Advice re: Manix 2 LW

[magicdad]

I'd like to buy the Manix 2 Lightweight on Amazon, which is at the moment selling for $113. However, it is described and pictured as having CTS-BD1 steel, not CTS-BD1N. Is this an older version of the knife? Blade HQ, KnifeCenter, etc. are selling only the CTS-BD1N version. Perhaps Amazon is blowing out inventory with the former steel, and if so - should I care? Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

[Wandering_About]

Honestly I'd personally spend the extra money to get it from somewhere other than Amazon... worth it to know for sure what you're getting.

The BD1 Manix does predate the BD1N, as in the latter case the steel's composition was modified slightly and is the current production version. If the listing holds true, they are selling the old version.

[Bolster]

From reading around, I've gotten the impression that BD1N is a pretty major upgrade over BD1, but I've no personal experience with that. As Wandering says, I'd buy from a source that can verify BD1N. Actually, no, I would buy it in a different steel altogether. You can find the Manix in SPY27 for pretty good deals these days, and SPY27 is a nicely balanced powder metallurgy steel.

[Sharp Guy]

My first Manix 2 LWs were BD1. One black FRCP and one translucent blue. I gave the blue one to my friend (he loves it) and I still have the black one. I have many knives to choose from including two other M2LWs. That BD1 knife still gets a lot of use. I've cut up all kinds of cardboard with it. When the edge goes it's easy to get hair popping sharp again. I also have knives with BD1N and I don't see a huge difference

What Wandering_About says about buying from Amazon is generally true. However I found the knife you're asking about and The Spyderco Store is a legit Spyderco dealer. They're not actually Spyderco though. They're called Hardware Sales in Washington state and are listed as a dealer on Spyderco's site

The price is pretty good. If you think you want it go ahead and buy it and enjoy it

[Bolster]

I couldn't remember where I got the idea about BD1 vs BD1N so I went searching and found the Shawn Houston commentary I only dimly remembered: “The BD1 is just to soft too stand out. BD1N …doesn't roll over at the edge as much and is more wear resistant without much consequence… BD1N is the answer, it fixes the lower hardness issues and lower carbide volume but is still going provide the fine carbide benefits of the BD1 without much detriment.”

[Wartstein]

My first Manix 2 LWs were BD1. One black FRCP and one translucent blue. I gave the blue one to my friend (he loves it) and I still have the black one. I have many knives to choose from including two other M2LWs. That BD1 knife still gets a lot of use. I've cut up all kinds of cardboard with it. When the edge goes it's easy to get hair popping sharp again. I also have knives with BD1N and I don't see a huge difference

What Wandering_About says about buying from Amazon is generally true. However I found the knife you're asking about and The Spyderco Store is a legit Spyderco dealer. They're not actually Spyderco though. They're called Hardware Sales in Washington state and are listed as a dealer on Spyderco's site
....

I actually feel that BD1N offers a noticeable upgrade to BD1 in edge retention.

But I have to admit:
Unlike you I could never compare the two steels directly, it is just that I had a black Manix LW in BD1 and was not impressed with its edge retention. Sold it eventually.
Then like a good year later I got a translucent blue one with BD1N and honestly felt it was the knife with the best "ease of sharpening / edge retention -ratio" I ever owned (though rather due to how extremely quick and easy it was to sharpen, but for THAT the edge holding was really good).
So pretty much as "unscientific as it gets"

/ Concerning Amazon: Not a real fan of buying there either (though I do occasionally, but not knives):
But if the store is a legit Spyderco dealer and the knives get sent from there and returns get directly back to them I´d say its fine.
Cause from what I hear generally on Amazon there is a risk that returns get into a huge pool, regardless of the particular dealer and get not really inspected.
So one bad guy could order a legit Spyderco, but then return a fake (while keeping the legit one).
That fake item could then be sold again as legit to someone else...

