Spyderco Delica vs. Sage vs. Tenacious

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bchan77

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Dec 6, 2007
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I've been carrying a Spyderco Endura for many years but lately I find myself leaning to a smaller size for EDC. I have a preference for full flat grinds and am thinking of picking one of the above. Since they all come from Spyderco quality is a given, but how do they compare when carrying on a daily basis? Thanks for any advice!
 
They are all great knives. The Tenacious is a great bang for the buck. A bit heavy in the pocket (to me) for EDC. The Delica is a great little blade but if you want flat grind you will have to buy the G10 or wait for the upcoming release of the FRN flat grinds in colors.

Everyone has their own taste and I will be the first to admit I'm a recovering liner lock hater. What changed my mind? The Sage. Absolutely an awesome design from the handle to the blade shape. They can be found on Ebay now for about 79.00 which is a hell of a bargain IMO. Good luck with your purchase.
 
I wouldn't go with the tenatious if I were you. 8cr13mov just isn't that great of a steel IMO.
 
From your choices I would go with the sage. I like the low ride pocket clip, the choil, and fit and finish is great.
 
I was carrying a delica for the last couple months. Fantastic knife, took care of every task i needed it to. fits in my hand perfectly. I recently purchased the Sage 2. It feels better in the hand than the delica and it fits in the pocket better as well. i keep my wallet in my front right pocket with my knife clipped inside the same pocket. i don't like catching my knuckle on the handle when i have to get my wallet. my hand glides past the sage.

If you have the money i'd go for the sage. i have never handled a tenacious but you can't beat the price. i don't think you would be disappointed with any of them. the delica comes full flat ground if you get the g-10 handle or wait for them to release the sprint run FRN models later this year.
 
The Sage is awesome, and the best of the three for EDC IMO. The new Cat should be great as well, and seems like an amazing value.
 
I haven't handled the three knives that use mention, but, weekdays, I EDC a G10 Caly 3, which I believe is very similar to the Sages. The low ride wire clip makes it particularly low profile for office wear, and it's a great knife. It was recently discontinued, but there are still a few around.

I was a bit concerned about the Caly's riveted scale construction, but I don't think it's a much of a problem for office wear, not likely to get dunked in saltwater at the office, and it makes the knife bit thinner (0.373"). For reference, a G10 Endura is 0.418" thick.

I have been admiring the Sage 2, but can't quite bring myself to purchase a knife stamped, "Taiwan." From what I've heard though, it's a high quality product despite the country of origin, and I might try one.
 
gwlee said:
I haven't handled the three knives that use mention, but, weekdays, I EDC a G10 Caly 3, which I believe is very similar to the Sages. The low ride wire clip makes it particularly low profile for office wear, and it's a great knife. It was recently discontinued, but there are still a few around.

I was a bit concerned about the Caly's riveted scale construction, but I don't think it's a much of a problem for office wear, not likely to get dunked in saltwater at the office, and it makes the knife bit thinner (0.373"). For reference, a G10 Endura is 0.418" thick.

I have been admiring the Sage 2, but can't quite bring myself to purchase a knife stamped, "Taiwan." From what I've heard though, it's a high quality product despite the country of origin, and I might try one.
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Isn't the caly made in japan? :D Honestly I can't see any difference in teh quality between Seki, Taiwan, and American Models. If anything, Taiwan makes higher quality blades than the other two :O. love my sage 2 and carry it to work every day.

As for the OP, I think a delica shoudl be fine for almost everything you will need to do, as well as being much cheaper than the sage. The sage is a great knife, but I am afraid to beat on mine because it is so beautiful. Not so with the delica :)
 
I haven't handled a Sage, but I've carried a Delica for almost 2 years now. It's definitely one of my favorite. It's the perfect size and has tip-down carry (my preference). The Tenacious does, too. I like the design of the Tenacious and all (a lot), but the steel isn't impressive, and the handles are rather slippery for G10.

I would imagine that the Sage is a very nice knife, but I think my only complaint about it would be tip-up carry. If you've got the money and don't mind that, I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
 
gwlee said:
I have been admiring the Sage 2, but can't quite bring myself to purchase a knife stamped, "Taiwan." From what I've heard though, it's a high quality product despite the country of origin, and I might try one.
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We are in exact opposite camps. I cant wait to try a knife from the "Taiwan" manufacturing plant that does the Sage series. The Sage2 and Bradley are battling it out for the top of my list.
 
