Mantra Owners: Two Questions

[Fanch_Man]

Okay, I'll keep this short and sweet:

1. For those who have sanded/ground off/otherwise removed the flipper tab, are you still liking that change, or have you come to regret it for any reason?

2. Have any of you tried swapping out the ball bearings for phosphor bronze washers? Is this even possible?

I'm perhaps obviously interested in making both changes, so anyone with experience outside of the Mantra - especially with the washer swap, I suppose - feel free to chime in, as well!

[Holland]

I highly recommend shaving the tab off. It feels like the handle doubles in size when you do. The flipper tab made the knife very uncomfortable for me personally.

[Evil D]

Haven't done the tab and I'd sell the knife before I got rid of the bearings. I have considered tweaking the shape of the flipper tab a bit to give the grip a little more room but I rather like it there.

[Bill1170]

The tab doubles as a finger guard, right? It seems it will also help steer thin materials onto the edge when slicing film, paper, or fabric with the heel of the blade.

I'm tempted by the Mantra 1, but prefer stainless blades. I'm also curious how much "better" the ball bearings are in comparison with a plain bronze washer.

[vilePossum]

I posted the same intent on the bladeforums spyderco section, sadly it quickly devolved into a "get a delica" thread.
I had a mantra 2 for some time and it was okay, also the flipping was okay. But I sold it because I missed the spydiehole.
Now the mantra models are rather expensive over here, running at 230$+ new and basically no used ones, so it is not like I can just go out and grab one to toy a around with

I think on a mantra (1) I would definitely take off the flipper tab.
All in all this is such a great design, titanium scales, wire deep carry clip, m4 steel... Just wish there was this special version of it without flipper and on washers.

[Jazz]

I'll be grinding my flipper off when the weather lets me go in the garage. I keep putting my finger on the blade side of the flipper because there's not enough room. I think it needs a ricasso there - a tad too much blade.

[Evil D]

I'll be grinding my flipper off when the weather lets me go in the garage. I keep putting my finger on the blade side of the flipper because there's not enough room. I think it needs a ricasso there - a tad too much blade.

If it's gonna have a useless waste of edge space in the form of a ricasso then it may as well have a choil. For me the best part of the Mantra is the edge extending all the way back to the handle.

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Hi there, no regrets about taking my flipper tab off. I agree with Spencer in that the knife was approaching unusable with the tab in place (and funny enough, I have zero issue with it on the Mantra 2). You have to be a bit more conscientious of the fact there's no choil on this Calica, and Evil D points out the great feature of having the blade edge extend all the way back to the handle that comes in return. I have no issues with the bearings and wouldn't dare replace them (and I had the knife open when I took the blade out for grinding). Mine flies open with the Spyderhole! Cheers, Radioactive :)

[Bodog]

I'll be grinding my flipper off when the weather lets me go in the garage. I keep putting my finger on the blade side of the flipper because there's not enough room. I think it needs a ricasso there - a tad too much blade.

If it's gonna have a useless waste of edge space in the form of a ricasso then it may as well have a choil. For me the best part of the Mantra is the edge extending all the way back to the handle.

Agreed, it's probably the part of the design I like best aside from the blade shape and size

[Jazz]

What makes that wee bit of extra edge so useful to you guys? I'm not seeing it. I like the knife a lot. It could just be better in my opinion. I really like the Delicas ricasso amount. Perfect. I'll get used to this knife - I'll have to once I mod it.

[Bill1170]

What makes that wee bit of extra edge so useful to you guys? I'm not seeing it. I like the knife a lot. It could just be better in my opinion. I really like the Delicas ricasso amount. Perfect. I'll get used to this knife - I'll have to once I mod it.

I find the edge right by the handle to be very useful cutting thin film and the like. It is all too easy for the membrane to get hung up on the ricasso or choil, whereas the tab (guard) on a Mule or Mantra helps redirect it back onto the sharp edge. The Mule I know from experience. The Mantra I'm assuming based upon photographs.

[Evil D]

What makes that wee bit of extra edge so useful to you guys? I'm not seeing it. I like the knife a lot. It could just be better in my opinion. I really like the Delicas ricasso amount. Perfect. I'll get used to this knife - I'll have to once I mod it.

I guess it's just as useful as the rest of the edge. There's never a time I wouldn't want to squeeze as much edge into a blade as possible. It's like money and horsepower, just enough is not enough and too much is just right. If you're using a ricasso to place your finger on it, it may as well be a choil. That makes sense. But, other than the need for part of the blade to hit the inside of the knife when closed and protect the edge, a ricasso is a waste of edge space. Having the edge further back means your index finger is closer to the edge in use, which is the same logic behind a 50/50 choil...more control. More edge means longer/deeper things can be cut, it means distributing wear over a larger surface of edge, and personally I think ricassos are hideous looking and destroy the lines of a knife. Like on a Delica, you have the flowing shape of the handle leading up to the edge, and then the blade just sticks out from that, it's an abrupt change is the flow of the knife and the artist in me hates that.

[bearfacedkiller]

The only time I care how close the edge comes to the grip is during hard carving. For most of my EDC needs I usually use the part of the edge further from the handle. When whittling and carving hard I do like to be able to choke up and get the edge as close to my hand as possible. That said, I have done a lot of wood work with a Delica without complaint.

[Scottie3000]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that has thought of grinding off the flipper. It just seems out of place on the mantra, and the blade has so little mass that it doesn't flip so well anyways. Great knife otherwise.

[PayneTrain]

I wouldn't change a thing on this knife. I like flippers, and find this one to be very nicely designed and unobtrusive. I wear large gloves, and it all works very well for my hand. Though I qualify that by recognizing it is a small knife. It's not a Manix or a Military with their uncompromised utilitarian design. This is meant to be small, light, and quick and easy to use. It is all those things. It's like they found my wish list of traits for a perfect EDC and made this knife around it. It should really be called the Matt-tra! I wouldn't change a thing except I may anodize mine blue if I ever get around to it.

But hey, it's your knife, mod away if you'd like! Just be careful about heating the blade, use sharp abrasive, and all that other good stuff!