Spyderco Military Reviews

The Spyderco Military is an extraordinary folder. Every aspect, every feature of the knife is designed for optimal function. While it is by no means the most aesthetic knife, I have yet to use a folder that is as useful.

Initially, I thought the Millie was gigantic, and far too large for EDC. However, after carrying it for several months, I think the size is perfect. The blade is long enough to conquer most conceivable EDC tasks, yet not large enough where the knife is too bulky to carry comfortably. With the light weight, and slim profile, the Millie carries exceptionally well for its size, while retaining plenty of strength for any appropriate task with the ingeniously designed nested liner lock.

The ergonomics are one of the best features on this folder. The large handle offers an extremely comfortable grip both behind and within the choil, even with gloves. Also, the great jimping on the coil, thump ramp, and liner offer an extremely secure grip, and the liner cutout makes lock disengagement very easy, and doubles as a comfortable secondary choil. Like most spydercos, the blade angles downward from the handle, making the knife more comfortable during cutting.

The Millie's cutting performance is beyond exceptional. The large blade, combined with the superb blade shape, and Spyderco's phenomenal full flat grind provide the best cutting performance of any folder I have ever used. It slices extremely well, and thanks to the fine tip, pierces very well and excels at detailed cutting.

Overall, an unbeatable folder.



Price Paid: $130.00

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Every Day Carry

I own the Orange G10 model. All I can say is it grows on you, the Orange that is. Get one, you won't regret it. As far as quality we all know it's top shelf. I own 3 black g10 Military's, the Orange is my favorite.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 1 year

Use: Every Day Carry

Disclaimer: My ratings for this knife are based on what I expect from knives in the $100 price point. For example, a $30 knife may receive the same ratings, and it should be a given that those ratings reflect expectations at a 30$ price point.

What makes the Spyderco Military unique is its brilliant design. With a knife at this price point I already expect that "materials" and "fit and finish" will be top notch -and they are. Overall this is one of my favorite folding knives that I have ever used. I use it for EDC and for Outdoor and survival purposes. You have nothing to worry about with quality of build and quality of materials -they are all excellent and competitive with other market offerings. What makes this knife both great and unique is that it was designed to be an extension of the human hand.

Many knives are designed to look neat and catch the eye. Often times these types of knives feel slightly awkward in the human hand, and this is because they have added ergonomic features whose purpose is not to please your hand, but to please your eyes. The Military has what I call "100% biological ergonomics" -it is designed to be an extension of the human body. There is nothing extra added in for looks and this is what makes it a superb knife.

The shape of the handle is comfortable in all utility/ working grips. The forward angle that the blade takes from the handle also aids in cutting performance and ergonomics. The shape of the blade is simple with lots of belly and a very pointy tip.

Again, it is a knife that was built to excel in use and it does this to the T.



Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 3 months

Use: Outdoor/Survival

The famous mili has redefined the market for folders with his nononesense approach in design, handling and durability. I like the liner lock, some people don't but I've never had any issues with it.

Mine, BG42 and CF handles, came razor sharp out of the box and has been a beloved compagnion for almost three years. The CF handle is slip resistant and the knife opens and closes easily, some might say too easily.

Possible improvements:

1. The handle is too big compared to the blade size, making the handle smaller would not compromise ergonomics.

2. Blade is not fully centered when closed.

3. The knife would be more robust if the liner lock and its casing were on both sides of the handle.

4. The handle could be thiner when comparied with similar knives from other brands.

5. The open design makes cleaning easy except were they put a plastic piece in, why they did that remains a mistery.

6. The blade has almost no belly, some tasks become uncomfortable.



Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: Greater than 1 year

Use: Outdoor/Survival

The Military is a great knife. The ergonomics are wonderful, it fits my large hands very well. It came quite sharp, not quite razor sharp but still, sharp.The scales are really grippy and the digi camo looks really nice. The S30V holds an edge really well.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 1 year

Use: Every Day Carry

The Spyderco Military. My first large folder, when I asked for suggestions everyone said that the Mili was the one that would define all future large folder purchases. After getting it, I'd feel the same.

Let's have a look. Handle material, orange G10. Two nested SS liners, 4mm distally tapered double-flat-ground CPM S30V blade, 4 inches.

The blade first. CPM S30V is a great steel, especially as done by Spyderco. The blade came sharp enough to push cut newspaper, although I've since reprofiled it. It's fairly thick, although the combination of FFG and blade "height" makes it surprisingly thin at the edge. It slices well, but feels strong. The steel holds a good edge (mine is at 1000 grit). It stands up to wood carving and EDC duties easily.

The blade shape is very nice. The straight spine is good for food prep, while the sweep to a point gives a straight portion with a bit of belly for slicing. The point is fine and needle sharp, but will stand up to tasks such as puncturing cans.

The handle is a bit big for me. However, there's a very comfortable purchase on the handle. The forward finger choil is really useful for fine work as well. I use it a lot. The liner lock cutout is very generous, which I like, being a lefthander. Orange G10 is nice and rough, and colourful too. It's the perfect colour for an outdoor knife, imo. The Mili pockets very comfortably for a 5in closed length. I'd like to see a 4-way clip on this though.

