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December byte 2022
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FEATURED PRODUCT


C223PBK / SBK

PARA™ 3


MSRP:  $165.00
ORIGIN: USA


PARA 3 LIGHTWEIGHT


The Para 3 Lightweight is one of Spyderco’s most refined folding knife designs. It is also the latest chapter in an evolutionary process that began with the introduction of the iconic Military™ Model back in 1996.

The inspiration for the original Military Model began when a customer asked Spyderco co-founder Sal Glesser a simple, but profound question: “If your son was going into the military, what knife would you give him?” Although Spyderco was already manufacturing an impressive selection of CLIPIT® folding knives at that time, Sal didn’t feel that any of them met the exact needs of forward-deployed military personnel. To solve that problem, he set about designing one that did—the Military Model.

The defining features of the original Military’s blade included a full-flat-ground, modified clip-point profile, a textured thumb ramp and index-finger choil, and an oversized Trademark Round Hole that was fully accessible with either hand. These provided an outstanding balance of strength, edge geometry, and point utility, the option of a “choked-up” grip for enhanced control, and easy one-handed opening, even while wearing gloves.

On the handle end, it featured peel-ply-textured G-10 scales, nested partial stainless steel liners, a neutral, one-size-fits all profile, and a LinerLock mechanism with a generous lock-release cutout, again for easy operation while wearing gloves. It also included a lined lanyard hole for the easy attachment of safety lanyards.

The Para Military™


The Military quickly earned a devoted following and established itself as a true Spyderco classic. It also inspired a demand for a scaled-down version of the design that would be more suitable for everyday carry in a civilian environment. The answer to that calling was the Para Military™, which was introduced in 2004. Roughly two-thirds the size of the Military, it maintained the same design profile and delivered the same proven reliability and cutting performance, but in a more compact, easy-to-carry package. It also was one of the early knives to showcase our innovative Compression Lock®—a robust, extremely user friendly lock mechanism housed in the spine of the handle.
The Para Military achieved its target goals very well and quickly attracted legions of dedicated end users. Once again, they weren’t shy about sharing their feedback on the design. As always, we were eager to listen and learn. Based on detailed customer feedback, in 2010 we released the second-generation Para Military 2. It incorporated an improved detent on the Compression Lock, refined ergonomics, countersunk pivot screws, and a four-position pocket clip that supports all possible carry configurations. The response to these improvements was overwhelmingly positive and, to this day, many end users regard the Para Military 2 as their perfect folding knife. Others—especially those who live or work in areas with restrictive blade-length laws—felt even the downsized Para Military 2 was still larger than what they could comfortably or legally carry. To meet their needs, Spyderco went back to the drawing board to distill all the key qualities and performance characteristics of the Para Military 2 into an even smaller envelope built around a three-inch blade. The result, released in 2016, was the Para 3.

The Para 3


Firearms enthusiasts are familiar with the concept of “full-sized,” “compact,” and “subcompact” pistols. A perfect example of this convention is the progression of the Glock® 17, 19, and 26. Although the barrel, slide, and grip of the 19 and 26 get progressively shorter, the trigger group and the central portion of the design remains unchanged. From a design and ergonomics standpoint, the same holds true for the Military Model (full-sized), Para Military 2 (compact), and Para 3 (subcompact). While the handle and blade of the latter two are abbreviated, the center portion of the design remains fundamentally unchanged. This approach ensures a comfortable, hand-filling size and, very importantly, keeps the “cockpit”—all the critical dimensional relationships of the pivot pin, lock components, and the blade’s Trademark Round Hole—exactly the same. In this way, even though the three models are significantly different in overall size, they feel, handle, and open the same.

This strategy was the foundation of the Para 3 design and, not surprisingly, made it an instant success. It also quickly led to variations on the theme, all of which, like the inaugural Para 3, featured machined G-10 scales and nested, skeletonized stainless steel liners. While we were very pleased with the Para 3’s market reception, we still weren’t content. Given the knife’s compact size, we decided to push its design envelope even further by creating a lightweight version with streamlined engineering and injection-molded handle components. The result of that effort was the remarkable Para 3 Lightweight.

