I've had a LOT of "edc" folders in my pocket over the last 5 or 6 years. I don't care much about weight, but I've found that a 3-3.5 inch blade works best. Grippy g10 with stainless liners and a good lock are what i've come to love, along with some decent stainless steel in the shape of something that cuts easily. Gotta have gimping, good ergos, and if I could choose, I'd always go for a forward choil. The Manix 2 checks all of these boxes for me. Generally speaking, my edc folders see little use throughout the day. They may cut cardboard or some banner string, and they open the occasional letter, but that's about it. I don't often get an opportunity to really test my knives. I moved all day Sunday and yesterday, and I got an awesome opportunity to see just how well my Manix 2 would perform. We took about 15 loads of stuff from one house to the other, and we had TONS of rope that needed to be cut to specific lengths so that we could tie things down correctly. The Manix 2 sliced through 1/2 inch rope every single time with incredible precision and ease. I used it for a number of additional tasks during the day, including a lot of stuff that isn't recommended, like digging stuff up from the tiles in one of the bathrooms, cutting out old caulking, pulling up small nails from my wall, cutting out bad areas of carpet, pulling up bad flashing around the house, digging small rocks out of the back yard, etc. I was cautious at first, but it just kept tackling everything I threw at it, so I kept going. By the end of the move, I was extremely impressed. There were hardly any marks on the blade, and with a few strokes against a legal pad and some light cleaning, the blade was right back to perfect. The blade never developed wiggle in any direction. None of the screws came loose and after I cleaned it, the blade deployed with the same smoothness as before the move. The cpm s30v flat ground leaf blade is AWESOME for a number of things, and it's a lot tougher than I thought it would be. This isn't so much a review as it is a report on how well this thing is designed, and an attempt to start a discussion on how it seems to be somewhat out of the spotlight. I suppose it might be fun to really go out and use it for months and then do a review, but I'm sure that's been done a million times. Anyways, It's a straight-to-business knife. Easy to hang on to and ready to get the job done. I honestly don't know if I'll ever replace it. It just wants to be in my pocket and I've grown to really respect and love it. Here's a short list of every realistic edc option I have carried and used over the years:
I liked all of these with the exception of the Paramilitary 2. I really hated that lock. I know a lot of people like it, so maybe I'm just stupid, but it wasn't for me. In any case, none of them even came close to the Manix 2 in terms of a go-to cutting tool for me. It really is, for me, head and shoulders above anything I've experienced before. For $100, I really don't think there's a better option. Anyone else carrying one of these bad boys? I'd love to hear what you love (or hate) about the Manix 2. Honestly If I had to give an award to any of the most common edc folders out there, It'd definitely go to this little guy. Please feel free to share your thoughts! Even if you disagree
