Spyderco’s Most Beloved Pocket Knife Gets a Rising Material Treatment and a Super Steel Swap

Even among its top-notch peers, this folding blade’s unique expression is special.

Close-up of a Spyderco folding knife blade with CPM MagnaCut steel and a light green textured handle.Blade HQ

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Founded in 1976, Spyderco has been producing bladed tools for a long time. As you might expect, that means its catalog is about as deep as the Mariana Trench. And for a brand that’s both prolific and known for its exceptional quality, that makes it tough for any individual design to stand out.

Yet, the brand is practically synonymous with one knife in particular, the PM2. Undoubtedly the brand’s most enduring, instantly recognizable design, this timeless knife remains relevant, in part, because the brand continues to evolve it.

Take, for instance, the latest iteration: the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 Diamond Mesh Natural G-10, which sees the PM2 embrace a couple of trendy material applications.

Folding knife with black blade and light green textured handle, featuring Spyderco logo and CPM M4 steel marking.
The knife’s iconic silhouette remains, but the materials see some significant changes.
Blade HQ

Au naturale

Overall, the silhouette and mechanisms of this knife remain true to the venerated original. It’s still 8.25 inches long with a 3.44-inch leaf-shaped blade.

It also retains its iconic, fan-favorite Compression Lock, four-position pocket clip, oversized Round Hole manual deployment, lanyard hole and ergonomic handle shape.

However, you’ve probably already noticed the primary alteration: the handle scales. On both of these Blade HQ-exclusive configurations, they’re fitted with natural G-10 scales (which have a pale jade colorway).

Overall, the silhouette and mechanisms of this knife remain true to the venerated original.

This material appears to be an emerging trend. In fact, we’ve recently seen it applied to a Japanese-inspired Civivi, a trio of CRKT knives and more.

Of course, it wouldn’t really be Spyderco’s bag to just hop on a trend without a twist. As such, these knives feature a unique diamond-mesh texture that sets them apart from their peers and adds extra grip (an essential component for hard, tactical use).

Two folding knives with light green textured handles and black clips, one showing the blade partially open and the other closed.
The knife is available with either a satin- or black-finished blade. They are otherwise identical.
Blade HQ

Part deux, too

While the handle scales might be the most obviously unique thing about this knife’s dueling exclusive configurations, it’s far from the only thing to be excited about. And no, I don’t mean all the other aforementioned returning features, either (although they are all excellent).

For reference (and because it’s important to my point), the standard version of the Paramilitary 2 comes with a S45VN steel blade. These configurations, however, get a pretty on-trend, fan-favorite upgrade.

Hand holding a folding knife with a translucent textured handle and partially visible stainless steel blade.
These knives have a unique diamond pattern on their handle scales, which adds extra depth and character to them.
Blade HQ

In place of S45VN, they both come with CPM-MagnaCut. I’ve said time and time again that MagnaCut appears to be the most popular super steel of the moment, and this is just another drop in that bucket.

Obviously, there’s another difference here. One of the knives’ blades comes with a satin finish, while the other has a black finish. That amounts to two things: a $10 price difference and a minor durability boost for the black version.

As these are special exclusives, there’s no telling how many are in stock or whether they will ever get restocked, so you’ll want to get them while you can.

Two folding knives with white textured handles and one black-coated blade and one silver blade, placed on a black surface with black rope.
Here, you can see the two MagnaCut blade finish options side by side.
Blade HQ

Availability and pricing

The Spyderco Paramilitary 2 Diamond Mesh Natural G-10 is now available on Blade HQ with either a satin or black-finished blade.

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