Manix or Ritter RSK?

mathman

mathman

Joined
Jul 1, 2005
Messages
186
Does anyone who has both of these knives care to chime in on which one they feel is better and why?
 
I've got both and to me it's difficult compare them directly. I'll say, thought, that the Manix is probably my favorite folder that I own right now. Some of my pros/cons are subjective, but here ya go.....

Manix: The ergos are great and it fits my hands perfectly in any grips but edge-in. I really like Spyderco's G-10 texture; it's grippy without being too abrasive in pocket. This thing is built like a tank! It has full length skeletonized steel liners. The blade is relatively thick at the spine, but cuts incredibly with its full flat grind. I like having the option of left and right tip-up/tip-down carry. The back-lock is nice and smooth. It's quite heavy; 174 gm on my scale. If you're wearing light-weight pants you will definitely notice it in pocket and it takes up a fair amount of space. I'm personally pretty fond of opening holes like Spydies and the full choil gives you more grip options.

Ritter Grip: Same blade steel on a slightly thinner blade. It has a flat grind going ~3/4 the way up. I assume that the extra metal left on the upper 1/4 of the blade helps the thinner blade retain strength. AXIS lock is very nice and ambi. The clip can be mounted left or right but only in tip-up position. The handle is very sturdy and has partial steel liners. To me, the handle isn't as cool as G-10 and makes it feel cheaper, but is totally 100% functional and durable. This knife is a lot lighter at 111 gm.

I normally carry my Manix more because it just feels better to me. However, when I go hiking or backpacking, the RitterGrip is usually the folder of choice because it's much lighter but still totally dependable and ready to take on anything (that you would use a folder for). The cutting edge on the Ritter is actually a little longer than the Manix, but overall it is a smaller more compact package.

Without any specific criteria to go on, I can't say which one is "best." You'll have to look at their individual qualities and see which one fits you best. If you can, play with them in person because they have very different characters and feels. Hope this helps.
 
For sure the Ritter.

A little smaller more managable knife. The Manix is great but it's just too dang big in my opinion.
 
I have both. The Ritters blade does not have the cutting power of the flat ground Manix blade. The Ritter is handier to carry and does not freak people out like the huge Manix does. The grip on the Manix is absolutely secure even if you have a slippery fluid (deer blood) on your hands. The Ritter is great but I would choose the Manix even if it is too big.
Here is a pic.
rskmanix.jpg
 
Cutting power? Flat ground? Both are flat ground, thought the ritter isn't a full flat grind. Please define cutting power.

I'd take the Ritter over the Manix.

Phil
 
The bigger blade and leverage you get with the super secure Manix grip gives the ability to utilize all of your strength when you are making a cut. The Ritter grip is not as secure and could slip if you were making a cut using your full strength. If you cut with both knives the difference becomes very apparent.
 
That's extremely subjective. It may be true for your body and style of use. But it's not an absolute.

Phil
 
Perhaps I should have said IMHO?
The lockbacks do not have the locking bar caps that drag annoyingly on the pocket cloth when clipped. ;)
I have well used lock backs that are 30 years old and still lock up perfectly. I have great faith in that locking system.
That little Omega spring the Benchmades use seems a little frail to me. Once again I say IMHO.
 
Locbacks have failed me. In fact, the manix lockback has failed several people here. One guy here bought two manixes and both failed spine whack.

And this is coming from a big Spyderco fan (me).

Why not get a paramilitary?
 
Lockbacks are excellent, Rarely fail compared to most other designs(except on cheapo pot-metal junkers :rolleyes: or Dork Ops) and in the case of midback locks like on spydercos, are as easy or easier to close one handed than liner locks and the like. If people have trouble, they must not be very coordinated. I dont have an axis lock but they are supposed to be easy to manipulate. The manix is what I would choose. I am sure the benchmade is ok, but it just doesnt float my boat. I like G10 and I dont like thumbstuds. I also prefer the bladeshape of the manix.
 
I don't like the various finger grooves under the Manix. It is also a larger and more cumbersome folder that I'd like to carry.

Ritter for me.
 