Let there Be Light(weight)


At first glance, the Para 3 Lightweight looks as if it simply traded the peel-ply-textured scales of the original model for injection-molded ones. The difference between the two, however, goes much deeper than that. The nested stainless steel liners of the G-10-handled Para 3 extend nearly the full length and width of the handle on both sides. That’s not the case with the Lightweight. True to its name, it relies primarily on its molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) scales for its overall structural strength. A partial stainless steel liner at the front of the handle provides unilateral support for the blade’s pivot pin and stop pin. On that same side of the handle, a separate stainless steel leaf spring forms the foundation of the knife’s streamlined Compression Lock mechanism. Anchored securely at its base by the handle’s stainless steel assembly screws, this revolutionary feature works in concert with the knife’s open-backed handle construction to reduce its weight by almost 30 percent compared to a G-10-handled Para 3.
Like most Spyderco lightweight models, one of the other key advantages of the FRN scales is the addition of a Bi-Directional Texture™ pattern—a series of opposing steps that radiate out from the center of the handle to provide a deeper, more aggressive texture than peel-ply G-10. Compared to its G-10-handled counterparts, the perimeter of the Para 3 Lightweight’s handle also features a larger radius, making it even more comfortable in the hand.

One somewhat polarizing feature of G-10-handled Para 3s is the placement of their four-position pocket clips when mounted for tip-up carry. For some users’ tastes, it causes the knife to ride high in the pocket. In contrast, the Para 3 Lightweight features a deep-pocket wire clip secured with a single stainless steel screw post. Although it does not allow the option of tip-down carry like the G-10-handled version, the wire clip provides ultra-low-ride, tip-up carry and can be easily switched to both the left and right sides. For fans of lanyards and fobs, the clip is complemented by a generously sized lanyard hole in the handle.

The standard black-handled version of the Para 3 Lightweight features a blade crafted from Carpenter® Technology’s CTS® BD1N stainless steel. This workhorse steel began as CTS BD1, which Carpenter developed in close cooperation with Spyderco as a US-made, powder-metallurgy-enhanced version of our very first knife steel, Japan’s Gingami-1. Later, BD1 was enhanced with nitrogen to give it an even better balance of hardness, edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening, creating CTS BD1N. The blade’s full-flat grind gives it outstanding edge geometry and a double distal taper to ensure a highly serviceable point. At the juncture of the blade and handle, there is an index-finger choil that provides a forward purchase for enhanced control during detail work. A fully accessible Trademark Round Hole allows swift, positive, one-handed opening with either hand and both the thumb ramp and the forefinger choil have jimping (textured grooves) for additional grip security.

Variations


The CTS BD1N version of the Para 3 Lightweight is available with a choice of a PlainEdge™ or fully serrated SpyderEdge™ blade. To complement the blade’s satin finish, the handle’s liner elements, clip, and other hardware sport matching bright finishes. For tactical end users or those who simply prefer the look of basic black, a subdued version with a Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) blade coating and black-coated handle hardware is also available. It also comes in both PlainEdge and SpyderEdge configurations.

For steel aficionados, there is a version of the Para 3 Lightweight featuring Spyderco’s proprietary CPM® SPY27® steel—a US-made powder-metallurgy version of one of our time-honored standards, Japanese VG-10. Available only in PlainEdge, this knife features a signature cobalt-blue FRN handle in honor of the critical role cobalt plays in SPY27’s alloy composition.

No matter which version you choose, you’ll find the Para 3 Lightweight to be one of the easiest carrying and most user friendly full-service folding knives you’ve ever put in your pocket. The fact that it represents the pinnacle of a long, rich evolutionary history makes it even better.

EDGE-U-CATION®


The Compression Lock


Invented by Spyderco co-founder Sal Glesser in the year 2000 and formally recognized by a U.S. Utility Patent in 2003, the Compression Lock was a milestone achievement in folding knife lock engineering. Although often misunderstood as “a LinerLock on the back of the handle,” it is actually one of the simplest, strongest, safest, and most user-friendly locks ever developed.

