Strider vs. Manix

runT1ME said:
I like my manix. Its been good to me. I sorta wish I could get a tanto version, but oh well. But I keep eyeing the SnG. I mean, its so cool. But is it really twice as good (or 3 times technically, since you don't ever see em discounted).?
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With knives as with everything else, knives that are three times as expensive are not three times as good. You reach diminishing returns and begin to pay for other things -- possibly better materials, designs, fit & finish, warrantee, etc. Not fair to judge the SnG or anything else by "is it 3 times better?"

So, it becomes a matter of whether it's worth it for you. For me, I prefer the Manix at any price. The most important reason being the handle. The Manix's handle being incredibly secure and comfortable for me, in nearly every grip, including the edge-in/edge-up grips I prefer for defensive use. For me, for my hands, the Strider's grip is exactly the wrong concept: the back of my hand is held wide open, whereas the front goes to a pinch grip, always making it feel like my fingers want to slide up, and compromising grip strength at both ends. If a handle is going to taper, I generally like it to taper exactly in reverse to this. In addition, the Strider feels terrible edge-in. That said, handle shapes are extremely subjective. Obviously, many people here love the Strider's handle. I keep handling Strider after Strider and can't get past the handle. Wrong choice for me, but maybe right choice for you.

The other thing to do is peruse your way through Strider threads, and note how many people say "I carry my Strider as my just-in-case indestructible folder, but for daily use, I also carry a <insert knife here> and use that instead". You don't hear Manix people say that -- you looking for a daily user? Again, to be fair, many people say they carry their SMFs for daily use, but I can't help but note how many also carry something else.

Joe
 
I agree with Joe. Spyderco makes absolutely wonderfull knives and Sal Glesser is a man amongst men when it comes to consumer input and recommendations. I love my SPOT knives, and I love the soon to be released SWICK even more. However, when it comes to EDC folders, I alternate between a Benchmade Osborne and a Benchmade T-Sek. My personal opinion is that the Axis Lock is the best on the market. I have used them since they were first introduced by Benchmade and have never been let down. The T-Sek is a beast of a knife, easy to sharpen, holds an edge, and the Omega spring has never failed in the 2 years that I've owned the knife. I believe, unfortunately, that this knife has been discontinued. I wish they'd re-introduce it with 154-CM blade. It is my faveorite folder ever.
 
J.Davey said:
The T-Sek is a beast of a knife, easy to sharpen, holds an edge, and the Omega spring has never failed in the 2 years that I've owned the knife. I believe, unfortunately, that this knife has been discontinued. I wish they'd re-introduce it with 154-CM blade. It is my faveorite folder ever.
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Is Benchmade's 440C (the TSEK model) that much below 154CM in terms of performance? I had an old style 800 (AFCK), in ATS34 (which is virtually identical in performance to 154CM), as well as a TSEK (440C), and failed to notice an appreciable difference in performance.


Best wishes,
3Guardsmen
 
I cannot say enough good things about it! As far as the handle goes, I much prefer it to any Strider folder (for the same reasons Joe T. mentioned). That is not to say that the SnG, SMF, AR, GB, and soon to be released RC, are not great knives, too. Strider makes overbuilt tanks of knives that should stand up to some very hard use. However, I feel that I can get similar performance out of my Manix, Chinook (the original), and Para-Military, and have purchased all three for less than (or as much as) the price of one Strider folder. YMMV though.


3Guardsmen
 
Not a big difference at all. I use my EDCs on the daily basis cutting cardboard, foam hot tub wrappings, and plastic banding. Although the difference isn't huge (Benchmade does 440C better than anyone, IMHO), it is noticable to me. I touch up my EDCs on the weekly basis, and I've noticed that the 154-CM requires less touching up than the 440C. As I said, minor but noticable. Oddly, 440C is supposed to more rust resistant, but I have never had a problem with my 154-CM Osborne. I have had to Flitz-polish my 440C T-sek several times though (I open many boxes a day that contain corrosive chemicals). Might just be because of the variation in carbon found in 440C.
 
I appreciate the input. I agree with you on BM's treatment of 440C. Its very good. Thanks!

Sincerely,
3Guardsmen
 
::sigh:: I think a tanto Manix would be the perfect knife.

I agree that the manix is my favorite knife to hold, but I'm going to go try a strider today. Are there other good 'built like a tank' tanto knives on the market?
 
hi all, i dont own a strider but own a manix and 2 chinook II'S .I am very fond of spyderco but have been carrying a benchmade 710hs and rittergrip for a while now and just have more confidence in the axis lock. i spine whacked my chinooks and mannix one day and to my disbelief they failed.i personally dont even know if the spine whack test is even a fair test of a lockback or not but there was an article in blade magazine written by jerry van cook about the chinook I and II where he said he spine whacked the chinook and it passed .to be fair i spine whacked the ritter and 710 and they held fine. its also interesting but i looked carefully at the mannix and both chinooks and the combo edge chinook seems to take much more pressure to unlock while the other two take just a light push and bingo they unlock.anyway im rambling so suffice to say i am an axis man for now as i have grown very fond of my fingers. high
 
Its likely that while he was holding it, he engaged the release on the back of the knife while spine whacking it. I'm not sure if that makes it a 'legitimate' spine wack. I just tried it (hard) using a normal grip and it seemed to hold, but in various 'funky' grips sometimes i'd press down slightly on the lock release. ::shrug::

Any suggestions for super strong beefy tantos OTHER then the SnG?
 
On my 'Nook, I have to press the lock *all* the way in when I want to close it. It takes a lot of effort. I really wouldn't want to do it 100 times in a row...

