The Manix 2 lw is pretty good

[Wartstein]

I am getting annoyed with my Rex45 Manix 2 LW.

I have 8 (yes 8) G10 Manix 2 knives and NONE have lock stick.

I used to hear people grumble about this and dismissed them as whiners, but it is pretty bad. If this had been my first Spyderco I would not have been impressed. I suppose it could happen with a G10 Manix, but it leaves a person thinking that these FRN knives are "lower tier" i.e. "budget knives" and don't get the attention that the flagship G10 models do.

So I am back to being an FRN hater, though it has nothing to do (or I don't think it does) with the FRN.

Sorry to read that! (And that it made you hate FRN/FRCP again, for me both the best handle materials Spyderco offers)

But: Lock stick?!
I hear that the first time concerning the Manix..
I have the impression that the action is tight from the factory more often on the LW Manixes than on the G10 Manixes (just from what I read, I had one that was very smooth and drop shutty out of the box, my current one is noticable stiffer) - but actual lock stick is new to me (in a Manix).

[Tucson Tom]

Nice photos, nice country. No smoke! No fires! Nice goat. Nice knife too.

[righthandedEDC]

I am getting annoyed with my Rex45 Manix 2 LW.

I have 8 (yes 8) G10 Manix 2 knives and NONE have lock stick.

I used to hear people grumble about this and dismissed them as whiners, but it is pretty bad. If this had been my first Spyderco I would not have been impressed. I suppose it could happen with a G10 Manix, but it leaves a person thinking that these FRN knives are "lower tier" i.e. "budget knives" and don't get the attention that the flagship G10 models do.

So I am back to being an FRN hater, though it has nothing to do (or I don't think it does) with the FRN.

Hello Tom,
When I got mine I thought it was stiffer than usual out of the box. Since not being able to take apart. I used real hot water and dawn on pivot with a toothbrush. Air compressed the water out and dried. Re-lubed pivot. Practically drops now. Hope you get it to how you like .. takecare

[Enactive]

Nice photos, nice country. No smoke! No fires! Nice goat. Nice knife too.

Tom. Thanks! It is lovely country indeed. TBH, these photos are from Labor Day Weekend. The smoke had not yet rolled in... it is here now and lingering longer than initially forecast. BLEH!!!

The cutie goat kid reminded me of how sweet the dairy goats of my childhood were. Some of my favorite animals. :D

Nice knife indeed. :spyder: :cool:

Happy trails.

[cycleguy]

The Manix 2 LW is growing on me. I bought one in REX 45 and have carried and used it at work and it's been great. I liked REX 45 in my Native and have long been curious especially about the LW model of the Manix.

I also decided to test the corrosion resistance of the REX 45 in my use. I had the idea before that my sweat is not very corrosive and this test seemed to confirm that.

I carried the REX 45 M2LW in my front right pocket for a ~20 mile hike through The Enchantments with a ~5000 foot ascent and ~7000 foot descent. Not a sign of corrosion anywhere afterwards. Pretty cool. The mountain goat kid was cool too. :cool:

IMG_20200906_093026sm.jpg

MVIMG_20200906_112820sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_102633sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_140811sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_145216sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_141226sm.jpg

This is way too cool!!!! :cool: 20 miles of ascent and descent - I think you are the mountain goat kid!!!

CG

[Tucson Tom]

I am getting annoyed with my Rex45 Manix 2 LW.

I have 8 (yes 8) G10 Manix 2 knives and NONE have lock stick.

I used to hear people grumble about this and dismissed them as whiners, but it is pretty bad. If this had been my first Spyderco I would not have been impressed. I suppose it could happen with a G10 Manix, but it leaves a person thinking that these FRN knives are "lower tier" i.e. "budget knives" and don't get the attention that the flagship G10 models do.

So I am back to being an FRN hater, though it has nothing to do (or I don't think it does) with the FRN.

Sorry to read that! (And that it made you hate FRN/FRCP again, for me both the best handle materials Spyderco offers)

But: Lock stick?!
I hear that the first time concerning the Manix..
I have the impression that the action is tight from the factory more often on the LW Manixes than on the G10 Manixes (just from what I read, I had one that was very smooth and drop shutty out of the box, my current one is noticable stiffer) - but actual lock stick is new to me (in a Manix).

