Review Baryonyx Manticore - Initial Impressions

Eli Chaps

Eli Chaps

Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
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Realizing that I was very much in need of a course (extra course, etc.) stone, I settled on the 8"x2" Baryonyx Manticore Item# BYX-UABHMANTICORE. For one, I wanted to support FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades and most importantly, I was really intrigued by the product. A Norton Crystolon Course was the competition but obviously I went with the Manticore.

The stone was $15.50USD and shipping from Maine to Washington was ~$13. I realize that shipping price is a bit of surprise at first but I suspect that's the price of being a lower volume supplier. But, it really isn't that unreasonable. The aforementioned Norton from a prominent retailer, with shipping, totals up to ~$32 which is more than the Baryonyx total and, having ordered a few times from the other prominent retailer, the Manticore arrived faster. Bottom line, about thirty bucks for a new stone.

Benjamin wraps the stone in paper and adds on a P38 can opener. Nice touch. :)

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It's a good looking stone.

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Benjamin recommends running a nail over the surface to initiate the break-in process. I did that. I did that with a nail and didn't think it did anything. The surface felt just as smooth as the other side. So I did it with a hardened screw and it still didn't feel any different. Humph, whatever. A word of caution, the edges are very sharp. I have a nice slice down the side of my finger from the nail scrubbing exercise. :eek::D

What knife to try first? Well, we have a couple cheapo Faberware steak knives left from when the kids were still at home. These guys are so dull the butter knives make them hang out with the spoons! Crap steel that I wasn't even sure was hardened enough to actually be able to sharpen properly.

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I used regular old mineral oil. The stone is thirsty! Having no experience with this stone I chose to keep it well lubricated and it did just fine.

Fully ground in the bevels in no time. I'd say three minutes max. The knife actually burred up well. A little deburring on the stone and then a couple passes on leather and it was easily slicing paper nearly as thin as receipt paper.

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Then I did some work on a Buck PakLite. It's a cool design but a major pain to sharpen. It started life with a rather pronounced re-curve that I've slowly been grinding out and it has a very thick and very up-swept tip. About ten minutes on the Manticore and I almost have the remnants of the re-curve gone and the entire tip is actually apexed. It too was cleanly slicing through the same paper.

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Great stone!

Also, the nail-prep work did make a difference despite me not really feeling anything. I messed with both sides, and the side I scrubbed, shed grit much quicker than the other side. The stone does shed but not really a slurry. Just grit and metal shedding off like sanding. I had no glazing.

Very pleased with this purchase and really glad I realized the benefits of a really course stone!

:thumbsup:
 
Such a deal! I have one and bought another to give to Dad. It cuts well, I will say it again, what a deal.
I mean, it's not bonded diamond, but then again, its not bonded diamond...
The work you can do with this stone is amazing, and it is very inexpensive.
For that price , every BF member should have one.

Russ
 
I also like the Manticore a lot and am glad someone thought "outside the box" and designed a coarse stone that actually hogs off knife metal freehand in a reasonable amount of time. I wasted a lot of time and energy in the past thinking I should be able to remove metal quickly with stones around 120 grit, believing (until I found this forum) that was the coarsest there was, and being frustrated that grinding away knife metal took so long. Coarse diamond plates theoretically cut fast but in my experience that is largely negated by warnings to only use light pressure. I can use heavier pressure with the Manticore, which speeds things up a lot. It's just what I needed! :thumbsup:

This stone is sold at a very reasonable price. For something that works so effectively and probably will last a long time, depending on use, of course, I don't consider the cost of shipping to be a factor in purchasing.

I would like to see the Manticore made in "Pocket Stone" size like a couple of their other stones.

Eli Chaps, thanks for the good review. Well done!
 
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I'll eventually have more stones made in the Manticore series. Just a matter of how I allot my capital resources. I'll be expanding the selection of Bull Thistle stones, as well, and plan on eventually offering a pack of pocket stones as something of a "swatch set".
 
Wowbagger said:
Impressive !
Got some binder in this one for sure.
Click to expand...

It's mostly that it's such large-grained silicon carbide. :D By volume it actually doesn't have much binder in it, because the larger the grains, the less space there is between them to be filled, and vice versa. It's part of the reason why making dual-grit vitrified stones with a large jump in grit can be difficult to make. Binder shrinks during firing but the grains don't, which makes for a difference in shrink rate between the sides. If the jump is too big the stones will pull themselves apart when fired, which was an issue we ran into when developing the Arctic Fox dual grit pucks originally, and why we can't make them in bench stone sizes with a dual grit.
 
I have only used mine 3 times so far. I bought it to grind a chip out of a cold steel recon in s35vn. Worked for hours on a diamond stone to no avail. In less than 10 minutes chip was gone and blade was shaving sharp. Used it on a cheap hf machete and an ax that I had a hard time sharping. Can’t beat the price or performance.
 
I think I want this. I love using my sharpmaker, but we all know even the diamond stones don't hog material off fast enough. I'm thinking if I get the scythe stone I can use a rubber band to hold it to one of the sharpmaker stones and reprofile that way. Then use the diamond rods to refine the bevel.

Would be quicker than my lansky setup to. I think these would be a better option than the congress tools stones as well as supporting a member here!
 
Two questions:

Anyone use a Manticore with water - presumably you have to just dunk the stone from time to time.

How does it compare to the American Mutt stone for overall grind rate?

Nev mind, did a better search and got my answer.
 
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HeavyHanded said:
Two questions:

Anyone use a Manticore with water - presumably you have to just dunk the stone from time to time.

How does it compare to the American Mutt stone for overall grind rate?

Nev mind, did a better search and got my answer.
Click to expand...

I use water with my personal one. It retains water decently for something as coarse as it is, and I give it a quick rinse periodically as swarf builds up on the stone, and that's enough to keep it wet once it's been saturated. It'll cut a lot faster than the American Mutt, but it definitely leaves a more visually coarse finish. It's also not as dependent on high pressure to shed grit as the American Mutt is, but it does still hold together well even when you bear down on it hard. :)
 
I'm glad I can use water on the Manticore. I like to sharpen and reprofile as quickly as possible, and use hard pressure (within reason) when necessary, which is why I bought 4 Manticores. Oil is too messy and time-consuming for me to use on any stone. This is part of the reason I don't use waterstones, either.

I've used the Manticore dry but haven't had it long enough to compare its dry vs. wet effectiveness.
 
My BxxCo stones sit proudly next to my nortons and they get used more often.
I feel he puts a LOT of thought into making these stone work well AND be very affordable.
The Manticore really cuts, I am a bit of steel snob and I thinned out a little shop knife in 10v at 63hrc
That I got off jeremy garrison and I know it was faster than any of my diamond plates plus I enjoy that "growly" feedback
I get when using it.
The Manticore ticks many boxes for me: Fast, even wearing, inexpensive, made in USA, made by a BF member who participates and offers a lot of good advice.
Perhaps we could talk to sparks and raise the price of membership so that everyone received one upon arrival, it would eliminate many problems.

Russ
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I use water with my personal one. It retains water decently for something as coarse as it is, and I give it a quick rinse periodically as swarf builds up on the stone, and that's enough to keep it wet once it's been saturated. It'll cut a lot faster than the American Mutt, but it definitely leaves a more visually coarse finish. It's also not as dependent on high pressure to shed grit as the American Mutt is, but it does still hold together well even when you bear down on it hard. :)
Click to expand...

Do you have any plans to make these in a 3"x10"?
 
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