[Wartstein]

From reading around, I've gotten the impression that BD1N is a pretty major upgrade over BD1, but I've no personal experience with that. As Wandering says, I'd buy from a source that can verify BD1N. Actually, no, I would buy it in a different steel altogether. You can find the Manix in SPY27 for pretty good deals these days, and SPY27 is a nicely balanced powder metallurgy steel.

Well, as said above: To me BD1N is amazing in how extremely easy it is to sharpen while still decent at edge holding. Beats VG10 in that "ratio" for me.

/ OP also has the chance to try and score either the upcoming St Nicks exclusive in 4V or the GP knives in REX 45.
A bit more expensive, but more than worth it imo (unless one is particularly looking for that ease of sharpening. Then BD1N is the way to go).

[Fastidiotus]

The BD1N versions will also offer the ability to get the screw together construction, pretty sure all the BD1's were pinned. BD1N also offers pretty decent corrosion resistance. As a non powdered steel I personally really enjoy it.

If you're logged in National Knives https://www.nationalknives.com is selling the plain BD1N version for $113.39, picture shows pinned construction but the DLC coated blade version shows screwed together. Could always shoot them an email and ask if the uncoated version is pinned or screwed together if that matters to you. I've always had great customer service from them.

[Sharp Guy]

My first Manix 2 LWs were BD1. One black FRCP and one translucent blue. I gave the blue one to my friend (he loves it) and I still have the black one. I have many knives to choose from including two other M2LWs. That BD1 knife still gets a lot of use. I've cut up all kinds of cardboard with it. When the edge goes it's easy to get hair popping sharp again. I also have knives with BD1N and I don't see a huge difference

What Wandering_About says about buying from Amazon is generally true. However I found the knife you're asking about and The Spyderco Store is a legit Spyderco dealer. They're not actually Spyderco though. They're called Hardware Sales in Washington state and are listed as a dealer on Spyderco's site
....

I actually feel that BD1N offers a noticeable upgrade to BD1 in edge retention.

But I have to admit:
Unlike you I could never compare the two steels directly, it is just that I had a black Manix LW in BD1 and was not impressed with its edge retention. Sold it eventually.
Then like a good year later I got a translucent blue one with BD1N and honestly felt it was the knife with the best "ease of sharpening / edge retention -ratio" I ever owned (though rather due to how extremely quick and easy it was to sharpen, but for THAT the edge holding was really good).
So pretty much as "unscientific as it gets"

/ Concerning Amazon: Not a real fan of buying there either (though I do occasionally, but not knives):
But if the store is a legit Spyderco dealer and the knives get sent from there and returns get directly back to them I´d say its fine.
Cause from what I hear generally on Amazon there is a risk that returns get into a huge pool, regardless of the particular dealer and get not really inspected.
So one bad guy could order a legit Spyderco, but then return a fake (while keeping the legit one).
That fake item could then be sold again as legit to someone else...

A few years ago I cut up a large appliance box. Heavy cardboard. I ended up using 3 knives all with fresh edges at 15 dps. I think one was my PM2 Cruwear Sprint. One was Manix 2 LW S110V. The third ended up being the Manix 2 LW BD1. I started with the S110V and cut a lot of cardboard before it stopped cutting well. So rather than stop and sharpen the knife. I went in the house and grabbed another knife. The PM2 Cruwear. Again I cut a lot of the box up into little pieces. Eventually it stopped cutting. I still had a lot the box left to cut. So I went inside and grabbed a third knife. A Manix 2 LW happened to be sitting on my desk so I grabbed it. I didn't expect it to cut for very long before it quit. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the cardboard it cut. Almost as much as the other two knives. I remember thinking to myself....everyone makes it seem like this steel won't hold an edge very long. Well...considering I don't normally cut that much cardboard in several months the edge would last way longer than I ever thought. The beauty was that I walked over to the Sharpmaker on my workbench bench and gave it a few swipes on the brown stones until it was sticky sharp again and finished the job.

