Spyderco Dice VS Sage 1

S

Swan

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Aug 15, 2015
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Newbie here, was viewing as a guest for quite some time now and finally decided to participate! Anyways, I am having trouble with my next knife purchase and could use a hand. The Spyderco Dice and Sage 1 are on my radar but I haven't been able find any head to head comparisons. If it's worth anything, my favorite feature in any folding knife would be how smooth it's action is, and I currently own many spydies riding on PB. Never tried Ball bearings in a pivot before.

(Im looking at these as I find them visually appealing, similar in size, similar fit and finish from taichung and have heard they have very smooth actions)

So, which would you prefer? Dice or Sage 1?
 
I don't have any experience with either yet because my Dice is supposed to arrive on Monday! A certain vendor here who ships knives for free has them right now at a price that is much more comparable to the Sage 1 if price is one of your factors, but I wouldn't wait too long.
 
Another Noob here Swan.
I have a Sage 1 and a Domino......same as Dice just a touch larger.
The Domino blows away the Sage in every way. Super smooth and totally sexy.....I got the Blue Twill model.
The Sage is a nice little knife, but the action on that flipper is awesome!
You can't go wrong with either.....so get both!!
Good luck and let us know which you decide on!
Joe
 
I've owned and used both, and it's honestly a toss-up for me. The Dice has more attractive technical specs - Bearing flipper, lockbar insert, a slightly better steel - and executes them very well. I don't, however, like the texturing of the CF patterned scale - the Dice's seems especially slick. The entire design, while functionally sound, seems a bit awkward, probably because it's basically a squished Domino (I really like my G-10 Domino, even though the Dice is a better size for me.)

The Sage, on the other hand, is the opposite - it's stripped of any bells or whistles, and just a simple and solid design. I prefer XHP to S30V, but both steels are perfectly good. It's a simple liner lock, but it works well. No flipper or bearings, but the action is smooth.

Overall, if I had to pick just one of the two as my only knife, I'd take the Dice. But, because I already have some other very nice framelock flippers, my Sage sees more pocket time.
 
If having a flipper is the most important factor, of course the Dice is the choice. If having a flipper doesn t matter, The Sage 1 is one of the best knives made by Spyderco. The steels are equivalent. The Sage 1 is and excellent edc for work or weekend.
 
palonej said:
Another Noob here Swan.
I have a Sage 1 and a Domino......same as Dice just a touch larger.
The Domino blows away the Sage in every way. Super smooth and totally sexy.....I got the Blue Twill model.
The Sage is a nice little knife, but the action on that flipper is awesome!
You can't go wrong with either.....so get both!!
Good luck and let us know which you decide on!
Joe
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Thanks for the insight Joe. Since you own the domino as well how would you compare them in terms of smoothness? Are the ball bearings really all that they're worked up to be?
 
salehonasi said:
I've owned and used both, and it's honestly a toss-up for me. The Dice has more attractive technical specs - Bearing flipper, lockbar insert, a slightly better steel - and executes them very well. I don't, however, like the texturing of the CF patterned scale - the Dice's seems especially slick. The entire design, while functionally sound, seems a bit awkward, probably because it's basically a squished Domino (I really like my G-10 Domino, even though the Dice is a better size for me.)

The Sage, on the other hand, is the opposite - it's stripped of any bells or whistles, and just a simple and solid design. I prefer XHP to S30V, but both steels are perfectly good. It's a simple liner lock, but it works well. No flipper or bearings, but the action is smooth.

Overall, if I had to pick just one of the two as my only knife, I'd take the Dice. But, because I already have some other very nice framelock flippers, my Sage sees more pocket time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply salehonasi. After reading your thoughts I am slightly leaning towards the dice. From all the reviews I've seen on the sage, they all seem to allude to it having a certain mystique (thelateboyscout had a hard time explaining why he loved the sage 1 so much, he even said it had a certain opening sound that none of his other knives had). If the sage is only a simple well executed design I don't think it would see much pocket time compared to my techno. My past couple purchases (Manix 2 G-10 and Para 2) lack that "second kind of cool" that the dice seems to offer.

