Let’s face it, sometimes it’s fun to carry around a big EDC knife…
Sure, a small knife is probably going to be a little easier to carry around all day, but carrying a large knife doesn’t have to be a huge burden, especially if it’s designed in a smart way…
Spyderco has been designing large knives like this for a long time, and right now, two of their most popular designs are…
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Endura (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Military (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
And in this Spyderco Endura Vs Military comparison, we’re going to see how these two awesome knives stack up against each other in the following six categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
In the end, I share with you which of these two great knives I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which knife will work best for you…
Let’s get started!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Endura
The Spyderco Endura is kind of the bigger brother of the very popular Spyderco Delica. In a lot of ways, it’s just a bigger version of the Delica, which is a good thing because the Delica is an awesome knife…
Now the blade steel the Endura uses is VG-10. VG-10 is considered a high end blade steel, and I like it because its corrosion resistant, it’s strong, and it holds an edge pretty well…
It’s actually very similar to 154CM blade steel, and even though it holds an edge pretty well, it’s not too difficult to sharpen…
Now the handle on the Endura is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon or FRN. I think FRN is a great handle material because it’s very lightweight but at the same time, it’s very strong as well…
It also feels great in your hand and allows you to get a good purchase on the knife when you’re using it. All in all, I’m very happy with the VG-10 blade steel and the FRN handle that Spyderco chose to go with on the Endura.
Spyderco Military
Just as the Endura is a bigger version of the Delica, the Spyderco Military model is a larger version of another very popular Spyderco design, the Paramilitary 2…
Actually, I should say that the Paramilitary 2 is a smaller version of the Military, because the Military was created first with the intention of being a super tough knife for our forward deployed soldiers to use…
By this point, it’s a Classic knife design because of the way it has performed and held up over the years…
Now the blade steel included on the Military is CPM S30V. CPM S30V is considered a premium blade steel and it’s superior to the VG-10 steel used on the Endura…
Even though both steels do a great job at resisting corrosion, CPM S30V will hold an edge longer than VG-10, and even though it will hold an edge longer, S30V is still an easy steel to sharpen (which is a feature I really appreciate)…
Now the handle on the Military model is made from G-10. I’m actually a big fan of G-10 because even though it is a little heavier than the FRN handle used by the Endura…
It’s very strong and it feels extremely comfortable in your hand. All in all, I think the Military’s CPM S30V blade steel is superior to the Endura’s VG-10 steel (VG-10 is still a very good blade steel though)…
And even though I love how lightweight the Endura’s FRN handle is, I prefer the strength and comfort of the G-10 handle on the Military as well.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Endura
The Spyderco Endura has a long slender blade which I find elegant and very attractive. It’s a pretty simple drop point blade really, but to me that’s a good thing because it’ll handle pretty much any EDC task you can throw at it…
In addition to that, the Endura features a saber grind, which makes the blade extremely strong, but at the same time, it’s still a pretty good cutter…
Now, you can get the Endura with a Plain Edge, a Spyder Edge (Spyderco’s version of a serrated edge), or a Combination Edge (a half plain edge and half serrated blade)…
Personally, I prefer the Plain Edge version because it will end up being easier to sharpen when the time comes, but I know a lot of guys out there really like serrations on their blade…
So I’m glad that Spyderco gives you the SpyderEdge and CombinationEdge options. Aside from the edge on your Endura, you can also choose between the plain stainless steel blade version and a black coated blade version…
I really love the look of black coated blades, but I think I’m in the minority on that opinion because most people like to go with the plain stainless steel blade (which I also think looks great)…
A couple of other noticeable blade features on the Endura are the traditional Spyderco deployment hole, which allows you to flip open the blade very easily and quickly…
…and the jimping on the spine of the blade which gives you more control when you need to make precise slices or cuts.
Now like I mentioned earlier, the handle on the Endura is made from Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon (FRN)…
It’s very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand, and the bidirectional texturing allows you to really lock onto the knife when you’re holding it.
Spyderco Military
The Spyderco Military model (sometimes just called the “Millie”) also has a very attractive blade shape. It’s also a long and elegant drop point but it kind of sweeps up a little bit more toward the tip of the blade than the Endura…
Another difference is that the Millie’s blade has a full flat grind rather than the saber grind found on the Endura…
I personally prefer the full flat grind on the Military model because it makes the knife a fantastic cutter and slicer (I would say better than the Endura)…
Now the Military model’s blade only comes in a Plain Edge, which as I said before is fine by me because it makes the knife easier to sharpen…
And just like the Endura, the blade comes in a metallic stainless steel version or in a black coated version…
It also has the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to deploy the blade very quickly, and the jimping on the spine and the finger choil allow you to choke up on the knife if you need a little extra leverage…
Now like I said earlier, the handle on the Military is made from G-10, which is one of my favorite handle materials…
I love it because it feels extremely comfortable, and it really locks into your hand when you’re cutting with the knife…
It also comes in a variety of colors and patterns such as black, camo, and blue, and overall, I think Spyderco did a great job with the Military model’s handle.
