Is Spyderco's new Mantra 4 an upgrade or a downgrade?

Spyderco has launched the 4th generation of the Mantra knife. The lineage is apparent, but this knife makes several changes from the previous iteration, and not all of them are good. Now manufactured in China (instead of Taiwan), the Mantra 4 uses 8Cr13MoV steel, less premium than the CPM-S30V of the predecessor. The new knife also swaps washers for bearings, replaces the compression lock with a standard liner lock, trims down the protruding flipper tab, and offers some new handle options. Though the blade steel is a step backwards, the new Mantra 4 has a thinner blade stock for improved cutting efficiency. If this knife were offered in a more premium steel, it would be a complete banger. , ,