KnifeTurtle said:
Isn't the caly made in japan? :D Honestly I can't see any difference in teh quality between Seki, Taiwan, and American Models. If anything, Taiwan makes higher quality blades than the other two :O. love my sage 2 and carry it to work every day.

Thanks for the info. The quality of materials and workmanship in a product is usually my first concern, so I am pleased to hear that the quality of Spyderco's Taiwan-sourced products is high because I admire the Sage 2 design. The Caly 3 is made in Japan, and it's a high quality product, and I can also vouch for the quality of the Military, which is made in the CO.
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Today I received my first two Spyderco knives... a Tenacious & a Sage 1.

I'm probably more easily impressed than some on this board because I've never held a Spydie before at all and I wasn't real sure what to expect. My other knives for comparison include a Benchmade 943, Benchmade Barrage-mini, CRKT Carson M-16-12, Kershaw SS Leek, and a few smaller Kershaw, CRKT, and SAK models.

All I can say is WOW, I'm really impressed BIG time. Quality between the Taiwan-origin Sage and the Chinese-origin Tenacious seems comparable to me overall, though I can't really evaluate differences in steel as yet. The CF scales of the Sage 1 are certainly more elegant looking, but not necessarily "better" than the G-10 scales on the Tenacious. The Tenacious is slightly larger and more heavily built (thicker liners).

No doubt the Sage's S30V steel is better than the Tenacious' 8cr13mov steel, but how much the difference would manifest itself in my real-world usage, and whether that difference is worth the twice the price for the knife, I'm really not able to say as yet. Perhaps others can speak to the real world differences to the average user in these steels. But let's just day that I'm a lot more comfortable pressing my $39 Tenacious into dirty duty than I am my "elite" $80 Sage. Maybe I'll get over that in time. ;)

In any event, I am really thrilled with BOTH of these wonderful, high quality knives! I think any knife lover would very much appreciate the Tenacious at a mere $39. This is a beefy, stout, very well built model that I would easily trust to handle a wide range of general "knifely" duties, including defense. You just can't go wrong for the money!

As for the Sage 1, if you don't mind dropping $79+ for this knife, you will certainly be impressed with it's elegant design, excellent build quality, and sexy looks. The often praised S30V steel is likely to be appreciated by those who use their knives a little harder. You mentioned wanting a knife that's a bit smaller and lighter than the Endura, so I think you would appreciate the compact form factor of the Sage 1. It's a little smaller and a little lighter than the Tenacious, therefore a bit "easier" as an EDC model than the Endura or Tenacious.

For myself, I'm still looking for something just a bit smaller/lighter yet for EDC. For this I'm considering the Spyderco Dragonfly or Cat, or perhaps a mini-Griptilian, Kershaw Mini Mojito, Kershaw Baby Boa.
 
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If money is a concern, I like the Tenacious, GREAT knife for the money. Otherwise, I'd go with the Sage.
 
Another vote for the Sage. I really like CF handle and full flat grind. The tenacious is a bit big for EDC imo. The Delica is a littler smaller and has a thiner profile and would be good as well but the CF handle is better than the stock handle on the Delica. The Sage also has the better steel of the three you are looking at.
 
I've had the Sage, a Delica and the Tenacious. Sold the Tenacious, gave the Delica away and kept the Sage1. It's a keeper!
 
Odds said:
The tenacious is a bit big for EDC imo.
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Yep, I agree. Much as I like this knife... it won't be my EDC. I find that even the Sage, wonderful as it is, is a touch more knife than I personally want for EDC.

Any thoughts regarding the Dragonfly or Cat?
 
ZDHart said:
Yep, I agree. Much as I like this knife... it won't be my EDC. I find that even the Sage, wonderful as it is, is a touch more knife than I personally want for EDC.

Thoughts on the Dragonfly or Cat?
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I am in the same boat. I have a Cat and a Chicago on order, with the idea of making one of them my regular EDC knife. I may return the other depending on how much I like it.
 
ZDHart said:
Yep, I agree. Much as I like this knife... it won't be my EDC. I find that even the Sage, wonderful as it is, is a touch more knife than I personally want for EDC.

Any thoughts regarding the Dragonfly or Cat?
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If you find the Sage is only a touch to much, you may like the Caly3. It's just slightly smaller in every dimension except the cutting edge is almost identical.
 
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