Mini-Skirmish, Sage II or Waimea

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Peruna1998

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Sep 8, 2009
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If this question has been asked already, my apologies.

I am looking to buy a production titanium framelock with a blade around 3 inches in length. I have narrowed the field down to a Benchmade Mini-Skirmish, Spyderco Sage II, or a Buck/Mayo Waimea. I was interested in your thoughts about each of the three and which you would suggest (or another if I am missing something).

Thanks in advance.
 
My money would go with the Buck/Mayo Waimea..pretty close to a Sebe in feel, it's light weight and solid. I also like the clip point blade as well..makes it kind of unique. The BM Mini Skirmish is also an excellent knife but the blade is 3.4" so it maybe a little longer than what your after??? As for the Sage2, I've never owned one, but have read only good things about the quality, fit and finish. The deal breaker for me is the made in Taiwan stamp...not that, that is a bad thing, I just try to buy USA made products when I can.
All three are very nice knives and don't think you would go wrong with any of your choices.

Dave
 
I just got the Sage 2 and love it. Great fit/finish, fits my hand well and disapears in my pocket.
 
I haven't handled the buck but, from your list I did own the mini skirmish & sage II. I think you should also consider a Bradley Alias II. Before I got into sebbies, I personally preferred the Alias II over those other two. It's due mostly to the form factor & not build quality.

For me the Sage II carried too wide & while the mini skirmish was unique for it's unmatched blade to handle ratio, the curvature of the handle made my pinky slip off the grip too often. The alias had a form factor that was very close to my small sebbie. I think the buck would be similar.

If I had to go back to a sub$200 ti framelock, I would be very happy with just the Alias II (& I would not hesitate to try the Buck given it's similar form factor)

-Scooby
 
I don't have a Sage II so I can't comment on that. But there is a lot of difference between the mini Skirmish and the Waimea. The mini Skirmish is a lot larger, as you can see in this picture. Overall build quality seems to be about the same. I should add that the chamfered opening hole on the mini Skirmish makes it hard for me to open.
Knives12-8-07021.jpg
 
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The Waimea is an outstanding little folder - I love mine and actually carry it more often than I do my small wood inlaid Sebenza. It is a definitely a small knife but has a stout framelock and the great Paul Bos heat treat on the S30V blade - weighs next to nothing at 1.8 oz.
 
My vote goes for the Bradley Alias or the Skirmish. I have an Alias 1 which is about 3.5" and I love the look and feel of it. If you want one closer to your 3" limit you could always get the Alias 2. As far as the skirmish goes ive never owned one but have always loved the look of it. If I ever come across a good user I'd be all over it.
 
I think unless you have very small hands the Mini Skirmish won't be very comfortable. I wear a size med-large glove and I couldn't fit my whole hand on the handle. But then I also have kind of fat mashed up fingers :)
 
You're talking about a small, medium, & large folder. Even though it is named Mini-Skirmish its a large folder compared to the others. I've got the Sage II and the Buck TNT is more comparable. They have similar size blades. Both the Sage II and TNT and cutting machines. They were both among the sharpest blades out of the box I've seen. The Sage has a choil for more grip options. The Sage has a deep wire carry clip. Its very comfortable in the pocket. IMO you can't go wrong with the Sage II or the TNT.
 
4%7E9.jpg

I also own both and like the Waimea more.
It's a great little knife but very sturdy and a perfect lockup, and the S30V by Bos is perfect, didn't have to sharpen mine yet and I use it a lot.
 
The Buck #172 Mayo TNT is closer to the mini Skirmish BM 635's blade than the #171 Waimea is. It's about 2/3 the weight of the 635, too. The same size/shape S30V blade is availble for <$50 from Buck in the #347 Vantage-Pro, albeit a SS frame lock under G10 scales that weighs about what the BM 635 does. I love my BM 630, 635, and 760 Ti frame-locks - the Kershaw JYDII in Ti & SG-2 is pretty nice, too. I like the Buck 172 TNT, but it's a bit pricey - actually likely to cost me more than the others... and I have handled both Ti Mayos. No thank you - I like what I have.

My EDC is mainly the Buck Vantage Pro or Spydie Native - both S30V - both super EDCs. The Ti's are for 'dress-up'! From your choices, I'd go with the BM 635 mini-Skirmish.

Stainz
 
Thanks for the head's up. I was unaware that the Min-Skirmish was that much larger than the Sage II and Waimea. Working in an office environment I tend to keep to a 3 inch blade limit. Weight is also a major concern with me. From what I am reading the Waimea is going to weigh much less than the Sage II.
 
Here's a (poor) picture that I posted in another thread this morning. You can compare the Sage 2 and Mini-Skim size. Sage 2 is at 6 o'clock, Mini-Skim at 11.

TI-1.jpg
 
Beautiful... Of the choices, I'm liking the Sage Ti. It looks like it could really compete with CRK.
 
Charlie Mike said:
Beautiful... Of the choices, I'm liking the Sage Ti. It looks like it could really compete with CRK.
Click to expand...

It is a very nice knife made from premium materials, though only a Seb is a Seb. It is thinner than a SmallSeb (carries better in some circumstances) but it is probably not as bullet-proof. However, you can buy just about 2 1/2 copies of the Sage 2 for the street price of a SmallSeb. And, if you care, the Sage 2 is ambidextrous opening and easy for a lefty like me to close, while the SmallSeb is definitely neither.
 
The Waimea has the nicest fit and finish of the bunch, as well as one of the more unique blade shapes in knifedom.

The mini-skirmish is a bit less finished. Plus, are you sure you want a recurve?

The Sage is pretty raw. Same handle finish as a Bradley or CRK.
 
Peruna1998 said:
Thanks for the head's up. I was unaware that the Min-Skirmish was that much larger than the Sage II and Waimea. Working in an office environment I tend to keep to a 3 inch blade limit. Weight is also a major concern with me. From what I am reading the Waimea is going to weigh much less than the Sage II.
Click to expand...

If size and weight are major considerations, then the Waimea would be the right choice. It is much more sheeple friendly, but it also has at least as much useable handle as the mini Skirmish (which, as has been noted, does not work for large hands that well because of the design).

The Waimea is also a lightweight in comparison. Buck advertises it at around 1.7 oz, but mine weighs 2.05 oz. That is a lot lighter than the Sage II (3.5 oz) and the 635 (3.92 oz). You hardly even know it's there.
 
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