Spyderco Paramilitary 2 Review

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 has been a best-seller for well over a decade, and in that time, its hype has only grown. I’ve always been a Spyderco fan, but I must confess that the annoying teenage wannabe hipster inside me has always told me the Para 2 was too mainstream, so until now, I’d never carried one. I’ve even owned a couple through trades, but always traded them away quickly thereafter in the name of "individuality" or whatever. But that all changes now! In my ongoing effort to prove that I didn’t peak in high school, I drank the Kool-Aid and carried a PM2 for a while. This is my review! 

In This Article

1. Knife Overview 
   • Specs 
   • Pros & Cons 
   • Blade HQ Score: 85/100 
2. Knife Character 
   • Cool Factor 
   • Origin Story 
3. Price & Quality 
   • Affordability 
   • Fit & Finish 
   • Ease of Operation 
4. Blade & Handle 
   • Blade Steel 
   • Blade Shape 
   • Handle Ergonomics 
   • Handle Material 
   • Carry 
5. Compare & Contrast 
6. Conclusion 
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Knife Overview 

Specs

• Price:  
• Overall Length: 8.25" 
• Blade Length: 3.44" 
• Blade Material: CPM S45VN (in this case) 
• Handle Material: G-10 (in this case) 
• Weight: 3.75 oz. 

Blade HQ Score: 85/100 

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is awesome, and may be the best knife for you. Its quality construction and funcitonal design make it an easy choice for all kinds of tasks, and it comes in enough varieties to satisfy any taste. There are a few knives I’d consider running up against it when shopping, but it might just beat them out! 

Knife Character 

Cool Factor: 8/10 

I definitely felt like one of the "cool kids" while carrying the PM2. Its big round hole opener would proudly broadcast to the world that I was carrying a Spyderco, and it was great. But the problem with the cool kids and the things they do is that they make up the zeitgeist. Everyone thinks the PM2 is cool, and they’re not wrong, but that has made it extremely common. On more than one occasion, someone around the office would ask what I was carrying, I’d show them, and then they’d say "Oh, a Para 2. Cool." And then they change the subject.  

It’s no different from the Toyota 4Runner, the Glock 19, or the iPhone. They’re still cool, but they’re not unique or novel anymore now that they’re so mainstream. For that, the Paramilitary 2 scores an 8 on cool factor. 

Origin Story: 10/10 

The origin story of the Para 2 isn’t told explicitly, but if you read between the lines, it reveals itself. And it’s one of the funniest knife stories I’ve ever heard. 

This much we know to be fact: Once upon a time, Sal Glesser, the founder of Spyderco, was asked he would give his son if he were sending him off to war. He didn’t have a good answer, so he made the Spyderco Military. It was a smash hit, so much so that it’s still in production today almost three decades later. A few years later, as Eric Glesser, Sal’s son, came into his own at Spyderco, and together they designed the Paramilitary, featuring the new Compression Lock. 

Now let’s read between the lines. I can imagine a young Eric Glesser, having been raised in the knife industry and just graduated from Industrial Design school, taking a look at the Military. Eric is a knifemaking genius, and one of his first designs, the Manix, is a best-seller to this day. I can almost hear him say "Dad, I love this knife, but I have some notes…" And then the two of them went to the drawing board and made it perfect for Eric’s standards, should he ever hypothetically go to war.  

Or maybe they just wanted to make a knife together. Who knows? Either way, the Paramilitary was born, and later updated through Spyderco’s constant quality improvement to the Paramilitary 2, which proudly features both Sal and Eric’s maker’s marks. 

Price & Quality 

Affordability: 4/10 

The base Paramilitary 2 retails for $198.75 at the time of writing, and that price goes up depending on steel, finish, and handle. I’m not going to pretend that’s not a lot of money, even compared to other USA-made knives. I would argue that you’d be hard pressed to find a USA-made knife that is both better and cheaper than the PM2, but this seciton is about affordability, and I will hold the knife accountable for its price. 4/10! 

