Para 3 in December CONFIRMED!

I received my Para 3 today. I like it overall. The centering is dead nuts, blade grinds are even, G-10 is grippy, detent is fairly strong, and the action is smooth. The blade doesn't fall closed like my PM2s or Sage 5 but it's close. It takes a slight flick of the wrist to close it. When I depress the lock bar with my index finger it falls 1/2 - 2/3 of the way depending on what angle I'm holding the knife at. When I try to close the blade by pushing the lock bar with my thumb (like a back lock) a slight nudge is required for the blade to start to drop. A slight pivot adjustment might be in order but I think it's already improved a little in the short time it's been out of the box. So I'll give it plenty of break in time before attempting any ajustments.

One detailed I noticed that I thought was interesting is that the recessessed liners don't follow the contour of the bottom of the handle like they do on the bottom PM2 or Sage 5. Instead they're contoured in semi-oval pattern away from the bottom shape. The G-10 is plenty thick in this area so the handle is plenty rigid. In case anyone's interested the liners do have small notches cut in them like the PM2s have.

My only complaint is that the end of the clip is bothersome when handling the knife. The end is right where my middle finger goes when I close the knife. I know it's kind of nitpicky but it's the first thing I feel when I pick the knife up. I never thought clip location would be so important to me. The fact that the knife rides higher in the pocket is a non-issue to me but I would'n't mind if they lost the large lanyard tube, or used a tiny one like the Sage 5, just to get the clip a little farther back. This might be the first knife where I've considered removing the clip altogether. I like having a clip so having to do without could be a deal breaker for me. I like the knife overall so I don't think it'll come to that. I'll give it some time to see if I get used to it or not.

If Spyderco decides to make a Para 3 FRN Lightweight, as I believe was mentioned at last year's Amsterdam meeting, and they intend to keep the large lanyard hole in the same location, I would strongly suggest they use the deep carry wire clip like they use on the Sage & Chap series. I think it would be a big improvement in how the knife feels in hand and it would carry lower it in the pocket.

Here's a (bad) pic comparing the Para 3 & Sage 5

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Again, all-in-all I really like the knife. I love the size and I think it was well worth the wait. After handling the Para 3 for the past few hours I picked up a PM2 and it now feels huge! :)
 
I hope Para 3 doesn't overlap Sage 5; they are just too similar, same FFG, same S30V, just different blade shape, and the Sage has peelply Carbon and wire clip... not sure which one to get yet, will have to handle the Para 3 to decide....

you know if you round off the pointy end of the handle on Sage and put the sharp Clip point like Para 3 you'd end up a Para 3 twin. And $15 cheaper


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Sharp Guy, do you mind compare the blade thickness between the 2?


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Blade thickness is the same, .145"


Edit: I wasn't thinking when I answered that. .145 is the thickness of the Paramilitary 2 and the Para 3.
Blade thickness of the Sage 5 is .117, approx.
 
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I hope Para 3 doesn't overlap Sage 5; they are just too similar, same FFG, same S30V, just different blade shape, and the Sage has peelply Carbon and wire clip... not sure which one to get yet, will have to handle the Para 3 to decide....

It would be a tough call for me. My first Sage 5 was a bit of a disappointment. The action was stiff and tweaking the pivot a tiny bit helped a lot but it induced a little blade play. I never could find a happy medium. The detent had issues as well. I sent it in to Spyderco and the knife they replaced it with was much better. It might even be my favorite Sage now. Keep in mind the CF isn't peel-ply and is pretty smooth. Still nice though! I love the wire clips too. The Sage 5 is also a tiny bit thinner than the Para 3 and also not as wide.

About the only thing I like better about the Para 3 is the G-10 is grippier (is that a word?) than the CF on the Sage 5. I'm not even sure it matters for my needs but I prefer it. The straight spine on the P3 could come in handy too but again, for my needs, it will probably never matter.

If the price was the same for both I think I would choose the Sage 5 over the Para 3 simply because of the clip location I mentioned earlier.

you know if you round off the pointy end of the handle on Sage and put the sharp Clip point like Para 3 you'd end up a Para 3 twin.

Not quite a twin but close. Despite being a little shorter overall, the bottom of the handle of the Sage 5 has a little more room. So if you have big hands that might be something to consider.

And $15 cheaper

Not sure where you get this. From the dealers I've checked the Sage 5 sells for $137.97 and the Para 3 is $119.97. So the Para 3 is actually $18 less.

Sharp Guy, do you mind compare the blade thickness between the 2?

Blade thickness is the same, .145"

I just pulled the mic out and I agree with what the Rangers fan said. .145" for both.
 
Until I saw Sharp Guy's pic above, it never clicked in my remaining 3 brain cells how similar the Sage5 is to the Para3. The Sage5 has seen more pocket time than any of my other Spyderco's since I got it. I really like it a lot. Looking forward to the Para-3 coming back in stock so I can get one to see which competes for the most pocket time.
 
Overall pretty happy with the purchase. My model arrived a bit tight through the pivot. If it doesn't loosen up a bit in the next 100 openings I'll adjust it as necessary. Pity because the Sage 5 arrived perfect from the factory and is a pleasure to use. However the Para3 blade is perfect and I really like the G10. For someone with small/medium hands this fits me so much better than the PM2. Spyderco did a remarkable job of scaling the PM2 down and kept the utility/personality of the knife. I'd be happy with a darker pocket clip but that's easily solved. Naturally I brought it to work with me today.


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Expecting mine around the third week of January. I wonder how it compares to my Native 5 which I am carrying today? I was always wanting to try out the compression lock but thought the PM2 was just a bit big for my EDC and the Sage 5 was a bit too similar. Also I really do try to but USA made blades so this suits the bill perfectly.

,,,Mike in Canada
 
LOL, one on the classies for 150... Getting really sick of this.

I agree. It's not even like it's sold out. If it were sold out, then I can SOMEWHAT understand a tiny increase in price, i.e. the going price online and then shipping to the buyer. I mean, it literally got released yesterday
 
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I got mine today, and I really like it. It feels great in the hand, F&F is spot on, perfect centering, perfect detent, and the blade swings freely. No complaints at all.
 
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