Manix XL

[Unlimitedx]

On a holiday camping trip, trying to strip tender from firewood using my Mannix XL by hammering it down through some damp firewood. I was very surprised, when the lock failed several times allowing the blade to close. I was tapping the blade with another piece of firewood and was able to make the lock disengage easily multiple times. I was shocked and disappointed.

I thought this type of locking mechanism was supposed to be very secure? The knife itself is well cared for and fairly new. I carry a daily while on duty but it has seen very little cutting. The lock release and the blade operate smoothly, and it locks up nicely.

Do you think this would be normal or should I ask spyderco about it?

[mattman]

In general, shock loading of any lock adds too many variables to be reliable, and "batoning" with a folder is considered abuse. (If you must do it, do it unlocked, to minimize damage)

[Unlimitedx]

In general, shock loading of any lock adds too many variables to be reliable, and "batoning" with a folder is considered abuse. (If you must do it, do it unlocked, to minimize damage)

I'm sure your right, I just thought it would have been able to handle iit better. Never had any kind of lock fail in my hand like that before. Still one of my favorite spydies, and I'll be running it through the sharpmaker as soon as I get home.

[GoldenSpydie]

This surprised me. I know, I know, batoning is abuse and all of that but I do it often with many different folders and I have never had one fail. What type of wood were you batoning through, and were there many knots?

I'm actually about to do some hard use tests on a M2XL, Millie, and K2; look for the results Sunday evening.

[shunsui]

Thanks for the report though, good to know what works and what doesn't.

PS I keep an Estwing Camper Axe in the trunk of my car. Cheap, effective, bulletproof.

[Johnnie1801]

Surprising to me. I have seen these knives being used hard without fail. Personally, I carry a fixed blade in these situations and a pocket knife or two as backup :p

Maybe look into buying a Spyderco Bushcraft to complement your Manix XL :)

[mikerestivo]

There have been numerous threads over the years about batoning with folders. Consensus seems to be that using a folding knife to baton through wood is using the wrong tool for the job. Kind of like chiseling wood with a screwdriver.

[Knutty]

I have read a lot of reports of lock "failures" on the Manix* knives, so I'm not surprised at all. To help prevent some forum members from hyperventilating, I put "failures" in quotes because if you're abusing it, you can't really say it failed. But at the same time, it does say something about the knife, if other models would not have failed under the same circumstances.

[sdedalus83]

A lightly or never used CBBL with particularly early engagement will have problems with repetitive spine whacking. It's a steel sphere wedged via spring pressure between two nearly parallel pieces of metal. A sharp spine whack will squeeze the ball between these and will naturally force it outward. The lock is designed so that the ball will gradually seat further inward as the metal wears. To maximize the service life of the knife, the ball will initially seat almost at the edge of the tang so even a movement of a few hundredths of a millimeter is probably enough to result in disengagement at the second successive strike.

Honestly, I think it says more about the quality of the knife that it functions fine after being abused in this way than it does about the quality of the design that it disengages when abused in this way.

If you really do find it completely unacceptable, I'm in Cypress and will happily drive out to Conroe to trade you for something a bit more appropriate for batoning. I just sharpened her up today :) .

[mikerestivo]

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