If your 'Nook lock disengages that easily--or if it fails a spine-whack test in which there is no sledge hammer--send it to Golden.
 
thanks schmackey i think i will send them in as i dont have to push the lock in anywhere near all the way to unlock. by the way i did not push on the lock as i spine whacked the knives. they were struck against a wooden workbench.no buick or sledgehammer, and by the way full of i really think it was inapproriate to say you dont believe me as i have nothing to gain by lying. if you took the time to notice how little i post its because i listen more than i speak and hold most of all your opinions in very high regard. so i will take schmackeys advice and talk to the great people of spyderco. high
 
high said:
by the way full of i really think it was inapproriate to say you dont believe me as i have nothing to gain by lying.
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Well, owning as many Spyderco's as I do, I cannot say I entirely believe that 3 of your knives (2 Chinooks & 1 Manix) failed a simple "spine-whack" either. That is a pretty big claim about three extremely robust and well made knives. It would greatly help my (our) disbelief if you were to take this matter to the Spyderco forum and address the issue w/ Sal Glesser (he's typically present and very responsive). That way Sal himself can confirm to everybody that he recieved all 3 of the knives and they were in fact defective.


Sincerely,
3Guardsmen
 
I will start a thread over there to get his (Mr. Glesser's) attention about this matter:

high said:
hi all, i dont own a strider but own a manix and 2 chinook II'S .I am very fond of spyderco but have been carrying a benchmade 710hs and rittergrip for a while now and just have more confidence in the axis lock. i spine whacked my chinooks and mannix one day and to my disbelief they failed.i personally dont even know if the spine whack test is even a fair test of a lockback or not but there was an article in blade magazine written by jerry van cook about the chinook I and II where he said he spine whacked the chinook and it passed .to be fair i spine whacked the ritter and 710 and they held fine. its also interesting but i looked carefully at the mannix and both chinooks and the combo edge chinook seems to take much more pressure to unlock while the other two take just a light push and bingo they unlock.anyway im rambling so suffice to say i am an axis man for now as i have grown very fond of my fingers. high
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high said:
thanks schmackey i think i will send them in as i dont have to push the lock in anywhere near all the way to unlock. by the way i did not push on the lock as i spine whacked the knives. they were struck against a wooden workbench.no buick or sledgehammer, and by the way full of i really think it was inapproriate to say you dont believe me as i have nothing to gain by lying. if you took the time to notice how little i post its because i listen more than i speak and hold most of all your opinions in very high regard. so i will take schmackeys advice and talk to the great people of spyderco. high
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Best wishes,
3Guardsmen
 
high said:
...and by the way full of i really think it was inapproriate to say you dont believe me as i have nothing to gain by lying. if you took the time to notice how little i post its because i listen more than i speak and hold most of all your opinions in very high regard...
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Well, as you just stated, there's obviously something very wrong with your knife, so I think my disbelief is justified. Maybe I should have said, "I don't believe that would happen to a properly-functioning Manix", instead of the personal tone I took with you. I appologize.

.
 
3Guardsmen said:
Well, owning as many Spyderco's as I do, I cannot say I entirely believe that 3 of your knives (2 Chinooks & 1 Manix) failed a simple "spine-whack" either. That is a pretty big claim about three extremely robust and well made knives. It would greatly help my (our) disbelief if you were to take this matter to the Spyderco forum and address the issue w/ Sal Glesser (he's typically present and very responsive). That way Sal himself can confirm to everybody that he recieved all 3 of the knives and they were in fact defective.
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I THINK the pivot pins shear first on these knives. Sometimes the pin that holds the lock bar in place shears. (There's a G10 Harpy thread where that happened to one after years and years of hard use.)

I was drinking with a Spyderco employee once and that person told me how much force it takes against the lock on the Manix before it fails. I won't repeat it because I think it was supposed to be a secret, but it's a LOT. An awful lot.

.
 
Both Chinooks and a Mannix failed a spinewhack? Thinking it odd that you got 3 defective knives because I have seen Chinooks take some major abuse - no exposure to a Mannix yet. Send them in and get new 1s and you won't have that happen again.
 
STR said:
I would say that the only drawbacks to the Manix and/or the Chinook is the massive size and the S30V blade steel is not as tough as the rest of the knife is. Perhaps in a folder that beefy and tough 154CM would have been a better choice of blade steel? I don't know. Just thinking out loud. Not that I care that much for 154CM because I don't but I understand that it is a pretty tough durable steel.
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???

S30V is a tougher steel than 154CM. IIRC 154 is more rust/corrosion resistant than S30V though. (Cliff or someone will correct if I am wrong).

As for testing a Buck/Strider, it's not the same as a Strider. Price point alone should indicate that.

The handles on the Striders are NOT ergonomically super comfortable for someone with smallish hands, I agree. But I've read that's kind of the point (solid grip retention over comfort).

If you have a Mannix you already have a helluva good knife. What is it you want the SnG to do that you don't think the Mannix can handle?

In the end, if you want them both, get the SnG.

I have a Sig Sauer P239 that does me just groovy. I tried a P225 last weekend and fell for it pretty hard. Is one "better" then the other? In some areas one is better, in some areas the other is better. My solution? Own BOTH. :D

Same thing with knives.

My .02.

m1
 
Michelle said:
The handles on the Striders are NOT ergonomically super comfortable for someone with smallish hands, I agree. But I've read that's kind of the point (solid grip retention over comfort).
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I think you're making excuses for the Strider here. And a poor one at that. Solid grip retention over comfort? Since when do you have to trade comfort for grip retention? And doesn't discomfort reduce a handle's effectiveness? I think it does.

I think Joe covered it. It's just a DIFFERENT handle design that some people will prefer and others will not.

.
 
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