The BIG one...Manix vs AR!!!!!!

[CKE]

First turn your polite buttons on...PLEASE!!! This may be of interest to many of you considering the do all, beat all, abuse all knife purchase. Take this with the good spirit it is offered. Plus a good forumite asked :D

First the specs..or at least the ones I have got :)

Manix
Handle-G-10, dual stainless steel liners
Blade- approx 3 1/4 inches. S30V, flat ground, just under 3/16 thick satin finish.
Lock-Front lock
General-Tip up/down/left/right carry, 6 oz on my kitchen scale, lanyard hole, opening hole, finger choil. Overall length approx 8 3/4 inches.

AR
Handle-G-10, dual Ti liners
Blade- approx 3 1/4. S30V, flat ground, just over 3/16 thick, tiger stripe finish.
Lock-Liner lock, though MUCH thicker than most, just under an 1/8 of an inch.
General- Tip Up left/right. 8.5 oz on my kitchen scale. One of the Ti spacers to be used for lanyard. Stud to open. Finger choil. Overall length 9 7/16.

Here goes :eek:
Overall the AR is much beefier feeling. It is a lot more squared off'ish. The Manix is much more comfortable in my hand. In any combination of the Manix' choil positions I am totally comfortable. The AR has larger choils so it does not offer as fine of hand placement. They both have great fit and finish, the edge going slightly to the Manix, but that may be due to the rougher texture on the AR. The G-10 is much more grippy on the AR, slipping is not an issue. The Manix has a lot more sculpting to the handle. The blades are so similar that it is scary. One is shiny/the other has stripes. I have found both equal in edge retention and sharpness out of the gate. I prefer hole openers, but the stud on the AR works well for its design. I have used other stud openers that have tore my thumb apart. The pivot is a lot bigger in the AR...no doubt about it. When I was using them both to make kindling and baton wood, I thought for a minute about the small'ish pivot on the Manix. If you did not read my other thread, they both held up fine. Though if they were to fail the liner would only slip on the AR where the lock would bust on the Manix. Cutting stuff has been very similar, the edge geometry is very similar. The lanyard hole on the Manix is nice, I am not really a fan of Striders method to attach lanyards...but it does work. There is quite a bit more handle on the AR for relatively identical blade sizes. You can get a lot of leverage to pry(yes pry) on the AR. I did not get a chance to try chopping but think the added length and weight of the AR would give it the edge. Kitchen duties would be a bit nicer to perform due to the lightness of the Manix and shorter handle. Hmmm, what else???? Carry, the Manix is much thinner and sits nicely in the pocket. The AR is a lot thicker but after a few days I got used to the added bulk. I would like to get a Cordura sheath for it and tuck it on my belt though.
Price and warranty(do I want to go here???? :D ) You would have to be living under a rock lately to not know the AR is $350 while the Manix is $120. I have never had a problem with Spyderco's warranty or Striders...NEVER had to use either :D
Here are some pics, sorry the sun was starting to go down and I was too tired to really do a good job(that sounds like a good excuse for my crappy pic skills :p ) Any questions or NICE comments welcome.

Craig

[CKE]

One more :) :) :)

[Jimmy_Dean]

LET'S LYNCH HIM!!!

kidding, I think it's a good tipic idea and a fair review.
Manix seems to be one **** of a knife. I have yet to handle one.

if you ask me, I prefer the Manix's blade and handle shape. Good point about the lock.
-Dean

[Vincent]

id say striders warrenty is a little better, becasue you can just break the thing and they will replace it.

I was never a fan of the manix, think id take my Military over it.


thanks

[ken]

CKE-

Good review and good photo's also-thanks.

I guess the Manix wins the value for the buck thing. Seems the AR would fair better in a dirty/muddy situation. The AR is one heavy weight at 2.5oz more than the Manix. That is a big piece of hardware.

I noticed that there is a space between the blade and the liners on the AR, is this because of the pivot washers or "?". No gap on the Manix.

Anyway good job, to bad you couldn't really destroy em' to see how much they would take but I wouldn't either! Also love those stripes on the AR and I bet it helps prevent rust or staining. Didn't see any scrapes or scratches on either blade, how does the stripes on the AR hold up? Looks to be a tough coating.

ken

[Rob]

Didn't see any scrapes or scratches on either blade, how does the stripes on the AR hold up? Looks to be a tough coating.

