Spyderco Para 3 | Our Honest First Impressions

The Spyderco Para 3 is finally here!

Believe it or not, here at Blade HQ most of us are real life knife enthusiasts. That’s why when the Spyderco Para 3 was first revealed, we were losing our minds just like the rest of you. It’s down to personal opinion, but if you have ever felt like the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 was just a little too big for you, or you wish it had contoured handles, was legal in your area, etc. you’re going to want to get familiar with the Spyderco Para 3.

The Good

• Size: The Spyderco Para 3 is roughly 12% shorter than it’s older brother, the Paramilitary 2. The 3″ blade means it is legal in more areas, and is easier to carry as well.

• Contoured Goodness: If the handles on the PM2 were too sharp-shouldered for you, the Spyderco Para 3 will be a welcome addition to your collection. Contoured handles are where it’s at.

• Track Record: Although it is not the same knife, the Para 3 comes from a long line of well tested and trusted Spyderco knives. The Spyderco Military, and Paramilitary 2 have more than a combined decade of proven toughness.

The Not so Good

• The Looks: If you like the utilitarian style of the Paramilitary 2, you’re going to love the Spyderco Para 3. With that, this is a “no frills” kind of knife. The handle to blade ratio can be criticized, but now we are just being nitpicky.

• The Lanyard Hole: Likely due to the contoured handles and the shortening of the knife overall, the lanyard hole needed some relocation. But, Spyderco went and did us deep carry fans a disservice and put it above the pocket clip, and right on the end of the handle. But, there is still a ray of hope. Lynch NW makes a great Para 3 deep carry pocket clip that will fit the Spyderco Para 3. They come in many colors and add a nice bit of flare to your EDC.

• A Pinned Stop Pin: At first, we were hesitant about the choice to move to a pinned stop pin, as opposed to the more traditional stop pin fixed with torx screws. But, from a manufacturers perspective, it keeps cost down and is just as strong as the aforementioned torx alternative. Rest assured, we have taken the knife apart ourselves to inspect it and the pin is floating, not pressed. This means you can still take the knife apart, and there is no hassle of a fixed pin.

The Rest

We shot an episode of Knife Banter (the hottest weekly knife talk show on the internet, probably) dedicated to the Spyderco Para 3. We give our opinions on the knife, as well as do our best to answer any questions you may have.