SR Rat Trap vs Spyderco Manix

E

El Rata Serpiente

Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Messages
93
Both of these folders appeal to me, but I think it would be foolish for me to buy both. They seem too similar to eachother to have one of each, and so the debate begins. In your opinion, which is a better all around folder? I like the blade of the Rat Trap, but I've read that the liner lock doesnt stand up to contiuous "hard use". The Manix's handle looks more comfy to me...so...Rat or manix?
 
That's easy - especially for a guy that has never handled either!

Manix if I had to pick one today.

Here is my thinking on them:

Both are beefy, but the Manix blade is 4mm thick which is a hair under the Rat Trap. The Rat Trap seems almost too thick for a folding blade @3/16th inches.

I like a lockback better than a liner lock.

The Manix looks better in almost all respects to me. More aggressive handle and a nicer looking blade shape. The Trap looks great too, I just like the Manix better.

Spyderco is an established maker of folders. Swamp Rat is established, but the Trap is their first attempt at a folder. Risky (although it could pay off)

Tha Manix is cheaper.

You can have a Manix sooner (unless Shomer-Tec has some traps available for shipping)

Both are full liners - draw
Both are S30V - draw
 
:confused:

Not from what I have read, but I'm searching now for additional threads. I'll let you know if other threads are relevant... :)
 
Manix: Hands down a better folder IMHO.


Very comfartable in a hand and the syperco hole is still the best there is!
 
Someone else will tell you how well these folders hold up to actual use, I don't have either of them. You'll also want to hold both if possible, to see if one works for your hand better.

For me, I'd buy the Manix, and it'd be an easy decision, based on the fact that I don't buy liner locks for hard use, and the Manix's lock is just awesome. However, even if I put that aside, I feel the round hole is a nice opening advantage. Also slightly thinner blade stock and full flat grind on the Manix means a higher-performing (but still strong) blade, a good combination. Lastly, I feel the Manix's blade shape is an overall more useful shape than the class drop-point of the SR.

That said, if it weren't for the fact that it's a liner lock, I might very well end up with an SR, it seems like a great knife.

Joe
 
i haven't handled the rat trap, so someone who has will be more qualified to comment, but here it goes.

i'd pick the manix for the following attributes that the rat trap does not have:

1) virtually indestructible lockback
2) best handle ergos i've ever felt on a folder, & i've felt many.
3) pronounced finger guard, should you ever have to stab something solid.
4) greater heft, without crossing the line of being too heavy & weighing down the pocket.
5) spyderco has proven themselves for a looooong time with their excellent products & customer service.
6) flat grind makes for better performance, although this is a small advantage for work folders are usually used for. still, it's a plus in my book.
7) 14mm spyderhole makes deployment a snap.

as for the rat trap, i don't think that a well-made linerlock will be prone to fail, but in the final analysis, i'd feel much more secure with a lockback for hard use. i also feel that the rat trap is too thin overall; ive heard it's even thinner than the millie, which is already on the thin side for my taste. some folks will see the lightness/thinness of the rat trap as a plus, but i prefer something more substantial when we're talking about a larger folder.

vote manix.. yes i'm an obsessed fan of the knife, i still think there's nothing out there like it for the price.
 
well so far its a unanimous decision: the Trap got knocked the f*ck out. I'll prolly be purchasing a Manny sometime soon. Thanks for the input, I thought the Manix looked a lil better too. Especially since the handle seems so much better, thats super important to me, I don't want arthritis cuz my knife is awkward to use. Manny it is. :)
 
I'll be the sole dissenter and say that I really like the hollow grind on the SR... I owned niether knife but have handled them both.

I think you'd be better off with a BM 806 either way, but hey, whatever floats your rubber ducky...
 
I'm sure my Sandgroper mate Stockman will chip in soon. he has both and I know he prefers the Rat Trap.

The manix is my current favourite by the way.....
 
You are right Ming, the Rat Trap gets more carry time only because it carries so well and the high clip makes this one hide deep in the pocket - very discreet. It also is longer on the cuting edge by nearly an inch.
The Manix is a much bigger, stronger built folder, that is more secure in the hand, great for heavy work but overkill for my own EDC requirements. In a survival or self defense sittuation, the Manix would be my first choice - but nothing that exciting happens daily for me.
 
Stockman said:
- but nothing that exciting happens daily for me.
Click to expand...

C'mon mate - you never know when the ninjas are going to swoop - it pays to be prepared :D
 
kbog said:
Both are beefy, but the Manix blade is 4mm thick which is a hair under the Rat Trap. The Rat Trap seems almost too thick for a folding blade @3/16th inches.
Click to expand...

Error!

The Rat Trap is 3,1 mm thick, not 4,7 as promoted in the past. Nobody knows where the failure came from :) .

The Manix is as good as 25% thicker. Maybe both tips are equally strong.

For EDC think about weigth. The RT is lighter but remains strong.

But my vote would go to the Manix too. If you have a bad one with bladeplay or what ever you will easily exchange it b/c you didn´t had been waiting so long.
 
