Bbl

[Officer Gigglez]

This lock is what is keeping me from getting a Manix. The lock just doesn't seem to be something that would last a long time. Am I right? or am I dead wrong? Anyone care to educate me?

[yablanowitz]

What makes you think it wouldn't last long?

[Officer Gigglez]

What makes you think it wouldn't last long?

It just seems to me that it has (more) moving parts to it, which is to say it is more complicated, and thus, more can go wrong. I really have had no experience with the lock type, and I guess I finally felt I needed to look into it.

[Blerv]

The tempered tang rolls on a replaceable ball bearing. Its difficult to make something that has less wear resistance and self-adjusts in that way. A lockback can last over two decades and operates on a much higher friction model.

[Officer Gigglez]

The tempered tang rolls on a replaceable ball bearing. Its difficult to make something that has less wear resistance and self-adjusts in that way. A lockback can last over two decades and operates on a much higher friction model.

I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but can you translate that into English please?

[RealKnifeUser]

The ball bearing lock is nothing to be afraid of. The contact surface areas are, as Blerv said, self-adjusting for any wear, have coil springs that last longer than leaf springs, and there's much less actual metal-on-metal contact. I see no problems with this lock at all, it seems quite space-age to me.

[Donut]

There really is not much to it. A spring pushes the ball between the blade and the back spacer. The only extra piece is the plastic that helps you move the ball.

What other locks are simpler? Liner locks have a spring that moves a piece of metal onto the blade, but the spring and piece of metal are the same piece of metal.

Back locks are possibly one of the most complicated, they have a lock bar, a spring, an extra pivot. I don't see many people complaining about back locks failing from being too complicated.

[Officer Gigglez]

There really is not much to it. A spring pushes the ball between the blade and the back spacer. The only extra piece is the plastic that helps you move the ball.

What other locks are simpler? Liner locks have a spring that moves a piece of metal onto the blade, but the spring and piece of metal are the same piece of metal.

Back locks are possibly one of the most complicated, they have a lock bar, a spring, an extra pivot. I don't see many people complaining about back locks failing from being too complicated.

Fair enough. Thanks for educating me. I'll likely be looking into a Manix in the coming days now.

[RanCoWeAla]

The thing I was always concerned with is the plastic or Polymer device that disengages the lock. The knife as well as lock has to be one of the strongest there is because the liner is not split to make a liner lock or frame lock. However plastic eventually becomes hard and brittle with age which may not be the case here.

[Evil D]

Easily in my top 3 favorite locks, and constantly battling the compression lock for the #1 slot. The only thing I've heard breaking is the ball cage coming apart, which should be covered under warranty. The best part IMO is that (in my experience anyway) I have taken apart 3 Manix 2's and have never had a single hint of blade centering issue when putting them back together. I don't know what it is about the lock or if it has anything to do with it, but every M2 I've owned was dead center and never seemed to be effected by screw or pivot tightness.

[Evil D]

The thing I was always concerned with is the plastic or Polymer device that disengages the lock. The knife as well as lock has to be one of the strongest there is because the liner is not split to make a liner lock or frame lock. However plastic eventually becomes hard and brittle with age which may not be the case here.

I don't know if the plastics are similar, but consider how long some Glocks have been out with plastic bodies.

[kbuzbee]

Fair enough. Thanks for educating me. I'll likely be looking into a Manix in the coming days now.

BBL is my favorite lock. CBBL is my second favorite. I'd love to see a new BBL offering.

Ken

[Ray Allen]

This past year I bought a S30V Manix2XL to make sure I liked the whole system before buying the KW exclusive carbon fiber, S90V release. After checking out the ergo's, lockup, flipping ability etc, I sold the S30V and went ahead with the the upgraded S90V package. Both knives are not as fast as flippers as the three compression lock knives I have had, a Superleaf and two PM2's. I believe the drag of the ball bearing mating to the back of knife blade when opening playing a part of this. That said, the lockup feels very secure when deployed. The fact that the ball bearing is allowed to rotate should mean that flat spots developing should be minimized, along with what I believe is a tapered tunnel that the ball goes into to also provide self adjustment for long term useage. At least that is my understanding. I also wish I knew more about the lock system and would welcome greatly any info on testing and long term usage reports. I would also say that the CBBL has been the trickiest to dial in but is now smooth after a couple of adjustments, trying two high end lubes and opening and closing a couple of hundred times. Very glad I went forward with the the upgrade purchase. Love that S90V steel.
Best.

[UpDok]

It just seems to me that it has (more) moving parts to it, which is to say it is more complicated, and thus, more can go wrong. I really have had no experience with the lock type, and I guess I finally felt I needed to look into it.

Officer Gigglez,
I would think there are more factors to the life expectancy of a mechanical product than the product’s degree of complexity. I think that design of the product and materials it is made from have a greater role than "complexity" does in the longevity of a product. For example: there are plenty of truck diesel engines that have more than a million miles on them without breakdowns.

Certainly a Manix 2 folding knife is less complicated than a truck diesel engine.

[The Deacon]

At least in theory, wear on the locking surfaces should only make it engage more deeply and the ball bearing's ability to rotate should add to its life. My only real concern would be the possibility of gunk getting between the coils of the spring, as it would be very difficult to remove, especially in the field. However, that would be more likely to interfere with closing the knife than with opening or lockup. Not a fan myself, as I find the midlock hard to beat.

[TomAiello]

Fair enough. Thanks for educating me. I'll likely be looking into a Manix in the coming days now.

Good choice. :)

They're great knives. My favorite folder. I've got the XL in s30v and s90v, the normal size in s30v and M4 and several of the lightweights in BD-1.

Now if only I can get one of the S110v lightweights.

I'm pretty sure I'll be scrambling for any sprints of this model for the foreseeable future.

[Evil D]

At least in theory, wear on the locking surfaces should only make it engage more deeply and the ball bearing's ability to rotate should add to its life. My only real concern would be the possibility of gunk getting between the coils of the spring, as it would be very difficult to remove, especially in the field. However, that would be more likely to interfere with closing the knife than with opening or lockup. Not a fan myself, as I find the midlock hard to beat.

If you can find water, they rinse out extremely easy.

[video=youtube;M5_iySg7Jn0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5_iySg7Jn0[/video]

[salmonkiller]

Opened mine thousands of times and no problems.

[kbuzbee]

If you can find water, they rinse out extremely easy.

Listening to the grit in that pivot made me cringe, David I wanted to call the ASPCS

Now, it's good to know that if you were put in the kinda of situation your tools can remain functional but.... ewe...

Ken

[Evil D]

Listening to the grit in that pivot made me cringe, David I wanted to call the ASPCS

Now, it's good to know that if you were put in the kinda of situation your tools can remain functional but.... ewe...

Ken

Yeah that's my version of nails down a chalk board. I hate to think what the pivot surfaces look like after that, but hey that's real world use if you work in extreme environments. I could see it being an issue if you worked in the desert where water may be hard to find but otherwise for most people it's a non issue. The real beauty of this lock is the wear life it has. You could also potentially use a larger ball if it ever wore down enough to create play but I think the blade would wear down to a nub before that happens.