Sage Question

nathan310 · #1

i know theyre assembled in taiwan. where is the ht done? and are the parts made in the states? thanks

Sequimite · #2

Wanted to add my own question - water beads up on the blade of my Sage. I don't recall this on my other knives. Is this caused by the blade being highly polished or is it treated with something? I've only had it for a few weeks so I don't know if this will last.

npueppke · #3

I don't actually know the answer to these questions, so this is purely speculation, but I would imagine that they're heat treated in Taiwan? Only because in order for them to heat treat, the blades would already have to be stamped/cut out and ground, which I'm sure is not done in the US. Unless they are kept cool enough while being machined, but I think the standard practice is to heat treat last in order to ensure consistency.

I think it's the same story with most other parts just because if all of the parts come from the US (using US labor) doing the final assembly here would only add a marginal cost. I also would think that all of the tooling is located in Taiwan to fabricate parts. The materials themselves are probably sourced from all over, though, but again I would imagine that everything but the steel is not sourced from the US because I remember reading that it was kind of an unusual practice to ship an American steel overseas to have it made into a knife-and if this was done with all of the other parts, we would have probably heard about it.

nathan310 · #4

Thanks. I hope TazKristi or Sal can give us a definite answer on this.

jabba359 · #5

I'm guessing that since the blade steel is US made, the heat treat is probably done here as well: While the knife is made in Taiwan, the flat-ground blade is produced with USA made CPM-S30V.* Then the presumably finished steel is shipped off to Taiwan to be ground sharp and assembled.

*Got this info from the Spyderco catalog here: http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=332

Edit: Looks like I was wrong. The steel is US made, but finished (including heat treat) in Taiwan.

The Deacon · #6

jabba359 wrote:I'm guessing that since the blade steel is US made, the heat treat is probably done here as well: While the knife is made in Taiwan, the flat-ground blade is produced with USA made CPM-S30V.* Then the presumably finished steel is shipped off to Taiwan to be ground sharp and assembled.

*Got this info from the Spyderco catalog here: http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=332

I think your interpretation of the catalog text may be flawed. To me, all it's really saying is that the CPM-S30V steel is made here, not that the blades themselves are made here.

Then again, I could be wrong, I'm certainly no expert on the sequence of operations involved in blade production. In the final analysis, only someone from Spyderco can really give a definitive answer. We do need to realize that, while they may do so, there is also the possibility that, for business reasons, they may not feel divulging that information would be in their best interests.

On a more practical note. The Sage has been on the market for almost two years. Can't recall reading any complains of poor edge holding, or any other of the problems we normally associate with heat treat issues. So, from a purely logical standpoint, is the location where the steel is heat treated of any real importance?

#7

The steel is shipped to Taiwan in sheet form. The blades are cut out (laser), heat treated, ground and polished in Taiwan.

sal

sixheads · #8

They do a great job. The qulity on my sage 1 is supperior to any spydie i have. They should make more there.

nathan310 · #9

Thanks for the answers fellas. I guess I'm going to go ahead and get one because I hear they're great.

Ed Gordon · #10

I have the sage II and recommend them. Very nice construction and solid lock up and finish. Have used mine on several camping trips and around the house and it cuts well, has very nice ergonimics and holds an edge well. I got mine pretty dirty and sprayed it down with WD-40 and wiped it down with a sock and tooth brush then put some rem oil on the pivot. It is like new again.
I also have learned to appreciate the wire clip. Was not very optimistic when I first saw them but they are very functional and work fine.

gull wing · #11

Have three, super knife. :D

tenman · #12

Picked up a Sage not long ago, and find it to be extremely well made with very good/excellent fit and finish. Love the CF, very nice knife!

spyken · #13

I like the Sage 2, but mine is not "silent" and buttery smooth - there's an audible rubbing sound against the phosphor bronze washers. Not exactly the same as a Sebbie (since a lot of guys make that comparison to a Sebbie).

freeman7 · #14

I agree that the Sage-2 is not a Sebbie. Nor is it up to the fit & finish of the better hand-made "customs" I carry. However, you can get change from $200 when you buy one and it is a very, very good product. For the money, I don't think it can be beat.
BTW, talk about transparency, how about the info straight from the source on manufacture of the knife!

v8r · #15

I was about to say you would heat treat and then grind the blade.If you ground and then heat treated I would think there would be lots of blades that would be warped. :)