The Evolution of the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 (and Why It’s So Popular)

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 wasn’t just born out of pure inspiration. It stands behind a long series of revisions and refinements that have yielded its current form and which are cumulatively responsible for the wide popularity it enjoys today. 

That being the case, what we know and love now as the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 actually started way back in 1996 as the Spyderco Military. Here’s what you should know - if you don’t yet. 

The Spyderco Military 

Developed in 1996 with the intention of meeting the needs of military and law enforcement personnel for a brusque knife that could make ends meet in the line of duty, the Spyderco Military was a large, imposing folding knife. 

The Spyderco Military sported a large, flat-ground blade that was roughly 4 inches long. It also sported a robust liner lock mechanism along with Spyderco’s trademark “Single Round Hole” today more popularly known as a “Spyderhole” or “Spydiehole” which made the knife easy to deploy, even when wearing gloves, and which was not partial to either right or left-handed users. 

The Spyderco Military was immediately popular and was made in a variety of configurations, but it wasn’t long before Spyderco began to refine the design.

The Spyderco Paramilitary

After the release of the Spyderco Military, Spyderco started making adjustments to the design that would eventually yield the Spyderco Paramilitary. 

Notably, the side of the knife was shrunk down a bit; the first Paramilitary was 17% smaller than the original model. It still sported the same basic profile as its forebear, however. 

The Paramilitary was also made with another Spyderco original: the Compression Lock, which functions like a liner lock at the top of the blade, but which is in fact much, much stronger than a liner lock, and which is actually one of the strongest folding knife locks on the market today.

The Spyderco Paramilitary also featured an improved detent that helped prevent the knife from opening in a pocket, improving its safety when carried. 

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 

Continuing Spyderco’s tradition of adhering to CQI, or “Continuous Quality Improvement” the company took the Paramilitary and made it better, in the Spyderco Paramilitary 2. This refined version of the original kept most of the same basic features but improved upon a few of them. 

Notably, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 sported an improved ball-bearing lock detent, skeletonized liners that were lighter than the partial nested liners of the original, and countersunk fasteners on the scales that made both sides of the knife perfectly flat. The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 also sported a 4-position pocket clip that expanded versatility by enabling users to carry the knife in several other ways, rather than just tip down. 

The original Spyderco Paramilitary 2 with either a satin or black DLC CPM-S30V blade and either black or camo G10 scales, but, like other popular Spyderco knives, it wasn’t long before the Paramilitary 2 would be offered by Spyderco in a much wider range of configurations. 

Shop Spyderco Knives at River’s Edge Cutlery 

While this exposition is brief, it does cover some of the refinements that Spyderco made to its original Military model and then to the Paramilitary and Paramilitary 2 that followed it. If you want to get up close and personal with some of these or other Spyderco knives, check out River’s Edge Cutlery. They carry a wide variety of Spyderco models in an equally wide range of variants. Visit their website and if you have any questions about anything they sell, get in touch with them directly for assistance.

For more information about Pro-Tech Knives and Spyderco Knives Please visit: River's Edge Cutlery.