Spyderco Sage vs Sage 3 vs Chaparral?

J

JDX

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Mar 2, 2014
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Looking to get one of these, as a general "gentleman a" edc. What is the difference between the sage and sage 3? I only looked on Amazon, but they both seem to have carbon fiber scales? And what is generally more sought after, the sage or chaparral? I owned a tenacious and sold it, I have a Delica and paramilitary 2. The Delica is the partially serrated black version, and wouldn't really want to take it out in certain situations. Any suggestions would be appreciated
 
I only have one of the three, the Chaparral, but looking to get a sage. So I'll take a stab at it. The Sage (all three) is larger than the Chaparral. And all three have different locks. The Chap is a back lock, Sage 1 has a liner lock, and Sage 3 with a bolt lock.

While I absolutely love the Chaparral for it's compact size and thickness (thinness), I really prefer liner/frame locks over the others. The one Spyder bolt lock I own (Manix2) requires the most effort to close. So they are all very different knives in terms of lock and function. But very similar leaf shape blades.

I happen to have the Chaparral on me today. I really like the CF texture with the CF/G10 combo scales.
 
The four (yes, everyone forgets there was a Sage 4) different Sage models have different locking mechanisms (respectively: liner lock, frame lock, "bolt action" lock, back lock). The Sage 3 originally came with bright blue G10 scales, but now comes in carbon fiber. All the Sages have identical S30V blades.

I would recommend the Sage 1, personally. Incidentally, the scales are actually carbon fiber laminated over G10, not that that makes them in any way inferior IMO.
 
I had a Sage 1 and still have a Chaparral.

Here's a pic.



Since they were so close and I don't prefer liner locks I kept the Chaparral and sold the Sage here on the exchange.

Since you said you have a Delica - here are some comparison pics for you.





Of the knives you listed - I would definitely pick the Chaparral.
 
I have had all 3, I just recently sold the Chaparral which had the s30v blade. There is another version of the Chaparral that comes with the CTS-XHP blade as well. Of the three knives I prefer the Sage 1 with the liner lock. The sage 3 (3.5oz) is the same size (3" blade) as the Sage 1 (3.2oz) , has the same CF G10 laminate scales but uses the Spyderco bolt lock kinda similar to the Benchmade Axis Lock. The Chaparral is the smallest knife of the three mentioned coming in at 2.5oz with a 2.8" blade. It's a good blade if your looking for something discrete, office friendly, or a classy piece that is easy to carry for a nice night out. For EDC I prefer the Sage 1 due to its simplicity, I am not a huge fan of lock backs even-tho they are stronger than liner locks and they are kinda of hard to close 1 handed. Sage 1 has a very smooth blade which is easy to deploy,it's easy to close, has a open pillar construction vs both the Sage 3 and Chaparral, and just just a good all around size and weight.

Any of the three knives you mentioned are fine, it all comes down to personal preferences. My suggestion is to look up some youtube videos and check reviews and actions on how the knife looks etc.
 
Chaparral all the way. I can open/close one handed. Super smooth. Line that delica up with a chaparral edge to edge and you get as much blade in a smaller knife. It's a winner all around. Chaparral!
 
I appreciate all the advice, I think I'll go with the chaparral, and possibly get a sage somewhere down the road. Thanks!
 
I'm a huge fan of the Chaparral. The thinness of the blade makes it an absolutely incredible slicer. The Sage series knives are just too fat-feeling (i.e. wide) for my tastes.
 
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