Paramilitary or Manix

[apollo]

If you are a lefty like you say i would suggest the Manix. ( i am a lefty as wel )
Both are excellent designs and probably both will have the same amount of votes in the end. But the lefty is not as ambidextrous as the Manix in the end.

[RustyIron]

RUNNER UP
Paramilitary 2
The knife is gorgeous. Its proportions are breathtaking, like Gisele in her prime. That's not to be confused with Geissele, who is talented, but not as good to look at. The compression lock is allows for buttery operation, but its discriminatory handedness is off-putting. If a left-handed PM2 was offered with K390 or 15V, I'd be all over it.

WINNER
Manix 2
This knife fits my hand perfectly. Whether you're left-handed, right-handed, or fighting off an adversary while wounded, the knife can be operated. The caged ball bearing lock is the epitome of sweetness and strength. The Manix 2 is so good, that the both the lightweight and heavyweight versions are equally awesome.

FANTASY
Hybrid Paramilitary 2 with CBBL and Top-Shelf Steel
We can all dream, can't we?

[Wartstein]

.....

FANTASY
Hybrid Paramilitary 2 with CBBL and Top-Shelf Steel
We can all dream, can't we?

Yeah... that would be an amazing knife!
Make it REX 45 for me

[Wartstein]

If you are a lefty like you say i would suggest the Manix. ( i am a lefty as wel )
Both are excellent designs and probably both will have the same amount of votes in the end. But the lefty is not as ambidextrous as the Manix in the end.

Good advice, but then there is the left handed PM2 which I think op considers, going by the model numbers he listed.

[aicolainen]

This is so much personal preference, it's not easy to say which one is right for a specific person. Wartstein summed up the objective benefits of each design quite well. Spec's don't tell the whole story though, and you wont really know until you've used them both. That day will come eventually, until then you should just follow your gut feeling and start with the one that gives you the warmest fuzzies at the moment. Neither is a bad choice.

I've owned the base model (S30V) PM2 and I have a sprint run G10 Manix 2, and it's still hard to say which one I prefer. As Wartstein mentioned, the non-base model Manix 2's are somewhat lighter than the base model, but I still think it's something of a pocket anchor. That fact alone probably kills the base version for me, as a viable choice over a PM2. Weight is a big deal to me though, and it isn't for everyone. I'll probably transition to a LW once the magnacut manix hit the shelves. At that point any version of the PM2 would probably struggle to get my attention. Beyond weight, I like most things Manix better.

[Wandering_About]

Personally I do prefer the PM2 between these two.

[elena86]

PM2 is the superior knife IMO.

[Evil D]

Manix, ergonomics work better for me. Shaman over both.

[Manixguy@1994]

RUNNER UP
Paramilitary 2
The knife is gorgeous. Its proportions are breathtaking, like Gisele in her prime. That's not to be confused with Geissele, who is talented, but not as good to look at. The compression lock is allows for buttery operation, but its discriminatory handedness is off-putting. If a left-handed PM2 was offered with K390 or 15V, I'd be all over it.

WINNER
Manix 2
This knife fits my hand perfectly. Whether you're left-handed, right-handed, or fighting off an adversary while wounded, the knife can be operated. The caged ball bearing lock is the epitome of sweetness and strength. The Manix 2 is so good, that the both the lightweight and heavyweight versions are equally awesome.

FANTASY
Hybrid Paramilitary 2 with CBBL and Top-Shelf Steel
We can all dream, can't we?

Home Run ! MG2

[akapennypincher]

Back to Knife both have positive, but I have been told replace Manix Ball Bearing, Spring mechanism for best working to open, close, lock.

There's no need to change anything. Some people prefer a weaker spring so it's easier to close. That causes the detent to be weaker though.
The stock spring is pretty strong, but it's fine once you get used to it.

Some people work hard at tweaking thinks, for fun & profit.

Thing should work out of box like Glock pistol.

[Wartstein]

Back to Knife both have positive, but I have been told replace Manix Ball Bearing, Spring mechanism for best working to open, close, lock.

There's no need to change anything. Some people prefer a weaker spring so it's easier to close. That causes the detent to be weaker though.
The stock spring is pretty strong, but it's fine once you get used to it.

Some people work hard at tweaking thinks, for fun & profit.

Thing should work out of box like Glock pistol.

I am not sure if I get you right, but the Manix and its CBBL work perfectly well out of the box!!

The vast majority (I think) has no problems to operate the lock, and the spring tension makes for the imo really advantageous closing bias of a CBBL.
For not too few it is even no problem to operate the lock with just one finger instead of two, depending on finger strength and also technique.

(I made some vids and a thread once about ways to operate the CBBL, if you like you can see there that this is actually really easy.

See the vids in this link viewtopic.php?t=87806#p1459252

[spydergoat]

If this is for everyday carry the PM2 is lighter and not as wide so it's easier to carry, while having a longer edge.

[Hopweaver]

Manix 2 - Built like a tank. Will never let you down.

[benben]

When you said southpaw I immediately thought Manix unless you have a lead on a lefty PM2? But, I'm sure there's plenty of left handed folks out there that make the PM2 work.

I personally like the Manix more and that would be my choice, but....that's just personal preference! The great thing is you can't go wrong either way!

BTW, I've been beating on four different Manix 2's for years, never ever had one issue with the CBBL!

[thuyenbuom]

Hybrid Paramilitary 2 with CBBL and Top-Shelf Steel + LW

[toomanypm2s]

Team PM2 for me. But I've slowly started adding some Manix to the party.

[Airlsee]

For me, the Manix is disagreeable in pocket. I have no Manixes any longer, I have 3 PM2's...

Pocket hog/Pocket clip are issues, I love the knife in hand.

[anycal]

I got a PM2 and a LW Manix 2 roughly around the same time - one purchase apart. PM2 won the contest of a better knife for me for number of reasons.

Some time later (little over a year later), I got the G10 Manix 2. This narrowed the PM2's lead over the G10 Manix 2 quite a bit. But PM2 is still the better knife for me,

- longer cutting edge
- more acute tip, excellent for piercing - use this more than I thought I would
- more neutral handle, more comfortable
- compression lock - more intuitive and effortless closing; safer for my uses
- smaller footprint, easier to carry

[TomAiello]

That's not to be confused with Geissele, who is talented, but not as good to look at.

Posts like that should have a trigger warning.

[TomAiello]

I'm in the Manix camp. I vastly prefer the CBBL to the comp lock. I've often skipped knives that otherwise looked perfect because they had a comp lock.

The Manix ergonomics are also better for me than the PM2, but honestly the lock is the main thing.