Fit & Finish: 9/10 

The knife has beautifully nested liners, flat-topped screws, a flawless handle texture, etc. It has all the hallmarks of a well-made knife. That said, I had three tiny, miniscule nitpicks about it: The centering is a hair off to the lock side, there’s a teensy bit of blade play, and the pocket clip doesn’t sit flush at the back, which made it steal a thread from my jeans and refuse to let it go. Seriously, these are non-issues. None of them bothered me, but I did notice each of them, so I knocked a point off. 

Ease of Operation: 9/10 

Once you get the hang of it, the PM2 is easy to use. The round hole opener is the best blade opener (in my opinion). Where it gets a bit tricky is the lock. It’s simple and intuitive, but the compression lock takes some practice to use one-handed. And if you’re a lefty, just forget it. Trying to depress that lock with your thumb leaves you hanging on to the knife with only a tiny pinch, which is precarious at best. But if you’re a righty and give it some effort, you’ll be just fine! 

Also, for all you lefties, the base PM2 with the satin S45VN blade and black G-10 handle is available in a left-handed version.  

Blade & Handle 

Blade Steel: 10/10 

This is, in my opinion, the biggest strength of not only the Paramilitary 2, but Spyderco as a brand. Most companies do the logical thing and select materials that give good performance to the end user but are also economical to work, but not Spyderco. They couldn’t care less about how hard a blade steel is to work with, instead putting all their effort into providing the best end product possible. Because of that, you can get the PM2 in just about any premium blade steel you like. You want something balanced? My version in CPM S45VN is great. Something much tougher? Grab one in CRU-WEAR! Or do you want maximum edge retention? Try Maxamet! Whatever your perfect knife steel is, it probably exists on a PM2, making the easiest 10/10 in blade steel I’ve ever given. 

If you want to learn more about blade steel, check out our Knife Steel Guide!

Blade Shape: 9/10 

I absolutely love the blade shape on the PM2. It’s attractive to look at, but it also cuts like a dream. It has a Distal Taper, meaning it doesn’t just taper from spine to edge, but also from handle to tip. This means you have a nice robust spine near the handle for when you’re carving wood or cutting zip ties, and also a needle-like tip for when you’re piercing tape or skewering baddies. I will say that tip is noticeably thinner than most knives I usually carry, and I was often inclined to baby it a little, and for that I knocked off a point. But otherwise, top marks! 

Handle Ergonomics: 7/10 

The outline of the handle fits the hand nicely in two key grip positions – in the meat of the handle, and chocked up in the choil. In both positions you have a secure grip on the knife and it’s easy to use. My issue with the handle lies in its flat scales and hard corners. If you’re really bearing down on the knife, like you might when carving wood or breaking down packaging, those corners dig into your hand, and it’s no fun. The flat scales do make it much easier to carry in your pocket everyday, which is one reason so many people love the PM2, but it’s not the best fit for the human hand. For that, I give it a 7/10, but expect it to make up some points in the Carry section. 

Handle Material: 9/10 

Most Paramilitary 2 models come with a peel-ply G-10 handle, meaning the G-10 came from the factory with a texture protected by a film, which was peeled to reveal the texture after manufacturing. G-10 is super light, comes in who knows how many colors, and is impervious to the elements. I once asked Eric Glesser about G-10, and he told me "In a million years, after the nuclear war is over and the last of the cockroaches have died out, all that will remain will be G-10 handle scales." 

But for all it’s strengths, there was one tiny thing about the PM2’s G-10 that bothered me. The texture on the handle is just course enough that once it got dirty, it was really hard to clean. You have to dig into the lines to really clean it out, and don’t be surprised if you can’t do it fully. For that, I knocked off a point. 

Carry: 10/10 

The combination of the flat scales and four-position pocket clip makes the PM2 a dream to carry. Any way you want to pocket it, it’s easy and secure. The pocket clip is mounted low enough so that the top of the knife peeks out of your pocket, making it easy to grab and get out of your pocket. Seriously, I have no notes. Carrying the PM2 is a dream. 

Compare & Contrast 

If you’re considering buying a PM2, my advice is to at least consider the knives I mention below. The Paramilitary 2 may still be the knife you’re looking for, but you should know about these alternatives. 

