Spyderco Forums

Here are some photos of Spyderco Mantra C202TI... what a fantastic knife!
enjoy watching....

























Thank You Spyderco :)

It is nice but I only got to touch one once and that one had such a bad detent could not flip open without flicking the wrist. So, past it up.

Good flippers shoul fly open once you over come the detent in my opinion.

Probably just that one I saw. Is yours that way?

Oh, and your pics are awesome.

Very nice knife. Seems to fit your hand well. Hope you enjoy using it :)

It's easily my favourite work knife. It checks all the boxes for me.

Awesome steel, check
Fun flipper, check
Titanium, check
Spyderhole, check
Wireclip, check
Modern Caly/delica, check
Carries light and easily, check

I kinda want a second one.

I got one in May for my birthday. It's become my favorite, even after buying a Nirvana afterwards. Definitely ticks all the boxes. My best compliment to this knife is that I wouldn't change anything about it in general. I personally don't do lanyards so if I could wave a wand and take the lanyard hole out of my Mantra, I'd do that. But I wouldn't change the design at the factory.

Flipping Addict wrote:It is nice but I only got to touch one once and that one had such a bad detent could not flip open without flicking the wrist. So, past it up.

Good flippers shoul fly open once you over come the detent in my opinion.

Probably just that one I saw. Is yours that way?

Oh, and your pics are awesome.

I would say the flipper is awesome, it's works like a "push button", rather than just pulling the tab down along the spine of the frame.

These are great photos indeed.

I am seriously looking at one, but I can't help feeling it's more complicated than it needed to be. I guess I just like simpler designs. I am always worried about things with more parts being more likely to have something go wrong. Aside from the bearings and lock bar insert, I really love most things about it. The shape, style, size, and materials are all great. I am tempted to ask for one for my bday. Great pics OP, thanks for sharing them.

My next knife purchase will be this or the advocate. I don't even like ball bearing pivots or flippers but these two have nice, pronounced holes so the flipper is moot.

#firstworldproblems

I handled one yesterday and compares to the Southard it felt very cheap. I wanted to like it, and on paper I really did, but will save pennies for Ouroboros.

jstrange wrote:I am seriously looking at one, but I can't help feeling it's more complicated than it needed to be. I guess I just like simpler designs. I am always worried about things with more parts being more likely to have something go wrong. Aside from the bearings and lock bar insert, I really love most things about it. The shape, style, size, and materials are all great. I am tempted to ask for one for my bday. Great pics OP, thanks for sharing them.

Yes it has bearings and a lock bar insert but still a pretty simple design IMO. I know some folks don't like bearings but, at least on my example, they make the knife smoother than my Sage 3, PM2, GB1 or any other Spyderco knife that I have. The blade flies out when I deploy it using a light flick of my middle middle finger. It's noticeably faster than all my other knives and I haven't even had to adjust the pivot.

I'm sure the lock bar insert was added for good reason. I think the gimping on the insert is a really nice touch. All-in-all the Mantra is a great design and I think you'd be happy with it. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite knives.

SuckSqueezeBangBlow wrote:I handled one yesterday and compares to the Southard it felt very cheap. I wanted to like it, and on paper I really did, but will save pennies for Ouroboros.

For the life of my I can't think of anything about the Mantra that could possibly make it feel cheap. I've handled a couple of Southards and I thought they were nice but their not high on my list. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

SuckSqueezeBangBlow wrote:I handled one yesterday and compares to the Southard it felt very cheap. I wanted to like it, and on paper I really did, but will save pennies for Ouroboros.

Agreed with the other poster. I can't for the life of me figure out what could feel cheap about that knife unless you're used to super thick slabs of metal. This one seems light because the handle slabs aren't thick, the blade isn't thick, and the lock bar isn't ridiculous. It seems very well made and when I had the chance to fondle one I thought it was very well designed with premium materials. If you're used to "overbuilt" pocket knives and havent gotten used to a smaller, thinner knife then I can see thinking this one is too slim and light to work. I was there at one time, too. It seems to me to be just about right in pretty much all respects. I'd like the blade to be closer to 4 inches but we can't always get what we want.

I have the 2 and it is one of my favorites to carry.

It does keep calling to me. Love M4 steel and the size.

Bodog wrote:

SuckSqueezeBangBlow wrote:I handled one yesterday and compares to the Southard it felt very cheap. I wanted to like it, and on paper I really did, but will save pennies for Ouroboros.

Agreed with the other poster. I can't for the life of me figure out what could feel cheap about that knife unless you're used to super thick slabs of metal. This one seems light because the handle slabs aren't thick, the blade isn't thick, and the lock bar isn't ridiculous. It seems very well made and when I had the chance to fondle one I thought it was very well designed with premium materials. If you're used to "overbuilt" pocket knives and havent gotten used to a smaller, thinner knife then I can see thinking this one is too slim and light to work. I was there at one time, too. It seems to me to be just about right in pretty much all respects. I'd like the blade to be closer to 4 inches but we can't always get what we want.

It was because I picked it up, handled it and immediately picked up the Southard. In direct comparison the Mantra didn't feel as solid as the Southard, that's all.

Excellent pics and review, Tap! Always enjoy your work.

Great pictures, Tap! I really like the comparisons too. It's always great to have a point of reference to a wide array of models. The Mantra definitely is a fantastic knife.

Bdubs808 wrote:

Flipping Addict wrote:It is nice but I only got to touch one once and that one had such a bad detent could not flip open without flicking the wrist. So, past it up.

Good flippers shoul fly open once you over come the detent in my opinion.

Probably just that one I saw. Is yours that way?

Oh, and your pics are awesome.

I would say the flipper is awesome, it's works like a "push button", rather than just pulling the tab down along the spine of the frame.

These are great photos indeed.

Push button is exactly how I would describe it too. I don't have any issue flipping it open without a wrist flick when I treat it that way. Although I do think practice does help. Once I got a feel for it, it's been nearly perfect for me.

SuckSqueezeBangBlow wrote:I handled one yesterday and compares to the Southard it felt very cheap. I wanted to like it, and on paper I really did, but will save pennies for Ouroboros.

Interesting. I had the exact opposite thought after handling both. Personal preference I guess.

Great pics Tap, love both the Mantra's, wish they had a stainless blade. They rank high on my list of favorite Spydies. :spyder:

I'm a big fan of my Mantra.
- Carry size and deep wire clip.
- PM2 cutting edge in a Delica handle.
- M4 blade (nuff said)
- I'm not fussed on Ti vs say the Sage 1 CF/G10. Not really a decisive factor for my purchase.
- Flipper is very functional and my knife requires no wrist. But I mostly just spydie hole open.

I EDC mine a few days a week, love it. Awesome apple blade.

I feel the Mantra is a very underrated knife.