Military lurker questions

[lfootmatt]

Newbe lurker here.

Current EDC is a VG10 Impala GH Skinner. I needed a spyder to replace the CPM 440V SE Military I left at my old job (they bought it). I compromised and got the Impala to cover the need for a hunting knife and a G10 scaled EDC knife. Impala grips and overall design is very similar to the Millie.

My goal is 2 Millies. Full SE and PE. PE (Green D2 or CF BG42) for EDC and another 440V SE for more demanding situations.

Anyone have any ideas on a source for a NIB 440V SE???

My last 440V SE was used as an EDC when I took meth labs apart (hundreds of them) for a living for 4.5 years back in my forensic chemist days. It saw some pretty nasty action and sawed apart many a duct tape encased object. You name the chemical and my trusty Military has bathed in it without complaint. The oversized thumbhole and overly aggressive grips made it the perfect knife for Level "B" hazardous materials dressout environments. I've got some old training presentations that have pics from actual labs where my light and knife are present in action. I'll try to post if I can find them.

Later,

Matt

[The Deacon]

Best bets would be eBay, and the BladeForums Exchange forum. Older Militaries show up in both places, just have to keep your eyes open. Some particular reason why don't like S30V?

[PSU]

Welcome to the :spyder:-forum!

I suggest that you check eBay for the SE 440V military. There are several up for sale at the moment.

[lfootmatt]

Thanks PSE and Deacon!

Deacon,

No particular reason other than my prior very positive experience in putting a knife through absolute hell and after 4 years of abuse the only signs of it were that the G10 scales lightened up a bit, from all of the chemical exposure I suspect.

How does the S30V compare to the CPM 440V? It is certainly much easier to get!

PSE,

I've been watching several on ebay, I just hadn't seen any 440V ones.

I also saw something a long time ago about the 440V having linerlock problems. Any truth to that???

My 440V never waivered and had a rock solid lockup on it. And trust me I tested it as hard as a knife could be tested!

Thanks again,

Matt

[The Deacon]

Matt, 440V got a bad rap for chipping, now a few folks make the same complaints about S30V. Pick any high-quality steel and there are those who lament that every knife made does not use it and others who lament ever purchasing one that does. I don't really have enough experience with either to make valid comparison. All I can say is that, on the one hand, Spyderco tend to upgrade, rather than downgrade steel on their knives - and on the other, I can understand full well having greater confidence in something you know worked well for you in the past, than in an unknown quantity.

[Zwaplat]

You name the chemical and my trusty Military has bathed in it without complaint.

Aqua regia. Nitric acid. Saline solutions without rinsing them off afterwards.

[lfootmatt]

Aqua regia. Nitric acid. Saline solutions without rinsing them off afterwards.

Aqua regia, fine you got me, it probably never saw that. However, meth heads doing advanced organic syn with no education are likely to come up with a variety of witches brews. It regularly dipped into unknowns.

Nitric, Saline absolutely. Although HCl and H2SO4 were seen much more commonly along with Con. NaOH, Li metal, Anhydrous Ammonia, etc, etc..................

440V really held up to the punishment! The G10 became a slightly lighter shade of dark grey over time. I suspect it was due to my aggressive decon and wide range of polar and non-polar solvents it saw.

Tough crowd:D

Later,

Matt

[PSU]

I've been watching several on ebay, I just hadn't seen any 440V ones. Here are some examples...

auction #1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-MIB-Military-C36GSE-U-S-Made-FREE-SHIP_W0QQitemZ320188720740QQihZ011QQcategoryZ63800 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
auction #2 (http://cgi.ebay.com/SPC36GSE-Spyderco-MILITARY-G-10-CPM440V-SERRATED-kniv_W0QQitemZ220170133231QQihZ012QQcategoryZ63800 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)
auction #3 (http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SPYDERCO-MILITARY-KNIFE-G-10-HANDLES_W0QQitemZ140103366080QQihZ004QQcategoryZ43 335QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)

I hope this helps.

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I love s3ov over all other steels, it gets sharper and stays sharp and resharpens easier than anything else out there! YMMV. :spyder:

[Zwaplat]

Aqua regia, fine you got me, it probably never saw that. However, meth heads doing advanced organic syn with no education are likely to come up with a variety of witches brews. It regularly dipped into unknowns.