So, I thought - "I can fix this". I'll just take out the pivot screws, remove the blade, polish the surface the ball rides along and it will be wonderful. But now we get to the second Achilles heel of the FRN knives -- pinned construction!. I need a tiny stone like some gunsmiths use for this job. So for now, I use a toothpick and put some Brownells action lube (a grease with a very high molybdenum sulfide content) on that surface and call it good enough.

But I am back to viewing FRN knives as "cheap knives". Pinned construction, gritty action with lock stick. Cannot recommend. Not a "gas station knife" by any means, but working its way in that direction.

[Wartstein]

....

But I am back to viewing FRN knives as "cheap knives". Pinned construction, gritty action with lock stick. Cannot recommend. Not a "gas station knife" by any means, but working its way in that direction.

Tom, I get your frustration and I am sorry for you.
But I still think you perhaps have a misconception concerning "FRN knives" (btw, the Manix LW handle is FRCP and not FRN):

- To my knowledge all FRN knives except the Manix LW actually have screw and not pinned construction!
- I have and had a lot of FRN knives: NON ever had lockstick (but two G10 comp. lock knives had)
- A linered FRN knife to me feels very solid and of high quality (Stretch, Chap for example). Actually most G10 knives to me feel "cheaper" and more "unfinished" due to the blocky, non chamfered handles...

I wish you'd give another FRN model a chance..
Stretch, Sage LW, Chap...

[TomAiello]

Tucson Tom, how is the lock sticking? Hard to open? Or stays open and doesn't lock itself? Or something else?

[Enactive]

The Manix 2 LW is growing on me. I bought one in REX 45 and have carried and used it at work and it's been great. I liked REX 45 in my Native and have long been curious especially about the LW model of the Manix.

I also decided to test the corrosion resistance of the REX 45 in my use. I had the idea before that my sweat is not very corrosive and this test seemed to confirm that.

I carried the REX 45 M2LW in my front right pocket for a ~20 mile hike through The Enchantments with a ~5000 foot ascent and ~7000 foot descent. Not a sign of corrosion anywhere afterwards. Pretty cool. The mountain goat kid was cool too. :cool:

IMG_20200906_093026sm.jpg

MVIMG_20200906_112820sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_102633sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_140811sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_145216sm.jpg

IMG_20200906_141226sm.jpg

This is way too cool!!!! :cool: 20 miles of ascent and descent - I think you are the mountain goat kid!!!

CG

Hahaha! Thanks, Cycleguy! The mountain goats reminded me of the sweet dairy goats of my childhood. :cool:

[M Sea]

Absolutely love my Manix 2 LW :)

[cycleguy]

Is it tooo late to find the M2 REX45 LW at MAP?

I had a G10 version some time ago and parted ways with it; thinking about revisiting in a lighter version.

CG

Higher than MAP, but still lower than msrp and the flippers:

https://deadwoodknives.com/p-sy-c101pbo ... c101pbore2

Is it tooo late to find the M2 REX45 LW at MAP?

I had a G10 version some time ago and parted ways with it; thinking about revisiting in a lighter version.

CG

Looks like Sooner State Knives still has them

Thanks guys!!!

[Enactive]

Is it tooo late to find the M2 REX45 LW at MAP?

I had a G10 version some time ago and parted ways with it; thinking about revisiting in a lighter version.

CG

Higher than MAP, but still lower than msrp and the flippers:

https://deadwoodknives.com/p-sy-c101pbo ... c101pbore2

Is it tooo late to find the M2 REX45 LW at MAP?

I had a G10 version some time ago and parted ways with it; thinking about revisiting in a lighter version.

CG

Looks like Sooner State Knives still has them

Thanks guys!!!

Sweet. Glad you got one. Mine is really growing on me. :spyder: :D

[Tucson Tom]

....

But I am back to viewing FRN knives as "cheap knives". Pinned construction, gritty action with lock stick. Cannot recommend. Not a "gas station knife" by any means, but working its way in that direction.

Tom, I get your frustration and I am sorry for you.
But I still think you perhaps have a misconception concerning "FRN knives" (btw, the Manix LW handle is FRCP and not FRN):

- To my knowledge all FRN knives except the Manix LW actually have screw and not pinned construction!
- I have and had a lot of FRN knives: NON ever had lockstick (but two G10 comp. lock knives had)
- A linered FRN knife to me feels very solid and of high quality (Stretch, Chap for example). Actually most G10 knives to me feel "cheaper" and more "unfinished" due to the blocky, non chamfered handles...

