On the topic of Precarious Masculinity, there's a guy who lives down the street from me. He's a pretty big dude (then again most dudes are pretty big compared to me, my hands are littler and bitchier than Nick's based on how knives that he's reviewed that I own look in my hand) and he's about covered in tattoos and has a big giant Harley Davidson that he loves and has been riding around on for years and that he takes good care of. I first met him because he has a tiny little 5 pound companion dog. You know the ones, they look like mops with their own mobility. He was sitting at the far side of the park in the center of our town because she was scared of a German Shepherd in the main portion of the park. I've since gotten to know him, and that dog is almost always sporting a little pink ribbon and goes with him just about everywhere. The world is better for those two being around.
I don't care if it was pink, it's light weight, small and a one hand open locking folder. Big flashy knives have their place and so do these. Ego is a handicap.
Your observations on the psychology of masculinity are absolutely astute. Your EDC philosophies are one of the reasons that I subscribed to your channel. Very well done, Nick.
My K390 Ladybug is one of my favorite knives. I wondered if you'd done a review of it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see you had and that you also appreciate this tiny but mighty knife. I really appreciate your thoughts on the lady-vs-man bug issue, and wholeheartedly agree that fragile masculinity is a toxic construct that unfortunately pervades our society. I feel that if your sense of your own masculinity and self rests on the name of your keychain-size pocket knife or the name of anything else you own, what you probably need is to work on loving yourself and maybe some therapy, and not to get a knife with a manlier sounding name... I love this little knife and I'm so glad you like it too and took the time to talk about it. Thanks for another great review, Nick!
Great review Nick. I actually dont think $40 is too expensive. For a super high quality functional little knife thats not going to fall apart, backed by a great company, its not too much. Not when you consider it will last most of a lifetime using it for its intended purpose. I dont own one just because the cutting tasks I do combined with xl hands mean the smallest I go is a Delica. I also want a pocket clip no matter the size. But they look great to me for some people and if I needed a really small knife without a pocket clip, I wouldnt hesitate to pay $40.
My girlfriend carried a delica at work for a few years and the people at the nursing home freaked. She seen the ladybug and only pulls it out now. Still keeps the delica in case of random emergency though.
The Pakkawood versions of these are amazing. Just picked up a lady bug from the seconds sale in Golden and it’s a dream. It is actually disassemble-able now and with a bit better steel and the gorgeous mahogany handle make it a winner.
Love my Manbug. Just wish they hadn’t named it that way. Ladybug XL, would have been fine. Would love to see a ti handled/fully disassembleable M390 premium version. Dream knife.
I am 6ft 2 260 pounds, bearded, and loud. That being said, I love small knives, while I own some pretty insanely large knives (my double edged Esee 6 comes to mind) the dragonfly lives in my pocket more than any other of my knives, the ladybug is my go to hiking knife, it’s small, it’s light, and for what it is it’s extremely versatile. I LOVE little knives, they make me happy and I have no clue how to explain it other than “man, look at this little thing go” and it makes me upset that dudes can’t just fucking enjoy something without making it a dick swinging contest.
"I could probably do 80% of my knife wielding tasks with this knife" The remaining 20% being holding up the local convenience store. But then, why else would you have a Z Hunter? Enjoyed the review. I look forward to your opinion of the salt knife.
the only problem with these bugs is the high price, i used to throw in a couple of these ladybugs (before flat grind and manbug era) for presents whenever i ordered a new folder many years ago as they were fairly affordable. now for 50USD i wouldn't even order a flat grind manbug for myself
ahh...the ladybug--a scalpel in my pocket on the keychain means i always have it when i leave home and have to leave my desert eagle behind....great review!
On the last review, I left a comment saying I would be looking for a Hello Kitty pocket knife so as not to be intimidating. This is a the horrible monkey paw realization of that wish. So kawaii!
I have multiple Ladybugs, and I've always had one on my keychain for the better part of the last decade. Absolutely perfect keychain knife IMO...doesn't frighten sheeple, and for the odd small cutting task they work perfectly, and the car keychain adds the grip for the pinky finger quite nicely. I have a SuperBlue sprint on the keys for my daily driver (Colorado ZR2), but I do have a grey sprint run Jester which lives on the keys of my 350Z...same family of knife as the Ladybug, but the Jester is a little more interesting in my opinion. If the Jester was in a different steel than VG-10, and if it was flat ground, they'd be on opposite key chains. I wish they'd bring back the Jester as a regular offering.
Good timing! I just put an order in for a ZDP-189 Ladybug to serve as a designated “desk knife” for the rare times I don’t have a knife in reach but need to open mail or something.
Cool review, picked up a K390 Ladybug, like it a lot. Any smaller and it would be uncomfortable to open, but it isn't quite to that extent. Ladybug blade with the Manbug handle would be cool.
I actually bought one of each, even before watching this clip to the end. I think they both are nice and gems (!), and still I allready own a Firefly (so I know what I'm talking about). Thank you very much for the review and keep up with reviewing small(er) knives.
