New Spyderco

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evert67

Joined
Oct 22, 2011
Messages
222
I’m looking for a Spyderco. Yesterday I tried a Paramilitary 2. I loved the build and sharpness of this knife. However, I hate G10 handles (I will use the knife for light woodwork as well, so the handles shouldn’t be too grippy).

Which Spyderco would you recommend as an alternative? I tried the Military Titanium, which was really great, but too large for my purposes.

What I am looking for:
  • same great build as Paramilitary 2
  • 3 - 3.5” blade
  • flat ground blade
  • ability to obtain same sharpness as Paramilitary to (love the S30V, but would settle for less if it can obtain the same edge)
  • flat handles, like the Paramilitary, but not G10 or plain plastic (titanium, aluminium, anything that feels good in the hand, it might even be wood)
 
Have you looked at the Sage 1 or 2? The 1 has CF handles and the 2 has titanium. They are both excellent offerings from Spyderco. I think the blade is just a hair over 3 inches. Depends on just what you want. The Sage 1 is a liner lock and the 2 is a frame lock. Myself, I am a huge fan of the para and like the grip of the G10.

Quick and dirty shot of the Sage 1.

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You can wet sand smooth or even polish the g-10 of the paramilitary if you already like it aside from it's grippiness.
 
+1 on the Sage 1 and 2. You can buy a carbon fiber paramilitary on the secondary market but they seem to be running $300+.
 
I was a bit lazy earlier. I dug out the Sage 2 for pics and compared to the Sage 1 and the Paramilitary. Maybe this will give you a better idea.

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Yea, I was very surprised. I had long overlooked it because it looked plain like the stretch, but after holding it in your hand and flicking it open, you have a hard time putting it down. It is a very solid knife.
 
I didn't warm up to mine right away. It felt a bit strange in the hand. Kind of clunky. But the more I carried it, the more I loved it. Have been thinking about buying a back up just in case. That's when you know you like a certain model...you buy them and buy them. I don't have that problem though. :)

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twid said:
You can wet sand smooth or even polish the g-10 of the paramilitary if you already like it aside from it's grippiness.
Click to expand...

^ this is also my thinking.

If you love the para2 but hate the grippiness, just remove the grippiness.
 
Thanks all for your recommendations. The Sage 1 looks like a promising alternative. I've felt the carbon blade on a Gayle Bradley and it was great! However, can you tell me whether the Sage 1 has the same build quality (absolutely no blade play, very tight tolerances, completely centered blade) as the ParaMilitary which seems to be many ppl's favorite EDC here partly for that reason?

As said, I also tried a Gayle Bradley, which I liked a lot, but that one didn't have a flat grind blade, which is essential to me. But did I see a flat ground one of the photos? It is not in the Spyderco catalogue. Is it a special one?
 
The Gayle Bradley is not a flat ground, it's hollow ground with CPM-M4 steel. Really good steel. Yes the Sage is tight in the tolerances. It has no play in any direction. It locks up solid and is very smooth opening, smoother than the para, or mine is. AS you can see it is flat ground and has CPM-S30V steel. It has jimping on top and bottom of the blade and has a nice choil for your finger to lock into. It feels really good in the hand and has the open frame construction for keeping the knife clean and lint free. The wire pocket clip is reversible and is good for deep pocket carry. Really nothing I can say bad about the knife. It is made in Taiwan if that is an issue for you. The quality is top notch. It cuts like a big knife but carry's small in the pocket.
 
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