Will we ever see a Manix 3?

[Bolster]

...

If we're prognosticating: I question the idea that the marketplace wants LW to replace HW knives. The poll taken at the beginning of this year shows a normally distributed curve of knife weight preference centered around the common 3-4 oz knife, which is what most people want and expect. I'm on the lightweight side of this curve, you're likely on the heavyweight side, but preferences don't indicate LW is replacing HW. In fact, if you move two steps heavier than the norm (the orange bar) you'll see there are more people in that 'extreme heavy' category than there are in two steps lighter (the green bar) in the 'extreme light' category. There's definitely a solid customer base for knives in the 3-5 oz range and even into the 6 oz range...lotta people love their Shamans. (And on the other end, lotta people love their LW Salts and Bugouts.)

In the meantime, have you checked out some of the copper replacement scales available for the Manix? They can make a Manix weigh >8 ounces! That'll keep you from floating into outer space! The good news for you HW fans is that there are usually easy ways to make a screw-construction knife heavier. Us LW fans have more work to lighten a knife; the aftermarket accessories to lighten, like the AWT scales, are rare.

PS: The irony of my screen name 'Bolster' isn't lost...bolsters make a knife heavier...I chose my name 16 years ago, back when I was into heavy bolstered micarta full-linered knives...! My shift to LW occurred when I morphed from a collector to a user. A job change meant that I was carrying a knife in the field for work a lot more.

[apollo]

...

If we're prognosticating: I question the idea that the marketplace wants LW to replace HW knives. The poll taken at the beginning of this year shows a normally distributed curve of knife weight preference centered around the common 3-4 oz knife, which is what most people want and expect. I'm on the lightweight side of this curve, you're likely on the heavyweight side, but preferences don't indicate LW is replacing HW. In fact, if you move two steps heavier than the norm (the orange bar) you'll see there are more people in that 'extreme heavy' category than there are in two steps lighter (the green bar) in the 'extreme light' category. There's definitely a solid customer base for knives in the 3-5 oz range and even into the 6 oz range...lotta people love their Shamans. (And on the other end, lotta people love their LW Salts and Bugouts.)

In the meantime, have you checked out some of the copper replacement scales available for the Manix? They can make a Manix weigh >8 ounces! That'll keep you from floating into outer space! The good news for you HW fans is that there are usually easy ways to make a screw-construction knife heavier. Us LW fans have more work to lighten a knife; the aftermarket accessories to lighten, like the AWT scales, are rare.

PS: The irony of my screen name 'Bolster' isn't lost...bolsters make a knife heavier...I chose my name 16 years ago, back when I was into heavy bolstered micarta full-linered knives...! My shift to LW occurred when I morphed from a collector to a user. A job change meant that I was carrying a knife in the field for work a lot more.

Youre research is impressive. Thank you for youre effort!
But the only thing i am allowed to say about all the prototypes i have seen in amsterdam is that the large number of designs are shifting more and more to frn based versions. ( to the point that there not that many new designs in the pipeline anymore just variations... )

So even with these comforting numbers you gave me i am still not seeing a bright future ahead if i am honest. That is why i hope to keep the love for the heavier knives alive on this forum since there isnt any other place better to reach out to spyderco and get there attention then here.

[ladybug93]

there's plenty of room in the market for both. with spyderco's expansion, i hope they have plenty of room for both as well. personally, i really like both. i do wish we'd see g10 versions of lw knives like the spy27 manix and magnacut manix (which isn't even out in lw yet) though, so i get apollo‘s sentiment.

[Mushroom]

...

If we're prognosticating: I question the idea that the marketplace wants LW to replace HW knives. The poll taken at the beginning of this year shows a normally distributed curve of knife weight preference centered around the common 3-4 oz knife, which is what most people want and expect. I'm on the lightweight side of this curve, you're likely on the heavyweight side, but preferences don't indicate LW is replacing HW. In fact, if you move two steps heavier than the norm (the orange bar) you'll see there are more people in that 'extreme heavy' category than there are in two steps lighter (the green bar) in the 'extreme light' category. There's definitely a solid customer base for knives in the 3-5 oz range and even into the 6 oz range...lotta people love their Shamans. (And on the other end, lotta people love their LW Salts and Bugouts.)

