Sage 5 in REX 121 + burnt orange

[Wartstein]

... I would say the Sage 5 is a more of an office weekend knife where the Para 3 might be more of a camping knife.,,,

... Para 3 is more hard user than sage wish is another great thing.
,,,

With honestly all due respect to William Munny, here I have to disagree.
Though out of the two models I only have experience with the Para 3 (and there the LW in SE), for me this is more a general question of concept.

- I can´t see any aspect that makes the Para 3 more "hard use" than the Sage 5 when it comes to folders.

I don´t think that there is any even just very remotely still thinkable folder task that would break the 3mm Sage blade earlier than the 3.7 mm Para 3 blade.
In fact imo the only part of a blade that is somewhat likely to snap in folder tasks is the very tip: And when it comes to that, the Sage 5 tip is probably stronger than the Para 3 tip, just by blade geometry (just a guess, no real data here!), while its overall thinner and tall blade might be slicier. To me a win win for the Sage 5.

I actually use the Chaparral, overall shaped a lot like a Lil Sage, with its only 2mm blade pretty "hard". No problems here, cause the wide blade with the rather blunt tip when looking at the flat of the blade, is strong enough.

Another thing I would consider are ergos:

Just to me the "hook" at the end of the Para 3 handle makes not much sense, since it restricts the grip area behind the choil on that already not too long handle.
The Sage on the other hand has a handle shape that does all to actually maximize the grip area behind the choil. To me only a good thing on such smaller folders.

Just my 2c of course.
Since someone would do so anyway pretty soon, let me say it myself right now: TRY BOTH!

[WilliamMunny]

... I would say the Sage 5 is a more of an office weekend knife where the Para 3 might be more of a camping knife.,,,

... Para 3 is more hard user than sage wish is another great thing.
,,,

With honestly all due respect to William Munny, here I have to disagree.
Though out of the two models I only have experience with the Para 3 (and there the LW in SE), for me this is more a general question of concept.

- I can´t see any aspect that makes the Para 3 more "hard use" than the Sage 5 when it comes to folders.

I don´t think that there is any even just very remotely still thinkable folder task that would break the 3mm Sage blade earlier than the 3.7 mm Para 3 blade.
In fact imo the only part of a blade that is somewhat likely to snap in folder tasks is the very tip: And when it comes to that, the Sage 5 tip is probably stronger than the Para 3 tip, just by blade geometry (just a guess, no real data here!), while its overall thinner and tall blade might be slicier. To me a win win for the Sage 5.

I actually use the Chaparral, overall shaped a lot like a Lil Sage, with its only 2mm blade pretty "hard". No problems here, cause the wide blade with the rather blunt tip when looking at the flat of the blade, is strong enough.

Another thing I would consider are ergos:

Just to me the "hook" at the end of the Para 3 handle makes not much sense, since it restricts the grip area behind the choil on that already not too long handle.
The Sage on the other hand has a handle shape that does all to actually maximize the grip area behind the choil. To me only a good thing on such smaller folders.

Just my 2c of course.
Since someone would do so anyway pretty soon, let me say it myself right now: TRY BOTH!

For the most part I agree with you, as I said the knives are more similar that different. If you had to find a difference, I think of the Para 3 being for a little harder use due to the bitter thumb ramp and thicker blade. All that being said in real world use you probably could not tell a difference, and it would come to personal preference, or as I said what color you like better, grey or orange.

[abbazaba]

How about sharpening response between Maxamet and Rex 121?

And the nagging question that has kept me from getting one of these is, does it do anything more for me than K390 or 15V would? When those steels are a joy to sharpen?

I haven't sharpened my REX121 yet, but I will soon because it can barely slice paper from the factory... Same was true of my G10 K390 Police4 and reprofiling that one made me fall in love with K390 so we'll see. My workshop had to be torn out and I now have a small pile of knives to set a new bevel on when I can. Right now I'm assuming REX121 will feel different than anything else I've sharpened based on the hardness and a micro bevel attempt on the Sharpmaker that proved more difficult for me than most.

Maxamet never connected with me like M4 and K390, both of which hold a nice fine edge for a long time. With Maxamet, I end up with a working edge that lasts, but never the same fine edge holding I get with M4, REX45, and K390.

I like my edge on 15v more than Maxamet, but didn't find it to dethrone K390 for fine edge holding. This could obviously be my skills and stones, but at this point I just wish most things were K390 and Magnacut (which behaves much more to my preferences than most stainless steels), both of which are a joy to use and sharpen IMO.

[DrMEMS]

I initially sharpened mine at 16 dps. Somewhere in cutting up a bunch of cardboard I got a tiny chip. It was annoying because every time I would slice paper, the knife would cut smoothly, then briefly hang up at the chip.
I added a secondary bevel at 20 dps using 950-grit diamonds for 15 strokes per side on my Edge Pro, then 1700, then 4000 grit. I can see a tiny secondary bevel with a magnifying glass and the chip is gone. Now it slices paper smoothly again.

