Spyderco Manix 2XL loose CBB Lockup

somebizarredude

somebizarredude

Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
66
Hello all.

My wife bought me some knives for Christmas to try and replace my 16 year old BM Ares that was stolen recently. I was very upset because I carried that sucker nearly every day since 2001... I despise thieves...

Anyways, one of them is a Manix 2 XL.
But, it has what I consider a loose lockup at the CBB locking mechanism. I get zero lateral/side to side movement at the pivot. it was actually tuned perfectly out of the box.

However, I do get a bit of movement up and down with Maybe .25 mm of movement between blade and blade stop. Enough I can see a gap and feel the blade tap the stop.

I was wondering if this is normal for the design or an issue I need to have Spyderco address.

To me It's almost like it tries to squish the bearing out of the locked position.
I have always carried the BM Axis lock so this lock and Spyderco is new to me.

So far I am really loving the broad leaf shaped flat ground blade. Actually wondering why I never got one before now.

She also got a BM 940-2 and a ZT 0452Ti (still waiting on the ZT's arrival)

Anyways, if anyone has experience with this lock I would appreciate an opinion.

Thanks.
 
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Doesn't sound normal, had my XL for several years, had plenty of use, locks up solid with zero up/down play. Can it be returned for a replacement?
Congrats on having a cool wife :thumbsup:
 
Cursum Perficio said:
Doesn't sound normal, had my XL for several years, had plenty of use, locks up solid with zero up/down play. Can it be returned for a replacement?
Congrats on having a cool wife :thumbsup:
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Thanks for the info. It didn't look normal to me, but I wasn't certain.
I will contact Spyderco and give them to opportunity to inspect or replace it. (If I were a manufacturer I would want to see the defective units)
But If they don't want me to mail it to them I guess I will just exchange it through the retailer.

Edit: the wife is definitely a keeper ;)
 
somebizarredude said:
Hello all.

My wife bought me some knives for Christmas to try and replace my 16 year old BM Ares that was stolen recently. I was very upset because I carried that sucker nearly every day since 2001... I despise thieves...

Anyways, one of them is a Manix 2 XL.
But, it has what I consider a loose lockup at the CBB locking mechanism. I get zero lateral/side to side movement at the pivot. it was actually tuned perfectly out of the box.

However, I do get a bit of movement up and down. almost like a well used lockback, with Maybe .25 mm of movement between blade and blade stop. Enough I can see a gap and feel the blade tap the stop.

I was wondering if this is normal for the design or an issue I need to have Spyderco address.

To me It's almost like it tries to squish the bearing out of the locked position.
I have always carried the BM Axis lock so this lock and Spyderco is new to me.

So far I am really loving the broad leaf shaped flat ground blade. Actually wondering why I never got one before now.

She also got a BM 940-2 and a ZT 0452Ti (still waiting on the ZT's arrival)

Anyways, if anyone has experience with this lock I would appreciate an opinion.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I had the same issue with my Manix 2XL. That's not right. I tried snugging down the pivot, but that didn't work. Spyderco said return it, but I ultimately returned it to the local store that I got it from.
 
Given the way that the bearing lock works, up and down play seems unlikely. Unless it's not travelling freely. Perhaps the plastc grip pieces on either side are binding up?

Regardless, it's not ok and Spyderco's warranty department will get you all fixed up.
 
That's the wonderful thing about the BB lock. It's supposed to be solid and you should not have any lock rock with it. At least all the Manix XLs I've experienced. Sure I've had a little side to side, but never up/down in a BB lock!
 
haven't heard from Spyderco yet, but my wife purchased it shipped and sold by amazon so I initiated an exchange with amazon.
I received the replacement today and its worse than the first one. it moves the same distance out of lock but this one makes an audible click against the bladestop when I release pressure. I managed to get a halfway decent video of it... a bit difficult one handed but nothing not touched the CBB lock at any point in the video.
a little disappointing both had this issue... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BvW6EFXRI0HkzfDL68KTH-rgWV_iEpay/view

on a positive note I received the ZT 0542 today also. they accidentally shipped me the blue instead of the plain Ti, but I actually like it more, not near as pale of a blue as in the photos. so i'm keeping it ;)
 
I've been wanting to buy a Manix 2XL myself, but I've read quite a few reports of poor lock up from years back and it seems to still be an issue, very disappointing.

Greatest problem for me is Spyderco is not officially dealing in my country so I have to ship it across multiple countries to get it serviced if something is wrong...
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
Don't buy knives from Amazon.
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Yea. We came to the same conclusion.

luckily the return process is very hassle free with Amazon.
I am just going to wait and pick one up at the next gun show so that I am able to inspect it first. Only shop I can think of locally that would have it is House of Blades, but that lady sells everything at full MSRP, so I avoid that place.
 
somebizarredude said:
pick one up at the next gun show
Click to expand...

DUDE, are you kidding?!

We say don't buy from Amazon cause of the possibility of fakes then you list off a place even worse for fakes!

Buy from any reputable dealer and tell them about the first two examples you had to deal with, I'm positive they'll hand-pick you a perfect specimen after hearing of your woes...

