Spyderco Mantra 4 Review
Note: This review, as with all content I write on this site, is my opinion. It does not reflect the opinion of others, including the American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI), the cutlery trade group that I advise on legal matters.
There were a whole bunch of reasons on paper, why the project should be a success. It was the first production mid-engine car made in the US. It was a two seater. It has non-load bearing body panels and a number of touches to make the car lighter. In some ways it seemed to be an American answer to newer, smaller, post-Oil Crisis European sports cars like the Lotus Esprit. The problem was, on this car everything was cheap. The engine was a heavy-for-its-size 95 hp unit nicknamed the Iron Duke because of its weight. The suspension and handling were terrible, thanks largely to the car’s initial design as a commuter car. The styling was fine for the time and so the car sold well, but, in the end, the design failed when the engine compartment started bursting into flames because the initial design lacked sufficient oil capacity and the materials were so poor that even the tiny oil tank leaked. After four years and a huge number of sold cars initially, the project ended in 1988. Only a few years later Toyota would pick up the mantel correctly and release the absolutely beloved mid-90s MR2. This looks great but performs poorly vehicle was one I have lampooned on this site more than once. It was, of course, the Pontiac Fiero. And it is not the only Pontiac to fall victim to the looks good performs poorly problem. See also the Pontiac Solstice and the 1970 LeMan GT. This problem of style without substance seemed to be a chronic and fatal one for Pontiac.
By now I am sure you can guess where this intro is going. The Mantra 4 is the Pontiac Fiero of knives. In fact, it is probably the most Fiero knife Spyderco has ever made. The Mantra has always been Spyderco’s attempt at designing a flipper and many of them have been Spyderco-ish—unusual looking but elite performers. They had titanium and good steel with the initial run coming in one of my favorite steels—M4. The flipping action was good and the cutting performance was quite nice. But they were all a bit stretched in their appearance. They were Spydercos in materials and performance so I didn’t really care.
How does this value-centric Mantra fair? Well, don’t expect a perfect score. It has 8Cr13MoV steel after all.
Here is the product page. Here is a review of the Mantra 4. There are three versions—this one, a fully blacked out model, and one with white/cream G10. Here is the review sample, purchased with my own money:
TLDR: Blah.
Design: 2
As a set of shapes on paper, that is, on paper, the knife is quite good. Slender, thin, and filled with clean lines. But to paraphrase Homer Simpson “lots of stuff is good in theory, Marge.”
Fit and Finish: 0
The wire clip doesn’t quite fit the slots cut for it. The edges of the handle are a bit rough. The grind leaves visible waves on the blade. The flipper tab (which I am deducting points for in a different category below) ain’t great. Over and over again, the Mantra 4 feels like a cheap mess. “Make this thing and make it cheap.” Was that the mantra? If so, mission accomplished.
Grip: 1
While the knife is not a bar of wet soap, it is something that could use a boost in terms of grip. A run of jimping, a bit more in the handle shape to stop one’s hand from sliding, or even some texture (yikes, I don’t usually like the TecTrac stuff).
Carry: 2
A thin, light knife without sharp edges or hooks is always going to be good in the pocket. This is a 2 and it is not a shocker.
Steel: 0
Folks, 8Cr13MoV is not acceptable anymore. Sorry. The ironic thing is that the Chinese brands that were built on this steel have moved on. You can’t find a Civivi or a Bestech with 8Cr steel that was made in the past 5 years. Instead, this is steel for junk brands, and somehow, value knives from American brands. I know it is dirt cheap but the competition is already ahead on fit and finish. They are close on design. You can’t give up an advantage like steel and expect to come out ahead. This knife in M4 would be awesome. That’s an old steel that knife knuts, including myself, really, really like. It is also a steel that Spyderco does very well. But no. Instead, we break with tradition to downgrade the steel to 8Cr. Hell, I’d take 14C28N or AEB-L. Even BD-1. But 8Cr in 2026, yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me, dawg.
Blade Shape: 2
Long and lean, the blade is a vaguely leaf-shaped blade that Spyderco runs out there on a bunch of different knives. The reason for this is simple—it works. And the blade shape works here too.