Locking Mechanism…
Spyderco Endura
The Endura uses a classic Back Lock locking mechanism. This is a very popular locking system found in folding knives, and I think it’s a great mechanism…
It involves a rocker arm with a lug on the end of it that engages a notch in the tang of the blade. I like it because it’s simple, strong, and easy to use…
Because of the Back Lock, the blade on the Endura locks out very securely, and the deployment is easy and smooth with just one hand. All in all, I think the Back Lock was a good choice of locking mechanism for the Endura.
Spyderco Military
The Military uses the Spyderco Compression Lock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that incorporates a leaf-like spring, a stop pin, and a ramp on the tang of the blade…
It’s a system that was developed and patented by Spyderco, and I’m a big fan of it because it locks the blade out extremely securely, and the deployment is incredibly easy and smooth…
I think it’s a step up from the Back Lock used on the Endura, which is a more simple and common system, and it makes deploying the blade on the Millie very fast, easy, and fun.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Endura
The Spyderco Endura is a large folding knife (like I said earlier, the Delica is kind of the medium sized knife in this Spyderco series of knives, and the Dragonfly is an even smaller version)…
All that being said, the Endura’s blade measures in at 3.78 inches long (on most versions of the knife), and the handle measures in at 4.98 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Endura to 8.78 inches (again, on most versions of the knife because there are some versions with a slightly shorter blade length).
Spyderco Military
The Spyderco Military is also a pretty large folding knife, and just as the Endura has the Delica and the Dragonfly as its more compact versions, the Military has the Paramilitary 2 and the Paramilitary 3 as its smaller versions…
But back to the Military model, the blade length measures in at 4 inches long, and the handle measures in at 5.52 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Military model to 9.52 inches long when the blade is fully locked out. When compared to the Endura, the Military is around 0.74 inches longer in overall length when both of their blades are deployed…
And I think it’s important to point out that both the Military’s blade and handle are slightly longer than the blade and handle on the Endura as well.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Spyderco Endura
The pocket clip on the Endura is adjustable for four different positions. You can set the knife up for tip up or tip down carry, and you can also swap the clip to either side of the knife…
I personally prefer tip down carry, but I love when knives give you the option of tip up or tip down because it allows you to set your knife up exactly how you like to carry it…
I also really like that you can swap the clip to either side of the knife because that will allow you to optimize for left handed or right handed carry…
Now the clip on the Endura sits the knife relatively deep in your pocket. It’s not a deep carry clip, so a little bit of the knife does stick up out of your pocket…
But overall, it’s fairly discrete, and considering that it’s a large knife it’s actually pretty comfortable to carry around.
Spyderco Military
The pocket clip on the Military sets you up for tip down carry only and right handed carry only although Spyderco sells a version of the Military that’s set up for left handed carry…
Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer tip down carry, so I don’t mind that there’s no option for tip up carry, but it is a more limited design in terms of where you can position your clip…
Just as with the Endura, the Military’s pocket clip sets the knife relatively deep in your pocket with a little bit of the knife sticking up, and it’s also a pretty comfortable knife to carry around despite being so large.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you exact prices in this section because the prices of these knives are known to fluctuate due to changes in the market…
That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Endura is around 100 to 110 dollars less expensive than the Military…
That’s a pretty significant price difference and it could end up being a major factor if you’re on a budget and trying to decide between these two great knives…
So if you are on a tight budget and you’re looking to get the best price possible, the Endura is going to be the less expensive option for you (by a lot).
Spyderco Endura Vs Military – Final Thoughts…
So to summarize everything, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, the Endura uses VG-10 blade steel and has an FRN handle, while the Military uses CPM S30V blade steel and has a G-10 handle…
The Military model’s CPM S30V blade steel is superior to the Endura’s VG-10 because it will hold an edge longer, and I personally prefer the Military’s G-10 scales to the FRN handle on the Endura…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both knives have a long and elegant drop point blade, but the Endura has a saber grind and the Military has a full flat grind…
I prefer the full flat grind on the Millie because it makes the knife a very effective cutter…
In the Locking Mechanism category, the Endura uses the Back Lock mechanism and the Military uses the Compression Lock system…
I personally think the Compression Lock on the Military is superior because it’s very strong and makes deploying the blade extremely easy and fast…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Military is around 0.74 inches longer than the Endura when both of their blades are fully locked out…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, the Endura’s pocket clip can be adjusted for tip up or tip down carry and swapped to either side of the knife, whereas the Military’s clip is limited to tip down carry…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Endura is around 100 to 110 bucks less expensive than the Military model…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Spyderco Military model…
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I prefer the Military for a few reasons. First of all, the CPM S30V blade steel that you get on the Military is superior to the VG-10 steel on the Endura because it will hold an edge for a longer period of time…
I also personally prefer the feel and comfort of the G-10 handle on the Military over the FRN handle on the Endura, and I like the full flat grind that you get on the Military because it makes the knife a really mean cutter…
Last, I prefer the Compression Lock on the Military over the Back Lock on the Endura because its a slightly more secure and smooth locking system.
Now if you don’t mind the VG-10 blade steel (still a very good knife steel) and the FRN handle, and you want to save some money…
Then feel free to go with the Endura because it’s still an awesome knife…
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Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two awesome (and large!) knives from Spyderco.