I wish you'd give another FRN model a chance..
Stretch, Sage LW, Chap...

Thanks Wartstein. I am glad to know that most FRN knives are not pinned! I'm not going to let this knife get the best of me either.

I found some 1/8 inch aluminum scraps and epoxied a thin strip of 1500 grit silicon carbide paper onto the 1/8 edge. Then in the morning when the epoxy was set, it trimmed off the excess paper and had a nice little micro-file that I could reach in with and "lap" the edge the ball engages when the knife is locked up. So I polished that surface carefully (I just want to polish it, not remove material) and took note that it is not just one flat surface but two planes at a close angle. I look at my other Manix knives to verify this and took care not to modify this. This improved things, but there is another surface the ball runs on when the knife is locked up I can't get to. The 1500 grit was just the ticket for "polishing" that surface.

So I put some more "Brownells action lube" on the ball and am just going to carry it now and fidget with it on every idle moment and give it no rest until it is my smoothest knife. Things are coming right along.

I still intend to carry it regularly. It opens nicely, locks up tight and cuts things nicely. Why am I complaining?

The only hitch is that the ball is kind of stuck for a bit when you want to close the knife then pops loose, but I think it is getting better and ultimately I may be glad to have a knife that was made to tight tolerances.

I usually end up making a knife "mine" and getting attached to it when I fuss with it this much.

[Wartstein]

Thanks Wartstein. I am glad to know that most FRN knives are not pinned! I'm not going to let this knife get the best of me either.

I found some 1/8 inch aluminum scraps and epoxied a thin strip of 1500 grit silicon carbide paper onto the 1/8 edge. Then in the morning when the epoxy was set, it trimmed off the excess paper and had a nice little micro-file that I could reach in with and "lap" the edge the ball engages when the knife is locked up. So I polished that surface carefully (I just want to polish it, not remove material) and took note that it is not just one flat surface but two planes at a close angle. I look at my other Manix knives to verify this and took care not to modify this. This improved things, but there is another surface the ball runs on when the knife is locked up I can't get to. The 1500 grit was just the ticket for "polishing" that surface.

So I put some more "Brownells action lube" on the ball and am just going to carry it now and fidget with it on every idle moment and give it no rest until it is my smoothest knife. Things are coming right along.

I still intend to carry it regularly. It opens nicely, locks up tight and cuts things nicely. Why am I complaining?

The only hitch is that the ball is kind of stuck for a bit when you want to close the knife then pops loose, but I think it is getting better and ultimately I may be glad to have a knife that was made to tight tolerances.

I usually end up making a knife "mine" and getting attached to it when I fuss with it this much.

Tom,

I am quite sure that actually NO other Spyderco FRN / FRCP knife except the Manix LW is pinned, but all have screw construction (even the Byrd line FRN models I think) - I happened to never be bothered by the pinned construction of the Manix LW, but reading your account I fully understand why people want to see the change to screws.

/ Very cool and ingenious approach of yours to deal with the less than ideal action on your Manix! :)
Hope it will get exactly as you want it to be!

/ And again: Maybe someday you might want to give another FRN/FRCP Spydie a chance! I think the linered ones would give you perhaps a feeling of higher quality (though every Manix LW I could handle actually felt like high quality too, juster very light).
If you like the general dimensions of the Manix a Stretch would be a good choice, or a Chap FRN which imho is of amazing fit and finish (and a thin bladed cutting monster any knife enthusiast should experience anyway... )

Good luck with your Manix LW! :)

[carrot]

Speaking of pretty good, K390 is pretty good and I’d like to imagine the Manix 2 would be nice in K390 too.

[MadRookie]

A blade swap and screw construction are possible with the current handle molds, but I have no idea what screws to order. We had a member years ago swap the S110V blade out of the original LW and into a G10 handle and then reassembled the LW handle with the S30V blade.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63901


I hope MadRookie is doing ok. That dude used to post some of the craziest food pics :D

Hey guys....I am still alive & kicking, albeit getting old & cranky.

Stay cool.

Cheers.

MadRookie.

