's because I grew up in the 80's and 90's but something about it excites my inner mall ninja lol. It's a design that would fit perfectly in a old Hong Kong gangster movie lol. Sal needs to consider bringing it back.
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The Police Model (at least the Police 2) is still available, with the saber grind and swedge tip. It has gotten the Swiss cheese treatment (4 way clip screw holes), but other than that you can still get one new. It has a lot of movie credits, but I don't know my Hong Kong gangster movies.
 
Sal Glesser said:
The first Police model in 1984 had,

Pride
Integrity
Guts

engraved on the blade and the PIG was larger and easily visible when the knife was closed.

sal
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My recollection is that my first agency was issuing Swiss Army Knives and Gerber LST's in those years. It would be a few more years before I started buying knives again in earnest.
 
yablanowitz said:
The Police Model (at least the Police 2) is still available, with the saber grind and swedge tip. It has gotten the Swiss cheese treatment (4 way clip screw holes), but other than that you can still get one new. It has a lot of movie credits, but I don't know my Hong Kong gangster movies.
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I'm definitely considering getting a Police 2. I also kinda want to find a original.
 
The old slab side First Generation Police can be a bit hard to find, but they do turn up once in a while. I've managed to snag both PE and SE versions, although the PIG marked blade has eluded me so far.
 
Sal Glesser said:
The first Police model in 1984 had,

Pride
Integrity
Guts

engraved on the blade and the PIG was larger and easily visible when the knife was closed.

sal
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Most officers I know have all three, so it works, but that is hilarious.

I’m loving my relatively new Endura and Stretch. Thank you, Sal.
 
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