Improvements on the Military G10 - individual views

[KardinalSyn]

I touched upon my dissatisfaction with the liner lock and how impressed I was with the G10 Military before on other threads.

I have a Millie with G10 camo handles and I like it a lot. These are the areas where I would like to see it improved.

1. The liner lock
The locking mechanism feels a little flimsy for such a great blade/concept. I would prefer stronger/thicker liner lock with metal liners for this specific knife. Also, the liner lock finger grip area could have some kind of better grooves for grip.

2. Off centering of the blade
The pillar construction to be improved so that the blade off centering gets fixed.

3. Clip positioning
It would be great to have multiple options to place the clip.

These are just my views based on personal preference. I prefer non metallic handles on my blades an the combination of metal and G10 also does not appeal to me much. I know that most of you may not agree with my views but that's alright. Just sharing my thoughts here.

Feel free to share your ideas for improvements here as well.

[chuck_roxas45]

It's hard to improve on perfection.

[v8r]

It's hard to improve on perfection.

I agree sir. The original concept was for a large lightweight yet strong knife. It fits that criteria perfectly. Tip up would be nice, but I have gotten used to my Millie's the way they are.......if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Papa_K]

Make clip position options left/right tip-up/tip-down, and eliminate the left-hand version.
I'm left-handed, and want the digicam version. I can live with the right-hand oriented liner lock, but I'd want the clip on the proper side.

[Mwalle6]

and eliminate the left-hand version.

how dare you, sir!

[Onionman]

While I love my millie, I would love to have the option for tip up carry.

[BAL]

Anyone hear any news on a date for the Military 2 to show up. Sal had said that it had
been discussed.

[Joshua J.]

I touched upon my dissatisfaction with the liner lock and how impressed I was with the G10 Military before on other threads.

I have a Millie with G10 camo handles and I like it a lot. These are the areas where I would like to see it improved.

1. The liner lock
The locking mechanism feels a little flimsy for such a great blade/concept. I would prefer stronger/thicker liner lock with metal liners for this specific knife. Also, the liner lock finger grip area could have some kind of better grooves for grip.

2. Off centering of the blade
The pillar construction to be improved so that the blade off centering gets fixed.

3. Clip positioning
It would be great to have multiple options to place the clip.

These are just my views based on personal preference. I prefer non metallic handles on my blades an the combination of metal and G10 also does not appeal to me much. I know that most of you may not agree with my views but that's alright. Just sharing my thoughts here.

Feel free to share your ideas for improvements here as well.

Clip positioning is something that a lot of people talk about, it is a well known issue and for now is something you just have to take into consideration when purchasing (will be fixed on Military 2). If your blade is off center, that's unfortunate, there are things that can be done to try and fix it but chances are it's "within tolerances" unless it's really off center, like if the blade is scraping the side of the handle.

The lock, however, is just as it should be. If you think it's weak then please be informed that your perception of reality has no affect on it. As is the lock on the Military is as strong or stronger than your average framelock (Reeve Integral Lock).

The point of this knife is to have a large blade and handle (designed strictly as a cutting tool) without a lot of weight, to add more metal than necessary just gives you a heavier knife, and I assure you that it would not be significantly stronger.
Besides that "strength" is overrated, if not insignificant compared to reliability, which is probably what most people are actually looking for in a knife.

[JNewell]

Lots of Military 2 opinions!

Thread: Military 2 ???

Thread: Any solid plans for a Military 2 soon?

Thread: Military due for an upgrade?

Thread: Sal, any update on the Military 2?

[KardinalSyn]

Clip positioning is something that a lot of people talk about, it is a well known issue and for now is something you just have to take into consideration when purchasing (will be fixed on Military 2). If your blade is off center, that's unfortunate, there are things that can be done to try and fix it but chances are it's "within tolerances" unless it's really off center, like if the blade is scraping the side of the handle.

The lock, however, is just as it should be. If you think it's weak then please be informed that your perception of reality has no affect on it. As is the lock on the Military is as strong or stronger than your average framelock (Reeve Integral Lock).

The point of this knife is to have a large blade and handle (designed strictly as a cutting tool) without a lot of weight, to add more metal than necessary just gives you a heavier knife, and I assure you that it would not be significantly stronger.
Besides that "strength" is overrated, if not insignificant compared to reliability, which is probably what most people are actually looking for in a knife.

Thanks Joshua and others for sharing your thoughts.

For me, the off centering on a blade of this type is an imperfection. There must surely be a way for this to be engineered out. I would not expect to fiddle with the screws to get rid of a "bend" or use pieces of cardboard to hold the blade in place whilst adjusting is done. Since there are many threads relating to this specific matter, it appears to be inherent to the construction. Just my thoughts on this and I know some of you may disagree with me.

I am thinking also that full liners may add stability plus eliminate the need for the backspace as in the para2. Cost would be added weight.

I am just trying to focus on the existing G10 version of the Military here. All in good spirit as well. I am happy with the blade and did purchase a PPT after buying this since I was happy with the product.

Anyway, it's up to Spyderco to proceed with CQI of a product as appropriate. Should we not share our thoughts openly, I feel that it is not being faithful towards that product.

[araneae]

Thanks Joshua and others for sharing your thoughts.

For me, the off centering on a blade of this type is an imperfection. There must surely be a way for this to be engineered out. I would not expect to fiddle with the screws to get rid of a "bend" or use pieces of cardboard to hold the blade in place whilst adjusting is done. Since there are many threads relating to this specific matter, it appears to be inherent to the construction. Just my thoughts on this and I know some of you may disagree with me.

