Sage 2 Farewell

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
ugaarguy
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Sage 2 Farewell

#1

Post by ugaarguy »

Why we lost the Sage 2 has been on my mind since the 2018 disco'ed list dropped a few days ago.

My first thoughts were that the Sage 2 was just no longer competitive on the broader market. It's a very Plain Jane S30V and Ti frame lock. There are no trick features like a hardened steel lock bar face, over-travel stop, ball bearing pivot washers, flipper, cool colored back spacers, milled solid Ti pocket clip, etc that many competitors knives offer at the same price or less. A few models from ZT, Kizer, and Massdrop jump to mind. There are likely others.

Then my thoughts drifted to Spyderco Enthusiasts. A large portion of us are steel nerds. The Spydiechef offered the basic Taichung made, slab sided Ti scales, RIL, and phosphor bronze washers formula. But the 'chef did it with a novel shape and essentially rust proof LC200N blade, and it was only a few bucks more than the Sage 2.

It also seems that most folks here on the Spyderco forum prefer almost every other lock Spyderco offers over the RIL / frame lock. The compression lock in particular seems quite popular. That brings us to the Sage 5. The 5 gave Spyderco enthusiasts the Sage in a compression lock form that's also nearly half an ounce and $50 lighter than the Sage 2. Then the Para 3 arrived. It was like the Sage 5 and the PM 2 had a child - a child that, in base S30V blade steel form, is even less expensive and still lighter in weight than the Sage 5. And the Para was born and raised in the USA on top of that. Then came the blurple S110V Para 3, and the sprints, and the exclusives. Suddenly the 3 inch long, finger choiled, distinctly Spyderco shaped blade folder was available in lots of cool new versions.

In the end, I think the poor Sage 2 got bullied in public, and his own family ignored him. Then the 2018 disco'ed list dropped and we all fought for one last moment with him. Only when he ran away from home did we step away from hanging out with his cooler Spydie siblings, and their cool friends from other brands, to pay attention to the Sage 2. By then it was too late. He was already gone.
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shunsui
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#2

Post by shunsui »

You know what's odd is the Domino was a slightly larger Sage2 with all the bells and whistles and it was discontinued even sooner.

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C172CFTI/839


I always thought the Sage2 was a minimalist masterpiece, but it did need an overtravel stop.

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Kiteman72
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#3

Post by Kiteman72 »

I was deliberating a Sage 2 purchase a couple days ago when it went "out of stock" right before my eyes. Why had I waited!??!
So, after a quick search of my favorite retailers revealed that it was OOS at a lot of places, I managed to find it at one of my fave Spyderco outlets.
Only a 11 dollar penalty and I should have a Sage 2 on the way!
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elena86
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#4

Post by elena86 »

I need to decide fast between a back-up Sage2 or a titanium Chaparral ... it's so tough :eek:
Marius

" A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it "
( Rabindranath Tagore )

Proud member of the old school spyderedge nation :bug-white-red
Robbob
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#5

Post by Robbob »

elena86 wrote:
Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:29 am
I need to decide fast between a back-up Sage2 or a titanium Chaparral ... it's so tough :eek:
Get the one you don't already have.
RLR
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#6

Post by RLR »

It’s is an oft carried one for me. Thin, plain, sharp.
Perfect.
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abbazaba
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#7

Post by abbazaba »

Bring on the sage 6!
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Evil D
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#8

Post by Evil D »

It has a lot of competition from it's own series and it stayed around longer than some of the others.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
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Sharp Guy
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#9

Post by Sharp Guy »

Sage 2 is my favorite of the Sage series. It didn't "need" any upgrades IMO. It's great just the way it is.
Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most!
ugaarguy
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#10

Post by ugaarguy »

shunsui wrote:
Sun Oct 21, 2018 2:45 am
You know what's odd is the Domino was a slightly larger Sage2 with all the bells and whistles and it was discontinued even sooner.

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C172CFTI/839


I always thought the Sage2 was a minimalist masterpiece, but it did need an overtravel stop.
I already have a red and black weave CF scale Domino, and a Spydiechef. My desire for a hybrid of the two had me asking about the Sage 2 roughly 6 weeks ago - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80954&p=1259713. The Sage 2 was on my soon to buy list, and I ordered one when I saw it had been discontinued. It should be to me by Wednesday.

As good as the Domino was, it had some issues. The standard model's CF laminate pattern wasn't well received. Then the problems with the thin steel washers lining the bearing races came to the surface. Then there's the fact that the show side scale was a CF/G10 laminate while similarly priced competitors were offering solid CF. I think many people still associate a CF laminate on top of G10 with lower end knives as well.
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D1omedes
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Re: Sage 2 Farewell

#11

Post by D1omedes »

I'll raise my glass to the Sage 2. :)

I remember it was my gift to myself for earning my master's degree. So clean and functional. The only improvement I could think of is the addition of a steel insert for over-travel and lock interface.
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