In terms of fit and finish, this blade isn't quite on par with my SS Delica. The back spacer is just slightly raised, and the edges of the clip aren't polished. Otherwise, the attention to detail is pretty great. I received the knife with the pivot screw stripped out, but it was previously owned and carried so I doubt this was Spyderco's error. The blade locks up solidly at 40 percent engagement. Some rust has developed on the blades (really humid here) which I have cleaned off with some metal polish. The only reason why the MILI isn't a 10 is because of these tiny flaws (non-issues on my SS Delica)

What don't I like about the knife?

I've since found that my taste in blades is simply different. I find myself leaning towards either pure-slicer (Stretch2) or pure tank (Manix 2). The Mili does both jobs well, but neither perfectly. It's a fine blade though.

I would like to see it with a 4 way clip, as mentioned above.

I would also like to see a slightly shorter handle.

Finally, put a compression lock with the same generous cutout on, and then I'm all happy:D

In terms of value, I paid 125 dollars for this knife. It can be gotten for less, and I'm sure I got more than $125 worth of use out of it. Despite my nitpickings, it's really an excellent,excellent knife,.



Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Every Day Carry

this knife is strong, locks up super tight and the blade is great steel. its not quite as smooth as some of my benchmades though. i like the textured g10 on it, grips really well.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: Greater than 1 year

Use: Other

Really great knife design by spyderco that I cary every day. This knife is incredibly light weight for its size due to no liners behind the G10, you don't feel it sitting in your pocket.

The build quality is awesome. Blade was centered, the pivot is smooth as silk. The G10 is of high quality with a nice texture.

The blade is great as well. I have one in S30V, which I really like. It was a steel designed for cutlery specifically. The thumbhole is very accessible and you can flick the blade open with ease.

The knife handle is long enough to be used as an impact device, and the blade is certainly long enough for self defense as well, if you're into that kind of thing. You could also probably break glass with the handle on this knife. The knife also fits my hand really well(I have big hands).

I don't have much bad to say about the military. It might be a little expensive so I dinged it a point on value. Overall though this is probably my favorite knife in my collection.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Every Day Carry

This knife lives up to all of the hype that's out there. The military is a extremely comfortable knife, and combined with what I feel is a negative blade angle, one of the most comfortable knives to use out there. Utility is great, as the FFG makes it a cutting machine. It's not particularly robust in terms of blade strentgh (It's no Strider or Hinderer), but I feel it cuts better than many high end offerings. S30V is a great steel, no doubt, and Spyderco does an excelletn heat treat on their S30V. It seems to hold an edge forever. Spyderco does their grinds great, so there's no complaint about that. The military carries relatively thin, but it is still comfortable when you grip it. The thimb ramp jimping is prefect, just a little rough but not tear-up-your-finger rough. The choil makes the knife phenomenally comfortable. One thing that I would say I do not like about the knife is the size. I think its really quite large, but its really up to the individual whether or not they like large blades. I'd really like to see a linerlock para or something like that. Also, the jimping on the liner lock is kinda rough on the finger. Besides that I have nothing to complain about. The knife is smooth, locks up solid, and sharp. I still feel the military is still a little over priced at around $110-120. How does Buck make the vantage pro with G-10 and S30V at a $50 price point? I'd like to see the military a little lower, around $80-90. It'd be a great value then.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 3 months

Use: Light Duty/General

The spyderco military is easily my favorite knife I own. If the apocolypse happened, this is the knife I'd reach for to take with me. The knife is incredibly lightweight since it has no steel liners. Mine is the S30V steel with G10 handles. The S30V steel on the Military is great. Spyderco got it right on the heat treat and it holds an edge quite well. The military is a little big for my taste to EDC, with a blade at right around 4". I don't like carrying a knife blade quite that big since it tends to raise eyebrows. Spyderco also makes the para-military, which is essentially the same knife with a slightly shorter blade that is worth checking out for this task. The liner lock is good on this knife. Every military I've handled locks nice and tight. I really have nothing bad to say here. Spyderco has done a great job with the military. I like the knife so much that I'm now on the list for a Titanium Framelock Military in CPM M4 Steel! Can't wait...

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Other

i've got the cpmd2 od g-10 millie. an outstanding knife! i'd always wanted a military, but had never commited until i saw the model mentioned above. the knife is kinda big for edc, but for those certain occasions when i don't think the delica may be enough, the millie replaces it in my rfp. the edge holding of the cpmd2 is pretty amazing, i haven't had to touch it up yet, and i've had it since this variation was first released. i've never abused the edge, just normal stuff; rope, cardboard, wood, and the edge is still like it came from the factory. this is a classic design from spyderco and i now understand all the praise this knife gets, is't very well deserved!

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 1 year

Use: Outdoor/Survival

I've been buying the Military for almost 10yrs now. And up until now I've been very happy with them.