In the meantime, have you checked out some of the copper replacement scales available for the Manix? They can make a Manix weigh >8 ounces! That'll keep you from floating into outer space! The good news for you HW fans is that there are usually easy ways to make a screw-construction knife heavier. Us LW fans have more work to lighten a knife; the aftermarket accessories to lighten, like the AWT scales, are rare.

PS: The irony of my screen name 'Bolster' isn't lost...bolsters make a knife heavier...I chose my name 16 years ago, back when I was into heavy bolstered micarta full-linered knives...! My shift to LW occurred when I morphed from a collector to a user. A job change meant that I was carrying a knife in the field for work a lot more.

Youre research is impressive. Thank you for youre effort!
But the only thing i am allowed to say about all the prototypes i have seen in amsterdam is that the large number of designs are shifting more and more to frn based versions.( to the point that there not that many new designs in the pipeline anymore just variations... )

So even with these comforting numbers you gave me i am still not seeing a bright future ahead if i am honest. That is why i hope to keep the love for the heavier knives alive on this forum since there isnt any other place better to reach out to spyderco and get there attention then here.

That is discouraging to hear.

FRN conversions do very little to pique my interest these days. I guess it’s not really a bad thing if my future knife buying habits slow to a near halt.

[apollo]

...

[/highlight]( to the point that there not that many new designs in the pipeline anymore just variations... )

So even with these comforting numbers you gave me i am still not seeing a bright future ahead if i am honest. That is why i hope to keep the love for the heavier knives alive on this forum since there isnt any other place better to reach out to spyderco and get there attention then here.

That is discouraging to hear.

FRN conversions do very little to pique my interest these days. I guess it’s not really a bad thing if my future knife buying habits slow to a near halt.

Well there is still some stuff coming but almost all of those aren’t even worked on yet. All beautiful customs but yeah knowing the amsterdam meet. 50% of those seen there will never make it in production and of the stuff that go’s true isnt something we will see in the next 3 to 5 years. And that is also making me sad. I know covid was a nightmare for production but honestly the increasing numbers of variations is really cutting to much of the new designs pie in my eyes. Eric said all factory’s are at capacity and its tough to find space. But i wonder do we really need 6 variations of 1 design?
Now Sal and Eric know what they are doing and spyderco is a healthy company but i just wonder what if they made less variations and more new stuff.

[Mage7]

I'd like to see some different blade options for the Manix handle. Something like a Para Military blade but a Manix handle would be cool. A Wharncliffe would be interesting too.

[Wartstein]

I'd like to see some different blade options for the Manix handle. Something like a Para Military blade but a Manix handle would be cool. A Wharncliffe would be interesting too.

I´d be happy with a different "edge option" already: SE.
Best for me in just the "base" BD1N lightweight Manix....

[wrdwrght]

can anyone speak to the leafjumper as a choiless manix? it seems like it would be very similar to what should be expected of a manix without a choil.

Why is it important for the LJ to be seen as a choiless version of another line of Spydies, instead of an exemplar in its own developing line? Seems to go against the essence of what Sal is trying to accomplish.

[ladybug93]

can anyone speak to the leafjumper as a choiless manix? it seems like it would be very similar to what should be expected of a manix without a choil.

Why is it important for the LJ to be seen as a choiless version of another line of Spydies, instead of an exemplar in its own developing line? Seems to go against the essence of what Sal is trying to accomplish.

i don't think it's important for it to be seen that way at all. i'm simply making a statement that deleting the choil on a manix would leave you with something very close to the leafjumper, which already exists. that way people don't have to sit and wonder for who knows how long if spyderco will ever give them the knife of their dreams that might already exist. the jumpers don't get enough attention and they are pretty close to designs people are asking for often.

[wrdwrght]

can anyone speak to the leafjumper as a choiless manix? it seems like it would be very similar to what should be expected of a manix without a choil.

Why is it important for the LJ to be seen as a choiless version of another line of Spydies, instead of an exemplar in its own developing line? Seems to go against the essence of what Sal is trying to accomplish.

i don't think it's important for it to be seen that way at all. i'm simply making a statement that deleting the choil on a manix would leave you with something very close to the leafjumper, which already exists. that way people don't have to sit and wonder for who knows how long if spyderco will ever give them the knife of their dreams that might already exist. the jumpers don't get enough attention and they are pretty close to designs people are asking for often.