For any UK viewer's please check online for the petition to remove article 15 of the offensive weapon's act (stopping home deliveries of knives). We need many more signatories to have a hope of stopping this. I hope you don't mind me posting this,just need to get the message out there.
I like the dragonfly which is tiny. Not sure I'd like these only because of the one piece construction. That said while i prefer knives a little bigger i find tiny knives have a purpose. My dragonfly is nice to have for times I can't carry a normal size knife... ever try to carry a pm2 in cycling shorts lol! I imagine this probably fills a similar niche.
I carry a stainless Dragonfly with the cute little etching on the side of it on occasion, and the blade still stains from time to time with the testosterone I emit from my body.
The Ladybug lived on my key chain for years before I ever got "into" knives. The sadest part of wearing one on your keyring is showing up at the airport secutiy point and just then realizing it's still on your keys.
Yep, Hap40 Manbug is 100% a gem. I carry mine all the time in pocket as my office EDC when I'm also carrying a clipped pen in the RFP and don't want two things clipped to my pocket. I forget it's there until I need it.
I got a ladybug a while ago and it was really flimsy. While carving into a tounge pusher popsicle stick thing, i could feel tons of blade play. It was back and forth, with the blade moving back towards my palm as i pushed through the wood. I thought it would be more sturdy for a spyderco....
Gettin two for my folks. Pops hates anything that takes up room in his pockets but he'll ask to borrow a knife from me or my bro just about every time we see him. Mom loves knives but she barely has any pocket space.
Now in 2022 (when the knife was bought) The man bug was $65.00 plus tax. They are pricing themselves out of the general market. Too much for Too Little.
@nickshabazz can you recommend a similar sized knife in an as good, if not better, steel, with a different lock type? Such as what the Manix does for the Delica?
Honestly the Ladybug is so unnder rated. I just put it in my pocket and forget about it and carried a bigger knife (Snap on 3" handle length 3" blade) for bigger tasks (it was used and abused AKA broke the tip twice in 3 months) and kept my Ladybug for small tasks. Found it in the woods in the creek luckily i was lookin down cause if you werent lookin down you woulda found it, sadly lost it 4 months ago but now im curious if i want the Lady or the Man version...decisions decisions
Nick why don't you take time out and write a book about your philosophy on life, about your life and of the knife world, it could be very interesting, thanks again for your review.
I'm a simple man. I like both. If I'd had to pick 1 I'd go with the ladybug solely because I'd throw it on my keychain and for a keychain knife I want it as small as I can get.
You can't rely on sprint runs to boost the value of a spyderco model (i.e. the base version is over priced but the sprint runs are good value so it's o.k.) because they sell out way too fast, the Vtoku 2 endura's sold out on pre order for example and most sprints are gone in a few hours to a few days, they are for spyderco fans only and not the general knife buyer.
The Cold Steel micro Recon is a pretty sweet tiny knife, nice ergos for size and torx construction, about half the price of these, even the Nick might like a Cold Steel
@@d.nakamura9579 I went with Ladybug. At first, I felt that two finger grip was a little insecure, in theory before I actually used it. But, I attached a paracord and if I wrap the code around my ring finger and pinky or alternatively if I wrap the paracord around the handle, I felt that the Ladybug was VERY secure. With the paracord, I think Ladybug should feel much more secure than Manbug without a paracord. Also, since the paracord increased the stability so much, I do not think there would be any difference between Ladybug with paracord vs. Manbug with paracord. However, I think all this is pretty much theoretical because in reality, I have never had any use case that required this level of secure grip. For all use cases that I had so far, I never felt insecure with the two finger grip alone without wrapping the paracord. The paracord mostly helps not to lose the tiny knife or make it easier to find it if I misplace it. Bottom line, I think Ladybug is a better choice. Or, with paracord, I think Manbug does not offer any advantage over Ladybug.
Hi Nick! If you don't mind my asking, what are those small paper squares you use to demonstrate sharpness and for cleaning parts in your disassembly videos? They look super handy. Thanks for all the great reviews!
I like the Manbug a lot. I had one, gave it away and got the Manbug Superblue... a ton of blade for such the small size. That being said I also EDC the Cold Steel Frenzy from time to time. :)
Been carrying a VG-10 Manbug on my keychain for years. It’s my most used blade. And the size is actually perfect for in-pocket carry with a small lanyard. Totally unobtrusive. And they really are good in the hand for being so small. That’s Spyderco’s obsession with ergonomics being adjusted for size philosophy. I really need to find a HAP40 version now since I just ordered the V-toku2. Fun fact, most carried knife by Sal Glesser of Spyderco is the Ladybug.
*STANDING APPLAUSE FOR THE PRECARIOUS MASCULINITY RANT* I swear a lot of men in the EDC world would panic themselves into a mental hospital if they met a woman who happened to be carrying a knife half an inch longer than theirs. It blows my mind that dudes actually insisted on a slightly less effective slicer so that they wouldn't feel their penis was threatened. My guys... chill.
I’m proud to be the exception to this. My wife carries a 3.6 inch endura 3 (ats-55) and I carry a native 5(s90v/cpm-154) and I know I’ll still have my penis.
