Manix G10 and LW blades identical?

[nevertakeadayoff]

I don't like the LW models. Flimsy scale material more suitable for my 10 year old niece.

Can we swap blades from LW to G10 frame?

[Wartstein]

I don't like the LW models. Flimsy scale material more suitable for my 10 year old niece.

Can we swap blades from LW to G10 frame?

1.) I almost can't imagine that you ever really tried a Manix 2 LW... its FRCP scales are very rigid and really strong, and I know this from really using, abusing and beating on several pieces of this model
In some aspects FRCP and FRN are even "stronger" (technically perhaps not the right term) than G10.
That said: In a completely unrealistic (for actual folder use) test to the extreme a linered G10 Manix will of course be stronger than a linerless FRCP variant.

2.) There are accounts of blade swaps from LW to G10 Manix on this forum. Should work.

[metaphoricalsimile]

Yeah the FRCP Manix LW pulls off extreme lightness while not feeling flimsy at all. I would get one in your hands and put it through some hard use before you judge that this is necessary.

[TkoK83Spy]

It's a feel in hand thing...I get it.

My first Spyderco was a LW Manix, and I was ALMOST turned away from Spyderco after that. Gave the G10 model a try a few years later and it just so happens that the G10 Manix is my favorite Spyderco model after having tried a good 30 different knives.

[Evil D]

1. As far as I know, yes you can. I did so years ago so unless they changed something in the last few years it should be doable.

2. I believe you'll break the blade or shear off one of the back spacer screws before you break the handle.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=68682


That's the knife I took the blade out of to do my swap and it was pretty difficult to get it apart even while destroying the handle. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having preferences but I'm telling you from experience these lightweight handles will take any and all reasonable abuse.

[ladybug93]

welcome... firing shots straight out of the gate, i see.

i can definitely see the preference for non-lw versions. there's a time and a place for everything. i'm even happy with my linerless pacific salt for it's intended use, and i know it's strong enough for even some abuse based on my experience with it, but i also prefer more robust and sturdy feeling knives. that said, my manix lw is far more confidence inspiring than the pacific salt and it's a very capable knife. although i prefer the g10 models as well, i never once felt like my m2lw was less than capable of handling anything i could put it through (for actual knife use, of course).

i agree with what's been said already. there's nothing wrong with the m2lw. it definitely is not flimsy and it has it's place outside of the hands of little girls.


as far as switching blades, i've seen mixed reviews. some have done it with no issues and others have had it not work out for them. i'm probably going to try when the magnacut manix lw comes out, but i'm totally fine with keeping it as a lw model, honestly.

[apollo]

Eventough i find personally the g10 Manixes far superior to the LW versions ( there quality is higher and there price ratio to what you get is also better then the LW's especially after the last price increase that hit the Lw's hard )
There still good knives in the end. ( Btw i also do not like the flex in the handle of the LW at all )

But i must tell you the diehard LW folks here are with plenty and they are seemingly adored by Spyderco ( since all they do these days is make lw's ) and the people who like heavier build models on the other hand are kinda outnumbered and shoved in the you are a ancient dinosaur corner. So like they say you catch more with honey then vinigar...

[nevertakeadayoff]

I read all the replies, thanks guys! Sounds like it's go time!

Warstein, you're correct, I have not held the LW models in my hand... the fiberglass/nylon material is inferior and there is no steel liner - that's all I need to know. Although, my niece said it was super strong, so I think I know where you're coming from... (lol sorry im on a roll cant stop)

YES! TkoK83Spy gets it!! The LW models are absolutely unacceptable. I'm pretty sure most (all?) have rivets, which means you can't swap out the plastic ball cage. There is absolutely no way I would ever carry a knife with plastic like that. I am a man of integrity!

Evil D, I don't consider any folder that doesn't have the crossbar lock mechanism. I know, Manix has the ball lock but it's all about the position of the lock that I need... I came from Benchmade's AXIS and finally rid myself of Benchmade thanks to the Manix.

apollo, thank you for your input about the flex. BTW, you actually catch more flies with vinegar ; ) seems to be working here, too ahahahaha

Thanks again, everyone! Look out for my next thread about what Spyderco needs to focus on : )

[Coastal]

I'm going to have to find me a task that causes my FRN and FRCP knives to flex to the point I find it objectionable. What are those tasks? What would you not do with a linerless lightweight that you would with a linered FRN knife? A linerless G-10 knife? A linered G-10 knife? Do they become more useful, or just heavier? I guess more confidence-inspiring, but to do what?

Like Evil D, I did the blade swap (to titanium, not G-10), and had to destroy the handle to get the blade out.

All that said, to me the Manix 2 is pretty darn cool with any handle material.

[Wartstein]

Eventough i find personally the g10 Manixes far superior to the LW versions ( there quality is higher and there price ratio to what you get is also better then the LW's especially after the last price increase that hit the Lw's hard )
There still good knives in the end. ( Btw i also do not like the flex in the handle of the LW at all )

But i must tell you the diehard LW folks here are with plenty and they are seemingly adored by Spyderco ( since all they do these days is make lw's ) and the people who like heavier build models on the other hand are kinda outnumbered and shoved in the you are a ancient dinosaur corner. So like they say you catch more with honey then vinigar...