Maybe the edge geometry made the difference but the other two knives had been reprofiled in a similar fashion.

As I mentioned I do have a couple knives with BD1N but I honestly haven't used them to cut a lot of cardboard like I did the BD1 Manix 2 LW. I honestly don't care if BD1N does keep an edge way longer than the BD1 I have. As I've mentioned I still have one Manix 2 LW in BD1 and that knife is always hair popping sharp. The action on it is a liittle smoother than my other two LWs too. I thought about replacing it when the BD1N Manix 2 LWs came out. Then I thought why? The BD1 knife does the job just fine. However, if I was buying my first one I'd go with BD1N. (I have SPY27 & XHP already) 4V M2LW will be on the way Friday

That cardboard job was about the time I started losing interest in high edge retention steels. I have knives with all the various steels but they're overkill for my EDC needs

I understand stand the whole Amazon risk thing but you have you ever heard of a Manix 2 LW fake with pinned construction etc? If there's an issue send it back

EDIT: I see ^ that the OP can buy the BD1 knife for the same price at National. Great solution

[ladybug93]

i would also advise against purchasing spydercos from amazon. these days, it's much harder to trust amazon sellers (unless it's a reputable seller on amazon) to not be selling knock-offs. i'd rather spend the extra few dollars at an actual knife retailer.

also, you might want to consider holding off just a bit and putting a little more money toward a magnacut manix. it will be a better steel than bd1. it will also be easier to sell or trade if you find that you don't care for the design.

if you really just want the bd1 version, i'd still recommend bd1n. the older version does not have screw construction and can't be taken apart for cleaning (or modding, if you like to do that). i have an xhp lw manix with pins and decided early on i would not buy another m2lw until they came with screws. i'm really glad they now have them.

[vivi]

I've used both BD1 and BD1N a lot and they're both very nice. I'd have zero issues buying a knife in either steel, I like them both a lot. BD1 never felt too soft in use to me, and it gets about as sharp as any steel I've sharpened.

A few years ago I cut up a large appliance box. Heavy cardboard. I ended up using 3 knives all with fresh edges at 15 dps. I think one was my PM2 Cruwear Sprint. One was Manix 2 LW S110V. The third ended up being the Manix 2 LW BD1. I started with the S110V and cut a lot of cardboard before it stopped cutting well. So rather than stop and sharpen the knife. I went in the house and grabbed another knife. The PM2 Cruwear. Again I cut a lot of the box up into little pieces. Eventually it stopped cutting. I still had a lot the box left to cut. So I went inside and grabbed a third knife. A Manix 2 LW happened to be sitting on my desk so I grabbed it. I didn't expect it to cut for very long before it quit. I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the cardboard it cut. Almost as much as the other two knives. I remember thinking to myself....everyone makes it seem like this steel won't hold an edge very long. Well...considering I don't normally cut that much cardboard in several months the edge would last way longer than I ever thought. The beauty was that I walked over to the Sharpmaker on my workbench bench and gave it a few swipes on the brown stones until it was sticky sharp again and finished the job.

Something's up if it took multiple knives to break down a single box. Hit any staples or anything?

I broke a few of those large triple layer pumpkin boxes down with a Chief in a less wear resistant steel than S110V and didn't even completey eliminate shaving ability:

You know those thick cardboard bins 3 corrugated layers deep they ship pumpkins in? Broke down a few of those today with my Chief that we had in our back lot from a recent pumpkin carving competition.





Still scrape shaves despite using a pretty coarse finish and dulling it some since sharpening it.

[Sharp Guy]

Something's up if it took multiple knives to break down a single box. Hit any staples or anything?

