Most “military” knives are pretty thick, beefy, and have some self-defense of combat oriented features. This is true of lower end knives like KA-BARs (which were originally a hunter design), and Buck Nighthawk, as well as higher end knives like Strider. Strider unapologetically makes beefy knives for military personel that have obvious self defense or combat purposes. Strider’s knives can be used to pry open crates, hammer nails, smash and grind everything from stone to glass, and be used as a backup weapon. However, Strider’s are not the best cutters in the world. Most military knives are not.

Sal Glesser of Spyderco designed the Military to be a companion to the more “tactical” knives a lot of military personel carry. Instead of putting the “Military” name on a big beef tactical knife, Sal Glesser designed a true cutter that someone in the military can use to do their real cutting.

The Military has a fairly thin blade and a liner lock. The liner is recessed into the thin G-10 handle to help keep the knife very skinny and light. And it *IS* very skinny and light. Unlike a typical “military” knife the Spyderco Military is easy-to-carry. Sal Glesser knew that with all of the gear a serviceman has to carry, a thin and light knife is a very welcome option.

The Spyderco Military cuts extremely well. Better that almost every knife I have ever owned. Spyderco is known for sharpness out of the box, but the Military is really something else. The blade is not much thinner than that on many small Spydercos, but it is also wider (from edge to spine), so the primary grind angle is very acute. Also, many Spyderco knives are hollow ground (better for shallow cutting) and/or saber ground (stronger spine). The Military is a full flat grind, which makes for very impressive for deep cutting and general utility work.

Many people love how the Military feels in the hand. For me it is a little awkward. You can choke up on the choil, or put your index finger in the cutaway for the lock release. In both cases, I feel a little uncomfortable holding the knife. Choking up leaves too much knife sticking out of the back of my hand, and choking down doesn’t seem to give me anywhere to put my thumb (as the thumb ramp is slightly out of reach). But for larger hands, the Military might be perfect.

As a thin, fairly larger super-cutter the Military is awesome, whether you are in the Military or not. If you want a larger knife that is more about cutting performance and ease-of-carry instead of being thick, beefy, and strong, the Military is perfect for you. You can also check out the smaller Paramilitary model.