Not sure what to make of your post... perhaps you're to some degree just kidding or at least massively exaggerating

Some thoughts:

- I personally can absolutely appreciate the solid feel of heavy folders in hand, but just came to realize that in my use lighter Spydies are more comvenient to carry (for example in lighter climbing pants with floppier pockets), add less weight to a mountaineering pack and can take absolutely everything I put my folders through - and that is quite a lot.

- Linered FRN "lightweight" Spydies are real hard use beasts anyway, depending on the blade. The sabre grind Endura or Delica definitely are, and for example impact-wise FRN can take more than G10 in my experience.

- There are still tons of heavier bulit folders in Spydercos lineup when it comes to the handles (G10 with liners) and that's what is discussed here (not blades) - Shaman,Manix, PM2, Para 3 variants and so on, even the new Stretch XL comes in a "heavy" version too... actually, though there perhaps is a trend towards doing lightweight versions of existing heavier models, knives like the Manix XL, the Shaman, the Endela.... still don't come in lighter variants.

- In any case: I think neither "heavier" nor "lighter" folder guys have anything to really complain about (again, in this thread we're talking HANDLES)

- Is the price ratio for a (more expensive) G10 Manix really better than for the (cheaper) LW?
Very debatable, imo.
One could argue that it takes more skill, experience and engeneering-art to create a good, strong, yet LIGHT handle... FRCP molds are quite expensive and have to ammortize themselves... difference in pure material costs should be marginal (I don't think that the steel for liners and G10 slabs are really a lot more expensive than FRCP) and so on.
Subjective anyway: IF one is looking for a strong, but lighter folder they obviously get more for their money with the Manix LW...

[apollo]

Eventough i find personally the g10 Manixes far superior to the LW versions ( there quality is higher and there price ratio to what you get is also better then the LW's especially after the last price increase that hit the Lw's hard )
There still good knives in the end. ( Btw i also do not like the flex in the handle of the LW at all )

But i must tell you the diehard LW folks here are with plenty and they are seemingly adored by Spyderco ( since all they do these days is make lw's ) and the people who like heavier build models on the other hand are kinda outnumbered and shoved in the you are a ancient dinosaur corner. So like they say you catch more with honey then vinigar...

Not sure what to make of your post... perhaps you're to some degree just kidding or at least massively exaggerating

Some thoughts:

- I personally can absolutely appreciate the solid feel of heavy folders in hand, but just came to realize that in my use lighter Spydies are more comvenient to carry (for example in lighter climbing pants with floppier pockets), add less weight to a mountaineering pack and can take absolutely everything I put my folders through - and that is quite a lot.

- Linered FRN "lightweight" Spydies are real hard use beasts anyway, depending on the blade. The sabre grind Endura or Delica definitely are, and for example impact-wise FRN can take more than G10 in my experience.

- There are still tons of heavier bulit folders in Spydercos lineup when it comes to the handles (G10 with liners) and that's what is discussed here (not blades) - Shaman,Manix, PM2, Para 3 variants and so on, even the new Stretch XL comes in a "heavy" version too... actually, though there perhaps is a trend towards doing lightweight versions of existing heavier models, knives like the Manix XL, the Shaman, the Endela.... still don't come in lighter variants.

- In any case: I think neither "heavier" nor "lighter" folder guys have anything to really complain about (again, in this thread we're talking HANDLES)

- Is the price ratio for a (more expensive) G10 Manix really better than for the (cheaper) LW?
Very debatable, imo.
One could argue that it takes more skill, experience and engeneering-art to create a good, strong, yet LIGHT handle... FRCP molds are quite expensive and have to ammortize themselves... difference in pure material costs should be marginal (I don't think that the steel for liners and G10 slabs are really a lot more expensive than FRCP) and so on.
Subjective anyway: IF one is looking for a strong, but lighter folder they obviously get more for their money with the Manix LW...

The Difference between the LW in bd1n and the standard g10 in s30v is 25$ where i live and yes you are correct the making of the molds is very expensive but to be realistic here you have to calculate in that at this point in time the cost of those molds have bin paid off for a long time , so basically all spyderco is paying for is the frcp it self and no way that stuff is as expensive as g10 and the liners.
So bd1n vs s30v and then those handle differences with just such a small margin in price , it makes the LW very much loose the quality to price ratio battle in my eyes.

(Also yes it takes great skill to produce such a good LW knife but skill is not something needed to be calculated into the price tag because its the whole reason to design something new namely to make something good. And if Sal or Eric or the other designers at spyderco had no skill you and me would not have bin on this forum because spyderco would have not bin a successful business then. )


Now like i said in my OG post i am definitely not saying the LW are bad knives because all Manixes are incredibly great knives. My only problem with the LW is the fact that if you are a strong enough guy or girl and you put you’re full force on the thing in a cut the handle will “give” and is this a bad thing ?
That is debatable until the end of time…
The Manix will not brake i know that and anybody with a brain knows that but that does not mean that for that price Spyderco could have easily made those tiny internal liners a tiny bit longer so that flex just could not happen. Sure it would cost them a gram or 2 in weight but it would have made the design so much more comforting in the mind department.

