why the demand for the Cruwear PM-2?

B

bdmicarta

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Feb 16, 2012
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Why is the market crazy for this knife? There is a used one on the exchange for $190 when dealers sell them for less than that. I owned one of the earlier G10 versions of the Cruwear PM-2 and it was hard to sell in new in box condition. I think Cruwear is a good steel for the blade geometry of the PM-2 but I don't like the rough micarta scales, I would much prefer polished linen micarta.
 
Not sure. I am a fan of the PM2 and have too many. You can get Micarta aftermarket scales and cruwear is not that special, and they are a regular model, not a sprint. I tried to get one a few times, but they go faster than GECs latest and greatest.
 
Cruwear and micarta are both on their own popular right now, and people freak out and overpay when anything isn't always available, especially when first released. The ad20.5 is another example of the latter, a knife that would be something like $80 if Cold Steel put it out, selling new for $150, and sold on the exchange for over $200 for awhile.

$190 is basically the dealer price now with the January price bump, so it's not an incredibly egregious listing though.
 
What sparked my interest in the knife was the full liners. It looks good with full liners. I wouldn’t mind see the change over to all PM2 models.

With that said, the current standard offfering is great as is. I’m not buying a cruwear model, s30v and s45vn is just fine for me with nested liners.
 
Danke42 said:
Cruwear is a a great balanced steel and the micarta scales being used have a uncommon grippy feel compared to even G-10.

It's a really well balanced user combo when combined with a user knife like a PM2 it's pretty hard to beat.
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I agree on the qualities of Cruwear and I think it is a good mix of properties for the average user of something like a PM2 or Military with relatively thin tips. However the edgeholding is not in the upper leagues and steels with upper league edgeholding are the ones that people typically want to jump on. As I recall the edgeholding of Cruwear is similar to D2. Spyderco has released a number of mules with other steels in the D2 ballpark and just the mention of D2 usually kills them.
I've owned 3 different models in Cruwear- PM2, Manix 2 and Military. I sold the PM2 and Manix 2 because I have so many other models of each that I didn't use the Cruwear.
So I agree that people in the know would appreciate Cruwear, but the scammers that buy up the limited releases are usually going for the steel with the "newest and greatest" hype. And like I said if you hunt around you can find new versions of the Crucarta in stock for less than the used one on the exchange.
 
Cruwear is a great steel, and I don't mind micarta, but the flush liners are a step backwards. The flimsy thin section of scale on the show side completely killed my interest in this model.
 
Really like the CruWear. The small change to the lockbar tab is nice, more so than I than expected. A lot of people seem to love the micarta scales, but to be honest I thoroughly prefer the G10.
 
My experience with CruWear is that it's tougher than some of the other tool steels and holds a decent edge. For me, it has better lateral stress toughness than REX 45 or Maxamet.
The micarta covers are just something different other than G10, IMO
 
The knives cost $188 from dealers (I was fortunate to be checking email at the right time). $190 is actually loosing money after shipping and fees unless someone bought the knife with dealer discount points.

CPM-CRUWEAR is a steel that checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people because of the toughness properties it offers. It's a semi-stainless tool steel, which allures a lot of people. Micarta is different, and Spyderco's canvas micarta ain't bad. They are also limited and won't ever be produced again, so they're highly collectible. EDIT: this was an incorrect assumption. They are regular production run.

I happen to dabble in knife modding, and I agree that micarta benefits from a polish. I'll be buffing/polishing mine, and it will be better for it ;) easy enough to do if you've got the stones to modify a ~$200 production knife.

I know G-10 isn't plastic, but I care for it about as much as I care for plastic on a knife handle. The full liners are also a noticeable difference. They make the knife available for the "skinny mod" that I've seen people do to Para 3s and the Shaman platform, and that's something I'm seriously considering, too, as the palm swell of the Para 2 is one of only two small gripes I have about that knife.
 
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I have and love the "Crucarta" PM2, as well as the black G-10 S45VN and the REX45 copper beast of a PM2 that weighs half as much as my Espada XL. I do really like it, and while I have not had a chance to use it as much as I want to yet, the steel seems like what I will be using most down the road.

My one gripe? Micarta doesn't fit into ANY definition of grippy that I have, not that Micarta! It is specifically nearly slippery in my eyes, it's as grippy as smooth G-10. I intend to have some beautiful carved wooden scales made for a PM2, designed by my girlfriend and made by one of my favorites. Figuring out which scales I want to "retire" is hard, but it may just have to be Micarta.

The G-10 on my PM2 is grippy, and if anyone has a Yojumbo, go feel the scales on that compared to your PM2, am I crazy or is that way grippier than the average G-10?
 
The micarta on my PM2 feels like raw denim/soft and definitely feels grippier than wet. Dry it's equal to G-10.

I have other micarta handled knives but none feel like this.
 
I have two Para 2s with after market micarta scales (both RGT) and my most used one has developed a warp, like a flex has set, between the bottom grip screw and the lanyard tube. I think the full liners are a huge improvement for the micarta scales. CQI for a feature Spyderco hasn't even done before. Also Cruwear is an amazingly balanced pocket knife steel IMO.
 
traumkommode said:
Well I'll be! So it is. That's pleasing news.
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I would say they need to make other knives, like the Shaman, regular production with cruwear and micarta. So many people go nuts over the combination! I'm good with my Z Wear/micarta Shaman though, so I'm good! Would be nice to be able to replace it if need be though.
 
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