Sage 5 LW - Question about dirt in the action

[JayHenMac]

The Sage 5 LW has such a great design. Wondering how well it handles some dirt/debris. My pocket knives get used for everything. Like most folks here, a knife is in my pocket pretty much 24/7. Yardwork, fish, backpack and camp, work on my truck, cut up veggies for a snack, this weekend was a plumbing project. You get the picture.

My go-tos have always been backlocks with the Native 5 LW and Endela getting the most pocket time. I often get debris in the action and scales. A good rinse or blast of pressurized air is enough to clear the junk out 99% of the time. They remain solid users that take a lick'n and keep on tick'n.

I am wondering how the action in the Sage 5 LW handles this stuff. I took one apart and noticed the channel in the blade and the pin that it rides in. Has anyone ever had an issue with stuff getting stuck in there? Any issues with blade play developing over time?

[Enactive]

I am a carpenter and often work in very dusty conditions. I often prefer to carry a back lock too. The Native Salts are some of my most carried for easy care and ease of cleaning. I also like how the closed back protects the edge from other items in my pockets.

My experience is that compression locks are more self-cleaning than back locks. I am talking only about the lock mechanism, not the pivot type. As much as I like back locks, I sometimes have to remove pocket lint from the lock well in the tang so that the lock bar hammer can fully seat. With a compression lock and open back construction, the lock bar can clear debris.

As for the blade pivot, I have had no trouble with Spyderco bushing pivots, nor the simpler "standard" pivots.

I have always been a little concerned about the stop pin groove on the Chaparral catching crud in it ( as well as a compelling reason not to make a Chap Salt.)

[JayHenMac]

I have always been a little concerned about the stop pin groove on the Chaparral catching crud in it ( as well as a compelling reason not to make a Chap Salt.)

I suppose this is what I am talking about on the Sage 5. The pin grove. I am wondering if anyone has had issues with this area gathering crud.

Like you, I get the occasional lint in the lock well. But it usually comes out just by blowing on it. Even so, it's a problem that can be solved in the field. No tools required.

I have no worries about the lock or the bushings. It's that grove and pin I am concerned about. Dirt, crud mixed with oil, sawdust, sheetrock dust, sand. No telling what I might get into on a day to day basis.

Then again, it might just not be the right tool for the job sometimes.

[mikey177]

I haven't had issues with the pin groove on the Sage 5 LW, but typically, if I'm going to get a knife very dirty, I just bring a fixed blade.

[Zipper]

I agree with Mikey177. As a rule I generally stay with fixed blades when I use a knife for camping, hunting or fishing duties. More to avoid the deep clean needed when finished.
On a side note, I prefer the shape of the Native 5 blade over the Sage 5 blade for fishing and hunting. The Sage 5 is fine, just not as good a shape for me as the Native 5. Having said that, I have never had a lock engagement fail on a compression lock, including my Sage 5. The nature of the lock engaging tends to push the crud out. Never an issue with the pin groove.
I have had a couple of instances where a back lock has failed to lock up due to lint or crud catching between the lock and the blade. No real big issue, just cleaned out the obstructions and kept going.

[Wallach]

Have to agree about the fixed blade angle. Have you tried something like the Enuff 2? Handle profile is very similar to the Sage 5 or Native 5, but you get a blade that is a bit closer to the Native Chief, and you don't have to worry about dirt getting into the action or lockup.

[Manifestgtr]

I agree with Mikey177. As a rule I generally stay with fixed blades when I use a knife for camping, hunting or fishing duties. More to avoid the deep clean needed when finished.

I once had to “field dress” (gut and remove the head of) a 30lb salmon with a Civivi Incite since it was the closest thing we had to a filet knife on us when we decided to keep the fish. I had a sheeps Caribbean on me but it just wasn’t gonna “poke” like i needed. That deep clean was something else, I’ll tell you. Cleaning fish blood out of the grooves of ebony wood scales is a bummer to say the least

[Evil D]

The worst you'll get is grit in the pivot itself which isn't exclusive to the compression lock. The lock itself is so open that it'll take a large chunk of crud to interfere with it and it can be rinsed out in water very easily. I would say in all but the most extreme situations you won't see day to day crud causing problems with the lock itself.

[Netherend]

I have had less issues from dirt/ debris gumming up my action on the compression lock than I have with the back lock. I’ve had gummed up almost every of folder I own at one point or another.

I prefer the detent, ambidextrous access and thumb space of lock backs over the comp lock but designs like the sage have open back designs of which make them much easier to clean out without having to take apart your knife.

[JayHenMac]

The worst you'll get is grit in the pivot itself which isn't exclusive to the compression lock. The lock itself is so open that it'll take a large chunk of crud to interfere with it and it can be rinsed out in water very easily. I would say in all but the most extreme situations you won't see day to day crud causing problems with the lock itself.

Thanks. This was the kind of opinion I was looking for.

I know the S5 isn't intended to be used as a heavy duty folder. But the new Salt version could find it's way into my fishing kit. It could see some surf fishing (dropped in sand), or be used to quickly cut up some bait (blood/guts). It's also a good candidate as a companion to a fixed blade on a camping trip (food prep, and other small tasks). For ultra-light backpacking, it is a great choice when I want something other than my N5.

Different knives suited for different tasks, and I'm not trying to use a pocket knife instead of a dedicated fixed blade, chopper, filet, or utility knife. As pointed out in another string, pocket knives are, by nature, a compromise. The question is which compromise suites your needs the best.

I guess I was just wondering if anyone has had issues with pivot and stop-pin getting gunked up. I am not worried so much about the lock. It's wide open and can be cleared easily. There's probably more of a risk that something gets behind the tab when the knife is open that prevents you from disengaging the lock.