[gimibala]

I received my Sage 5 Rex 45 yesterday, and I immediately noticed something different about the edge compared to my other Spyderco knives. It seems like the edge profile is a bit unique, probably because Rex 121 is such a challenging material to grind. After reading through several comments on this thread, I now understand why some forum members choose to resharpen their knives and even put a mirror edge on them.

While I don't have sharpening skills myself, I did try stropping the blade with a 5000 grit compound. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference. That said, I can definitely see how putting a proper mirror edge on it would make the knife look incredible—if you have the right skills, of course!

Overall, I’m really happy with the knife, and I’m considering dyeing the scales in the future to customize it a bit more.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Rex 45 edge or any tips for improving it! Thanks!

[kirilpetkov]

https://youtu.be/Uu7eqqhTh2s?si=ioclBDPtJ01XbdzW
Great result

[sal]

I've been using mine at 10 DPS. No problems so far.

sal

[vivi]

I received my Sage 5 Rex 45 yesterday, and I immediately noticed something different about the edge compared to my other Spyderco knives. It seems like the edge profile is a bit unique, probably because Rex 121 is such a challenging material to grind. After reading through several comments on this thread, I now understand why some forum members choose to resharpen their knives and even put a mirror edge on them.

While I don't have sharpening skills myself, I did try stropping the blade with a 5000 grit compound. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference. That said, I can definitely see how putting a proper mirror edge on it would make the knife look incredible—if you have the right skills, of course!

Overall, I’m really happy with the knife, and I’m considering dyeing the scales in the future to customize it a bit more.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Rex 45 edge or any tips for improving it! Thanks!

I was real fond of how rex45 worked with coarse edges when I still had my Native Chief in that steel. I'd run it at around 300 grit.

Mirror edges are pretty but require a lot more work to apply and maintain while having significantly lower edge retention. For a utility knife I generally prefer coarser edges (200-600 grit), and 1,000+ grit edges for more specific push cutting applications (chef knives, straight razors, hatchets etc.)

Like Sal, I enjoy the performance boost 10dps edges offer. I tend to microbevel around 15dps. When I say micro bevel I really do mean micro. e.g. regrind the bevel to 10dps, get it shaving sharp, and then do something like 2 strokes per side at 15dps on a fairly fine abrasive. If your microbevel is bigger than a burr that's about the point where I consider it a compound bevel rather than a microbevel. 10dps edges and 10dps edges with a 15dps microbevel should cut into hardwood at the same angle.

[Scroff]

Interesting video from Jef Jewell, showing him sharpening one - it's long at nearly 40 minutes but uses a variety of stones and talks through his process. As always, he's brutally honest about his impressions of the knife and the steel, and his mistakes.

[nathanours]

Am I going to have a very tough time reprofiling this with worn diamond rods in a Sharpmaker if I want to thin out the edge a bit?

[ejames13]

Am I going to have a very tough time reprofiling this with worn diamond rods in a Sharpmaker if I want to thin out the edge a bit?

If it's anything like REX-45, then yes. It took me a hot minute to reprofile my Military from the factory angle to 15dps with a moderately worn 140 grit diamond plate on my Edge Pro. Would not want to attempt that on the even smaller and higher grit Sharpmaker rods.

[nathanours]

Interesting, thanks for the info.

Do you guys know the best place to send a knife out for sharpening to bring things down to maybe 13 degrees per side? It should be very easy to touch up with the Sharpmaker for a long time afterward.

[sal]

Hi Scroff,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[TTFulltimer]

Just got my Sage G10 Rex 121. Factory edge was not good at all. I have a highly modified Ruixin pro fixed angle sharpener and a set of Venev diamond stones. I went from 200 to 1 micron in steps to put a 13 degree per side polished edge on it. Extremely sharp, not quite as sharp with the same edge on 15V. Hoping for long lasting edge. Gave my Manix 2 15V to my son who has used it over a year and half with no sharpening in his duties as firefighter (teaches rope classes) and his new retirement business repairing boats.

[sal]

Hi TTFulltimer,

Please thank your son for his service.

sal

[gimibala]

I received my Sage 5 Rex 121 yesterday, and I immediately noticed something different about the edge compared to my other Spyderco knives. It seems like the edge profile is a bit unique, probably because Rex 121 is such a challenging material to grind. After reading through several comments on this thread, I now understand why some forum members choose to resharpen their knives and even put a mirror edge on them.

While I don't have sharpening skills myself, I did try stropping the blade with a 5000 grit compound. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference. That said, I can definitely see how putting a proper mirror edge on it would make the knife look incredible—if you have the right skills, of course!

Overall, I’m really happy with the knife, and I’m considering dyeing the scales in the future to customize it a bit more.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Rex 121 edge or any tips for improving it! Thanks!