Breaking in a Manix

When I got my wife a manix lw the lock was super stiff and extremely hard to pull back on. It left a gnarly indentation on my fingers and my wife couldnt unlock it at all. I pulled the lock back and jammed a couple toothpicks in there and kept it like that for a few days. It loosened it up nicely and now it's no problem. I checked it each day to see if it was doing anything and I think it took like 4 or 5 days before I was ok with where it was at.
 
sharp_edge said:
no that info is incorrect. I heard about it for tri ad lock but never for cbbl lock and it does not make sense.
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me. The spring is the only thing that applies tension to the lock. I don't think they use bad springs either. Just seems like they settle in. Most of mine have felt stiffer when new. I can flick mine open and closed just like a axis lock.
 
steelhead seeker said:
When I got my wife a manix lw the lock was super stiff and extremely hard to pull back on. It left a gnarly indentation on my fingers and my wife couldnt unlock it at all. I pulled the lock back and jammed a couple toothpicks in there and kept it like that for a few days. It loosened it up nicely and now it's no problem. I checked it each day to see if it was doing anything and I think it took like 4 or 5 days before I was ok with where it was at.
Click to expand...

Can you wife disengage the lock now? I'm going to try this on the next one I get that feels really stiff.
 
sharp_edge said:
no that info is incorrect. I heard about it for tri ad lock but never for cbbl lock and it does not make sense.
Click to expand...

I didn't notice any difference with the triad lock. I took it apart and radiused the spring bar and polished the contact surface. Still a long travel, but much nicer.

But yeah the BBL, no. You have to fully compress a spring and hold it for.....a long time.

BBL without modification with never be as easy as the axis lock. Never had an issue with either, But I can action all my axis locks with one finger. All of my BBL locks take two. Use and enjoy.
 
I purchased two Manix 2 knifes and have had zero issues(different blade types). Dropped a little nano oil on the actions and they work extremely nice.
Purchased the Cold Steel SR-1 and a little nano oil and the tri-lock works great. The SR-1 is the stoutest knife I have ever seen, bar none.
 
I’m ok with the extra stiffness of the BBL vs an axis lock, but what I don’t like about my Manix is that disengaging the lock when the blade is open (but not when closed) is not especially smooth. There is an audible and palpable click/catch as I retract the mechanism. Is this peculiar to my own knife or common with the BBL? Would it improve if I replaced the bearing?
 
Shock_me said:
I’m ok with the extra stiffness of the BBL vs an axis lock, but what I don’t like about my Manix is that disengaging the lock when the blade is open (but not when closed) is not especially smooth. There is an audible and palpable click/catch as I retract the mechanism. Is this peculiar to my own knife or common with the BBL? Would it improve if I replaced the bearing?
Click to expand...

Mine did that too for a little bit. It just needs to wear in. You can't expect all the parts to be PERFECTLY mated to each other directly from the factory. I've never owned a knife that didn't have a break in period.
 
Mine was a little stodgy and sluggish, with a stiff lock.
As mentioned before, a little lube and use smoothed it out.
It also lightened up the lock a little bit.
 
My G10 model was just very stiff, with a hint of stick during closing (though that could be due to the ceramic bearing I put in the lock). I had it for years, and it was my daily carry for quite a while, but the spring never noticeably softened up.

If you like the design and cal tolerate a bit more weight, I'd suggest that you sell your LW and buy a skeletonized G10 model. That way, you can disassemble it and modify/adjust the spring as desired.
 
I have two Manix2 and I did notice a bit of stiffness at first. It only took a short time of use to wear in. I don't understand the comment of some saying a properly made mechanical device should "work" out of the box. Of course these knives "work" but for parts to mate perfectly they must break in for lack of a better term. These are not hand machined NASA parts. Axis locks are much easier to operate and I like the BBL better for that reason.
 
I think some are just better than others. I've had an s110v version and now a 4V. The S110v was very stiff and turned me off of the model pretty quickly. The 4v is amazing even right out of the box. Lock is easier to disengage and the action is much smoother.
 
thebrain said:
I have two Manix2 and I did notice a bit of stiffness at first. It only took a short time of use to wear in. I don't understand the comment of some saying a properly made mechanical device should "work" out of the box. Of course these knives "work" but for parts to mate perfectly they must break in for lack of a better term. These are not hand machined NASA parts. Axis locks are much easier to operate and I like the BBL better for that reason.
Click to expand...

The issue seems to be that this isn't a matter of parts mating, but rather a matter of how long it takes for a spring to lose tension through creep.
 
I disagree, the cage gets smoothed and the spring does some smoothing. I believe this has more to do with the lighter feel of the lock mechanism. That is a pretty stout little spring I really don't think a few (50-100) actuations would soften it that much, however the parts become much more easily moved. The spring would probably be the thing that changed if you could cause over travel, but it really doesn't compress that much.
 
I have a new Fradon Lock Company Manix 2 in 4V and marbled CF handles. It had a nice, smooth, hydraulic feeling action to it. It took a little more thumb, but I can flick it open. It would not drop shut. So last night I took out the torx bits and did just a tiny tweak to the pivot. Also, the blade was just a hair off center - I mean just a hint. So I also loosened the frame/scale screws, held the blade off center the opposite way, and snugged up the screws in sequence.

Centering is perfect. Action is perfect. Flicks open easy (still with the hydraulic feel) and drops shut. No blade play. This thing is perfect now!

Except the lock. There is an audible click and you can feel it click when you retract the ball. That is new. It is very minor, but it's new, after I tweaked it. I did NOT take anything apart. I only loosened each screw maybe 1/4 turn, then re-tightened them.

I used a #2 pencil on all the sliding surfaces I could get to and that helped a little. I'm assuming it will go away, but I was surprised to cause that with just the slightest tune up.

Thoughts?
 
This is exactly what I had described above, except mine was BNIB. Nobody had any real specific suggestions other than that it needs to break in. I’d be interested in any other solution you might find.
 
The Manix is a great knife that runs on WASHERS- If you want all that “smooth/drop shut” buy a bearing knife!!! Problem solved.
 
Monofletch said:
The Manix is a great knife that runs on WASHERS- If you want all that “smooth/drop shut” buy a bearing knife!!! Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I have MANY knives on washers that will drop shut, including Spyderco PM2, Military, Benchmade 710, 551-1, 556-1, Ritter grip, and Hinderer xm-18 gen 4.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top