Michael Walker’s LinerLock took the traditional brass split liner safety of old-school pocketknives and elevated it to one of the most functional, ubiquitous, and, sadly, unacknowledged, lock mechanisms in the cutlery industry. Elegantly simple, it uses a split liner, or in some cases, an inset lock bar, to engage a ramp at the base of the blade. The spring tension of the bent lock bar causes it to wedge and gall (the metallurgical term for “to stick”) against the ramp, blocking the blade’s closure and locking it securely open. Pushing the liner aside releases the lock and allows the blade to be easily closed with only one hand. In the closed position, a ball bearing inset into the side of the lock bar also indexes a hole in the side of the blade’s tang. The bar’s spring tension drives the bearing into the hole and serves as a detent to keep the blade safely closed when not in use.
Although the LinerLock is an extremely serviceable mechanism, it does have some disadvantages. First and foremost, because the ramp on the blade tang faces the butt of the handle when the knife is open, releasing the lock to close the blade places your thumb directly in the blade’s path—at least for a moment. With a little practice, it’s easy to learn to close the blade slightly and move your thumb out of the way before closing it the rest of the way. Nevertheless, closing a LinerLock knife requires care.

The other limitation of the LinerLock is its overall mechanical strength. To allow the knife to be easily operated, the spring tension of the lock bar must be finely tuned to allow the lock to engage fully and securely while providing good detent pressure when the blade is closed. At the same time, the force exerted by the lock bar cannot be so great that it is difficult to release. To achieve this balance, LinerLocks typically have fairly long lock bars. While they provide perfectly adequate strength for most uses, under extreme pressure, LinerLock lock bars can flex, potentially compromising their locking function.

Compression Lock Mechanics


Like a LinerLock, the Compression Lock also uses a split liner or spring lock bar; however, the location of the bar and the orientation of the blade’s tang ramp are very different. Instead of facing rearward and contacting the end of the lock bar, the tang ramp of a Compression Lock faces upward, toward the spine of the handle. By design, it is also located directly beneath the stop pin. In most knives, the stop pin contacts the blade in both the open and closed positions to limit its rotation around the pivot pin. In a Compression Lock, it does a lot more.

When the blade of a Compression-Lock knife is opened fully, the lock bar’s spring tension drives it laterally into the space between the tang ramp and the stop pin. Due to the taper of the tang ramp, the bottom of the lock bar wedges tightly against it. At the same time, the top of the lock bar wedges against the bottom of the stop pin. The result is an extremely tight engagement of the three surfaces that locks the blade securely open.
To understand why the mechanics of a Compression Lock are superior to those of a LinerLock, think of applying pressure to the back of a knife’s blade, trying to force it to close. In a LinerLock knife, the end of the lock bar contacts the tang ramp, which faces rearward toward the butt of the handle. When pressure is applied to the back of the blade, it is transferred directly to the end of the lock bar. Extreme pressure can cause the lock bar to flex along its length and, ultimately, to slide off the tang ramp. In a Compression Lock, however, the tang ramp and stop pin contact the top and bottom surfaces of the lock bar, not its end. When pressure is applied to try to close the blade, that pressure is redirected through the tang ramp to the bottom of the lock bar. The lock bar, in turn, pushes upward on the stop pin, which functions like an anvil. The resulting forces therefore try to crush or compress the short height of the lock bar between the tang ramp and the stop pin—thus the name Compression Lock. Mechanically, this is much stronger than a LinerLock.

The action of releasing a Compression Lock is basically the same as closing a LinerLock: push the liner laterally until it clears the blade’s thickness and close the blade. Operationally, however, the Compression Lock is safer and more user friendly. Because it is located on the handle’s spine, when properly operated, your fingers are safely away from the bottom of the handle and the path of the edge. From a right-handed perspective, simply hold the knife so the ball of your thumb is against the obverse (left, as viewed from the top with the blade pointed away from you) scale. Use your index finger to push the lock-release tab toward your thumb and, as you do, give the knife a slight downward shake. The blade will close smoothly while all your fingers remain safely out of its path.