Actually it is not a coating. The blades are beadblasted before heat treatment. When they come out from the oven their surface ist covered with an oxide layer (black). To apply the tiger stripe finish, they just beadblast the blades again.

Cheers, Rob

[Jimmy_Dean]

hey Ken,
The AR has bronze washers on each side of the blade, hence the gap.
coating is beadblasted. Like it's discussed in a recent thread here, beadblasted blades won't help in rust resistance, but do make the blade non reflective. Coating's not that tough btw. It would take quite a bit to remove the stripes alltogether but they do get use marks quite easily.

One thing's for sure, the Manix is a lot of knife at an honest price.

-Dean

[Dr. Snubnose]

Nice pics...nice review...both look like beefy knives up to the tasks at hand...I have the Manix and like it a lot...I don't own any Striders but if that knife were laying in the brush I might mistake it (cause of the stripes on the blade) as a snake :eek: and beat the living crap out of it with a pipe :D ...Doc

[CKE]

Thanks for the positive feed back. The Manix is GREAT bang for the buck. I don't know if in regular use you could ever break either of these.
If you intentionally break a Strider..a la sledgehammer they mark your knife...if it comes back again, no warranty. If in HARD use it breaks no worries.
I agree with Vincent, I like the Military way better than the Manix.

[CKE]

Good DR. you could still use it too after a good pipe beating :D

[Michael Cook]

I love that the blade of the AR is camo, that's right where tactical meets schmactical :p

[DAYWALKER]

Hey Craig!

Great review my friend! Er...as for that AR...what was it Crocodile Dundee said about "a knife"? :D Never got to handle a Strider, so I had NO idea how big they were until your great comparison shots!

Take care and keep these reviews coming! God bless :cool:

[333]

Hello CKE

Nice pics and review you got there.
I was actually on the fence in choosing between these two knives, still not sure which to buy but your review and pics are making me lean to the manix side.


333

[CKE]

333

If you have the chance, hold them both. If not, I must admit the money is very much a determining factor. The AR is a lot of knife but comes with a hefty price tag. The Manix is a great knife and has amazing price to quality. Spyderco made a great heavy use folder.
Honestly if I had to choose between the two I would take the AR. The biggie...I prefer liner locks.

[Jimd]

Craig, a very awesome, thorough, and fair review!
No need to degrade your picture-taking ability, I thought they came out fabulous. Nice comparrison pics, for certain!

Although the AR is huge, after carrying it for about a week you'll get used to it, and any other knife will seem like a "toy".

One trick to getting light rust off of bead-blasted blades: use an eraser. Simply rub the heck out of the blade with the eraser, and it will take a lot of the surface rust off.

I have an AR and am a major fan of it's design; massive pivot and incredibly thick liner.

The Manix also looks like an excellent Spyderco offering, and my next Spydie will likely be either a Manix or Paramilitary.

[Senate]

great review, a Strider is very tempting! :)

how do they compare tip wise?

[Ted]

Nice review Craig - always fun to compare models, especially when both are top notch knives!
I recently got a Strider PT - can't really find a Spydie to compare it too. A flat ground G-10 Native would be the closest I guess.
About the lock breaking on a Manix, if I remember correctly Sal once posted that the first thing that happens when it breaks is that the heads shear of the pivot, which is actually a safe way for the knife to break. (It doesn't close on your hand). Making the pivot stronger on the Manix would mean some other part would fail first which might make the knife 'unsafe'.

[Jimd]

I love super-strong knives, to the point that I'm a freak about it.

Honestly, though, I seriously doubt that most of us could break the lock on either the Manix or the AR, unless we really, really tried hard to do it. And even then we might not be successful.

With that said, it's a sight to behold when one holds an AR in one's hand, and sees just how thick the liner is...it's freakish. And the pivot is ridiculously brutish, too.

I've never held a Manix (yet), however, the lock also looks to be extremely strong, given that those slabs of metal mesh together when locked.

For some people, muscle cars are where it's at....for me, it's muscle knives. And obviously, for Craig and many others, as well! Very cool topic, very cool replies.

[CKE]

Yea, come to think of it Ted I did read that somewhere. Kudos to the fella or gal that can break either of these.
In regards to the tip both are very similar, the Manix being a bit more pointy/tapered. Not enought to notice a difference in cutting/using though.

[Senate]

a good test for the tip would be stabbing in a piece of hard wood then prying, to see which one breaks first but I"m not gonna ask you to break a blade for me :)