Help With Choosing a Manix 2 Steel

[Tucson Tom]

Honestly, you can't go wrong, except in buying a LW -- always go for the G10 version.

The XL is really a totally different knife. I adore the Manix, but the XL is definitely not for me.

That aside, there is nothing at all wrong with S30V, and I am glad to see plenty of people boosting it in the replies.

But it is a lot of fun to get an "unusual" steel if you find an exclusive or sprint for sale (or want to wait for one).
I have never seen Spyderco put anything that could possibly be called a "bad steel" in a knife.

Given you are looking for a knife for real day to day use, just grab the S30V and you won't regret it.

[Pointy]

Thank you all for your insights and suggestions. I'm surprised to see as many recommendations for BD1N as I thought there would be a theme to go for the "fancy" supersteels. I also appreciate the XL suggestions but I'm going to pass on entertaining the XL as the clip position looks like it will ride high in the pocket and it's even more of a pocket full (I'm used to carrying Enduras). Looking at the Canadian prices, the FRCP BD1N models are very affordable as well.

Is there any practical difference between FRN and FRCP? I've only owned and used FRN. I read here it was a little more chippy than FRN (whereas FRN will dent/yield from an impact, FRCP will chip from being dropped for example). Is this the experience of most?

[ladybug93]

Is there any practical difference between FRN and FRCP? I've only owned and used FRN. I read here it was a little more chippy than FRN (whereas FRN will dent/yield from an impact, FRCP will chip from being dropped for example). Is this the experience of most?

i think it matters more where you drop it. i dropped my manix on cement and it dinged a little. i dropped my native on asphalt and it lost small chips. neither cracked. both are plenty durable. and, to be fair, g10 takes damage if you drop it as well.

[Doc Dan]

I'm going to suggest something different. I really do like the M2 LW. I have 3, in fact. However, I'm going to suggest either a Straight Spine Stretch or an Endela, either in K390. The list the OP gave fits perfectly with this steel and the knives are about the same size as the M2. A plus for the Endela is there is a bit more room for a gloved hand.

[JSumm]

That's a great suggestion too Dan. K390 at that grit holds up very well at the edge. I will say there is something to that factory edge. Don't judge the edge from the factory. Get your edge before making any judgements about how it holds up. After that, it is truly incredible stuff.

[Cl1ff]

I think Spy27 would be the way to go. I've done some "testing" very similar to the things you've described and it has held up great. In fact, I just now went out and scraped on some stickers and paint off of metal and lightly tapped and scraped some concrete to finally dull the edge (through a good bit of cutting various things like what you described it held a working edge and a little stropping kept it cutting paper).
No chips. It only seemed to blunt. Any rolling was very minor. I didn't exactly give the metal or concrete a good whack, just some light taps and scrapes to be realistic, which definitely deformed the edge, but I think it held up quite well.
I just gave it an edge on the Spyderco CBN Stone and a strop.
The edge isn't perfect as I am still building the skill, but it was very easy to sharpen. Just a couple minutes and its shaving hair and cutting paper with no evidence of the minor deformations it had. Definitely not as refined as the edges I've been putting on other steels (LC200N, BD1N, VG10) where I go from the CBN to Medium Ceramic, but I like the aggression. Spy27 factory edges have held up with less rolls and chips or overall deformation than my LC200N, BD1N, H1, and S30V Spydercos, although I've been happy with the performance of all of those steels. CPM 15V Manix 2 factory edge stayed sharper longer than Spy27 and similarly seemed to just blunt. I didn't scrape Concrete with that, but I did accidentally tap the tip straight into a glass. It just barely perceptibly blunted the tip.

The Spy 27 use has been with a Native 5 and Mule Team 2. The latter's blade is pretty comparable to a Manix 2, actually slightly thinner, and I threw that one into some palm stumps with varying levels of density. No damage to the tip or edge. I want to describe all of the things I cut, but that would stretch this out pretty long. It's very similar to your list.

I'm sure other steels, like S30V, BD1N, and S110V, would hold up well too, so I don't think you can go wrong, but Spy27 is my recommendation.

[Pointy]

Well I'm blessed. I mentioned to my good friend that I'm considering a Manix and he drops in and gives me this very nice used example to add to my collection. Seems like he solved the steel choice dilemma for me!

Thank you everyone for your input in this thread. I was leaning toward SPY27 Lightweight but the decision has been made for me and I'm happy about it!!

[Cycletroll]

Congratulations. Serendipity, it works

[Coastal]

I'm happy for you! You'll enjoy that Manix!

Your original intention was what I was about to suggest, but you can't beat free.

[ladybug93]

it's hard to go wrong with that one! congrats on the new knife!

[Ramonade]

It'll serve you well ! And coming from a friend always brings more importance to a knife

[dodgie02]

I'm currently getting my third manix 2 LW s110v with screwed construction. Ordered spy first but I have tremendously good results in the field and workbench when sharpening. Don't see why it gets flack now. Read up on how s110v works with sharpening, test results in field, see what you could do better, improve and improve.

I have sharpened most of anything without issue, but to get the most out of s110v I had to take some different approaches.

[Evil D]

The problem you're going to run into is all the steels that hold an edge longer are less likely to tolerate scraping off gaskets. If you must use a pocket knife for that then you're 1) going to damage the edge 2) there goes your edge retention anyway 3) will take more time to fix during sharpening 4) you won't get the benefits of longer edge retention between sharpenings. You need to pick your steel for the worst case use, not the least or even average, the steel needs to survive the worst you'll put it through and if that means less edge retention then that's just how it is because Maxamet is not going to make a great gasket scraper and a damaged edge has pretty poor edge retention.

[aicolainen]

Getting a knife for free is indeed a speedy solution to a complex question :)

Even if this seem to be resolved, I think it is fitting to once in a while remind ourselves that getting too caught up in finding that perfect do-it-all tool for the job, can make us a bit blind to the alternatives.

For what you're describing, I'd opt for for a multiple knife/tool solution. How that would look exactly, would depend a bit on the specifics and occurrence of each task.



Generally speaking, a good starting point would be an ergonomic folding knife with good edge retention for prolonged cutting and something more specialized for the "dirty" jobs, like scraping and prying out staples.
I often carry a utility blade like the one pictured above when I expect to run into some abusive knife tasks. I don't have to worry about the disposable blade and the front edge works well for scraping. For light prying there's a little pry thingy at the back of the handle. Mind you, I work in an office environment with just some occasional work shop task or field work, so while this small utility blade works well for that, I often pick the more substantial and also more affordable Gerber prybrid when I'm really going to town.



Another, but probably less popular option, would be something like a Benchmade 940. I have one, but I really haven't used it much. As such I'm not sure how realistically this can be applied in the real world, but the story goes Mr. Osbourne designed it to be a kind of a multitool, with a stout, clipped tip that could both scrape and endure some prying.
I realize that most knife users looking into a Manix is well beyond the point where they would be interested in a 940, they're very different beasts, but even so - the usage described some how triggered that association.

[mongo1958]

I got the cheapest Manix 2 LW BD1N. Probably not what you were looking for.

[mongo1958]

Well I'm blessed. I mentioned to my good friend that I'm considering a Manix and he drops in and gives me this very nice used example to add to my collection. Seems like he solved the steel choice dilemma for me!

Thank you everyone for your input in this thread. I was leaning toward SPY27 Lightweight but the decision has been made for me and I'm happy about it!!

Congratulations! You will love the Manix 2. I'll bet it will become your favorite.