Spyderco Sage Linerlock

Oh wow, Where do I start?Fit and Finish: The fit and finish on this knife is amazing. When I received this knife I spent a good couple minutes looking for imperfections and I could only find one. On one side of the blade the grind isn't fully ground to the back of the blade, where the finger choil is, it's only a very very small portion. It's not that big of a deal because I don't use the edge that far back on the knife, but it's there. It does however still cut paper with ease on that spot. It's just a visual imperfection, and I could get it fixed if I so desired. The blade centering came perfect out of box and stayed that way for quite some time and only takes 10 seconds to get it back to perfect with a T8 bit. I am very impressed with this knife, don't let "Made in Taichung Taiwan" fool you. Spydercos quality control is excellent and the people they having making their knives in that factory know what they're doing. For me the knifes lock up had a breaking in period, it was stiff at first but now it's perfect. it feels like glass on glass when I open it and I don't know if it's just my knife or if anyone else has noticed it but when the blade locks open it gives the most satisfying POP I've ever heard on a knife. I'll literally just sit on the couch watching TV with the wife and just open and close it just to hear that sound.Ergonomics: When I decided to purchase this knife I was a little worried how I would like this blade, being how it's on the smaller side that what I'm used to. I wear a large sized glove and this knife is perfect in my hand if I choke up and use the finger choil. I can hold it normally but for this knife it just feels natural to use the finger choil. The edges are smoothed and feel comfortable. There's jimping on the spine of the blade and on the choil, it's the best jimping I've come across on a knife. It grabs and holds onto your thumb but it doesn't feel uncomfortable by any means, it just works. It has a wire pocket clip and let me tell you, I had my doubts about it but man is it stiff. Not so stiff that you can't get it out of your pocket but stiff enough to give you peace of mind. With the black wire clip it also disappears into your pocket leaving people none the wiser. Also with the flat design of the knife it's so comfortable in the pocket I've forgotten I've had it on me multiple times.Steel: CPM S30V is a hardened, powder-made, wear, and corrosion resistant stainless steel. Fun fact, it was also the first steel designed specifically for knives. It came hair shaving sharp out of box. This was my first time using this steel and let me tell you, I was blown away. On my other knives I'd have to sharpen them 3-4 times a week with moderate use. I can get away with sharpening this blade once every 4 weeks with heavy use. The only down side and what you're going to have to deal with since it is a harder steel is it's going to take a longer time to put that nice razor edge back on it. It takes me about an hour to get that perfect edge. That's something I'm willing to deal with for amazing edge retention.Overall: This was the first "nice" knife I've ever bought. before this I've only had Kershaw and SOG. I was so amazed with this knife, the twill-woven Carbon Fiber looks fantastic and the open construction allows for easy cleaning without taking it apart. I am so happy with this knife. I use it for everything, EDC, Food prep around the kitchen, heck one time I made steak and sat down at the table and forgot my steak knife and just used my Sage that was in my pocket. When I first got it all I wanted to do was baby it but now it has scratches on the blade, I've dropped it and it's seen some use. I don't baby my tools. Plus I think knives that look really nice look even better with wear on them, like a museum piece. I paid $90 for this knife a couple months ago and at that price for everything I listed here that is a STEAL. One more thing before I stop typing this review is if you plan on taking your knife apart I recommend getting some blue locktite for the pivot screws, I noticed recently that the blade centering and retention comes a little loose over time, even faster if you flick it. Like I said it takes 10 seconds with a T8 bit to get it back to normal but it's just nice to have it locked down. With all that said, I'd buy this knife again in a heart beat if something were to ever happen to it.

I'm leaning more and more toward smaller (but not too much smaller) knives so the Sage series got my attention. The resemblance of the carbon fiber laminate handle to the Spyderco Gayle Bradley was the first thing I noticed. After buying the knife, I have to say it is a damn nice knife in the 3" blade category. Overall, the Sage I is pretty close to perfect but not quite as perfect as the Gayle Bradley model, in my opinion.What you get in the Sage I is a knife with a 3 inch blade and a well designed 4 inch plus handle that makes it easy to use. The blade is Spyderco's leaf shape in S30V steel. S30V is one of the "super steels" that is now ubiquitous in upper quality modern folding knives. The steel is no longer the shining star of super steels but it's still got a good glow going for edge retention with just a little extra effort needed in resharpening. In my opinion, there are lots of good steels in use today and all of them are excellent with not enough difference in performance to really make much difference for the average knife buyer. As is usual with Spyderco knives, the Sage I came nice and sharp. I ran it over a stop with some green polishing compound and this resulted in an even sharper edge. Can't complain. For anyone who buys a really nice knife, you should know the trick to retaining a razor sharp edge is to never let the knife get dull to begin with. After using it, touch up the edge on a hard Arkansas or ceramic stone and then strop it. You will be rewarded with a contantly sharp knife. If you let the edge dull or you damage the edge, you can expect to spend a good bit of time with S30V steel to return the edge to razor sharpness.The handle has a good ergonomic shape and the panels are made of a carbon fiber layer laminated over a layer of G10. This makes for a great feeling grip that looks incredible. It's the same material used in the Gayle Bradley and I believe I said in my review of that knife that the carbon fiber looks "just lovely". Ditto here. Fit and finish is about as good as it gets. Spyderco's Taichung Taiwan facility is well known for their superior craftsmanship and they certainly deserve praise for this model.The Sage I uses a liner lock. Liner locks and frame locks are sort of "in" right now and that's okay--they work well if they are well designed and well matched to the blade. Here is the first point that knocks the Sage I out of the perfect category. The liner on the knife is fairly thin and, correspondingly, the locking bar is also pretty thin. On a smaller knife, it's not necessary to have a massive liner with massive lock bar like that on the Gayle Bradley (damn... I can't stop bringing up that knife!) but I really wish Spyderco had increased the thickness of the steel liner in the Sage by about 50%. This would make the locking bar a little heftier and rigid and I, for one, wouldn't mind the extra weight. It's not as thin and flexible as the Cat G10 liner lock bar but the Sage liner could stand improvement. I can detect just the tiniest amount of movement in the Sage's lock after lock up. But the blade on the Sage has zero movement on lock up, unlike my copy of the Cat G10. I'm probably nit picking about the liner and lock bar since it actually seems pretty solid. Unlike the Gayle Bradley (there I go again!), it's easy to access the lock bar release with the thumb of the dominant hand. This should appease the inveterate blade flippers out there.My only other nit to pick on the Sage I is the wire clip. I've criticized Spyderco's use of wire clips before and I continue to dislike them. They look cheap, especially when used on knife that costs over a hundred bucks, and they don't feel as secure as Spyderco's other flat metal clips. The clip on my Sage I moves around side-to-side when applying light finger pressure. That's just wrong for a knife this expensive.In summation, I rate the Sage I as a 4.5 star knife. I admit I'm getting more and more critical of items I review and most people who buy the Sage will totally love it. Not perfect but worth every penny you pay for it.