With what you say about there being so many heavier designs i must disagree. Yes they are a good number but all of those are in the meantime older designs. And eventough i still need to try a few i would love some more new variations hit the market. But like the fans of LW’s we also want something new once in awhile… ( And that can even be a variation like a g10 in spy-27 for example )
Spyderco has done almost exclusively LW variants for more the last of couple years now. And sorry but the stretch you mention is a sprint run and those do not count since they are made in such low numbers these days that they even do not reach Europe anymore… Look at the 15 v at the moment. They made Probably 4 or 5 pieces per dealer while there are a thousand fans scouting the sites day and night so i do not find those counting as new offerings anymore since almost no one will ever have them.

[Ramonade]

Well I've had two LWs and do like the LW very much but none of them was able to come close to the smooth action of the G10 model.

I'm not scared when it comes to durability, I bet both will hold on the same amount of years. Maybe the screwed version can be tuned better than the pinned versions.

[ladybug93]

i really think that the people making liner-deleting metal scales for the g10 manix are soon going to start making lw-compatible scales that will solve the issue for people that don't like frcp for whatever reason.

[Evil D]

i really think that the people making liner-deleting metal scales for the g10 manix are soon going to start making lw-compatible scales that will solve the issue for people that don't like frcp for whatever reason.

I think the only reason they haven't yet is because these knives didn't come with any hardware to put them back together since they were pinned. This may still be a problem if the screws go into thread anchors molded into the FRN, so they either need to tap threads into their scales or figure out some other kind of hardware solution. It's just easier to do with a G10 model that already has all that sorted out.

[ladybug93]

i really think that the people making liner-deleting metal scales for the g10 manix are soon going to start making lw-compatible scales that will solve the issue for people that don't like frcp for whatever reason.

I think the only reason they haven't yet is because these knives didn't come with any hardware to put them back together since they were pinned. This may still be a problem if the screws go into thread anchors molded into the FRN, so they either need to tap threads into their scales or figure out some other kind of hardware solution. It's just easier to do with a G10 model that already has all that sorted out.

i didn't think about that. there's only one screw they'd have to account for differently though, since the metal piece that houses the lock circumvents the lower screw in the lw model. the rest of the screws would be the same for the g10 model or could be left out of the design like the g10 model.

[nevertakeadayoff]

mods: please approve this message. I am here to help.

I had a really fun reply to the first 6 or so posts here, but the mods must have forgotten to approve it for some reason.

Anyways... I would never use a Manix if I could not replace the plastic ball cage. That's all I need to say.

TkoK83Spy gets it, along with others here.

Thanks to everyone :) it sounds like I can swap out blades!

[Wartstein]

I read all the replies, thanks guys! Sounds like it's go time!

Warstein, you're correct, I have not held the LW models in my hand... the fiberglass/nylon material is inferior and there is no steel liner - that's all I need to know. Although, my niece said it was super strong, so I think I know where you're coming from... (lol sorry im on a roll cant stop)
...

nevertakeadayoff, I am glad that we finally have a guy here who knows about strength of folders and materials without ever needing to actually have those in hands, let alone try before judging - and knows better than a lot of folks who actually have (and better than his niece)

The fact that you prefer the G10 model over the FRCP is completely fine and understandable - which tasks you actually perform that the former will take, but the latter not, is quite a mystery to me though.

Just a point about the strength of materials and inferiority / superiority (FRCP/FRN vs G10):

Depends on what aspects one is looking at:
Here is a quote by Michael Janich (knife designer, works for Spyderco, mod here, knows his stuff, just look him up should you not know him):

"t's much more complicated than simply offering G-10 replacement scales for the FRN handles. Even if G-10 was machined to replicate the detail of an injection-molded part, it's layered construction wouldn't handle the stresses in the same way."

(see here: viewtopic.php?t=89908&start=80#p1532157)

/ Anyway: Welcome again, enjoy your G10 Manix(es)! Great knives for sure!

[jwbnyc]

Welcome to the forum nevertakeadayoff.

You are still in the moderation pokey as a new member. Hang in there: soon you will have free run of the forum.

I don’t have a dog in this fight but I do like a full liner mid backlock knife every now and then.

[DansGearAddiction]

FRN does feel cheap, but it's a surprisingly durable composite, particularly for how light it is. Carbon fiber, in my opinion, is similar in that it feels cheap, but the actual properties of the material are stronger than it seems.

More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre-reinforced_plastic

Anecdotally, I felt the same way and refused to buy anything in FRN, but I was won over when I finally got a Chaparral LW in hand and actually started using it -- it's incredibly capable and I don't have any fears of any type of catastrophic failure.

[ladybug93]

i'm a man of integrity that judges without experience!