For most of us, a tiny knife is all we need for everyday carry…
Sure, it’s fun to carry around bigger knives, but sometimes it’s a little more comfortable to go with something that’s lightweight and very compact…
Right now, two of the most popular small folding knives are made by Spyderco (which is one of my favorite companies)…
| Image | Products |
 | Spyderco Manbug (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Spyderco Ladybug (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
And in this Spyderco Manbug Vs Ladybug comparison post, we’re going to put these two tiny knives up against each other to see how they fare in the following six categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
In the end, I’ll reveal to you which of these two little knife designs I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to decide which one will fit your needs better…
Let’s jump into the comparison!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Spyderco Manbug
The Spyderco Manbug is kind of a more masculine version of the already popular Ladybug. Obviously, it’s an extremely small knife, but it still utilizes some very high quality materials…
Spyderco offers the Manbug in a variety of different blade steels, but the most common is VG-10 steel. VG-10 originated in Japan and was originally marketed towards the knives of Japanese chefs…
Eventually, folding knife manufacturers saw its potential, and today it’s considered a high end blade steel. I like it because it does a good job at resisting corrosion, and it maintains it’s edge well…
It’s also fairly easy to sharpen, which I think is important because, as you use your knife to cut and slice, the edge will eventually become dull and you’ll need to sharpen it up to get good cutting performance…
Now the handle on the Manbug is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon, which is sometimes referred to simply as FRN…
FRN is a good handle material because it’s very strong, it’s impact resistant, and it’s lightweight. One of the major benefits of having a small knife like the Manbug is that it’s lightweight…
So I think it was a good choice by Spyderco to go with FRN on the Manbug’s handle, because it helps keep that weight down even more, and it feels comfortable in your hand…
All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the materials used in this little knife.
Spyderco Ladybug
At this point, the Ladybug is one of Spyderco’s classic designs. Just like the Manbug it’s an incredibly compact knife that still utilizes very high quality materials…
With the Ladybug, you get the same VG-10 steel that comes with the Manbug. Like I mentioned before, VG-10 is a very good quality blade steel because it’s strong and does a good job at resisting rust and holding it’s edge…
In addition to that, the Ladybug also has a handle made from fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN). So just as with the Manbug, it’s going to be strong and super lightweight.
All in all, the materials in the Ladybug are also high-quality and impressive.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Spyderco Manbug
The blade on the Manbug is basically a Spyderco-style drop point. It has kind of a leaf-like shape, and it has a high performance full flat grind…
I really like the full flat grind because it allows you to cut, slice, and dice very easily with the knife, and I think it looks really sleek…
The Manbug also has a Plain Edge, but there are some versions of it with the Spyder Edge which is Spyderco’s version of a serrated blade…
Personally, I prefer a Plain Edge on all my folding knives because it makes them easier to sharpen, but I like that the SpyderEdge is available for those that want serrated blades…
In addition to that, the Manbug has the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to open the knife very easily with one hand…
And it has jimping along the spine to help give you more control over the blade when you’re trying to make fine cuts or slices…
Now like I mentioned earlier, the handle on the Manbug is made from FRN, and it has bi-directional texturing, that really helps you get a good grip on the knife…
Even though the handle is small, it feels comfortable and really locks in your hand. It also has a lanyard hole, which allows you to loop the Manbug directly onto your keychain if you’d like to…
And last, you can get the Manbug in a variety of handle colors such as black, green, yellow, and others.
Spyderco Ladybug
The blade on the Ladybug is also a Spyderco-style drop point, but rather than a full flat grind, the most common versions have a hollow grind (some Ladybug versions do have a full flat grind like the Manbug)…
A hollow grind is good because it allows you to really get your knife sharp (even though both of these knives are razor sharp right out of the box), but I do prefer the full flap grind on the Manbug…
You can also get the Ladybug with a Plain Edge or the Spyder Edge if you want a serrated blade, and just like I mentioned earlier, I prefer the Plain Edge…
The Ladybug also has the traditional Spyderco deployment hole which allows you to easily open the knife with one hand, and it also has jimping along the spine to give you greater control when making precise cuts…
Once again, the handle on the Ladybug is FRN, and just like the Manbug it feels comfortable in your hand…
Now the Manbug’s handle is just a tiny bit bigger than the Ladybug’s. So I do think it’s just a little bit more comfortable, but the difference between the two is very small.
