Stretch 2 CF or Sage 2 Ti

al3xd4gr34t

al3xd4gr34t

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Jan 14, 2009
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Been thinking about picking up one of these for a while now and I finally have some spare money to get one. Now I need to choose between these two knives. Can someone who has owned both or handled both comment on which you like better and why?

I like the Sage design and ergonomics and framelock, but ZDP-189 and Carbon Fiber are hard to pass up. Also, please don't suggest a CF Sage; I already own one.
 
IMO Stretch is a better knife - longer blade, great ergos, and decent choil.
But the ergos are a bit better on the Sage (larger handle smaller blade ratio) and the Ti Framelock, plus the wire clip make it a hard choice. Frankly, unless you really push your knives, the ZDP-189 isn't going to make a difference.

Hmm... not sure how that helped... or not ;)?.

If you can... get both.

Either way though, you're getting a superlative product.
 
You already have a sage 1, spice things up a bit. You will have a totally different knife with a totally different steel if you go stretch. If I had to keep only 10 of my Spydies, that would certainly be one of them. Wonderful slicer, I love the texture and appearance of the CF it uses, it sits in the pocket wonderfully, great 4 way clip placement! Very slender, perfect sized hole, great finger perfection, ZDP ZDP ZDP!!!!
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I also have sage 1, I plan to get a 2 in the near future, you have great taste!
 
Both are well made knives using top shelf materials, so you can't go wrong with either.

The RIL Sage is slightly thinner than your CF Sage, and the CF Stretch II is slightly thinner than it. Stretch gives you half an inch more blade, RIL Sage offers a thinner edge so, at least in theory might be the better slicer. In your particular case the RIL Sage would also allow you to have two functionally identical knives. Some find that a plus, others think variety is the spice of life, still others don't care. CF on the Stretch II, IMHO, gives better traction than that of the CF Sage, but is a notch or two below it on the "eye candy" scale. The RIL Sage has the nicest looking titanium I've yet to see on a Spyderco and, from some reports seems more scratch resistant than their other titanium models. Both feel good in my hand. Overall, I prefer the Stretch handle, but do wish its choil was a bit more like that of the Sage.

Paul
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I like the Sage II more then the Stretch. I think it works very well with the double choil and the titanium frame lock. The RIL is perfectly executed on this knife, and paired with the low wire clip, is amazing.
 
Just to show the respective sizes...

stretch_sage_02.jpg


stretch_sage_01.jpg


The ideal would be to handle the Stretch II at a shop, or show. You might like it better than the Sage, you might find it difficult to pick a favorite, or you might decide to stick with getting another Sage. The vast majority of those who have handled either or both have found them both to be excellent and there have been very few complaints from purchasers of either.

Paul
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My Personal Website - - - - - - A Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting - - - - - - Kiwimania
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
Spyderco Collector # 043 - - WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twsited up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
Well, once again, it's a tough call. At least assuming you can get the CF Manix 2 at the same relative discount from MSRP that the others can normally be found at. Since it's a limited run, some dealers are not discounting them as heavily and the hoarding/flipping has already begun.

Tank of a knife, considerably thicker than the Sage and Stretch. Bulkier and a bit heavier too. A Josh pointed out, and as much as I normally favor full flat grind, the Manix 2's thicker blade would have been better served by a hollow grind. I,m not crazy about the ball lock myself, but some like it. Will say the Manix 2's caged version is much easier to operate than the uncaged balls on the Poliwog and Phoenix. I've yet to handle the CF Manix 2, but assuming the CF on it is identical to the peel ply used on the Military, it's too rough for my taste, but again, others love the stuff. The "point" in the handle which separates your index finger from the others annoys my hand. For me, that was always one of the points against the original Manix as well. I find the jimping on the liners unattractive and, in some ways annoying too. All the above is, to at least some degree, subjective, others are singing this knife's praises to the sky.

Biggest thing in favor of the Manix 2 right now, assuming you can get on in the $175 ballpark, is the limited supply pretty well insures that if you hate it, you won't take a beating reselling it. You might even make a couple bucks.

Wrong M2, wrong Sage, but will give you an idea of relative sizes...

manix2_compare_11.jpg


Paul
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My Personal Website - - - - - - A Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting - - - - - - Kiwimania
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
Spyderco Collector # 043 - - WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twsited up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
I'm too much of a sucker for CF and premium steel, not to mention limited edition and sprint run knives. I just paid $200 for a Manix 2 CF. Not a bad price, IMO. A little more than a Sage 2, a little less than a Stretch 2. We'll see if I like it when it comes. If not, I'm sure I can find a buyer for about the same price. Thanks everyone.
 
Enjoy!

While I find less to like about the Manix 2 than the other two, there wasn't a "wrong" choice among those three. All excellent knives, each "best" in some respect, each getting rave reviews from darn near everyone's who has purchased one.

Paul
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My Personal Website - - - - - - A Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting - - - - - - Kiwimania
Dead horses beaten, sacred cows tipped, chimeras hunted when time permits.
Spyderco Collector # 043 - - WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twsited up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam
 
If Sal put a Stretch blade with a Sage choil in a Sage handle I'd have my perfect knife.

Choosing between the Sage and the Stretch is mostly a question of lock preference for me: Sage gets carried more because I prefer a liner/frame lock over a back lock:o

Both are about as good as it gets for a mid sized edc imho.

Sverre
 
I would take the stretch 2 every time based on performance, then ergonomics second.

The RIL Sage is no slouch, but no other Spyder performs up to the stretch 2 level. In fact, I can't think of any custom or production knife that can, with the exception of some really expensive semi custom Japanese ZDP knives like the Rockstead, which will slice with the stretch 2, but doesn't, IMO, have the ergonomics of the CF stretch 2 ZDP.

Sure, I like Titanium RIL's, but they don't add to the performance. To me, Performance more than anything else is what it's about.
 
I visited the local knife shop recently and got a chance to handle a Stretch although it was the old version with kraton inserts in the steel handles. For me it was too small. I find the Endura's handle seems to fit my hand the best. The Police and Military's handles are a bit too big for my taste (for my EDC carry style). The Stretch is just a bit too small for my hand. I needed to choke up on the choil with the Stretch to feel close to comfortable. On the other hand, the blade shape didn't look as bad as it does in a lot of photos. I think the camera angles exaggerate the droop of the spine in a lot of pix. I looked at other knives and I was surprised at how small a lot of Spyderco's are. I'm sure most people will be happy with the size of the Stretch as long as they're not big Endura, Police, or Military fans. Those knives have the whole flat grind slicer thing pretty well covered anyway.
 
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My CF Sage feels a bit "long in handle/short in blade" I don't own a Stretch, but it doesn't look out of balance in this matter ...
for what it's worth ...
(I also modified my Sage blade to more of a paramili blade profile ... I didn't take any of it's length, just straightened out the top curve of the leaf profile) http://www.flickr.com/photos/41697077@N05/3861831954/
 
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