Compression Lock Evolution


The first Spyderco design to feature the Compression Lock was the Bram Frank-designed Gunting™ and its companion pieces, the Gunting Trainer and the CRMPT—an unusual unsharpened tool intended for law enforcement and security personnel as a restraint and control device. These models were followed by the Lil’ Temperance™, the Lil’ Temperance 2, the A.T.R.™, and the Salsa™. Later, the original Para Military™ and Yojimbo™ joined their ranks. All these early Compression Locks used a unique machined shelf in the side of the blade tang to serve as a detent to keep the blade closed. Although this method worked, it was later replaced by a ball-bearing detent and a small matching hole in the blade tang. Following in the footsteps of legendary knifemaker Chris Reeve, who supercharged Michael Walker’s LinerLock to create the Reeve Integral Lock (R.I.L. or “frame lock”), the Compression Lock also got the “integral” treatment. Specifically, in knives like the A.T.R. and Salsa, the lock bar was integral to the full-thickness metal scale.
After earning its utility patent,the Compression Lock became a mainstay of the Spyderco product line and was featured in knives produced by our Japanese and Taiwanese manufacturing partners, as well as our U.S. factory. It was also honored as the fifth member of our unique Sage™ Series, which pays tribute to history-making folder lock mechanisms and the designers who created them. Clearly, the Compression Lock earned a well-deserved place among the knife industry’s most popular, state-of-the-art lock mechanisms; however, our innovation didn’t stop there.
As part of our relentless pursuit of Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.), we began looking for ways to streamline and simplify the Compression Lock design. Borrowing a page from LinerLock trends in the late 1990’s, we began to experiment with the idea of a stand-alone lock bar for the Compression Lock. Instead of splitting a full or nested handle liner, the lock bar was an elegantly simple flat spring anchored at the rear end. Easier to manufacture, it also reduced the weight of the part—and the overall knife—substantially. This streamlined design theme ultimately paved the way for the Para 3 Lightweight design. Interestingly, it was also applied to knives at the other end of the weight spectrum—specifically, Exclusive expressions of the Para Military 2 featuring solid aluminum and copper scales. Because the thick scales of these knives provided ample structural strength and could be threaded to anchor the design’s four-position pocket clip, there was no need for stainless steel liners. The obverse-side scale was simply machined to create a pocket for the lock bar.
Another popular variation of the Compression Lock was pioneered by custom knifemaker Kevin Smock. After licensing the Compression Lock and our Trademark Round Hole in 2015, he used them in a folding knife design he called his “SK23.” The most distinctive feature of this design was a button he added to the lock bar of the Compression Lock to make it easier to release. He shared his innovation with the Spyderco Crew at the Atlanta Blade Show and ultimately collaborated with us to create a production version called simply, the Smock. It faithfully features his button-release feature and has earned a devoted following as one of the most fidget-friendly Spyderco knives ever made.

Today, the Compression Lock continues to shine as a defining feature of many of Spyderco’s most popular designs. When it comes to simplicity, strength, safety, ease of use, and long service life, few lock mechanisms are its equal. And once you’ve carried one, your perspective on folding knife performance will never be the same.

SPYDERCO INSIDER


'Tis the Season


This month, the Spyderco Crew and their significant others gathered at the Sheraton Denver West hotel for our annual Holiday party. Thanks to Sal, Gail, and Eric Glesser’s amazing generosity, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and plenty of drinks, as well as live music, dancing, a photo booth, and a drawing for some wonderful raffle prizes. Most importantly, we had the opportunity to enjoy time with our co-workers and their partners while celebrating our good fortune to be members of the Spyderco Crew. As these photos clearly show, a good time was had by all! Thank you, Spyderco!!!


Happy New Year!


The Spyderco Crew would like to wish you and your loved ones a very safe and Happy New Year!!! We’d also like to remind you the Spyderco office, warehouse, and Factory Outlet store will be closed on New Year's Day, Monday January 2, 2023. SFO is also closed on Sundays.

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