First is the Spyderco Para 3, which is effectively a mini Para 2. I love it because it’s not just a shrunk-down version of the PM2, but a thoughtfully reduced version with all the same ergonomics and strength of the bigger knife. It doesn’t have that much less sharpened edge, but its smaller size fits more nicely in the pocket, which I appreciate. It’s certainly a more EDC-friendly option. 

Second is the Spyderco Shaman. It’s about the same length as the PM2, but has thicker and more rounded scales, as well as a thicker blade with a more robust tip. It’s a bit more burdensome in the pocket, but its more comfortable for hard work. 

Third is the Benchmade Griptilian. Not only is it a fair bit cheaper, but it comes in a few additional blade styles and uses a truly ambidextrous lock. Another thing worth mentioning is that the sheepsfoot Griptilian is the only non-Spyderco production knife at Blade HQ to feature the round hole opener, which is a closely guarded Spyderco trademark. 

And last is the Boker TDK/EDK. These knives look kind of like a mashup of the Griptilian and the Paramilitary 2, except they use MagnaCut blades and are significantly cheaper. They’re a great value option, and use much the same design language as the PM2. The TDK in specific has a tanto blade, so if you’re one of the many waiting on restocks of the Paramilitary 2 Tanto, the TDK might hold you over. 

Conclusion 

The Paramilitary 2 really is a great knife. There’s a lot of good reasons it’s as popular today as it was a decade ago. Spyderco has a great reputation in the knife world, and the PM2 shows how hard they’re willing to work to keep it. It’s been out long enough that both Spyderco and other brands have made knives to compete with it, and they’re worth considering, but I feel safe in saying that no knife on earth is objectively better than the Paramilitary 2. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Paramilitary 2 worth it? 

The Paramilitary 2 is a great knife, but it is pricey. If you’re a discerning knife shopper who wants the benefits of a distal taper and the added security of the compression lock, then yes, the Paramilitary 2 is worth it. But if you’re just looking for something to open the odd box here and there, there are certainly more economical options. 

How to spot a fake Spyderco Paramilitary 2? 

There are a lot of fake Paramilitary 2’s out there, and there is no one-size-fits-all way to identify them. But I do have a few things to look out for: 

• Engraving fonts and logos that don’t match genuine knives.
  • You can find high-resolution images of them at Blade HQ.com for comparison.
• The extended piece at the base of the edge.
  • Many counterfeits don’t make it long enough. 
• Stamped liners.
  • You should see tiny scratch marks on the edges of the liners where the liners were milled. If the edges look smooth and ever-so-slightly rounded, that means they were stamped and are therefore fake.
• Jimping counts.
  • Look at the jimping on the spine. It should have 14 notches cut into the blade. Any more or less, you know it’s a fake.  
• Screw heads.
  • A real PM2 has flat screw heads for the pivot and body screws, and rounded screw heads for the pocket clip. 
• Handle/steel combos that were never made.
  • There are a ton of variations of the Spyderco PM2, and you can see them all on the SpydieWiki page. If your PM2 isn’t one of them, it’s a fake. 
• Suspect price.
  • Real PM2’s are premium knives made by expert knifemakers with the best available materials. That will NEVER be cheap. If you think the price is too good to be true, it is. 
• You got it from a dealer of fakes and/or cheap dropshippped products.
  • Spyderco keeps a pretty tight list of authorized dealers and NEVER supplies companies like Temu, Wish.com, etc. If you’re in the market for a Spyderco, just go to Blade HQ. We’re a proud authorized Spyderco dealer, and every Spyderco you get from us is 100% genuine. 

How to clean a Paramilitary 2? 

You can clean the Paramilitary 2 with soap and water like any other knife, just make sure you put a drop of knife oil in the pivot afterward. If your knife needs deep cleaning, it’s probably best to send it in to Spyderco for warranty service. This gurantees your knife will be taken care of by someone who knows what they’re doing and that you’ll get your knife back as good as new! 

Where is the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 made? 

The Paramilitary 2 is made in Golden, Colorado in the Spyderco factory. 

Who designed the Paramilitary 2? 

Spyderco founder Sal Glesser and his son Eric Glesser collaborated on the design of the Paramilitary 2.