Nitric, Saline absolutely. Although HCl and H2SO4 were seen much more commonly along with Con. NaOH, Li metal, Anhydrous Ammonia, etc, etc..................

440V really held up to the punishment! The G10 became a slightly lighter shade of dark grey over time. I suspect it was due to my aggressive decon and wide range of polar and non-polar solvents it saw.

Tough crowd:D

Later,

Matt

Hehehe. Might think up a few other acid mixes that are in the same region. ;)

And G10 loses it's original look by nature. I believe people use Militec to restore it.
So, conclusion, your military is invincible. :D

[FLYcrash]

Nitric, Saline absolutely. Although HCl and H2SO4 were seen much more commonly along with Con. NaOH, Li metal, Anhydrous Ammonia, etc, etc..................

Wow...sounds like my :spyder:s will come in handy next year when I start my PhD work in chemistry!

[Zwaplat]

Just use a spatula, FLY. Or read the label on the bottle. :rolleyes:

[ChapmanPreferred]

Here's a link to a very reputable Spyderco Dealer's website.

http://www.countryknives.com/store/product.asp?sku=C36GSE

I hope you can get one like you want.

Cheers.

[FLYcrash]

Just use a spatula, FLY. Or read the label on the bottle. :rolleyes:

Ahh, Spyderco - my cross-contaminating, pocketworthy stainless steel spatula! :p

[lfootmatt]

Wow...sounds like my :spyder:s will come in handy next year when I start my PhD work in chemistry!

My Millie came in quite handy around the analytical lab on a daily basis too! PhD....you got some big ones hanging down there. I got a BS in chemistry and Business and that was it for me. An advanced degree in Chemistry was not in the cards for me. I was a bit too blue collar. While I did pretty good it was mostly through hard work! Been out of chemistry for 5 years now. Pretty sad how fast you lose it once you move on.

Later,

Matt

PS Thanks all for the advise and tips! Great forum!!!

[lfootmatt]

Ahh, Spyderco - my cross-contaminating, pocketworthy stainless steel spatula! :p

Didn't use it for sampling. Just cutting into things. Meth heads have an unusual desire to encase things in duct tape. I also took a great deal of pride in finding evidence even if it required hitting the trash pretty hard. I can't count the number of trash bags that knife slashed open!

Later,

Matt

[FLYcrash]

Yeah, I was kidding about the spatula thing.

My specialty is physical chemistry (I hope to work in nanostructured materials), and I know from my undergraduate research that instrumentation is at the heart of p-chem research. I'll probably turn wrenches on many more days than I shake separatory funnels. And because you try things that nobody may have tried before, much of the instrumentation is really kludgy. It's amazing how much aluminum foil, duct tape, cardboard, and plastic sheeting you see wrapped around equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I do think my Spydies will see some very real use doing what they do best!

And don't sell yourself short, Matt...a PhD in chemistry is mostly just hard work, just like forensic chemistry in the field. I'll just be doing my work in less exciting environments and with tweedier colleagues. :)

[LOOKABIRD]

Remind me how you lost your Military? It seems like you would never let go of it!

Tom

[lfootmatt]

Remind me how you lost your Military? It seems like you would never let go of it!

Tom

Since I was moving on to bigger and better things, I left it at the crime lab since the lab (aka your tax dollars) paid for it. Unlike most Govt purchases, the tax payers got their moneys worth on that knife. Besides that it is my old partners EDC/lab knife now and he is a good guy.

Fly, P-chem I think I just threwup in my mouth! You are a glutton for punishment!!! Actually the insturmental/analytical side was my favorite. FTIR, NMR, electron micorscopy with an EDX x-ray detector, GC-MS...... always fun stuff. I do miss that part.

Later,

Matt

[lfootmatt]

Remind me how you lost your Military? It seems like you would never let go of it!

Tom

Since I was moving on to bigger and better things, I left it at the crime lab since the lab (aka your tax dollars) paid for it. Unlike most Govt purchases, the tax payers got their moneys worth on that knife. Besides that it is my old partners EDC/lab knife now and he is a good guy.

Fly, P-chem I think I just threw-up in my mouth! You are a glutton for punishment!!! Actually the insturmental/analytical side was my favorite. FTIR, NMR, electron micorscopy with an EDX x-ray detector, GC-MS...... always fun stuff. I do miss that part.

Later,

Matt