Steven Andrews said:
I don't like the various finger grooves under the Manix. It is also a larger and more cumbersome folder that I'd like to carry.
Ritter for me.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Here's why I think the Ritter is better:

1. Without the finger grooves, the Ritter can be held in ways the Manix can't
because your fingers won't be locked into certain locations.
2. It's lighter than the Manix so it is more comfortable for EDC.
3. The Ritter's handle slabs are swolen on the sides instead of flat like the
Manix. This feels better in my hand.
4. The blade design of the Ritter is easier to sharpen on a benchstone. With
a blade like the Manix has, it's hard to sharpen that part of the edge
closest to the choil, right in that "corner." The benchstones I've used
dont' have sharp edges so theres no way to sharpen that little part of the
edge.
5. The manix is ugly, IMO.
6. Finally, the Manix's blade is weakened a lot by that huge hole. If you tried
to really bend the blade, I bet the place where it breaks would be near
the opening hole.
 
Tough call but for more grip and power I'd think the Manix would be better. Depends on how you feel about size diff. The Manix to me was just huge. Much too large for an edc knife in my opinion which is why I sold it. The new 80mm Manix may be a better comparison here against the Ritter.
 
Artfully Martial said:
Locbacks have failed me. In fact, the manix lockback has failed several people here. One guy here bought two manixes and both failed spine whack.

And this is coming from a big Spyderco fan (me).

Why not get a paramilitary?
Click to expand...



So was it just a few manix's that had bad locks?. what made them fail?.
 
The only problem with the Manix is it's too small! The BM Ritter is toy sized! ;)

With that out of the way go hold the knives and feel them for yourself. Unless you ask the people who are posting what size their hands are and what tasks they've performed with the knives the posts have little relevance to you.

I have XXL hands. The Ritter is too small for me and I didn't like the handle material so I did not buy one. The Manix handle is too small for my hands. I rounded over the pinky catch and now the knife works great. I'm suspicious of posters saying the Manix lock has failed. I disassembled my Manix to look at the lockup. They only way I could imagine the lock failing is if crud built up in the lock pocket.

I've used the Manix extensively as an EDC knife. Opening boxes and letters, scraping the edges of Micarta blocks, cutting wood, minor whittling, cutting strings and ropes, etc. In the near future I plan to convex grind the edge.
 
Well, I can't go over to their houses and personally verify the failure, but I can't imagine why they'd go through the trouble to lie to us. It was roughly four people who chimed in (really, not that horrible a number, to be fair) to some vigorous Strider versus Manix discussion, I believe, saying that their locks had failed. No company is perfect, the only thing that was significantly surprising was that one guy had two manixes and one chinook, all of which, according to him, failed a reasonable spine whack.

There are a lot of spyderco fans out here, and I'm one of them, so try and understand that my bias isn't against spyderco. I just have radically different opinion about two different major locks people use (lockback and liner lock) as my liner locks are definitely nigh invincible, and I do test, and I've had a lockback fail on me--which was a cheap, small name one, to be fair. I had not suspected a Spydero lockback would fail, and in fact, these instances would NOT keep me from buying a Spyderco lockback--I very nearly bought a Centofante instead of my paramilitary only two weeks ago (and still want one, so send your Centofantes to me--PM and I'll get my address! :D )

Even the axis lock isn't as invincible as we've come to believe.

But I still believe the axis lock is far superior here, and that is relevent to the discussion. I believe it is stronger, cheaper, more reliable, more fun, faster to open and faster to close than almost anything out there, except for maybe a compression lock, but I'd probably still give it to the axis.

The Manix is a cool knife, and I personally really like how it looks, but I chose not to buy one for EDC because--well, I didn't want to lug that around. I hardly notice minigrips and grips in my pocket (and I've used both), although both had D2 steel instead of S30V, but I don't think that will affect it.

And again, I personally don't like lockbacks very much (least favorite), whereas as I do love axis locks (most favorite).

But there is a solution: the paramilitary. It's not as if I couldn't have bought either of these, but the right knife for me was the para, and I think it could be here too.
 
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