Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality
Cons: None
Great version of one of the best EDC knives
I keep this sharp with a diamond emulsion on kangaroo leather. Works great!
Reviews and Ratings for Spyderco C81GPDGY2 Paramilitary 2 Folding Knife 3.47" Maxamet Satin Blade, Dark Gray G10 Handles
(13 reviews) 4.3 out of 5 stars
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Customer Reviews
Gary
SeattleDec 13, 2017
Dimitri
MassachusettsOct 27, 2025
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: None
Classic knife from Spyderco with very hard high speed tool steel
Got it for the steel, the blade and the knife design is excellent for slicing and cutting. Keep it away of salt water though, the blade needs to be properly maintained especially if you are near the ocean to avoid rust.
Cole L
Western ColoradoJul 30, 2020
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
I knew what I got myself into
Complaints I have read haven’t really been valid. This blade is 68-70 HRC so please understand you need the correct tools and skill set to sharpen it. After breaking in it locks up like a vault while feeling frictionless.
Knifeman
NorwayApr 24, 2023
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Type
PM2 Maxamet
Got several in Maxamet. Great steel. Really good edc, use mine for everything. And i mean everything. Holds a edge for a long time, ok to sherpen. But that is not needed often. Just buy one and fint out.
Daniel
Belleview, FLJul 01, 2026
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip
Cons: None
Good knife; I understand the steel's not being made anymore- shame
The edge it holds is for real, doesn't appear to get slick on you like D-2; used properly and not abused the knife should last a long time- mine and somebody else's lifetime
Thomas
Kirkland, WaFeb 06, 2020
Pros: Ease of Opening, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Pocket Clip
Worth the wait
This is my forth PM2 and my second blade in Maxamet. PM2s have fantastic ergos for my hand. Don't mind G10 scales, would prefer CF. Theory of Use is simply being Awesome. If I am doing harder work, I use my Manix2 or Native5 in Cru-Wear. But as pocket candy that will catch the eye of steel snobs and Spyderco fanboys. All PM2s are great at EDC tasks. I do emphasize with the guy who chipped his blade, but I do find Maxamet to be less fragile than S110V. This isn't a knife to beat on or put any lateral pressure on. But for simple slicing tasks, this knife will go on for a seriously long time. The pocket clip, like all PM2 and Para3 clips is just terrible.
Nick
Stockton, caNov 18, 2020
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Handle Material, Pocket Clip
Easy sharpening
I have repeatedly heard that maxamet is difficult to sharpen and though i do understand that not everyone can afford naniwa daimond water stones, the combination is simply effortless to attaining the sharpest edge you will ever experience in your life. Myself, i have been fortunate enough to purchase 2 stones, 800 and 3000, and it took some time to do so but why invest in something half way? A dull maxamet blade is no better than a dull D2 blade or that of any other steel. Waiting to send it out to be sharpened is not a realistic option for me either. And though this steel holds a great edge, i often find myself bringing it back to hairsplitting just for fun. If you're going to do something, do it right. If you want the best, you need to consider investing in whatever it is that brings it to its full potential.
Earth Man
IDOct 14, 2022
Pros: Blade Material
Cons: None
Resharpening
Maxamet is a super steel being such? No problem sharpening. it will hold an edge or at least a couple years with normal use and then just send it to Spyderco and have them resharpen it problem solved!
Ambosher
MassachusettsApr 24, 2023
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Type
Started my Spyderco addicition
This knife is amazing. If you don't want to, you basically never have to sharpen it since Maxamet steel has incredible edge retention. I think it's a 1 inch section can cut 1,000 pieces of cardboard before any sort of maintenance is needed? And I can confirm that. I owned the knife for months, but only decided to sharpen it in January 2023 since I wanted to see how hard it would be. Answer, very, very hard. Only do this if you have diamond plates and have sharpened other high speed tool steels ot other steels with a very high HRC. I ended up sharpening it at 17* per side at 600 grit since it seems to take a rather nice toothy edge, but I believe a polished edge would also be fine. I do have 2 issue with it. First, since it is maxamet it can't really be hard used so this is purely EDC. Second, the lock release is right hand only. Coming from axis/bar lock knives, this is very annoying for me since sometimes I like using a Leatherman in my right hand and a knife in my left.
Michael M
NYJul 03, 2025
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: Sheath
Grey doesn't match
The G10 handle color isn't dark grey it is more of a light grey, different than the photo. My only issue with the purchase.
Lb
ArizonaNov 14, 2025
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type
Cool knife, but maybe not for everyone
The knife itself is very nice. It fits my glove size large hand perfectly and is comfy just about any way I hold it. The square edges give it a very solid feel and the g10 has good traction without being rough. The build quality of the pivot is excellent too. A perfect fit where the screws torque down on the center pivot itself and not the blade, that is what allows this washer knife to swing open like a bearing knife. What spoils it for me is the lock, and that it doesn't have more screws holding it together. Closing the knife is awkward in the left hand. In the right hand it's ok but you must be careful of how deeply you jam your finger into the lock area or the tip of your finger can touch the choil area of the blade and prevent it from closing all the way. The lock also doesn't hold the blade closed well, that makes this knife difficult to properly flick closed as the blade really wants to bounce open. Also this knife (and the Military 2) should have at least one more screw and spacer holding it together. The blade stock is thicker than the Endura/Endela but the flexy handle isn't very "hard use". And don't try to take out the lanyard hole spacer, if it's fitment gets loose then it will allow even more handle flex. Regarding the blade. This Maxamet is maybe too brittle for some people. I chipped some very tiny pieces of the edge off mine when I was shaving down some thin nylon on a plastic part I was repairing. I'm not saying that's a flaw, the brittleness is what you get with the extreme hardness. It's a little like trying to use a carbide drill bit in a handheld drill, the odds of the human user not bracing the tool properly and chipping the bit are high. Overall, pretty cool knife. Excellent quality. If I bought again it would be in a tougher steel, but that's just me.
Znranger
DenverDec 24, 2017
Pros: Blade Material
Cons: Handle Material, Pocket Clip
Get something else
The blade is hard really hard. I chipped off a little of the point the first time I used it. The handle material is feels like cheap plastic. I mean the steel is sharp but I’m afraid I’ll snap it in half.
Robert
PAMay 07, 2020
Pros: None
Cons: None
disappointing
My first PM2 after all the hype. I loved it at first until I realized that if the pivot was loose enough to open and close with one hand, there was blade play. Too late to return it since I have used it a little. The whole point of the PM2 is that it's a working knife but I won't be able use this knife. Waste of what is probably some great steel. I don't have the time or money to deal with Spyderco's "warranty".
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Close-up of hand holding knife, opening or unsheathing knife, and then closing or sheathing knife.