Spyderco Forums

I haven't had the chance to handle one in person yet. While I like everything I've seen and read about this knife the plastic piece that you use to close the lock appears to be flimsy and capable of breaking with a lot use. I'd appreciate to hear your experience if you have this knife.

I haven't handled a Manix too much, but I have a few friends with them and they love them. Never heard them say anything bad about the lock or anything like that. Hope this helps :)

I have the Manix 2 Lightweight with Maxamet blade. Love the blade, love the knife. The Polymer cage that is drawn back to close the blade is fully supported by the steel ball bearing that it surrounds. Mine is solid and the lock is a proven design that has been in service a while. If you like the looks of this knife I highly recommend it. Of all my :spyder: knives the Manix 2 has become one of my favorites.

I've seen broken ones but never had one break myself and the Manix 2 is probably my most carried knife overall since 2010.

Manix 2 comes in two locks. I don't own the back lock, yet, but I've been flipping, dropping, abusing my BBL for almost a year with no issues.

I seem to recall someone making a replacement BB cage out of Ti. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

mad german wrote:I seem to recall someone making a replacement BB cage out of Ti. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

I seem to remember this too but I don't remember ever seeing them on knives so I'm not sure if it ever became a reality.

Evil D wrote:

mad german wrote:I seem to recall someone making a replacement BB cage out of Ti. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

I seem to remember this too but I don't remember ever seeing them on knives so I'm not sure if it ever became a reality.

Yep, you're right. I just did a quick check on the Google machine and it seems like the part was made, but it didn't meet specs. I haven't seen anything else. I would bet that Spyderco would replace the cage if one ever got damaged. The polymer cage wouldn't keep me from buying a Manix 2.

From what I've seen, the issues with the cage breaking were mostly from the older clear cages. While I'm sure the black cages have had issues, I don't think it's nearly as prevalent as with the clear cages. Mine feels solid and I have no reason to believe it would ever break.

Thanks for the feedback folks!

It's actually a really solid lock and should stand up to whatever you could do to it, besides maybe extreme abuse. They are fun to play with like an axis lock. The CBBL suits the knife really good I think, on top of the Manix being super duper ergonomic to begin with.

I've been carrying a Manix 2 in one form or another for about 5 years now and after taking one apart I have no reason to believe it would break even during hard use. Not abused, but hard use. It's a very solid design.

I like the Manix 2, and my favorite personally owned knife is my Manix 2XL. Both have CBBLs, and I own both, but I would really love a switch to a plain Ball Bearing Lock for these knives. It would eliminate all worry about the potential for the polymer cage breaking. And come on, there is not a knife lock on earth that looks more high-speed than a big ol' steel ball bearing!

PLEASE HEAR MY PLEAS, SAL!
A Manix 2XL with a steel Ball Bearing Lock would be a superior thing!
:spyder: :o

Grappler wrote:I haven't had the chance to handle one in person yet. While I like everything I've seen and read about this knife the plastic piece that you use to close the lock appears to be flimsy and capable of breaking with a lot use. I'd appreciate to hear your experience if you have this knife.

It's solid, I've been using Manix's for a few years now.

The M2 ball carriers have never felt flimsy to me, the *idea* of a plastic part is a bit off-putting, but the reality is that polycarbonate is a really strong material and well suited to this application, plus the carrier is shielded by your hand while in use.

I have not experienced using a straight ball bearing lock so I may be talking out of turn here, but for aging hands that just don't quite grip things like they used to I find the cage design to be a real help, making the lock quite easy for me to operate, and giving me a sure gripping surface every time. For me at least, I like the design and find the cage helpful.

El Gato wrote:I have not experienced using a straight ball bearing lock so I may be talking out of turn here, but for aging hands that just don't quite grip things like they used to I find the cage design to be a real help, making the lock quite easy for me to operate, and giving me a sure gripping surface every time. For me at least, I like the design and find the cage helpful.

Not just age or dexterity issues but also wet/greasy/gloved hands also become an issue when dealing with just a ball bearing. The cage is an improvement in every way except maybe looks.

If I had to work with gloves on, I would use a manix or a back lock. It's pretty solid. And I like the excessive jumping on the manix

Robbob wrote:From what I've seen, the issues with the cage breaking were mostly from the older clear cages. While I'm sure the black cages have had issues, I don't think it's nearly as prevalent as with the clear cages. Mine feels solid and I have no reason to believe it would ever break.

Exactly!! Haven't heard of a black cage breaking yet. I have 6 Manix 2s, one with a clear cage. I have carried them tons and have had no issues at all.
If you like the knife, there is no reason at all to hesitate!!
It is an amazing work knife!! Tough as nails!
Joe

I have the new version with the black cage C101PBL2 and it appears to be very strong. It's fun to flick open as well!