Am I doing it wrong?

Boattale said:
Took it apart and cut two turns off the spring. They also make lighter springs, but what I did worked good enough for me. Beware though, it's not a super easy knife to reassemble.
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I wasn’t aware of there being lighter springs available. This is also the one Spyderco I have not taken apart because putting it back together doesn’t look like fun lol. I am for sure going to give it a shot though, a lighter spring sounds like it would fix one of the issues I have with it.
 
I claim the blame for that issue. Lightening the spring also weakens the closing bias. On a tip-up only knife, I think that is a bad idea. I've had ball bearing lock knives open in my pockets a number of times, to the point that I stopped carrying them, and I let that be known before the Caged Ball lock came out. People have been complaining about the spring being too strong since the Manix2 came out, and I've been telling them it's my fault just as long. But I've never had one open in my pocket, either. I consider that a fair trade.
 
Yadeadman said:
I wasn’t aware of there being lighter springs available. This is also the one Spyderco I have not taken apart because putting it back together doesn’t look like fun lol. I am for sure going to give it a shot though, a lighter spring sounds like it would fix one of the issues I have with it.
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The first time I actually got it back together the ball bearing that locks things up fell out in my hand. So I got to practice taking it apart and putting it back together again. 🤔. So pay attention to the orientation of the retaining cage. Good luck.
 
yablanowitz said:
I claim the blame for that issue. Lightening the spring also weakens the closing bias. On a tip-up only knife, I think that is a bad idea. I've had ball bearing lock knives open in my pockets a number of times, to the point that I stopped carrying them, and I let that be known before the Caged Ball lock came out. People have been complaining about the spring being too strong since the Manix2 came out, and I've been telling them it's my fault just as long. But I've never had one open in my pocket, either. I consider that a fair trade.
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I don’t think my Manix is going to open in an unintended way. It still has a quite positive detent to overcome when opening.
 
When I got my first one, I found the spring too strong. However, after a little work on hand and finger strength I don't find the spring to be too strong anymore. Same goes for revolvers, but that's for a different forum. Arthritis and other ailments or injuries are a different story, of course.
 
yablanowitz said:
No one thinks it's going to happen or they wouldn't be carrying it. But they sure are unhappy when they reach into their pocket and find a sharp edge.
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The knife is carried clipped to my right front pocket. The blade opens toward the seam of the pocket - with very little room to open even if it did. When my hand goes into my pocket, the back of the knife is towards my hand. Sorry but I do not see any way the knife opens in the pocket, I reach in not knowing it and get cut. No way. YMMV.

BTW, this is one of the primary advantages of carrying folding knives tip up in right front pocket. That and the knife is in position for ready opening and use without changing position in your hand.
 
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Boattale said:
I had to lighten the lock spring on this one. It helped a lot.
View attachment 3176933View attachment 3176934
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This 👆spring tension mod .
After that ALL MANIXES ARE MY FRIEND !

Yadeadman said:
Anyone else have this with . . . any other model that people seem to love?
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the Military , granted I don't have a "2" . I only bought my one original Military to get some M4 steel when it first came out .
Later , THANKS TO THE GOOD PEOPLE HERE ON BLADEFORUMS , I was able to buy a Para 2 in M4 and I really bonded with that one .
I have many Para 2s and Para 3s .
The Mili is just too big for any of my daily tasks except in the kitchen (and over local legal blade length limits) so I never got excited about another one .
I do admire very much the one with Dark Green G-10 and Titamium back with RIL .
I love looking at that one when someone post an image of it .

@barefacedkiller has a great side by side image here
 
Yadeadman said:
I wasn’t aware of there being lighter springs available. This is also the one Spyderco I have not taken apart because putting it back together doesn’t look like fun lol. I am for sure going to give it a shot though, a lighter spring sounds like it would fix one of the issues I have with it.
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Nah ; really easy compared to some .
Here . . . lets split some hairs . . . we all enjoy that 🤣 . . .
I have narrowed it down , after much experimentation , to the optimum spring shortening (((for me))) is one and a half turns off the spring . The least amount that works , right ?

Let's be clear . The ultimate """problem""" is not that the spring is too strong it is that the compressed length is too long . All the fully compressed coils lay hard up against each other and the lock has not released at this point . . . then one must further "compress" this stack and what ends up happening is the fully compressed spring bends sideways a touch and then the lock releases .

This might even be considered a kind of SAFETY FEATURE say , when the knife gets dropped the blade does not tend to pop open.

Persoally I am willing to trade the blade drop thing for MORE FUN and easier lock function .

Yes my Manixes have popped open when dropped .
So far . . . I say . . . so what ?
 
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Boattale said:
The knife is carried clipped to my right front pocket. The blade opens toward the seam of the pocket - with very little room to open even if it did. When my hand goes into my pocket, the back of the knife is towards my hand. Sorry but I do not see any way the knife opens in the pocket, I reach in not knowing it and get cut. No way. YMMV.