The last 3 I've gotten (all from different stores) have really left me wondering what happened.
All 3 have developed bladeplay either vertically or horizontally. The locks don't feel solid like the used too either.

It actually feels like their Chinese made Tenacious. The USA stuff used to be far superior and I didn't mind the price because I was happy with the quality.
Now it's as if there isn't any difference between USA and Chinese made. Sure is a difference in price though.

Time to find a different brand to carry.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: Greater than 1 year

Use: Every Day Carry

I've had my Military for about a year now, and its amazing I haven't thrown the thing in the trash yet. I suppose it might make a decent trade to someone that isn't familiar with this POS knife.

Frist, out of the box it wouldn't slice paper. The blade grinds were uneven. Dull as a butter knife. Aftr a few hours on some really good stones, I finallt got it to slice copy paper. The edge retention was horrible.

Then there was the issue of the off-centered blade. I worked with it for a few weeks, off and on, to get it right, but finally gave up and decided to carry it for a while.

After a few annoying weeks of carrying this thing, I finally gave up. It stuck too far out of my pocket, the clip was crap and sisn't hold the knife properly, and it was just uncomfortable to carry and use.

I know I could have sent it back in to Spyderco, but after paying that amount of money for a knife, I decided I just didn't want to fool with it.

Sadly, it was my first (and last) experience with Spyderco. Since they all look alike, I've learned a valuable lesson: don't take the word of a bunch of people on a forum that scream Military whenever you ask for suggestions for a decent knife. I'll stick with Benchmade and Kershaw from here on out.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 1 year

Use: Every Day Carry

The spyderco military is an AWESOME knife! Spyderco Makes a few versions of this knife, the most current being what I have, a G10 handle and CPM S30V steel.

This knife is the best knife I own. It is superbly light, so light in fact that I really don't even notice it in my pocket. The clip sits high enough for the knife to sit deep in your pocket out of view. The G10 has no steel liners, and a titanium liner lock.

The Millie is a slicer first and formost and what I would deem a tactical knife. The full flat grind and thin blade make quick work of anything. The blade is roughly 4 inches, and the S30V can get razor sharp. To give you an idea, when I pulled it out of the box, I could shave strips off a limp piece of paper with light and quick wrist flicks. It also makes quick work of vegitables and rope :-)

The blade shape is damn near perfect. The blade has a great belly, crisp but not too sharp jimping and a nice thumb rise to keep your hand from slipping. The Spyderhole makes opening this knife with one hand a breeze. Additionally, this is the smoothest knife I've felt. Ever.

Another thing I like about knife is the handle length to blade length ratio. The handle is much longer than the blade which allows my hand to get great purchase. This also means the end of the handle protrudes past my hand and could easily be used as an impact device to inflict non lethal force in a self defense situation(or to break glass in a lifesaving situation). The texture on the G10 is very grippy as well, and G10 is a superb material in that it is light and resistant to pretty much anything from chemicals to water to heat etc.

Now despite the fact that this is a great knife, I do have two complaints. First, when I first got mine, the blade wasn't perfectly centered when closed. I had to adjust it. Note that this is not a flaw in materials, just the initial setup of the knife. All knives need to be set up for the blade to center. To get it center, I had to loosen the pivot slightly with a hex key as well as the scale screws with a T6 torx bit and preload the G10 a smidge. No big deal, as a slightly offcenter blade doesn't affect the functionality of the knife, but I'm a perfectionist. My second complaint is that when adjusting it, the screws on the scales were a little soft and my T6 Torx munched one of the heads. For these two reasons, I had to ding the build quality slightly, albeit these are minor qualms.

I should note that spyderco offered immediately to fix each of these things for me but I just did it myself. Spyderco customer service is top notch.

Lastly, as with all knives, there are tradeoffs in terms of knife abilities and traits. This knife is designed to slice and pierce, not to baton through wood. The tip is a touch delicate, but blindingly sharp. If you use this knife you baton through wood or other extremely heavy tasks, you will hurt the tip pretty quick.

That being said, for anybody looking for a great knife I'd recommend wholeheartedly the spyderco military. This knife is robust, will outlast you, and will not fail you. Great knife end of story!





Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 3 months

Use: Light Duty/General

My S90V Carbon Fiber Milie has been riding in my coveralls since January.

The S90V is a tough customer i've chipped the edge a couple of times, but through sharpening and stropping i have put a awesome convex edge on it and not more chipping! Holds an edge very well and gets kept near shaving sharp

My only real complaint is the scale opposite to the lock side, the way it is shaped my index finger sits on the edge of the liner lock and that edge is finely serrated(? i think that's what it's called)

I also removed the back spacer to make the back look more open. Removing it has caused no ill effects to the integrity of the design.

Overall great damn knife Spyderco!

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Light Duty/General

The military is a great EDC and the steels used are tough (mine has S30V but some of the other editions use other steels). They look great and feel great in your hand. Ergo's are PERFECT for my hand size. I got the digital camo version a few months ago and love it.

Price Paid: N/A

Length of Time Used: 6 months

Use: Light Duty/General