In all honesty, blade centering is more of a neurosis, than an actual issue. If the blade is not rubbing the liners, then there is no effect on the knife. A knife with a slightly off center blade is completely safe, functional and within spec for a production knife. Its not an engineering issue, as much as a result of the final assembly.

I have several liner locks that are perfect, and several that are off- some made by Spyderco, some not. Its part of the territory with a liner lock. If you were talking a custom knife, then you can get nit-picky.

[araneae]

Improvements that I would like are a deeper choil, clip position options and the hourglass style clip. The mili is pretty close to a perfect big folder as is.

[Ankerson]

In all honesty, blade centering is more of a neurosis, than an actual issue. If the blade is not rubbing the liners, then there is no effect on the knife. A knife with a slightly off center blade is completely safe, functional and within spec for a production knife. Its not an engineering issue, as much as a result of the final assembly.

I have several liner locks that are perfect, and several that are off- some made by Spyderco, some not. Its part of the territory with a liner lock. If you were talking a custom knife, then you can get nit-picky.

Exactly....

Some seem to forget that the price range we are talking about here is on the lower end.... ~ $145 isn't exactly on the expensive side for a production knife.

If people want perfection then they need to put out some real money and go custom or maybe get a Sebenza or Umnumzaan for production knives.

Other than that they can go back to playing with their XBOXs or PS3's and leave the knives to the grownups who use them.

[phillipsted]

Other than that they can go back to playing with their XBOXs or PS3's and leave the knives to the grownups who use them.

You're such a curmudgeon, Jim!

TedP

[chuck_roxas45]

Exactly....

Some seem to forget that the price range we are talking about here is on the lower end.... ~ $145 isn't exactly on the expensive side for a production knife.

Not an issue performance wise, but I've seen a LOT of chinese K/O's here(Philippines) and their blades are pretty centered. You mess with them though and you'll never get them centered again. But if they can come from the factory that way, I'm sure Spyderco can do just as well.

Other than that they can go back to playing with their XBOXs or PS3's and leave the knives to the grownups who use them.

As mentioned here and there, and might be apparent in the forums, a lot of people buy to collect or just to play with knives. I'm sure their money is just as green as you macho knife users. I dunno, what percentage of the knife afi market really need knives on a day to day basis? If only the people who really use knives buy the sprints, I'm betting that the sprint run market will soon be saturated.

[chuck_roxas45]

Thanks Joshua and others for sharing your thoughts.

For me, the off centering on a blade of this type is an imperfection. There must surely be a way for this to be engineered out. I would not expect to fiddle with the screws to get rid of a "bend" or use pieces of cardboard to hold the blade in place whilst adjusting is done. Since there are many threads relating to this specific matter, it appears to be inherent to the construction. Just my thoughts on this and I know some of you may disagree with me.

I am thinking also that full liners may add stability plus eliminate the need for the backspace as in the para2. Cost would be added weight.

I am just trying to focus on the existing G10 version of the Military here. All in good spirit as well. I am happy with the blade and did purchase a PPT after buying this since I was happy with the product.

Anyway, it's up to Spyderco to proceed with CQI of a product as appropriate. Should we not share our thoughts openly, I feel that it is not being faithful towards that product.

Well said Kard.

[brj]

I am thinking also that full liners may add stability plus eliminate the need for the backspace as in the para2. Cost would be added weight.

Don't have the datasource at hand, but this 2000-ish quote (btw, when the Mili sported only 1 liner) may shed some light on the nested liners and their capability; you may find it useful, I know I did

Sal explained it particularly well (surprise!) at the NYC show. Let me try to paraphrase:

When you see other liner locks with those big, heavy, double liners, they give the impression of great strength, mostly due to their heft. Those liners are held in place, in most(every one I've seen)cases, by tiny pins. When closing force is applied to the blades of those knives, it is concentrated on those pins. The heavy steel, etc. becomes a moot issue, because as the closing force tries to rotate the lock out of the scale, the failure point of the lock is being determined by the failure point of those tiny pins. If they go, the lock goes.

With the nested liner, as the name implies, the lock is actually nested into the G-10 of the scale. Ergo, when closing force is applied to the lock, and it wants to rotate out of the scale, all the force is transferred to the scale itself. For this liner to fail (under closing pressure) the lock would have to burst through the side of the G-10. It's a matter of how the forces are dissipated. A suspension bridge can have a longer span than a conventional rigid one, an arch can support more than corbelling, etc.

It's a very elegant solution, and more high-tech, expensive and labor intensive than just pinning a couple of liners into the scales. I love explaining that to people who tell me that Spyderco underengineered the Military, by only giving it one liner. Now you can too.

[defenestrate]

Probably covered in one of the threads JNewell posted - the Military is purpose-built and one of the most popular and enduring designs ever from Spyderco, and the lock has been thoroughly tested and is just shy of the full MBC rated locks. The next Military is in process, but I'munder the impression that it will see the debut of the in-development stop lock as well as more clip options.

[Gunslinger]

IMO I think the finger choil should be shaped to fit a finger a little better, other then that it's perfection.

[Joshua J.]

IMO I think the finger choil should be shaped to fit a finger a little better, other then that it's perfection.

Ah, but have you tried it with gloves on? Big fat finger friendliness is another one of the key design elements of the knife.