Spyderco Forums

Regarding two of the items about the Sage in the OP:

Difficulty pulling from pocket: I have come to believe this is due to the bi directional texturing that is not in the circular fashion of the Seki and Golden models. The “fish scale“ as it’s called seems to catch on either side of the logo where the clip contacts the scale. For this reason I prefer the circular bi-directional texturing, and though I want to try a chaparral, it does make me think twice.

Detent: I had the same issues with a weak detent out of the box. Upon first cleaning and disassembly, I noticed that a lot of blackened and oxidized lube caked around the base of the detent ball, preventing the ball from fully engaging the hole in the blade. Little bit of rubbing alcohol fix this right up, now detent is more than adequate.

Edit to add: I without a doubt prefer the blade profile of the Sage with the middle of the road thumb ramp and thinner stock. More scale color and steel variations, please.

I've been looking for something similar to my Spy27 Para3 which has been an excellent first Spyderco for me. If the Sage 5 is considered an upgrade, that has to be my next purchase.

metaphoricalsimile wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 6:36 pm

The curved protrusion is structural, I would guess intended to reduce flex in the linerless handle. I haven't even noticed that the scale bows outward slightly before, but upon inspection it sure does! Neither of the Para 3 LWs I purchased were centered, but I wouldn't call it an "issue" because it doesn't affect the function of the knife in the slightest.

It looked like it might be intentional just wasn't sure. I only mentioned the "issue" because I thought the protrusion might have been a CQI of some kind to help with centering. I have a seconds PM2 with bad centering from a warped blade and never had any problems.

Apart from the more rounded edges on P3LW, Sage 5 is the bwtter knife for me. P3 is too thick of a blade and too short on handle. But even with that it is a cool, great looking EDC knife. I like it a lot, my hand is just not compatible with it. Oh and - I would prefer Sage 5 with a straight spine instead of a leaf.

I actually think the para 3 lw is too rounded and maybe slippery

I should try that sage 4. Love how your knives match your flower pots/tubs

I slightly prefer the Para 3 LW. Just little differences of course! The radiused edges of the scales are more comfortable, even though the Sage handle has a smidge more pinkie finger room. The Para blade stock is a few tenths of a mm wider which gives me no detectable difference in cutting, but is slightly more comfortable to press on the spine with the thumb for hard cuts. The Spydie-hole is a bit bigger, less likely to catch my middle fingernail when flicking open. They're both great looking knives but the Para has the more classic blade profile.

I purchased my Sage 5 LW pretty recently, but I'll be carrying it and will add if my opinion changes.

Excellent review and analysis. I am in the Sage 5 camp, but it is nice to have so many choices. Thank you Spyderco.

So my Sage had developed a bit of blade play so I decided to tinker with the pivot. One of the screws made it out. The other one is so firmly lock-tited that I was not able to move it at all, and even partially stripped the screw. I'm not sure what happened but I cannot currently adjust the action such that it drops shut but still maintain no blade play.

I think I will always prefer the Para 3 LW because it's made in the USA. If the Sage was made in the USA, I would probably prefer it, but I do love my USA made blades. Might be a bit biased or whatever, but I don't care, I love getting blades from the same country I live in!

I opened up the knife today and cleaned out the action. There was a significant amount of black gunk that I would guess is the TiCN wearing off the blade surfaces where they contact the washers and also the detent ball path. I also cold set the lock bar to have a little less tension. This has significantly improved the action, though the compression lock still hurts my finger when I use it multiple times in a short period. I might think that a lot of the growing pains with the action on knife is due to getting the TiCN-coated version. I'll probably switch back to my Para 3 for a couple of days just because I still feel like the Sage is effortful to use whereas the Para 3 is effortless.

metaphoricalsimile wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 10:55 pm

z1r wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:22 pm

metaphoricalsimile, I gave it a go and things are much better, still not as satisfying as the Sage was as received, but somrthing I can live with. I appreciate the kick in the butt. Certainly appreciate the confirmation of my suspicions!

I go so far as to entirely tighten down the washer side then use the non-washer side to dial it in. It doesn't affect the (poor) centering much at all. Anyways this kind of stuff is why I think the Para 3 LW is more of a tinkerer's knife, because out of the box it's never as good as it can be if you mess around with it.

Anyways, glad I could give you the impetus to try the idea out. Having this deep familiarity with the Para is for sure coloring how I view the Sage and I hope that my initial write-up was reflective of that.

I just wanted to say again, thanks for the pivot screw advice. Play has been eliminated and it opens and closes easily. Probably why it still isn't (one of my) my EDC knives, too fidgety. I'd be playing with it all day long and never getting anything done, lol.

Having it work like I expected certainly changes the way I feel about it; it is much more appreciated.

Thanks again!

z1r wrote: ↑

Mon May 23, 2022 9:39 am

metaphoricalsimile wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 10:55 pm

z1r wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:22 pm

metaphoricalsimile, I gave it a go and things are much better, still not as satisfying as the Sage was as received, but somrthing I can live with. I appreciate the kick in the butt. Certainly appreciate the confirmation of my suspicions!

I go so far as to entirely tighten down the washer side then use the non-washer side to dial it in. It doesn't affect the (poor) centering much at all. Anyways this kind of stuff is why I think the Para 3 LW is more of a tinkerer's knife, because out of the box it's never as good as it can be if you mess around with it.

Anyways, glad I could give you the impetus to try the idea out. Having this deep familiarity with the Para is for sure coloring how I view the Sage and I hope that my initial write-up was reflective of that.

I just wanted to say again, thanks for the pivot screw advice. Play has been eliminated and it opens and closes easily. Probably why it still isn't (one of my) my EDC knives, too fidgety. I'd be playing with it all day long and never getting anything done, lol.

Having it work like I expected certainly changes the way I feel about it; it is much more appreciated.

Thanks again!

My pleasure! I think one of the great things about this forum is that so many users share what they've figured out.

I have both. For me the Para 3 LW has the edge on my Sage 5 (CF). Generally I prefer larger blades but the Para 3 doesn't really leave me wanting for bigger when I carry it. I'm surprised it's so thick BTE. Mine seems to cut better than that would indicate. Maybe the finger choil and short blade allow for more pessure in making the cut? Thanks for the writeup. It was a good read.