Pros: Blade Material, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality
Cons: None
Sturdy, stolid and shiny.
I've had a Spyderco Para Military 2 (PM2) for a long time, so OF COURSE I will compare this new knife to my PM2. This Spyderco Para 3 (P3) is a very good knife -- a 4 out of 5 -- but it doesn't quite measure up to my PM2 -- a 5 out of 5. However, this P3 is a different knife than my PM2, so maybe comparing this P3 to my PM2 is unfair since my choice of blade steels is what limited me to Micarta scales instead of G-10, a big difference. ANYWAY, to begin, I wanted to buy a knife with some very specific attributes: 1. I wanted a folding knife which was in stock AND NOT made in China or Russia. 2. One-hand opening and closing with my fingers out of the way was a must, requiring a blade lock such as a compression lock, button lock, a crossbar lock by any other name, etc. 3. For legal reasons I wanted a knife with a blade length of 3 inches or less with manual opening, ie NO switchblades, butterfly knives, dagger blades, etc. 4. I was specifically looking for a TOUGH stainless steel, say 14C28N, 420HC, AEB-L, 3V or CRU-WEAR. I was looking for a tough knife to be a companion to my Spyderco Sage 5 with it's maximally slicy Rex 121 but very not-tough steel blade. I chose those steels using the charts under KNIFE STEEL RATINGS from KnifeSteelNerds.com. (My usual blade steel choices are M390, MagnaCut, etc.) I don't care about pocket clips at all since I immediately remove them from every knife I buy. I will still remove the pocket clip even if removing the pocket clip leaves a big, ugly hole in the scales. (Eat dirt, MKM Viper!) After I put all those parameters into KnifeCenter.com's selection criteria, the choice came down to exactly one knife, the "Spyderco Para 3 Compression Lock Folding Knife 2.95 [inch] CPM-CruWear Satin Plain Blade, Brown Canvas Micarta Handles" (C223MPCW). CRU-WEAR is not exactly stainless steel, but neither will it turn into a pile of rusty shards at the first sign of moisture. So I bought that knife. That P3 is a stout knife which feels, and is, thicker and shorter in hand than my PM2. It's thicker because the Micarta scales do not have stainless steel liners EMBEDDED in them like the liners inlaid into the G-10 scales of my PM2. Instead, the steel liners in the P3 are behind every square millimeter of the Micarta, and so are visible all around the knife. Thus no matter how I orient this P3 there is light reflecting off of stainless steel. It's a very shiny knife in spite of the Micarta. (Other versions of the P3 with G-10 scales would be more like my PM2, but I could only get Micarta with my steel choices.) The P3 handle is JUST long enough for a full, four-finger grip with my largish hands. The P3 has the "spidy hole" and finger choil just like my PM2. The hole works acceptably for getting the blade out, but the compression lock does that more easily. What I REALLY like is the jimping ramp behind the hole paired with the substantial finger choil which allows me to choke up on the knife for detail work and/or to exert more force on the blade. As with my PM2, there is no wiggle in the blade, attesting to Spyderco's precise machining. There is no wiggle between my hand and the P3 either. The Micarta scales are nicely textured. That, and an ergonomic handle shape much like the PM2, tho shorter, lead to a very good grip on the P3, even better than the grip I can get on my PM2. Surprise! When you get right down to it, the only thing I have against my Para 3 is that it's not exactly like a shorter version of my PM2. It's ... just ... different -- NOT in any way inferior -- and even superior in grip -- but it's just different in my hand. I wish I could rate it 4½ out of 5, but this survey does not give us such an option.
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