Nope! Nothing was up. It was a big appliance box and I intentionally cut it up into tiny pieces

I'll probably do the same with the bike box if I have the time (and desire). I did the same with the box my bike came in. This one's for my lady. Need to assemble the bike first. She's had some health issues recently. So we've held off



I usually cut up all the boxes from deliveries for the week the night before garbage/recycling pick up. Lately I haven't been cutting them up so small. It just depends how much time and desire I have

[vivi]

Oh I gotcha! I thought you meant breaking it down into bin size, not cutting it down past that point. Makes a lot more sense now.

[Sharp Guy]

Oh I gotcha! I thought you meant breaking it down into bin size, not cutting it down past that point. Makes a lot more sense now.

I no longer have the warehouse manager job. So I'm not using my knives on the job like I used to. I work from home sitting at my computer doing CAD drafting all day. So my knives do basic EDC work. Not much fun in that so, as dumb as it may sound, I'll occasionally go overboard with cutting something up just to get a feel for how a steel does. I know it's kind of silly but it also taught me that I definitely like a knife with a little bigger handle for longer jobs like that so I don't trash my hands. Sometimes I do leave only do a basic break down of the boxes because I don't have enough time or I get lazy. Then I just use the smaller knife I have on me

[magicdad]

Thanks for the responses, fellas. Sharp Guy, that's encouraging info. I'll probably hold out for the BD1N version, as I'm not in a hurry to add the Manix but I eventually want to add that knife to my Spyderco lineup. Something tells me that I'm going to love it.

[Sharp Guy]

Thanks for the responses, fellas. Sharp Guy, that's encouraging info. I'll probably hold out for the BD1N version, as I'm not in a hurry to add the Manix but I eventually want to add that knife to my Spyderco lineup. Something tells me that I'm going to love it.

I'm sure you'll enjoy BD1N even more than you'd like BD1.

The SNK 4V exclusive goes on sale tomorrow for only a little more than the BD1N. Should be a cool version to have but they're all good

[magicdad]

So I did indeed hold out for the BD1N version. Bought it from Blade HQ, since I didn't trust the Amazon description. This knife came exactly as advertised. Despite it's light weight, it still very feels very capable. The translucent blue is fun, the ergonomics are great, and the BD1N blade is incredibly sharp. It absolutely carves through thick cardboard. Nice addition to my growing Spyderco collection.

[Enactive]

So I did indeed hold out for the BD1N version. Bought it from Blade HQ, since I didn't trust the Amazon description. This knife came exactly as advertised. Despite it's light weight, it still very feels very capable. The translucent blue is fun, the ergonomics are great, and the BD1N blade is incredibly sharp. It absolutely carves through thick cardboard. Nice addition to my growing Spyderco collection.

Sounds like the right choice. Enjoy!

[olditguy]

Something's up if it took multiple knives to break down a single box. Hit any staples or anything?

Nope! Nothing was up. It was a big appliance box and I intentionally cut it up into tiny pieces

I'll probably do the same with the bike box if I have the time (and desire). I did the same with the box my bike came in. This one's for my lady. Need to assemble the bike first. She's had some health issues recently. So we've held off



I usually cut up all the boxes from deliveries for the week the night before garbage/recycling pick up. Lately I haven't been cutting them up so small. It just depends how much time and desire I have

Hope that bike gets used soon!

[Sharp Guy]

Something's up if it took multiple knives to break down a single box. Hit any staples or anything?

Nope! Nothing was up. It was a big appliance box and I intentionally cut it up into tiny pieces

I'll probably do the same with the bike box if I have the time (and desire). I did the same with the box my bike came in. This one's for my lady. Need to assemble the bike first. She's had some health issues recently. So we've held off



I usually cut up all the boxes from deliveries for the week the night before garbage/recycling pick up. Lately I haven't been cutting them up so small. It just depends how much time and desire I have

Hope that bike gets used soon!

She's supposed to have a procedure in a couple weeks that will hopefully correct the issue. I'm off this week and I told her I'm tired of looking at that box. So I'll probably put it together and she can use my indoor roller thing to get in shape again