In addition to that, the Ladybug also has a lanyard hole which allows you to attach it right onto your keychain, and it comes in a variety of handle colors such as Blue, Purple, Yellow, British Racing Green, Black, and others…
All in all, the Ladybug’s blade shape and handle are very similar to the Manbug’s, but like I mentioned earlier, I prefer the full flat grind on the Manbug and the fact that the handle is just a little bit bigger.
Locking Mechanism…
Both the Manbug and the Ladybug use the Back Lock locking mechanism. This is a locking system that has a pivoting rocker arm with a lug on it that engages a notch in the blade’s tang to lock the blade in position…
It’s a fairly common locking system on folding knives, and it does a good job of keeping the blade secure when it’s deployed…
Spyderco also includes a Boye Dent on these designs which is a skeletonized part of the lock button. It basically helps prevent you from accidentally unlocking the blade when you’re using the knife…
And I think it’s a nice feature that Spyderco decided to include on both of these designs.
Size And Dimensions…
Spyderco Manbug
The Manbug and the Ladybug are the 2 smallest members of the Spyderco knife family that includes the Endura, the Delica, and the Dragonfly, and they are both very small folding knives…
The blade on the Manbug is 1.97 inches long, and the handle is 2.5 inches long. That brings the overall length on the Manbug to 4.47 inches long when the blade is fully deployed…
Just as a comparison, the Manbug is around 1.14 inches smaller in overall length than the Dragonfly, which is the next biggest knife in this particular Spyderco family…
In addition to that, the Manbug weighs in at 0.635 ounces. So it is extremely lightweight.
Spyderco Ladybug
The Ladybug is also an extremely small knife design. There are several different versions of the Ladybug, but on most versions the blade measures in at 1.93 inches and the handle is 2.45 inches long…
That brings the overall length of the Ladybug to 4.38 inches when the blade is deployed. So it is around 0.09 inches shorter than the Manbug…
In addition to that, it’s a slightly lighter knife as well weighing in at only 0.6 ounces. All in all, the Manbug has a slightly longer blade, and a slightly longer handle than the Ladybug, and it’s also just a tiny bit heavier.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Both the Mandbug and the Ladybug have no pocket clip attached to them. Like I mentioned before, they’re both extremely small folding knives, and they both have large lanyard holes included in their handles…
These lanyard holes can be used to loop paracord through them which will make your knife easier to grab and hold, or the holes can be used to loop either of these knives onto your keychain…
Personally, I prefer not putting knives like these on my keychain, even though they are extremely compact, because it just seems to be too bulky of a combination for me.
That being said, I think looping a bit of paracord through the lanyard hole or just leaving either knife as it is allows you to carry it very comfortably on it’s own in your pocket.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the market changes all the time and the prices of these knives will often go up or down a little bit depending on that…
That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Manbug is around 10 to 15 bucks more expensive than the Ladybug…
That’s not too much of a difference in price, but depending on your particular budget, it could be a factor. So if that’s the case for you, the Ladybug is probably going to be the less expensive option.
Spyderco Manbug Vs Ladybug – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, both knife designs have VG-10 blades which will resist rust well and do a good job of maintaining their edges…
And both knives also have fiberglass reinforced nylon (FRN) handles that are strong and extremely lightweight…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, the Manbug has a full flat ground blade and the Ladybug has a hollow grind…
I prefer the full flat grind on the Manbug, but the Ladybug’s blade also performs very well…
In the Locking Mechanism category, both knives utilize the Back Lock locking mechanism which is a simple, strong, and easy-to-use locking system…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Manbug has a slightly longer blade and handle than the Ladybug, and is 0.09 inches longer in overall length…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, both knives come without a pocket clip, and they both have a lanyard hole on their handles that allows you to attach them to your keychain (if you’d like to)…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Ladybug is usually around 10 to 15 dollars less expensive than the Manbug…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Manbug…
Click The Button Below To Check Price On Amazon And See Customer Reviews:
I prefer the Manbug for a couple of reasons. First of all, I like the full flat grind that you get on the Manbug over the hollow grind that comes with the Ladybug…
It gives you better performance when cutting and slicing, and I think it looks a little bit cooler. I also like that the Manbug has a little bit larger handle than the Ladybug…
They’re both very small knives, but because the Manbug’s handle is a little bit larger, it gives you a bit more to hold on to, and it’s just a tiny bit more comfortable.
Now if you like a hollow ground blade, and you want to save a few bucks, then feel free to go with the Ladybug because it’s still a great little knife…
Click The Button Below To Check Price On Amazon And See Customer Reviews:
You won’t really go wrong with either of these little Spyderco knives because they’re very similar in a lot of ways and they both perform very well!