Good to know.

I think it’s important for “it” NOT “to be seen that way at all” precisely so that new Glesser ideas can have their day.

[ladybug93]

can anyone speak to the leafjumper as a choiless manix? it seems like it would be very similar to what should be expected of a manix without a choil.

Why is it important for the LJ to be seen as a choiless version of another line of Spydies, instead of an exemplar in its own developing line? Seems to go against the essence of what Sal is trying to accomplish.

i don't think it's important for it to be seen that way at all. i'm simply making a statement that deleting the choil on a manix would leave you with something very close to the leafjumper, which already exists. that way people don't have to sit and wonder for who knows how long if spyderco will ever give them the knife of their dreams that might already exist. the jumpers don't get enough attention and they are pretty close to designs people are asking for often.

Good to know.

I think it’s important for “it” NOT “to be seen that way at all” precisely so that new Glesser ideas can have their day.

i get what you're saying, but i'm not taking away from new designs by comparing them to older designs. i'm bringing attention to the similarities so that people that might not have considered them will.

i don't think they are the same knife, or even that they overlap all that much. but, because i love the manix so much, i'm looking hard at a leafjumper for my next knife because it shares a lot of the good attributes of my favorite design, but in a smaller package that makes it legal in more places. previously, i was looking at the sage 5 for the same reasons, but im not sure i want to give up so much cutting edge if i don't need to. none of these are the same knife and there's room for each of them in the lineup, but that doesn't mean they aren't similar enough to be compared.

[wrdwrght]

Why is it important for the LJ to be seen as a choiless version of another line of Spydies, instead of an exemplar in its own developing line? Seems to go against the essence of what Sal is trying to accomplish.

i don't think it's important for it to be seen that way at all. i'm simply making a statement that deleting the choil on a manix would leave you with something very close to the leafjumper, which already exists. that way people don't have to sit and wonder for who knows how long if spyderco will ever give them the knife of their dreams that might already exist. the jumpers don't get enough attention and they are pretty close to designs people are asking for often.

Good to know.

I think it’s important for “it” NOT “to be seen that way at all” precisely so that new Glesser ideas can have their day.

i get what you're saying, but i'm not taking away from new designs by comparing them to older designs. i'm bringing attention to the similarities so that people that might not have considered them will.

i don't think they are the same knife, or even that they overlap all that much. but, because i love the manix so much, i'm looking hard at a leafjumper for my next knife because it shares a lot of the good attributes of my favorite design, but in a smaller package that makes it legal in more places. previously, i was looking at the sage 5 for the same reasons, but im not sure i want to give up so much cutting edge if i don't need to. none of these are the same knife and there's room for each of them in the lineup, but that doesn't mean they aren't similar enough to be compared.

FWIW, the Manix series was my first favorite one. And it remains one of my favorites.

I could go on about why the series has become just one of numerous favorites.

But, in the interest of staying on topic, I’ll just repeat here that I (being NOT Eric) can’t see how the Manix2 can be improved.

I’ll add, however, that my choiless Leaf Jumper does not feel in my hand much like a Manix (the former has a thinner handle that is less restrictive in its shape, yet somehow offers fewer grip options despite having the same length). But in its own right, the LJ is a joy.

More like the Manix, in my hand at least, is the choiless Lil’Temperance3. It is stout(er) and a tad more hand-filling than the Manix, and has the same edge-length as both the Manix2 and Leaf Jumper, but it’s in a highly-evolved series all its own.

[ladybug93]

before the lj existed, i considered the lt3 as a 3" replacement for a manix as well. cost vs materials made it a non-starter for me though. that was back before a lw was made and the g10/vg-10 version was like $300.

[vandelay]

before the lj existed, i considered the lt3 as a 3" replacement for a manix as well. cost vs materials made it a non-starter for me though. that was back before a lw was made and the g10/vg-10 version was like $300.

The LJ and LT3 don't have the index finger notch that the manix does, so they have a different feel to me. The notch just works better with how I tend to grip a knife.

[BIGSTRETCH]

The only thing I can imagine would improve on the design is a little more handle contouring. Maybe I'm being unimaginative here, but I'd prefer to leave great alone.