Spyderco Military Review

The Spyderco Military was introduced in 1996, to this day it has remained a very popular (although slightly controversial) model. The Military was Sal Glesser’s response to the question “If your son was going into military service, what knife would you give him? It seems like the Spyderco Military is a love it or hate it knife, people seem to either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it.

Those who love the Military, commonly nicknamed by fans the “Millie”, tend to be fanatics. I could go as far to call myself a fanatic seeing as I currently own four different Militarys…

But I didn’t always count the Military as my favorite knife when I first held it I dismissed it as soon as I felt it in my hand. As I grew as a knife enthusiast my opinion changed and I grew to love this mammoth of a knife. I hope to maybe change the minds of the naysayers and open them up to what I believe to be an excellent knife.

We all have things that draw us to certain knives, certain features or characteristics. Some designs just speak to us, and some knives just are hard passes, and sometimes we just can’t explain why we like a certain knife.

Sometimes even different versions of a knife will speak to me more than others, Spyderco is famous for getting us to buy the same knife over and over again for they seem to always be releasing our favorite knife in new steels and different handles and then to top it all off they make a limited number and then they never make that sprint run again. Now some people might think it’s crazy to own multiples of the same knife, and maybe they’re right but that doesn’t bother me too much.

For me all the different versions each have their own strengths and weakness, they each have their own styles and personalities. I choose my knife for the day like most people choose their outfit, it’s not so much just a knife but an accessory. It is part of who I am, and I try to always have a knife on my person.

The Spyderco Military is often, in my opinion, one of Spyderco’s most dismissed models. It might be the size or the fact it uses a liner lock, but mostly the main factor people don’t like the Spyderco Military is the fact it is tip-down carry only.

When I tried out a Military, I like many others just dismissed it in favor of the Paramilitary 2 which at that time was my first and only Spyderco. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want the Military when you could just get a Paramilitary 2, it just seemed superior in every way between the four-position pocket clip, compression lock, size, and handle to blade ratio (which is an area Spyderco’s Military struggles greatly).

All this being said the Spyderco Military is now one of my all-time favorite knives and I hope to maybe open the eyes of others too how nice this knife is and help them see past the unwarranted Internet hate for this knife.

When I first got my hands on the Spyderco Military it was not a knife for me. I just did not like it at all. It was just the beginning of my journey into knives and I was extremely green.

All I knew about knives I had learned on the internet and we all know how well that usually works out. I had the firm belief that tip-down carry was garbage, liner locks didn’t work for crap, the knife had to be feather-light, and that any steel less than CPM S30V was awful.

All cringeworthy beliefs looking back after all I’ve learned over the years. So, unfortunately, I went into looking at the Military with all my so-called beliefs putting the knife at a massive disadvantage. T

he first time I held it I found it large and ungainly, with a blade to handle ratio that is just abysmal (there is much more handle than actually necessary for the blade length, approximately a half an inch or more in my opinion).

At this time I believed that tip up was the only way to carry and that carrying tip down was just plain stupid. 

Over time it grew on me

But, as I progressed and learned more about knives my tastes and requirements for what I looked for in knives began to change. I started to carry a larger manual folder. I now normally will carry knives between 3.5 inches and 4.0 inches.

So the fact that the Military is so large became a non-issue for me. The whole reason I decided to give one a try was that I had a Para 3 and a Paramilitary 2 and I felt I needed at least one Military to complete my collection. 

I ended up getting a Knifeworks Exclusive Military in titanium/carbon fiber with S90V steel. I absolutely fell in love with this knife, the handle that once felt ungainly in my hand all of a sudden felt like it fit like a glove. Seeing as I spend a lot of time working in Mechanixs gloves I really enjoy the large handle I don’t feel like my hands hanging off the end of the knife or creeping up towards the edge.

The large handle paired with the thumb ramp created by the spydie hole allows for a very secure grip at a very natural wrist angle. People often complain about the liner locks that Spyderco uses on the Military. They ask why couldn’t they put a compression lock on it as they did on the Paramilitary 2 and the Para 3.

I was of the same opinion for a long time, to be honest. But as I began to use the liner lock I found it to be much easier to operate with gloves on than the compression lock.

The Spyderco Military originated in ATS-34 steel and later transitioned to CPM 440V in the late ’90s. It wasn’t until 2004 that Spyderco began outfitting their standard model Militaries in the widely popular CPM S30V, which in my opinion is excellent steel.

