Manix 2: S30V or S110V?

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LimuHead

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Jan 14, 2015
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I bought a Manix 2 last week made with BD1 steel and am really liking it!

I have decided to get another Manix 2, but would like to upgrade the steel.

At this point I am leaning towards the S110V but am a bit leary because it is said to be hard to sharpen.

The S30V is said to be easier to sharpen but doesn't hold an edge as well as the S110V.

I am a good sharpener on the cheaper steel knives that I own. I can get nice slicy edges fairly consistently.

Will sharpening S110V be extremely more difficult to sharpen?

What sharpening implements would I need?

Thank you,
LimuHead
 
If you are doing pretty good with your sharpening so far, you will probably be fine with S110V. It make take a little longer to sharpen but it's not that difficult. If you have some diamond stones that will help should you need to reprofile.

Also, the s110v version has milled out liners where the s30v version does not.


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I have a Manix 2 in s30V, but it's a bit heavy at five ounces. Spyderco does make Manix versions with skeletonized liners which lighten the knife to ~4.3 ounces.
Ankerson just reviewed the Millie in S110V and showed it to be top-rated, along with 10V customs, in cutting tests of rope, cardboard, wood, zip ties,etc. vs edge-holding. You can also buy a Manix 2 OR a PM2 in S110V, if desired. If the heat-treat is pretty equivalent to the Millie, I would RUN rather than WALK toward either the Manix 2 or the PM2 in that steel.
Ankerson sharpens all of his steels, without undue difficulty, with silicone carbide stones, and does not recommend diamonds as being necessary.
Jim Ankerson uses the Congress MoldMaster stones, 325 or 400 grit...and some 600 grit to create good working edges to best demonstrate the various blade-steels.
ANKERSON: "...with a coarse edge, 400 grit congress Silicone carbide, more optimal edge finish for max edge retention to highlight the differences in the steels." Also..."Reprofiled to 15 Degrees per side and sharpened to 400 grit silicon carbide finish (40 Micron)."
 
If the blurple color scales aren't a deterrent

I'd get S110V

Updated milled liners
Kick ass blade steel

What's not to like ?
 
S30s are cheap.
Sometimes 110s too.

Get either one. Be happy.

If you have a SharpMaker.
110 is not a pain to sharpen with CLEAN Rods.
 
S110v FTW. It's lighter with the skeletonized liners giving the knife a much better balance IMO, and S110v is amazing. Sharpening does take more time, but you won't need to sharpen nearly as frequently as S30v.
 
Depends on how often you sharpen and how sharp you like to keep your knives. If you like to go as long as you can in between sharpenings and don't try to keep your knives at high levels of sharpness all the time then s110v is the call. If you don't mind doing quick touchups a few times a week and like to keep your knives as close to optimal sharpness as possible then s30v is the better steel to work with. I fall into the latter group and prefer s30v for the reasons mentioned.
 
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My experience with the Manix in S110V :
Nice knife / robust tip
S110V yawn
I can’’t keep it sharp : THAT IS NOT TO SAY I CAN’T MAKE IT SHARP. It is easy to sharpen; that should have been my first clue as to what lay in store. I have had it toothy hair shaving, I have had it polished edge hair whittling, back to toothy shaving, back to hair whittling.
but after using it a little tiny bit at work it is rolled and dull.
I have not changed the S110V factory edge geometry; just sharpened it.

Now
I have been EDCing my Para 2 in S30V for the last ten days not counting today. Exact same materials cut : a little cardboard, a lot of rubber coated cloth that is a bit dirty, precision trimming hard rubber goods, food prep on a plastic cutting board.
Zero rolled edge, is dulling but is still plenty capable. (definitely something I could never have said about the S110V; it was just dull and INCAPABLE after a day or two) This S30V is still the factory edge which was pretty sharp but not hair whittling and I have only barely touched it up once with Speyderco’s finest ceramic rod very lightly . . . what I would describe as light stropping . . . more to see how the two react to each other than any big need to sharpen the knife.

Some have warned me the S30V chips. I seem to have lucked out. I just looked at the blade edge with my highest power jeweler’s visor with the optional side loop and there are a couple of super insignificant specks of light reflected but compared to ZDP-189 which I can chip if I am not careful there is nothing to speak of on the S30V and I have been cutting wire ties which tends to chip my ZDP-189 if I don’t cut square on. Pulling the edge across my finger nail I don’t feel chips and only a couple of insignificant dragging sensations. It bites marginally when taken across my nail but that is stellar considering all the work it has done with no significant resharpening. Yes my M390 is still significantly better but this S30V is great.

Bottom line Spyderco S30V : buy and enjoy

Bottom line Spyderco S110V : may have a problem with heat treating S110V judging by the rave results other S110V got from rope cutting and the whole reason I bought some. In a word . . . POO

Sal :
I am still hoping you would be open to helping me with this but have not heard back from you.

As far as sharpening : I would say buy which ever steel intrigues you. With Shapton stones or an Edge Pro with their Shapton stones you will have zero problem sharpening ANYTHING made from even the hardest / toughest steel.

 
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i don't find S110V hard to sharpen at all,pay a little extra and get the blurple manix!and if you dislike the scales/color just swap out with your S30V version,or there's lots of after market scales for manix 2 around to be had,with that said,i still use and love my regular manix 2,just like the S110V little more.
 