Joe Talmadge said:
For me, I'd buy the Manix, and it'd be an easy decision, based on the fact that I don't buy liner locks for hard use, and the Manix's lock is just awesome. However, even if I put that aside, I feel the round hole is a nice opening advantage. Also slightly thinner blade stock and full flat grind on the Manix means a higher-performing (but still strong) blade, a good combination. Lastly, I feel the Manix's blade shape is an overall more useful shape than the class drop-point of the SR.

Joe
Click to expand...

When I first saw the Manix I just about fell in love with it. For one thing, after all the raving about lockbacks as a secure design, I had become convinced. But I had stopped buying lockbacks because until the Manix, I didn't know of any that were not riveted knives. I want knives I can take down if necessary, not factory sealed for better or worse.

Then there's the fact that it is a very handsome-looking knife (all you said about blade shap and stuff).

But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't someone post here a few months ago about the lock having problems, and showed a disassembled Manix where we could see how tiny the contact point was inside the lock? It was made to look pretty weak. Have there been changes to the design? Is my memory faulty? How "awesome" is the lock on the Manix?

-Jeffrey
 
It was OwenM, but i guess, thats a single knife. So: If yours is playing, take another one.
 
I've got a Manix, with a Trap on order.

The Manix is a fantastic knife, strong, comfortable, great materials, Spyderco reliability. I recently compared it to the Military, which in PE and SE forms has been my EDC for years. I found that, for me, the Military won handily.

There's not a thing wrong with the Manix, it's just doesn't come close to the Military in terms of ease of carry and satifying feel in hand, IMO. Cutting performance is equal but I find that the Mil just appears when needed and then disappears when the job is done. The Manix carries well, but it is a lump in the hand.

I wrote in another post, the Mil does feel almost delicate when compared to the Manix. But it isn't. I'm not swayed by "heavier is stronger." Ultimate strength is higher on the Manix, but ultimate strength is really a non-issue in the real world. When Sal's moved into, what did I just read? maybe 3200 lbs on a 4" blade to break his top gun MBC locks... I mean come on guys. If my Mil's looking at something in the 600 lb. range, that's not enough? I've found that it is. Most accept that reliability is much more important. Again, the Manix should demonstrate more "ultimate" reliability, but again, at a level beyond reason. I've used my Mil in the types of situations that some armchair guys like to think about. It has never even suggested failure.

After comparing the two it finally dawned on me the "type" of knife that suits me. It was there all along, I just hadn't realized it. I bought and tried many other blades over the years, but always back to the Military. The Rat Trap clearly shares the concept of the Mil: thin, lightweight, nothing extraneous. In execution it has some differences: blade and handle shape, for instance. It was too much to resist a real apples to apples comparison between the Mil and a Trap, so about a week ago I ordered one.

Now I just have to wait for it to emerge from the swamp.
 
Blop said:
Error!

The Rat Trap is 3,1 mm thick, not 4,7 as promoted in the past. Nobody knows where the failure came from :) .

The Manix is as good as 25% thicker. Maybe both tips are equally strong.

For EDC think about weigth. The RT is lighter but remains strong.

But my vote would go to the Manix too. If you have a bad one with bladeplay or what ever you will easily exchange it b/c you didn´t had been waiting so long.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thanks for the correction.
 
A small amount of vertical blade play is actually a design parameter for the Spyderco lockbacks. It ensures that the lock engages even unter adverse conditions (tons of dirt). And as Mr. Glesser said many times: The reliability of the lock is more important than the strength. Now, that is only a very small amount of vertical blade play we are talking about here. lateral blade play can easily be fixed with two torx T-8, in my experience it is usually caused by an overly tightened lock pin or a pivot pin that is too lose. The overlap between tang and lock bar is indeed surprisingly small, however, the lock tests very strong.

The lock on the Manix is the same as on the Chinook II. How "awesome" that lock is...well again that is for you to decide I guess. In terms of numbers: over 900 lbs one inch from the pivot. Or you could read the recent review by Cliff Stamp on the Chinook II. It seem that *heavy* batoning on the blade will damage the lock. And batoning on the butt end, heavy enough to drive a broken off tip into wood can shear the pivot pin. Everything else, including light batoning (!), didn't seem to bother the lock. Thanks again, Cliff, for testing this. Personally I was most impressed at the lateral strength. 180 lbs standing on the handle till the blade broke!
 
Blop said:
It was OwenM, but i guess, thats a single knife.
Click to expand...
I sent it back to Spyderco, and they did whatever to it to make the lockup solid. I traded it because it was too big for me to comfortably carry, since I couldn't dedicate a pocket just to it, but I would not hesitate to buy another one. I loved the handle and the blade...I just didn't love it in my pocket :(
 
Personally I was most impressed at the lateral strength. 180 lbs standing on the handle till the blade broke![/QUOTE]

That seems almost too good to be true! Well thanks for all the feedback everyone, I am actually looking for a bigger tougher folder, so the Manix seems pretty close to perfect for me. Most of you guys seem to prefer BM's, but I'm looking for something extra sturdy that I can carry in the bush as well. Doesn't matter to me if its a bit bulky for carry. All I carry day to day is a Gerber Ridge (for you who don't know what it is, its a tiny folding razor-like blade), and sometimes I don't even carry that. I dont generally use a knife all that often every day, I'm just lookin for tough ones for my more "adventurous" activities. Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top