Spyderco knows how to build a tough knife…
They’ve been doing it for a long time, and in my opinion, they’ve really become masters at it because they now have some classics that have stood the test of time…
Right now, two of their most famous classic knife designs are:
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Military (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Police (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
And in this Spyderco Military Vs Police comparison, we’re going to examine how these two classic knives stack up against each other in the following 6 categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
At the end of this comparison, I’ll reveal to you which of these two great knives I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which is the best knife for you…
Let’s get started!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Military
The Military model was developed by Spyderco with the needs of forward-deployed military personnel in mind…
For this reason, the Military model is built to be very tough and it incorporates extremely high-quality materials…
For example, the Military model uses CPM S30V blade steel, which is an awesome choice of steel…
CPM S30V is considered a premium knife steel because it does a great job of resisting corrosion, it’s very strong, and it maintains an edge very well…
These are important characteristics, especially when you’re designing a knife for tough use, and it helps you out because you won’t have to baby your blade to prevent it from rusting…
…and you won’t end up having to sharpen your blade constantly either. Now the handle material used on the Military is textured G-10…
I really like G-10 as a handle material because it’s pretty lightweight, but at the same time, it’s very strong. In addition to that, it feels substantial and comfortable in your hand…
…and it allows you to get an excellent grip on the knife when you’re using it to cut or slice. All in all, I’m very impressed with the materials Spyderco uses on the Military model because they’re very high-quality.
Spyderco Police
The Police Model is one of Spyderco’s most famous knife designs. It’s actually one of the most recognizable folding knife designs ever produced, and at this point, it’s considered a classic…
Just like the Military model was designed to meet the needs of soldiers and other military personnel, the Police model was designed in the 1980’s to meet the needs of law enforcement officers…
Now the blade steel on the Police model is VG-10, which is also a pretty high-quality blade steel. VG-10 was first developed in Japan and it was intended for the knives of Japanese chefs…
Eventually, folding knife manufacturers saw its potential, and started incorporating it in some of their designs…
VG-10 does a good job of resisting corrosion, and it’s also strong and maintains an edge pretty well. That being said, the major difference between the Military model’s CPM S30V and the Police model’s VG-10…
…is that the CPM S30V blade will hold its edge longer, but the VG-10 will be a little easier to sharpen. Personally, I prefer CPM S30V, but I think they are both high-quality blade steels…
Now the handle on the Police model is made from stainless steel. It’s satin-finished, and it offers a good amount of heft…
I don’t mind the stainless steel handle on the Police, but it is a bit heavier than the G-10 on the Military and it doesn’t lock onto your hand with the same amount of traction either…
That being said, I think it functions well enough, and it’s a high quality material that looks really sleek.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Military
The blade shape on the Military model is kind of a drop point with Spyderco’s traditional styling…
It has a high-performance full flat grind which makes it a great cutter and slicer, and it comes with a Plain Edge which I like because it makes it easier to sharpen…
Overall, I think it’s a very attractive looking blade, and it performs very well. It does have a large Spyderco round hole, which allows you to easily open the blade with one hand…
And there is jimping on both the spine and the finger choil, which will give you even more control over the blade when you’re using the knife…
Now as I mentioned before, the handle is made from textured G-10. It’s very comfortable and ergonomic, and it gives you a great purchase on the knife when you’re holding it…
It does have an incorporated lanyard hole, if you would like to loop some paracord through it, and it comes in a variety of colors and patterns including camo, black and blue…
The blade also comes in either the naked metallic color or a black color. I really like that Spyderco offers this design in several color combinations because it allows you to get a knife that really fits your personal styling.
Spyderco Police
The blade shape on the Police model is also a variation of a drop point with the traditional Spyderco styling…
However, instead of a full flat grind like the Military model, the Police has a hollow ground blade with a swedge at the front…
Because of this shape, the Police blade is not the best at slicing, but remember that’s not really what it was designed for…
This is a Police knife that is meant for self-defense, and the blade is pretty thick, strong, and it’s really hard to break off the tip…
You can get the Police with a Plain Edge, the Spyder Edge, or the Combination Edge. The Spyder Edge is pretty much Spyderco’s version of a serrated blade, and the Combination Edge is a half plain edge and half serrated blade…
Like I mentioned before, I prefer the Plain Edge on my knives because it makes them easier to sharpen, but I like that Spyderco offers this design with the Spyder Edge and Combination Edge for those that want serrations…
In addition to that, the blade on the Police has the traditional Spyderco hole which makes for easy blade deployment, and it has the words “POLICE” written across it, which I think looks really cool…
Now the handle, like I said, is made from stainless steel, so it’s gonna feel a little bit heavy. That being said, it’s actually a very thin handle. So it carries in your pocket a little easier than you might expect.
It also feels pretty comfortable in the hand, and I think the satin-finish looks very sleek.
