Sooo, I did a little project today. I have had a Maxamet Manix 2 for awhile now and it has been mostly living in a drawer gathering dust. This is not my first Manix and I have had a hard time warming up to the model. I think the main problem for me is I just don't like leaf shaped blades that much. I much prefer a straighter spine and sharper point like on the Millie/pm2. I have been thinking for quite some time that the Manix would be a good prospect for a blade profile change and today I finally went for it.
I actually spent a good deal of time on some sketch software redrawing this blade profile trying to find the most useful shape for me that still was at least somewhat aesthetically pleasing. I drew it with a straight spine all the way from tip to jimping and that looked a little too slim for this knife. I looked at choosing a point in front of the spydiehole and going straight spine from there to tip. I even considered keeping a leaf shape and just flattening the curve a bit. In the end, I chose a point at the forward edge of the spydiehole and took the spine almost flat from there to the tip. It still has a slight curve that keeps it looking a little "fuller" than if I had gone fully flat on the spine. What I discovered in my drawings was the the Manix is a very complete and well thought out design in which every line fits well with the rest of the knife. It was surprisingly difficult to modify the spine without making the knife look wonky. I'd say my end result doesn't look quite as refined as the original design but I am VERY pleased with the functionality so far and I know that the knife will now get WAY more carry and use than it ever did with that big leaf blade.
In case anyone is curious, I taped the blade as a marker and used a flat grinder to grind the spine down to the top of the tape. I didn't have much time with the grinder so I quickly blended the transition point right in front of the hole but you can still see a bit of a bump there. I might smooth that out one day but I doubt it. This job was more about the "go" than the "show". I did polish the spine out with some 180 sandpaper and rounded the edges to match the rest of the spine. The spine now looks slightly shinier but I'm sure that will blend in nicely with a little patina. All in all I'm a happy camper with my new Para-Manix-tary. :D
SpeedHoles wrote:Very subtle.
Something most probably wouldn't even notice at a first glance.
Thanks man. I suppose it is, but if you hold this one up to a stock Manix you see that I actually removed quite a bit of metal. I considered going full flat like on a pm2 but it just didn't look right on that knife in the drawings I did. I tried to strike a balance between getting the function I wanted and not having it look off balance.
SpeedHoles wrote:Very subtle.
Something most probably wouldn't even notice at a first glance.
Thanks man. I suppose it is, but if you hold this one up to a stock Manix you see that I actually removed quite a bit of metal. I considered going full flat like on a pm2 but it just didn't look right on that knife in the drawings I did. I tried to strike a balance between getting the function I wanted and not having it look off balance.
Yep, subtle mods are usually the best mods. When most people can't even tell it's modified from a factory design, it means it looks like it's supposed to.
This is what the Manix would look like if the spine is taken fully flat.
This is about where I am now.
Mine is actually a little flatter than this last photo. I might go a little further but I’m going to use it awhile first. It’s a lot easier to take more metal off than it is to put it back on.