Today the Military comes in a wide variety of options when it comes to steels, handle materials, and handle colors. This is a big reason I like Spyderco so much, they offer so many choices so people can find a model that fits their tastes and personality.

It varies in price from around $180-$220 depending on the model, but it is possible to find this nice in the $120 region on the secondary market. So this knife is a little bit more of an investment that a lot of other knives.

Is it a good everyday carry?

In my mind, this knife is less of an everyday carry (EDC) knife and more of a work/tactical knife. That being said I still EDC this knife just because I really like it. Some of the features on this knife tends to make EDC a little more difficult, firstly this knife is tip-down carry only and this is a major deal-breaker for some but for me, not an issue.

The fact that this knife is not really able to support a deep carry pocket clip is kind of an issue for me. The stock clip that comes on the Military causes roughly ¾” to stick up out of your pocket. Now when I’m working or in uniform, this isn’t an issue I am not around people who would freak out because I have a knife.

But sometimes I’m in places that people frown on carrying a knife and at these times I usually select a knife that is a little more concealed. But, the fact that a good bit of the knife sticks up out of your make it easy to draw it from your pocket (especially when wearing work gloves!).

I probably will get roasted for saying this but I have actually come to like the tip down carry on the Spyderco Military. I’m not saying I’m planning on switching all of my knives, I’m just saying I like it on the Military.

The spyderco military is a beast

With the Military being so long (9.5 inches total length and 5 inches closed length) I believe that it would be almost more difficult to draw the Military from pocket if it were tip-up. You would almost have to pull the knife from your pocket, scoot your hand down the handle to the Spydie hole, and then deploy the blade.

But with the tip down carry all I have to do is stick your hand in pocket (normally I’ll index on the spydie hole with my thumb or my middle finger) and I’ll pull the knife out and flip it handle up into my hand (all while keeping my finger on the spydie hole) then deploy the blade.

On top of that you could always use the “Spydie Flick” to open the knife, all you have to do is grab the knife from your pocket by the oversized 14mm spydie hole and flick your wrist and the knife will open.

I really don’t see why people lose their minds over tip-down carry. Probably because they spend all day on the internet screaming about knives rather than actually using them… 

Is it the perfect knife for soldiers?

Though the military is designed for heavy use with US armed forces members in mind, Spyderco has provided us with a knife that still has the ability to slice, cut, and especially pierce (they’ve actually given us a cutting tool not just a pry bar with a sharpened edge).

For me, some of these “sharpened pry bars” have their place as a beater but the Spyderco Military is more of a user/worker knife and less of a beater/abuser. That being said I am not afraid of asking my Militarties to step up to the toughest of tasks.

The leaf-shaped blade, like most things it has its pros and cons. It makes for an excellent slicer and it excels in piercing tasks. It is a knife, these tasks are what knives were designed for.

That piercing tip and forward choil allow for more fine detail work. While I was deployed I was actually using my Cruwear sprint run to cutting zip ties and heat shrink off of wiring harnesses on ground equipment trying to trace damaged wires.

This is a pretty delicate task if you’ve ever cut zip ties you’ve probably realized it’s a pretty demanding task for a knife (having a very sharp knife helps but you still need to put a little effort into cutting them). Having that forward choil definitely helps make this large blade feel a little more manageable when trying to cut off a crap ton of zip ties off without actually cutting the wire bundles.

The fine tip was also very useful when cutting away heavy packaging that comes on a lot of calibrated parts without damaging the part underneath the packaging.

Though on the negative side the tip is a little more delicate than other blade shapes, though you really can’t fault the knife for this, it is meant for cutting not prying… although the full flat ground leaf-shaped blade is not the most heavy-duty design it absolutely excels when it comes to piercing, cutting, and slicing.

You will really appreciate this if you ever try to cut up a Tri-wall container, which has got to be the thickest cardboard on the planet!  

Though I had a few knives with me on my deployment it seemed like I could just not keep the Spyderco Military out of my pocket. In the Army, I am an aviation mechanic so I spend my days working on both aircraft and sometimes some ground support equipment.

I don’t really need a tactical or fighting knife, what I need is a work knife and the Military fits this need perfectly for me. I need a knife that can handle both hard and delicate work. Since Spyderco loves coming out with the same knife in multiple different steels and handles variations it’s possible to find the perfect Military for you.

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