Knives | NemoKnivesReview

The Amphibian Milestone in CPM Magnacut iq PARA MILITARY® 2 SALT® BLACK G-10 CPM MAGNACUT® BLACK BLADE – C81GMCBK2 which is much too long to fit in a title.

This is not my first Paramillie 2, I usually wear the 52100 carbon fiber version but I have used many many version in S90V, CPM Cruwear and S30V. The 52100 is actually the exact opposite of this new version.
Announced at the 2023 Amsterdam Minimeet, a Paramillie impervious to the element. Better: a nautical version ready to stand tall in frond of the salty waves of the ocean’s breakers.
Then the wait began.

And here it is, in all its glory !
Delivered with Larrin Thomas dreamlike alloy: the CPM Magnacut !
A steel which hits a lot of sweet spots. Like some sort of totally rustfree CPM M4: strong, resilient and able to withstand thin edges without chipping.
So why adding a DLC on that alloy ? Overkill can be fun, can’t it be ?

Here are 3 versions. The 52100, the CPM Cruwear and CPM Magnacut from right to left. Three excellences in their own way all designed by Sal and Eric Glesser.
CPM Magnacut is a story of love.
Quoting his metallurgist of designer:
“The carbide structure of MagnaCut is much finer than the common powder metallurgy stainless steels such as CPM-154, M390, Elmax, S35VN, etc. The only stainless PM steel I have imaged which is competitive in terms of carbide/nitride size is Vanax. MagnaCut is even somewhat finer than CPM-4V and Vanadis 4 Extra, the non-stainless steels that MagnaCut was modeled after. This is an excellent result and should lead to excellent properties.”

Quoting Spyderco:
“This tour-de-force expression of the Para Military 2 showcases a full-flat-ground blade crafted from CPM MagnaCut—a state-of-the-art particle metallurgy steel that offers an exceptional balance of edge retention, toughness, and superior corrosion resistance. Cloaked in a non-reflective Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating, the PlainEdge blade is housed in a handle featuring peel-ply-textured black G-10 scales machined with the signature Caribbean Bi-Directional Texture pattern of Spyderco’s US-made Salt Series knives. To complement its blade steel and finish, the knife’s nested stainless steel liners, four-position pocket clip, and all other hardware are also made from ultra- corrosion-resistant materials and black coated.”

That new Salty Paramillie is destined to be an amphibian workhorse, an hippocampus !!
All hardware is black coated but the stop pin which is silver and made of “fearlessly corrosion-resistant marine-grade materials“.
The handle (as efficient it is to be non slippery) is destined to be a pocket shredder as it is carved to be used with wet oily hands. Your trousers will suffer !!
Unless, like myself you are a compulsive user of sandpaper. And even then, it will be hard on pocket’s lips.

The Diamond Like Coating is not only protecting a blade which doesn’t need any protection, it gives a strong Mall Ninja vibe also.
Usually coating brings some king of lubrification to the matter separation. I’m not impressed so far, even on sausages.
The geometry is perfect on my PM Salty. Thin as a razor though.

One thing I had to change was the clip. It was replaced by a Flytanium Universal Titanium Clip which is short and deep carry.
Also I have moved the clip for a Tip Up carry which suit the Paramillie better in my book.

Of course de-shouldering the edge is the first step to convex that I do on new knives. Especially I have read that Magnacut loves leather stropping.

And this is true ! The edge turned quick into a über razor state.

It zipped through meat like a lightsaber into banta meat.

So now the game is on. The Salty Magnacut Paramillie is ready to kick all other knives from my pockets and be used on the long run.
Let see what this cutlery apogee era knife has to propose on the long run !

I love my Spyderco mantra 2.
Great engineering, ergos and materials. An attention to details and a signature: Eric Glesser. He is a perfectionist and a clever one. But I do hate one thing: the trademark “little” hole. A place to catch grim and hard to clean on the field.

Why don’t you just print a circle instead to drill into the blade ? The trademark hole is even on my Spyderco fixed blades…
Anyway, the Des Horn was a first step. A second step is the ST0770CF.

I was in need of a “blind” folder. I mean a folder without any hole or thumbstub or disk.
The Real Steal Megalodon was on my list: with its beautiful lines like a Sukhoi 27, M390 steel….
But then the Zero Tolerance caught my eye through all its great reviews.

ZT knives were always synonym of heavy fat ground knives à la Strider. Not something I would enjoy as EDC.
Unless I start to follow a special project around the ZT0770in M390 and especially a version in CPM M4 (ended with 69 dollars of international shipping fees).

So I went to “La Coutelerie Tourangelle” famous for their good prices, great shipping fees (5.9 euros with tracking in France) and total absence of communication…. 😉 Just kidding, even if they are mute like a brick wall, they delivered a great service world wide.

The ZT0770CF got no name. Its blade is beadblasted. This is a user not a safe queen.
The assisted opening is strong and seems reliable. I have found some people were able to remove the spring easily and even order another bronze washer. But my idea was to have a spring making my flipping secure and complete.
Many times my flipping was not 100% on my Southard on my Domino…. and it was frustrating.
So no ball bearing on the ZT but a strong spring. Again if you don’t like it, you can remove it.
I love it.
It is positive and definitive. SCHLAKK !! It’s open.

Now if you don’t want to be noticed you can open it against your leg, halfway and with a gentle flick it is open.
All is silent.

Balance wise, the ZT is perfect: the Carbon Fibers handle is so light. There is a black spacer, beautiful and very scifi. But the point of balance is just behind the pivot ! Perfect.
The knife is “alive” in your hands.
The texture of the carbonfiber is smooth but matte. Just like my sanded G10 handles. There is enough blade to open the knife like a gentleman folder. It won’t jump from your hands, the spring is not “that” strong.
There is a detent you can also feel at the end of the blade course.
The action is smooth, enough smooth to have the gravity works fine when unlocked.
This is a beautiful knife with a great attention to details.

The liner lock is thick and nested. Easy to operate. The detent ball is visible. Everything is in place.
The jimping on the blade is not to aggressive. The jimping on the flipper is more aggressive but do not come in contact with finger once open.

The guard is very cleverly thought. The position of the pin and the jimping on the flipper. It’s a clockwork !
Closed or open, there is no hot spot on the ZT0770CF, all lines flush together: very impressive.

The pivot screw is beautiful and despite its exotic look just need a torx to be unscrew. You can rest your thumb on it, it works like my Calypso’s screw guard.
The CF handle is renforced by nested liners and despite being light the construction is very solid.

Ergos are great. I mean they suit my four fingers. I already loved on my Mantra how the flipper served as guard once the blade open. Here on the ZT the guard in integrated with flipper like on the Domino but more pronounced. I really love that configuration.

The ZT got a particular blade: high flat thinly ground with a kind of sheepfoot shape. It works.
You got some belly near the pivot and a straight edge near the point, something between a Spyderco Positron a stretch Cricket.

It cuts aggressively and pass my plastic bottle bottom with force and ease. Eventually I find the ZT’s blade is simply gorgeous, all in curves… The belly near the pivot will give a lot of power for pushcuts into wood.

I love Elmax since my Lionspy. I remember beating the crap out of it and it was really forgiving: no chipping and great sharpness.
Also I’m in love with a Squeak in Elmax with titanium handles for a year now and this pure little Italian wonder will be review soon.

Elmax is such a great knife steel. No chipping, edge stability, ease of maintaining. What not to love ?

The black clip is short but made for deep carry. This is a very low profil configuration which leave almost zero print. The knife can find a nest into the watch pocket too. We got here a very compact package and very light: a true EDC.