BTW, this is one of the primary advantages of carrying folding knives tip up in right front pocket. That and the knife is in position for ready opening and use without changing position in your hand.
Click to expand...

As long as the knife stays where you put it, you're good. That hasn't always been the case for me.
 
Wowbagger said:
This 👆spring tension mod .
After that ALL MANIXES ARE MY FRIEND !


the Military , granted I don't have a "2" . I only bought my one original Military to get some M4 steel when it first came out .
Later , THANKS TO THE GOOD PEOPLE HERE ON BLADEFORUMS , I was able to buy a Para 2 in M4 and I really bonded with that one .
I have many Para 2s and Para 3s .
The Mili is just too big for any of my daily tasks except in the kitchen (and over local legal blade length limits) so I never got excited about another one .
I do admire very much the one with Dark Green G-10 and Titamium back with RIL .
I love looking at that one when someone post an image of it .

@barefacedkiller has a great side by side image here
Click to expand...
The Military is a big boy thats for sure!! I have only ever had an original military and it was a cool knife but it was way too big for me to carry on a regular basis.
Wowbagger said:
Nah ; really easy compared to some .
Here . . . lets split some hairs . . . we all enjoy that 🤣 . . .
I have narrowed it down , after much experimentation , to the optimum spring shortening (((for me))) is one and a half turns off the spring . The least amount that works , right ?

Let's be clear . The ultimate """problem""" is not that the spring is too strong it is that the compressed length is too long . All the fully compressed coils lay hard up against each other and the lock has not released at this point . . . then one must further "compress" this stack and what ends up happening is the fully compressed spring bends sideways a touch and then the lock releases .

This might even be considered a kind of SAFETY FEATURE say , when the knife gets dropped the blade does not tend to pop open.

Persoally I am willing to trade the blade drop thing for MORE FUN and easier lock function .

Yes my Manixes have popped open when dropped .
So far . . . I say . . . so what
Click to expand...
The fun, easier lock function is one of the things I miss when I have tried to carry the Manix. It feels like I have to try so hard to get a grip on the cage, add to that the strong spring and it removes any fun factor to it lol
DrRollinstein said:
I think the PM2 is overrated. The Manix absolutely smokes it in all aspects.
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Blasphemy!!! lol Although I do know a few people locally that don't like the PM2. All the more reason to like Spyderco, so many models to choose from lol
 
Yadeadman said:
The Military is a big boy thats for sure!! I have only ever had an original military and it was a cool knife but it was way too big for me to carry on a regular basis.

The fun, easier lock function is one of the things I miss when I have tried to carry the Manix. It feels like I have to try so hard to get a grip on the cage, add to that the strong spring and it removes any fun factor to it lol

Blasphemy!!! lol Although I do know a few people locally that don't like the PM2. All the more reason to like Spyderco, so many models to choose from lol
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Im not a pm2 hater, I just think there are better models! I also owned a manix long before I owned a pm2, so its entirely possible that I developed a bias lol.
 
I like the diversity of Spyderco, all designs have their pros and cons. That being said in 2 decades of carrying tip up, as long as you have a reasonably strong clip so the spine of the blade stays against your pocket seam I have never had a knife open up in my pocket. And that includes carrying a de-assisted Kershaw speedsafe knife that had no detent at all with the spring out.
 
Boattale said:
The first time I actually got it back together the ball bearing that locks things up fell out in my hand. So I got to practice taking it apart and putting it back together again. 🤔. So pay attention to the orientation of the retaining cage. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I did that when I put new scales on one of mine. The bearing ball didn't fall out, and the action worked, but it just wasn't quite right. The bearing didn't fall out until I took it apart to see what I screwed up.

And to answer the OP's question, you're not doing anything wrong. Everybody's different. I even put new scales on one of mine, which I think was a big improvement, but it still doesn't get carried a whole lot.
Image 3.jpg
 
Yadeadman said:
I have had so many Spyderco's over the years and the one I have never understood is the Manix 2. I have tried the LW models and even bought this awesome G10 version and it just doesn't work for me regardless of how many times I have tried to make it work. Everyone seems to love these things so I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Anyone else have this with the Manix, or any other model that people seem to love?
View attachment 3176927
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I completely understand. I feel the same way about the PM2, probably the most liked Spyderco ever.
I do happen to like the Manix 1 & 2 quit a bit. Different strokes.
 
The manix was frustrating when I first got one. Especially the LW that the blade wouldn’t drop when the lock was opened. But that worked itself out with flicking.
For me, I have to pinch the lock, slide the handle forward such that the tail/butt is in my palm (which acts to stop the handle from moving backwards) and then pull back with thumb and forefinger. Works great that way.

It’s not like a ram-lok or axis where you can just use a thumb. Wasn’t ever supposed to work trust way.
 
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