Time for a new knife - recommendations please!

[JustAnEDC'er]

So its been a while since I kept up with Spyderco and knives in general, and I'm thinking its about time to pick up a new knife! 4 years ago I bought a mini persian - I loved it and EDC'ed it for 2 years. Then I bought a G-10 Poliwog and rotated that into my EDC for the last 2 years. Keeping with the new-spydie-every-2-years philosophy, I think its time to buy a 3rd! I don't really hard use my knives but I don't baby them - I carry them every day and use them when an opportunity arrives. With that being said, I want something different than the 2 spydies I currently have, but not something too expensive that I won't carry / use it. I've been eyeing the sage 1 for quite some time and am thinking I might go with that, as its very different than the 2 I have. However, I also like the manix 2, particularly the translucent blue model, and I'm open to any suggestions you may have to diversify my small collection. I've been out of the knife loop for a while and, while I browsed spyderco's catalog recently, I may have missed some of the cool newer knives they've been putting out lately. Basically, if I want something different than a Mini Persian and a G10 Poliwog, do I go with the Sage 1, manix trans blue, or something else next?

Also, on a side note, I don't have a good sharpener but have recently been using one of the cheapie $5 smith sharpeners with the carbide and ceramic slots in it.... is this absolutely terrible for the edge or will it work fine without damaging the knife until I buy a better sharpener? They seem to be much sharper than they were...

[toomzz]

Hmm, very very difficult question.....evaluating your story and studying your psychological profile my researchteam decided that you need a Gayle Bradley folder.....

[bh49]

My first choice in your situation would be Sharpmaker.
The first choice for knife will be Native5. It is quire different to compare with two, which you have. FFG blade and terific ergos. LW Manix is not a bad choice as well. I do not have one, but recently was able to handle it on the knife show and like it more than g10 brother. Still, IMHO Native5 as an EDC is the best option.

[senorsquare]

The Sage 1 is a great EDC, the Native 5 is another good option to look at. Those two along with the Dragonfly have been my favorite small to mid-size EDC blades.

If you have $60 to spare then the Spyderco Sharpmaker is a great way to keep your blades sharp.

[Pomelly]

Centofante is a very good knife and not expensive, and It's also very different from others in your possession.
Delica and Endura the evergreen...

[BadFish]

I just ordered the new goddard sprint. It's 80.00 at howes

[GoodEyeSniper]

Yojimbo 2. I think every knife user owes it to themself to try a good wharncliffe blade. it's also quite different from that massive upswept Persian blade, and in my experience much more useful.

[Pockets]

Those sharpener thingies are pretty bad. Get a Sharpmaker, or look into convex edges, as they are pretty cheap to maintain, requiring only sandpaper and leather/mousepads.

I recommend the Gale Bradley, Szabo Folder, Manix XL, or one of the Salt series in Spyderedge if you want something different.

[Evil D]

I'm gonna take a different approach than most will probably go with and say, get yourself a Ladybug or Manbug. They're not too expensive, and since you don't use knives hard then they will do almost anything you ask of them up until the point that you simply need a longer blade. It's easy to dismiss these knives because they're so small, but if you really put one to use you will be surprised how capable they are for being so small. There are full size knives in my collection I would trade in before I gave up my ZDP Ladybug.

[xceptnl]

I am going to take a page from Evil D and BH49s books. My first recommendation (assuming you don't already have one) would be for a Sharpmaker or similar system to help maintain your already sweet collection. Second I would suggest something different and smaller. You already have a Mid-lock and a BBL so maybe it is time to try a liner lock or slip-joint. I would suggest trying the GB Air or maybe the Pingo. You really should hold some new models to make a real decision.

[Minibear453]

I'd say go with the Manix. You seem to have smaller knives in your collection, and the Manix may provide some diversity. Assuming you want diversity. The Sage is more of a "gentlemanly" knife, while the Manix is more robust. Overall though, it's your choice and gut instinct

[JustAnEDC'er]

I've looked at all the knives you guys have suggested so far! The yojimbo is cool although they're fairly pricey, the air is REALLY cool in my book as I always wanted an original locking kiwi in stag (like the wharnie blades). Its also very pricey though and I always have keys and things in my pockets so what with the lack of pocket clip I think it would get pretty beat up quickly... The native 5 is epic, I should have mentioned that an S30V native was my first spyderco (lost it), but it too is very expensive, seems to be like $200 ish...

I think the lightweight manix 2 is about as big as I'd want to go. Like I said, I don't really do much hard use, and while I love bigger knives (if only the para 2 was cheaper), I think that a heavy and bigger knife wouldn't get carried much merely because its benefits don't outweigh the added weight. Minibear, thats a good point though, the poliwog is a good heavy user because its stout and solid, but its definitely small, and the persian is more of a gentlemans folder.. the Manix is a bigger blade, and I think the FRCP would be tough enough. The Sage is also bigger than the mini persian though I think. Also, I could have sworn the big Gayle Bradley was a slipjoint (I was way off on that one) and I love the looks, but its really heavy...

I wanted the stretch FRN for a long time but compared to the similarly priced Manix 2 trans blue FRCP and the Sage 1 it seems somewhat boring by comparison... wish they had some cool similarly priced colors for it delica style.. and then when I compare the manix 2 and Sage 1, I feel like I'd be an idiot to buy the plastic handled manix over the sage with carbon fiber... the Chaparral is really sick too... decisions decisions! If anybody wants to post a pic or 2 of anything go for it!

[nirvanero]

I think you would love the translucent Manix 2, very light for its size, robust, gets sharp easily and not expensive so you can think about getting a SM. Very nice EDC.

[Nate]

I picked up a Chaparral over the Sage 1 because I felt the smaller size would be more office friendly (it is). I love it and it's my most carried knife. The carbon fiber scales seem almost indestructible. Granted, I've only had it a few months, but I often carry in my pocket without a clip with keys, coins, money clip, etc and it still looks pristine. The manix 2 lw is also on my wish list though. May have to wait until after I get a native 5 cf/110v when they come out, lol. Don't know how you've managed to stick with one every two years, lol. That's some willpower :)

[Nate]

I've spent lots of time in the past hunting for size comparison pics, so here's a quick and dirty one. Don't have a Sage or Manix 2, but I do have a Persistence and a Para 2, which are roughly the same sizes, next to my Chap...

[JustAnEDC'er]

That post was very helpful Apophis. I've noticed that most of Sal's personally designed and signed knives have a much better (better is subjective, but in my opinion this quality is better) blade to handle ratio than some of the other Spyderco knives. While the chaparral is similar in design / shape to the sage, its handle is considerably smaller than the sages, yet the blade lengths are almost the same. The blade length to handle ratio on the Caly 3 / 3.5 come to mind as well.

I like that the chapparal is a small folder with a relatively long cutting edge, but the sage was intriguing to me due to its liner lock and full open back design (very different than the 2 I have)... And I'm not trying to discount everyones advice as I'm sure it seems I'm doing, I appreciate all the opinions! Are there any spydies I'm not thinking of that are chap / sage sized with really big blades / cutting edges? Any that you guys can think of that DON'T have forward choils?

[senorsquare]

For the price of the Sage you could almost get a Delica/Endura and a Sharpmaker. The Sage 1 is really really nice, but you might also find the Sage 3 intriguing with its bolt-action lock.