BladeHQ is my personal choice but any site supporting dealer (off the list) will get you squared away and for well below MSRP.


Honestly I'd be going over the other two (the BM & ZT) with a fine tooth comb as well, comparing them to photos on dealers and such. Make sure there arnt any authenticity issues with either, assuming they came from Amazon as well, high end production knife counterfeiting is that rampant these days...
 
Cereal_killer said:
DUDE, are you kidding?!

We say don't buy from Amazon cause of the possibility of fakes then you list off a place even worse for fakes!

Buy from any reputable dealer and tell them about the first two examples you had to deal with, I'm positive they'll hand-pick you a perfect specimen after hearing of your woes...

BladeHQ is my personal choice but any site supporting dealer (off the list) will get you squared away and for well below MSRP.


Honestly I'd be going over the other two (the BM & ZT) with a fine tooth comb as well, comparing them to photos on dealers and such. Make sure there arnt any authenticity issues with either, assuming they came from Amazon as well, high end production knife counterfeiting is that rampant these days...
Click to expand...


Hrmm, actually didn't even think about fakes. So yea, I guess the gun show is a bad idea. Thanks for the kick in the head lol dunno what I was thinking...

And she purchased the Benchmade at a Cabelas, so I am sure of it's authenticity.
Also the ZT came from Kershawguy, so I have absolute confidence in that one.

I will start looking for someone to hand pick me out a Manix XL.
 
Kershawguy: 100% good to go, absolutely zero concern...

Cabela's: 97% good but still be cautious, there have been stories on here [recently] of counterfeits coming from the big-name sporting good stores (can't remember the specific one; Cabela's, REI, Dicks etc.) where a unknowing employee accepted a return but instead of the real thing some less-that-honest customer replaced it with his known clone and returned that to get the money back AND a real knife. Even if the employee at the knife counter knows knives the 17 year old kid sitting at the returns desk don't know jack crap about, well, anything lol...

You're probably g2g on both of them (the ZT 1000% for sure coming from Kershawguy) but don't blindly trust a big-box sporting goods store just because... Counterfit knives really are that big of a problem these days. All the major brands have been hit. Spyderco and ZT especially so!


Edited to add:
I do remember some details about a story recently that was just so bad it was humorous (the guy didn't buy it, he was a member here after all). It was a liner lock PM2 (spyderco Para military, it's a compression lock really) in the case on display at one of the big name sports stores! The exact situation I describe above happened and the person at the returns desk knew nothing about knives and let it happen then the stock boy put it back on the shelf! And that was a HORRIBLE clone (I mean wrong lock type, come on China), there are very good fakes out there!!
 
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Cereal_killer said:
Kershawguy: 100% good to go, absolutely zero concern...

Cabela's: 97% good but still be cautious, there have been stories on here [recently] of counterfeits coming from the big-name sporting good stores (can't remember the specific one; Cabela's, REI, Dicks etc.) where a unknowing employee accepted a return but instead of the real thing some less-that-honest customer replaced it with his known clone and returned that to get the money back AND a real knife. Even if the employee at the knife counter knows knives the 17 year old kid sitting at the returns desk don't know jack crap about, well, anything lol...

You're probably g2g on both of them (the ZT 1000% for sure coming from Kershawguy) but don't blindly trust a big-box sporting goods store just because... Counterfit knives really are that big of a problem these days. All the major brands have been hit. Spyderco and ZT especially so!
Click to expand...

I am familiar enough with BM and the 940 that I am confident it's legitimate.

Things sure have changed though, spotting flakes used to be so much easier. And it was definitely not as common of an issue just 15 years ago...
But, I really don't think the two from Amazon were fakes, the fit and finish was very good. If they were... I it would take a side by side comparison with a known legit piece and some magnification to tell. But definitely going to only buy from vendors listed here from now on.
 
knifeworks.com and knifecenter.com are my go to knife shops. There are others out there, too, but they are not members of BF so I cannot mention them. Amazon and Ebay are great for a lot of things, but buying Spydercos is not one of them.

That blade play is not normal. I cannot even figure out how it could happen, given the stop pin and bearing lock. I would send it back and buy one from a good place.
 
Update. The two Manix XL's from Amazon were just dropped off at UPS and are going back. Also, you guys have me so paranoid I am returning the 940 to cabelas on my way home from work. I haven't even carried it yet so shouldn't be an issue.

And Instead of getting another Manix and 940, I ordered a Benchmade BM810-1401 Contego from Knifeworks.com
The 940 was a tad small to me, and this 810 is M390 and cheaper than what my wife paid for the 940 at Cabela's. Can't beat that ;)
also love the blue and black, really neat looking.

Thanks to those who mentioned Knifewoks.com I am going to really like this 810.
 
Did you dismantle it and put the cage in up side down?
 
People abuse Amazon's return policy and the folks there aren't knife people. As long as what they get back looks new and like a knife it goes back on the shelf for sale.

This is why we all recommend buying from dedicated knife shops. They at least should be able to spot all but the best counterfeits and can tell when a knife isn't functioning properly.
 
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