Locking Mechanism…
Spyderco Military
The Military model uses the Compression Lock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that incorporates a ramp on the blade tang, a leaf-like spring, and a stop pin to lock out the blade…
It’s a mechanism that was designed and patented by Spyderco, and I really like it because it’s a very strong system and it’s easy to use.
Spyderco Police
The Police model uses the Back Lock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that incorporates a rocker arm with a lug on it that engages with a notch on the tang of the blade to lock out the blade…
This is a very common locking mechanism on folding knives, and it locks the blade out pretty securely. In addition to that, Spyderco includes the Boye Dent on the Police model’s back lock…
This is a slightly scalloped dent that was developed by knifemaker David Boye, and the purpose of it is to make accidental disengagement of the locking mechanism more difficult if you grip the knife too tightly…
All in all, I like the Back Lock system with the Boye Dent on the Police model, but I prefer the Compression Lock system on the Military model because it’s a little bit smoother and a little bit stronger.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Military
The Spyderco Military model is a large folding knife (both the Paramilitary 2 and the Paramilitary 3 are smaller versions of the Military)…
The blade on the Military model is 4 inches long, and the handle is 5.52 inches long. That brings the overall length on the Military to 9.52 inches when the blade is fully deployed…
Just for comparison’s sake, the Paramilitary 2 (again a more compact version of the Military) is 8.24 inches long when the blade is fully locked out…
So the Military model is 1.28 inches longer than it’s little brother when both of their blades are fully deployed.
Spyderco Police
The Spyderco Police is also a pretty large folding knife. On the Police model, the blade is 4.15 inches long, and the handle is 5.32 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Police to 9.47 inches when the blade is fully deployed. It is very close in overall length to the Military model, but the Police model is .05 inches shorter when both of their blades are locked out…
Even though the blade on the Police model is a little bit longer, the longer handle on the Military model makes it just a touch longer in overall length.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Spyderco Military
The Military model only has one clip position, and it sets you up for tip-down carry, which is what I prefer…
And even though you can’t swap the clip to either side, Spyderco does offer the Military in both right-handed and left-handed versions…
In addition to that, it sits relatively low in your pocket. There is about an inch of handle that remains visible when it’s clipped in, but it’s still fairly discrete, and it makes it easy to access the knife quickly.
Spyderco Police
The Police model has a four-position adjustable clip. That means you can set it up for tip up or tip down carry, and you can swap the clip to either side of the knife (depending on if you’re right or left-handed)…
Even though I mentioned before that I prefer tip down carry, I know there are a lot of people out there who like tip up carry, and I’m glad that Spyderco gives you the flexibility on this design to carry exactly how you would like to…
Now just like with the Military model, the Police sits in your pocket with about an inch of the handle that remains visible…
Again, I don’t think that’s a bad thing because it’s still pretty discrete, and it gives you easy access to your knife.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you precise numbers in this category because the prices of these knives change all the time due to the way the market works…
That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Police model is around 50 to 55 bucks less expensive than the Military model…
The price difference is probably because the Military model uses CPM S30V blade steel which, like I said earlier, is considered to be a little bit better than the VG-10 blade steel on the Police model…
Regardless, it’s clear that the Police model is going to be the less expensive option.
Spyderco Military Vs Police – Final Thoughts…
So to summarize everything, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, the Military model uses CPM S30V steel and has a textured G-10 handle and the Police Model uses VG-10 steel and has a stainless steel handle…
Even though both blade steels are good, I prefer the CPM S30V on the Military because it will hold an edge longer, and I also prefer the G-10 handle because it’s lighter weight and more comfortable in your hand…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, the Military has a full flat grind which makes it a great cutter, and the Police has a hollow grind and swedge which helps prevent the tip from snapping off but limits it’s cutting performance…
In the Locking Mechanism category, the Military uses the Compression Lock system and the Police uses the Back lock system with the Boye Dent…
I prefer the Compression Lock system on the Military because it’s a little bit of a stronger locking mechanism…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Military model is slightly longer (.05 inches) in overall length than the Police model when both of their blades are fully deployed …
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, the Military is limited to only tip down carry whereas the Police has a clip that can be set up for tip up or tip down carry and can be swapped to either side…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Police model is around 50 to 55 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 model for a few reasons. First of all, I think the CPM S30V blade steel on the Military is a little bit better than the VG-10 blade steel on the Police because it will hold its edge longer…
I also prefer the full flat grind and cutting performance you get with the Military, and the G-10 grips are very comfortable in your hand…
Last, I really like the Compression Lock system on the Military because it’s an extremely strong and easy to use locking mechanism…
Now if you prefer the blade shape of the Police model, and you want to save a little bit of money, then feel free to go with the Police model because it’ still an awesome knife…
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You won’t go wrong going with either of the classic Spyderco designs, and truth be told, if you have the money for it, I think it’s best to eventually pick up both to help fill out your knife collection properly.