Spyderco Military D2 Foliage Green
This Spydero Millitary was one of the better examples that I had ever handled, with fantastic lockup and a perfectly centered and smooth opening blade. This example also did not have the blade rubbing against the G-10 handles that makes that rubbing sound that I dislike so much.
This D2 Foliage Military is very much like it’s little sibling, the Paramilitary, but with two major differences: The size, and the Lock. The Military uses a standard liner lock, while the Paramilitary uses a Compression Lock. The Military also measures an imposing 4″ in blade length, making it large enough for almost any cutting task.
The beautiful full flat grind gives the knife a lot of appeal, and until recently when the Spyderco Police was changed to a flat grind, the Military was the best choice for a large fully flat ground folder from Spyderco. Now the best choice is really a matter of whether you prefer a lockback or a liner lock.
This D2 Foliage Green military is a sprint run using the desirable D2 steel, which cuts a bit more aggressively, and has a slightly coarser grain structure than the S30V that is typically used. Both are excellent steels, and hold a very good edge.
The D2 used on the Foliage Green Military is CPM-D2, which is a particle metallurgy D2 that has a finer and more consistence grain structure than regular D2 allowing it to take a finer edge and cut better. The steel is semi-stainless as well, making it very corrosion resistance for a tool steel.
Aside from the D2 steel and Green G-10, the knife is the same as the standard Military model. One of the things that bothers me about the Military model is the lack of liners. It makes the knife light, but makes the knife feel more flimsy in my hands.. and more susceptible to torque lock failure. Having said that, the knife does seem quite reliable and my attempts and forcing the lock to fail have not been successful.
Overall, I have found that the more recent Militarys that I have played with and owned to be better built than previous generations of Military. Whether this is because Spyderco has continued to revise their designs or because the production equipment is simply better I do not know, but it is better than it used to be as far as build quality. Still have not made the pocket clip reversible though.
The Military is a fantastic knife at the price point – long 4″ blade, premium steel, and very slim profile and lightweight build making it unnoticeable in your pocket. The perfect EDC.. well, not perfect, but not bad!
Specs:
Steel: CPM-D2
Blade Length: 4″
Overall Lenght: 9 1/2″
Handle Material: Foliage Green G-10
August 20th, 2009 at 10:30 am
i’ve had this knife for a while now, i had always wanted a military, and the green g-10 just called to me. i was not disappointed! the d-2 blade has proven itself so far, i’ve not really abused it, but its still going. this knife has dual liners, although not full, set into milled recesses in the g-10. mine is pretty stout! it’s kinda big for me to edc, i carry a foliage green g-10 ffg delica on a daily basis. they make a cute couple when i’m out and about in or near the woods.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
The Foliage G-10 is my favourite of the Spyderco G-10 colors that they have offered.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 am
recently, i made a mod to my military. i didnt especially like the black plastic backspacer used on this knife. i removed the spacer and drove out the two metal threaded inserts. this was fairly simple to do, although i understand that some versions of this knife have an all plastic backspacer, no inserts. then it was just a matter of putting the spacers back into the knife. the spacers in my knife are steel and in my opinion, look far better than the black plastic. i cant feel any difference in rigidity and cleanig is now simple. just wish i could mod the pocket clip like on my delica,(used acetone to remove the black, clip is bead blasted underneath). military clip is made of “black” metal. the bead blasted finish looks so much better on my delica.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Interesting mod to the millie, Don. I’ve always been 50/50 on the spacer. So if I understand correctly, some Millies don’t have the inserts and therefore you are forced to run the black plasic spacer on those? I’ve never pulled mine apart(yet) so I’m unsure whether or not I have inserts. I’ve got the S30V version, and I suspect that the newer ones have the inserts.
Anyone know which versions of the millie have the inserts and which don’t officially?
Thanks