:)

[Wartstein]

A blade swap and screw construction are possible with the current handle molds, but I have no idea what screws to order. We had a member years ago swap the S110V blade out of the original LW and into a G10 handle and then reassembled the LW handle with the S30V blade.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63901


I hope MadRookie is doing ok. That dude used to post some of the craziest food pics :D

Hey guys....I am still alive & kicking, albeit getting old & cranky.

Stay cool.

Cheers.

MadRookie.

:)

Cool, you obviously took a break of "just" 6.5 years between this and your penultimate post

I did not even know that this forum exists when you were last active. And actually your post that David linked above might be very helpful for me some day: The Manix 2 LW I´ll certainly keep is the REX 45, and it could be that I´ll want to disassemble it (and while I am at it convert to screw construction) in the future, just to have a look how the blade does corrosion-wise in the pivot area...

[Evil D]

A blade swap and screw construction are possible with the current handle molds, but I have no idea what screws to order. We had a member years ago swap the S110V blade out of the original LW and into a G10 handle and then reassembled the LW handle with the S30V blade.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63901


I hope MadRookie is doing ok. That dude used to post some of the craziest food pics :D

Hey guys....I am still alive & kicking, albeit getting old & cranky.

Stay cool.

Cheers.

MadRookie.

:)

Whoa! Glad to have you back again dude!

[MadRookie]

A blade swap and screw construction are possible with the current handle molds, but I have no idea what screws to order. We had a member years ago swap the S110V blade out of the original LW and into a G10 handle and then reassembled the LW handle with the S30V blade.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=63901


I hope MadRookie is doing ok. That dude used to post some of the craziest food pics :D

Hey guys....I am still alive & kicking, albeit getting old & cranky.

Stay cool.

Cheers.

MadRookie.

:)

Whoa! Glad to have you back again dude!

Thx!!

[Doc Dan]

....

But I am back to viewing FRN knives as "cheap knives". Pinned construction, gritty action with lock stick. Cannot recommend. Not a "gas station knife" by any means, but working its way in that direction.

Tom, I get your frustration and I am sorry for you.
But I still think you perhaps have a misconception concerning "FRN knives" (btw, the Manix LW handle is FRCP and not FRN):

- To my knowledge all FRN knives except the Manix LW actually have screw and not pinned construction!
- I have and had a lot of FRN knives: NON ever had lockstick (but two G10 comp. lock knives had)
- A linered FRN knife to me feels very solid and of high quality (Stretch, Chap for example). Actually most G10 knives to me feel "cheaper" and more "unfinished" due to the blocky, non chamfered handles...

I wish you'd give another FRN model a chance..
Stretch, Sage LW, Chap...

Thanks Wartstein. I am glad to know that most FRN knives are not pinned! I'm not going to let this knife get the best of me either.

I found some 1/8 inch aluminum scraps and epoxied a thin strip of 1500 grit silicon carbide paper onto the 1/8 edge. Then in the morning when the epoxy was set, it trimmed off the excess paper and had a nice little micro-file that I could reach in with and "lap" the edge the ball engages when the knife is locked up. So I polished that surface carefully (I just want to polish it, not remove material) and took note that it is not just one flat surface but two planes at a close angle. I look at my other Manix knives to verify this and took care not to modify this. This improved things, but there is another surface the ball runs on when the knife is locked up I can't get to. The 1500 grit was just the ticket for "polishing" that surface.

So I put some more "Brownells action lube" on the ball and am just going to carry it now and fidget with it on every idle moment and give it no rest until it is my smoothest knife. Things are coming right along.

I still intend to carry it regularly. It opens nicely, locks up tight and cuts things nicely. Why am I complaining?

The only hitch is that the ball is kind of stuck for a bit when you want to close the knife then pops loose, but I think it is getting better and ultimately I may be glad to have a knife that was made to tight tolerances.

I usually end up making a knife "mine" and getting attached to it when I fuss with it this much.

Tom, I know this is old. I got an SPY27 M2LW and the lock sticks and it is very difficult to unlock. Even when it does not get stuck, it sticks a bit and there is a loud 'tick' when I unlock the knife. It turns out it was a return for this exact problem. What happened was the girl filling the order picked up the wrong knife. The dealer made it right, so much so I kept the knife. However, now I have a knife I do not enjoy (love the color, though). I have 2 other M2LW's and really like both of them.

Anyway, I tried to polish the top of the tang a bit but it did not help. Any ideas?