As for the steels, I've heard S30V having comparable performance to the CTS-XHP. Personally, I have never tried XHP and am very curious as to how these carpenter steels hold up.

Since you have experienced both of these knives, how would you compare the smoothness of the ball bearings to the sage's PB? The only flipper I currently own would be a cheap kershaw drone running on PB bushings with an almost unbearable action.
 
whp said:
If having a flipper is the most important factor, of course the Dice is the choice. If having a flipper doesn t matter, The Sage 1 is one of the best knives made by Spyderco. The steels are equivalent. The Sage 1 is and excellent edc for work or weekend.
Click to expand...

The flipper isn't really why I'm interested in the dice, so would the sage be a more viable option?
 
I remember the review by The Late Boyscout.....the sound he refers to is the ball letting go and then the lock closing. It's like a 'tink' then a 'clunk'. It's really cool!
When the Domino locks up its like two thick steels clinking together. You get a really cool steel ringing sound. It's awesome.
As I said.....I have both and am selling neither, but I prefer the Domino.
Good luck!
Joe
 
palonej said:
I remember the review by The Late Boyscout.....the sound he refers to is the ball letting go and then the lock closing. It's like a 'tink' then a 'clunk'. It's really cool!
When the Domino locks up its like two thick steels clinking together. You get a really cool steel ringing sound. It's awesome.
As I said.....I have both and am selling neither, but I prefer the Domino.
Good luck!
Joe
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Yes! That's what he was saying, and it would be a nice touch to have an awesome sounding folder (I fondle my knives more than I should haha). Thanks for the help Joe, I'll be sure to update with my decision!
 
whp said:
Yes.
You can get one for just more than 100 dollars if you shop around.
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$100 for a Sage!? I would've snatched one up by now... Cheapest price in Canada for the sage would be around $150 off amazon... and the only place I can find the dice is on warriorsandwonders.com for $240 :( (I choose to order within Canada to avoid whack custom fees).
 
My Sage is one of the smoothest knives I own, granted I don't have any with ball bearings. If you don't want a flipper though, I'd get the Sage.
 
Not the OP, but I just got my Dice this evening. Amazing knife! Love the fit, finish, size, materials. My intended use is office pocket carry (not clipped) and I think it will do just fine!

Opening is smooth, but the detent is pretty strong fire the flipper. Depending on the orientation sometimes it doesn't flip all the way open. The flipper is smooth and that may be part of the issue, although I did oil it up a bit so maybe my fingers are just slippery. Maybe some light jimping would make it easier to flip, but then again that might chew up fingers that sit there flipping for hours!

Overall I think it was a great choice and would recommend it to anyone looking for a gentleman flipper.

190d29f2bd4a54911a9b1f661918a0e3.jpg


Edit: picture with the larger Manix 2 Lightweight.
 
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Give it some time to break in Josh.
Domino was the same.....after flicking and flicking she's smooth as Pam Anderson's butt.........in Baywatch days!!
 
I'm feelin ya bro!!
Can't stop flipping this beauty!!
 

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Swan said:
Thanks for the reply salehonasi. After reading your thoughts I am slightly leaning towards the dice. From all the reviews I've seen on the sage, they all seem to allude to it having a certain mystique (thelateboyscout had a hard time explaining why he loved the sage 1 so much, he even said it had a certain opening sound that none of his other knives had). If the sage is only a simple well executed design I don't think it would see much pocket time compared to my techno. My past couple purchases (Manix 2 G-10 and Para 2) lack that "second kind of cool" that the dice seems to offer.

As for the steels, I've heard S30V having comparable performance to the CTS-XHP. Personally, I have never tried XHP and am very curious as to how these carpenter steels hold up.

Since you have experienced both of these knives, how would you compare the smoothness of the ball bearings to the sage's PB? The only flipper I currently own would be a cheap kershaw drone running on PB bushings with an almost unbearable action.
Click to expand...

While both are very smooth, the bearings are definitely different; the action is almost slick. If you hold the knife horizontally and disengage the lock, the blade swings down freely. If you have a Para 2, the sage basically feels like that. If you already have a Techno, the Sage is basically a Techno that slices better. I'd say go for the Dice.
 
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