Grind: 2
While the grind isn’t perfectly smooth, it is thin and for me that really, really matters. I’ll take off points in fit and finish above, but not here because the waviness does not impact performance. The stock isn’t bulky either making this knife a good slicer despite the low performance steel. It’s not a great slicer, but they do hide the weakness of 8Cr relatively well.
Deployment: 0
This flipper tab is an interesting gamble. Minimalist flipper tabs work well in custom knives where the maker can hand-tune the pivot and the lockbar. But here, with so little leverage, and production demands that make tuning difficult or impossible, the deployment is not consistent, especially when compared to other designs. Maybe a minimalist tab is something Spyderco should hand off to a knife made by Taichung or Lionsteel. It clearly exceeds the capacity of the mainland Chinese firm that made the Mantra 4.
Retention Method: 1
The wire clip is decent, despite it not being exactly the right size. My bigger issue is that it is huge. Spyderco has not made the move that both Kershaw and Benchmade have towards smaller, lower profile clips despite the fact that they already make a small wire clip like the one seen on the excellent SPY27 Dragonfly. Instead we get a long clip on a slim handle making hotspots all but guaranteed.
Lock/Blade Safety: 2
The liner lock here is fine. It stays out of the way. It locks up easily and smoothly. It disengages nicely. And finally there is no blade play in any direction.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: High
Once you master the action and tune the pivot the knife is actually not bad to flip around. I wouldn’t call it great, but it is better than average.
Fett Effect: Low
With steel that is pretty much perma-smudged and a carbon fiber sticker on the handle, you won’t find the cool accumulation of battle scars you would get on other knives.
Value: Very Low
If this knife were $30, it would be quite competitive, just a bit over the good Wal-Mart knives (albeit they have better steel), but with some nice Spyderco design features. At $70 it is preposterously bad value. Is this the most expensive 8Cr knife of all time? I don’t think so—there were some silly all titanium Byrd knives that hit $100, but it is close. And that is not a line you want to be close to—ever.
Overall Score: 12 out of 20
I love Spyderco stuff. There are a bunch of knives in their line up that I am basically alone among reviewers in liking a lot (see: Spyderco SpyNano or the Polestar). But this is a rare thing for me—a Spyderco that misses because it’s cheap. I bagged the Drunken pretty hard (it deserved it) but that was a failure of excess, not something that just couldn’t clear the most basic bar. In an era of 14C28N knives at Wal Mart for $20, this knife is doomed to fail. And while comparison is unquestionably the thief of joy, its hard not to feel joyless when you pay $70 for a knife that runs a steel all bu the slop Chinese brands left behind five to ten years ago.
Competition
My favorite entry level priced knife right now is the Civivi Baby Banter 2 TG. It cost $58. It is a sliding bar lock with stellar lock up. It has a beautifully machined G10 handle. It has cool a red backspacer as an homage to Bob Loveless. The grind is phenomenal. It sports 14C28N steel. And it has two scale tools. It’s $12 cheaper than the Mantra 4 and is literally better in every way. The problem isn’t that the Mantra 4 is awful. It cuts stuff decently well. The problem is that compared to cheaper competition, it falls well short of what is par for the course in 2026. When the Tenacious came out more than a decade ago, Spyderco found real success with its budget line. The 8Cr and inconsistent finishing weren’t an issue. Now, in an age of perfect knives for $60 this seems like a throwback. It also seems like a way to throw away money. Go buy a Chinese made knife from a Chinese brand. It’s better than this.
Here is the other problem—Wal-Mart. This knife is not significantly better than the new stuff Wal-Mart is making. At $20 the Tanto Ozark Trail runs neck and neck with the Mantra 4, which is $40-50 cheaper. If American brands continue to produce knives like the Mantra 4, Wal Mart, with its buying power and logistics advantages, will steam roll over them without a second thought. The entry level is dominated by Chinese brands. The bargain level is dominated by Wal Mart, Gerber, and Amazon slop. Trying to compete in these two market niches seems like a bad idea, especially when you can make great stuff, like the Sage 6 in S90V and the SpyNano, at the $300 price point.
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