Wowbagger said:
My experience with the Manix in S110V :
Nice knife / robust tip
S110V yawn
I can’’t keep it sharp : THAT IS NOT TO SAY I CAN’T MAKE IT SHARP. It is easy to sharpen; that should have been my first clue as to what lay in store. I have had it toothy hair shaving, I have had it polished edge hair whittling, back to toothy shaving, back to hair whittling.
but after using it a little tiny bit at work it is rolled and dull.
I have not changed the S110V factory edge geometry; just sharpened it.
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I've had two S110V Manix 2's, the lightweight and the Burple G10. I too trialled different edge finishes and a also angles. Personally I didn't notice anything epic over my S30V knives. Maybe it had been an issue with the knives I had in S110V. After now playing with other quality steels like M4, 204p, ZDP189 and now Maxamet I've learned what to expect a bit better. I'm now returning to S110V in the new Military to give it a final swing. I'm hopeful after the awesome testing results in this platform. I'm reading that spyderco has improved it's HT on S110V.

Fingers crossed that improves the Manix 2's as well in S110V. Personally I really liked the Manix, just not the steel.

I think if you get a good knife in S110V you will enjoy it if you sharpen once a month and just use your knives. For me, I like stupid sharp as long as I can get. S110V is so about the duration it will hold a "working edge". Which is different from stupid sharp.



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Surfingringo said:
Depends on how often you sharpen and how sharp you like to keep your knives. If you like to go as long as you can in between sharpenings and don't try to keep your knives at high levels of sharpness all the time then s110v is the call. If you don't mind doing quick touchups a few times a week and like to keep your knives as close to optimal sharpness as possible then s30v is the better steel to work with. I fall into the latter group and prefer s30v for the reasons mentioned.
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Sounds like pretty good advice to me! I have several knives with S30V (including a Manix 2) and the steel works fine for me and my needs. S30V holds an edge for a reasonable amount of use and it's easy enough to touch up when necessary. If I was constantly using my knife for work I might feel differently.

I do have a couple knives with S110V. I basically bought 'em because the price was right and it seems like S110V is what all the cool kids are using these days. So I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I haven't used either knife enough to form an opinion but I don't think I'll find it so great that I stop carrying my knives with S30V. I do like the blue that Spyderco uses on the Manix 2 & Native 5 light weights. Not sure about Blurple G10 yet.

Good luck with your decision. I don't think you can go wrong either way you go. That's one of the great things about Spyderco, lots of great choices and options.
 
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Dunno I did this back in April with the same Manix 2 LW S110V that I tested the 1st time 2 years ago, it's .006" behind the edge.

That's Hickory by the way, zero issues.

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Hey . . . errr . . .
Jim . . .
wanna trade ? ? ?
:p

Dunno I did this back in April with the same Manix 2 LW S110V that I tested the 1st time 2 years ago, it's .006" behind the edge.

That's Hickory by the way, zero issues.
Click to expand...

PS: maybe when you ground the crap out of it to get it properly thin (do you recall did it get red hot) maybe there was a big old winter draft that blew through your shop about that time and quenched it nice and hard. Or . . . maybe you dropped it in a bucket of water . . . maybe ? ? ?
Ooooh do mine ! Do mine !
I wanna play too.
 
I have not found S110V that hard to sharpen and I definitely haven't found it to have a bad heat treat or mediocre edge retention. I think anyone who is having problems with it may be experiences some issues with sharpening it. I have five Spydies in S110V and have used one of them extensively for a couple years now and have sharpened it many, many times. I think some would prefer S110V and some would prefer S30V. There is no wrong answer here. I don't prefer either one or any steel for that matter. I like almost all of them. My only Manix2 is in Cruwear though and I love it.
 
I have an s110v pm2 and an s30v Manix 2. Imo what it comes down to is the weight, the s30v Manix is heavy but feels very solid. Both steels are good and s110v isn't hard to sharpen.
 
bearfacedkiller said:
I have not found S110V that hard to sharpen and I definitely haven't found it to have a bad heat treat or mediocre edge retention. I think anyone who is having problems with it may be experiences some issues with sharpening it. I have five Spydies in S110V and have used one of them extensively for a couple years now and have sharpened it many, many times. I think some would prefer S110V and some would prefer S30V. There is no wrong answer here. I don't prefer either one or any steel for that matter. I like almost all of them. My only Manix2 is in Cruwear though and I love it.
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Agreed, I believe some tend to over think S110V and that is where the problems start.

Personally I have never found it to be difficult to sharpen or maintain.
 
OP here.

Thank you all for the advice.

I went for the Manix 2 in S110V.

It should be here tomorrow!

Thanks again for your help!
 
Spydies in S110V and have used one of them extensively for a couple years now and have sharpened it many, many times. I think some would prefer S110V and some would prefer S30V.
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Hahaha
I've sharpened mine many,many times. :rolleyes:
I would prefer if my S110V held up similar to my M390. In theory it should be better. It sure as heck is not.
I got S30V just to try it because so many have it. I expected it to be no big deal and would have to maintain it about like AUS 8
Surprise, surprise, surprise, I GOT MY MONEYS WORTH THERE.
I used it again at work today (DAY 11) and it is still cutting and making me smile.

It went TrimmmmmmmmmmSNICK

After two days the lemon 110 I got would be going : gouge . . . trimmSKIP . . . gouge . . . skiptrimmskip . . . all the time saying "put me back in your pocket; I'm just not up to it today :o".
 
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