The Magnacut Paramilitary 2

[RAHComanche]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

My Magnacut PM2 actually has a bit looser action than I prefer. Easy to cut yourself! But I may change the scales so I will then tighten it up a bit.

[Hopsbreath]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

[RugerNurse]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

Gotcha. I’m debating if I should wait for the uncoated version or this one

[tzirconia]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

Thanks for sharing this perspective, very helpful.
I can't help but wonder if this "breaking in" period for coated blades may be at least part of the reason why Spyderco is pursuing the new coating tech with less friction...

[dubya3(new)]

I really want one of the black PM2 Magnacut models but absolutely hate coated blades. I pre-ordered a Para 3 LW Magnacut for now to tide me over but I really want to see the Salt PM2 with an uncoated blade.

[ducatijosh]

I want the salt uncoated blade here as well, then I'm going to toss on some AWT OD Green Aluminum scales

[RugerNurse]

I really want one of the black PM2 Magnacut models but absolutely hate coated blades. I pre-ordered a Para 3 LW Magnacut for now to tide me over but I really want to see the Salt PM2 with an uncoated blade.

The next PM2 with the yellow scales will be uncoated.

Edit: does the coating add anything for corrosion? Blade HQ said in an article that sometimes the blade can rust from underneath? Not a significant concern with Magnacut but curious.

[Manixguy@1994]

I really want one of the black PM2 Magnacut models but absolutely hate coated blades. I pre-ordered a Para 3 LW Magnacut for now to tide me over but I really want to see the Salt PM2 with an uncoated blade.

The next PM2 with the yellow scales will be uncoated.

Edit: does the coating add anything for corrosion? Blade HQ said in an article that sometimes the blade can rust from underneath? Not a significant concern with Magnacut but curious.

I’m sure it may help in some environments. Where I live the uncoated variant will be just fine and like the scales for better visibility . Glad Spyderco has offered two models to choose . Dan

[RugerNurse]

I really want one of the black PM2 Magnacut models but absolutely hate coated blades. I pre-ordered a Para 3 LW Magnacut for now to tide me over but I really want to see the Salt PM2 with an uncoated blade.

The next PM2 with the yellow scales will be uncoated.

Edit: does the coating add anything for corrosion? Blade HQ said in an article that sometimes the blade can rust from underneath? Not a significant concern with Magnacut but curious.

I’m sure it may help in some environments. Where I live the uncoated variant will be just fine and like the scales for better visibility . Glad Spyderco has offered two models to choose . Dan

I ended up ordering a manix salt and keeping my S45VN I was thinking of selling. The manix has a solid lock and I’ll give it another go. I’m not the best at manipulating the ball lock but I’ll learn

[w3tnz]

I really want one of the black PM2 Magnacut models but absolutely hate coated blades. I pre-ordered a Para 3 LW Magnacut for now to tide me over but I really want to see the Salt PM2 with an uncoated blade.

The next PM2 with the yellow scales will be uncoated.

Edit: does the coating add anything for corrosion? Blade HQ said in an article that sometimes the blade can rust from underneath? Not a significant concern with Magnacut but curious.

It would depend on if the coating is porous or not - if air and moisture can pass though it to the steel underneath. This could be an issue with lesser coatings but there is plenty of, at least anecdotal evidence, this is not the case with DLC, and that it does inhibit corrosion.

[tzirconia]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

Just as you said, mine is breaking in nicely with more use. I tightened up the pivot back to original position out of the box and now it is very smooth both opening and closing.

[God'sMyJudge]

This is the thinnest blade stock knife I've ever seen.

[BornIn1500]

This is the thinnest blade stock knife I've ever seen.

Did you mean thickest? It is 3.7mm.

[RAHComanche]

I was looking the liners and they seem a bit different than the standard PM2. Do you think aftermarket scales like flytanium will fit without modification on the magnacut PM2 just released? I saw the question posted early but there was not a clear answer.

[Marko]

I just added AWT scales with the liner delete on the non-lock side last week. I purchased one of the coated Magnacut PM2s. No issues fitting it to a third party scale. In fact, the only issue I had was removing the lanyard tube. It was extremely tight.

About the PM2 Salt, I hate coated blades, but couldn’t wait for the uncoated version (impatient). As a stock knife, it was one of the best PM2s I have gotten from Spyderco. Perfect centering, even grinds, great action, no adjustments required. The G10 scales were nice but a little rough for my purposes. They would definitely be good in a wet environment.

I’ve done aftermarket mods in the past for some previous PM2s and felt they never really added to the experience from the original, for the cost. Additionally, I don’t like aluminum as a handle material. It doesn’t wear well over time compared with G-10 or Micarta.

Well, times are changing and so am I. My PM2 Salt sports a black coated blade, aluminum scales, and a milled pocket clip. This thing is smooth, centered, tight and most importantly (too me) very light (lighter than stock). It’s a keeper for sure. Patiently waiting to do the same with PM3 Magnacut.

[GT99]

Mine was a little tight in the pivot on arrival but I’ve learned to leave it alone and it’ll loosen with use. Sure enough, it’s smoothed out over the past week and has great action now. That’s been my experience with a lot of coated blades and I’ve come to expect it.

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

Gotcha. I’m debating if I should wait for the uncoated version or this one

while the coating doesnt "help" the action its also doesnt prevent it from being drop shut smooth, If you prefer the black blade but are worried about the action then dont, I have a bunch of coated spyderco and 3 DLC coated PM2's and all are smooth and drop shut.

[RugerNurse]

I’m usually not a fan of coated blades because I use my knives for food prep a lot but I might give this one a shot at some point. I like the black peel ply scales

[James Y]

So the coating helps with the action? I haven’t been a huge fan of coatings in the past but a warming up to them.

No, quite the opposite. Apologies for not being clear on my wording. Coated blades almost always feel stiff and tighter than their non-coated counterparts. A little time and use helps the blade “wear-in” and the action gets more fluid. DLC is a tuff coating to break-in though, so while it flicks open easily now, it’s still not drop shut smooth… yet. I’m confident with time and use it’ll still get there though.

Gotcha. I’m debating if I should wait for the uncoated version or this one

while the coating doesnt "help" the action its also doesnt prevent it from being drop shut smooth, If you prefer the black blade but are worried about the action then dont, I have a bunch of coated spyderco and 3 DLC coated PM2's and all are smooth and drop shut.

I agree. I own two PM2's and two Para 3's; one coated and one non-coated each. All came with good action. However, my coated PM2 and Para 3 both had "drop-shut" action out of the box; my non-coated versions did not. I think it has less to do with being coated or not, and more to do with how they were tuned at the factory.

Jim