My very untimely purchase of the Spyderco Sage LW 5 has resulted in me rethinking gear and why I miss certain pieces of kit. To help you avoid this mistake, I am going to explain how and why this happens. Let me lay out criteria for gear being underrated by paraphrasing from the Sage of the Diamond, Bill James (from the supremely well written Historical Baseball Abstract comment on Darrell Evans). Gear that is underrated have a few key attributes:

They are decent at bunch of different things, but not spectacular in any one way;
They tend to be released in a way that does not break any barriers, use the latest tech, or in some way have a marquee, easily “sellable” attribute;
They lack an built-in audience (like tactical knives), fanbase (like the PM2 and Para3), or are off-trend (like a non-titanium framelock flipper released today);
They are part of a brand’s line up that is confusing or they have a similar role in the brand’s catalog as other gear;
They were released at a time when there were a lot of similar product releases;
They have features that have a steep learning curve or whose function is not immediately obvious; and
They have lots of iterations, variations, or sprint runs.

The Sage 5 LW just might be the most underrated knife on the market. It is the very epitome of underrated gear. In fact, I would argue (am arguing) that it actually has all seven of the attributes above. As a result, this is a knife that never gets mentioned, rarely appears in IG photos, and hardly ever stars in an article on a shill site. But make no mistake, the Sage 5 LW is a superb EDC blade.

Well Rounded

Is the Sage 5 LW the sliciest knife in Spyderco’s line up? No. Is it the most upscale? Nope. Does it have the best steel, the best handle materials, the best lock, the best pocket clip? No, no, no, and no. But it is above average in terms of basically everything. Its slicier than average, it carries better than most, its got a good clip and lock. Its just all around good.

Nothing Sellable

Similarly, there is no blow you away feature here. There is no bleeding edge tech, new steel, or eye-catching (wallet-catching) materials. Its all a bunch of stuff that has been seen before or done before, but never quite like this. It is a pastiche of all of the good parts of a classic Spyderco design reduced to a single knife, but nothing here blows your hair back.

Lacks An Audience

Are there folks out there that HAVE TO HAVE every single Sage? Probably. There are collectors for everything but it is unlikely there are a lot of Sage series fanboys, especially now that the Para3, the Shaman, and the PM2 have really taken off as the platforms of choice for collectors and stores catering to them. So without a ravenous horde ready to buy every unit out there, the Sage 5 LW has no guaranteed fan base. It also lacks any of the buzzwords that ingratiate knives to buyers these days. Its not a flipper. It doesn’t come in three variations—carbon fiber, green micarta, or titanium. It doesn’t have a sculpted clip.

Confusing Line Up Role

So what role does the Sage 5 LW serve? Heck, how different is it from the Native 5 LW? Honestly, this is the point where the Spyderco lineup seems to start cannabalizing itself. The differences are so small and the knives are so similar that it doesn’t make sense they all exist. But, unlike with the hyper focus-group tested line ups for fast food restaurants, knife companies still use more “gut instinct” and feel to determine what to make and release. Given that, and the iterative nature of the Sage line up, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised there is a Sage 5 LW, but I’ll be damned if it makes any sense at all from a product line up perspective.

Flooded Market

Um…Sencut/Civivi/WE releases about eight knives a week. They alone are flooding the market. But then you look at Spyderco’s ninja palette swap Sprint Run strategy and it is clear that there are ton of knives to spin a knife knut’s head right now. The Sage 5 LW is likely just noise right now.

“Hidden” Functionality

There is no secret toothpick here, but what there is is a bushing. This bushing is not common on Sage knives or compression locks. The result is some of the best action on a Spyderco I have ever seen. You won’t know this by looking at the knife at Blade HQ or even seeing it in the case at a knife store. You have to handle it and handle other knives before you appreciate just how good the action is on the knife. Its super good.

Lots of Variants

Well, its the 6th knife in the Sage series, so yeah lots of variants. How is the Sage 5 the 6th knife in the series you ask? Spyderco only numbers Sages when they have a new locking mechanism. That is, in fact, the point of the series, much like the point of the Mule series is to test out steels. The Sage series tests out locks and the original Sage 5 was in Carbon Fiber, so this is really a variant of a variant. And yes, I know, carbon fiber is usually the material used on LW variants. I don’t make the nomenclature rules, I just follow them. But the end result is easy confusion and underratedness. Oh and there is an exclusive sprint of the Sage 5 LW in M4 from Blade HQ, so that knife is a variant of a variant of a variant.

The Sage 5 LW is a superb knife but an underrated one. In fact, until I saw this video, I didn’t even really know it existed. I am glad I saw it and I am glad I bought one because, man, is it a good folder. Review in the works.

Bonus: Other Underrated Knives:

TRM Nerd: People LOVE the Atom and the Neutron. There are Shadow fans out there. But the poor little Nerd, some people just don’t like it. I don’t get that. Its insanely great—small, perfectly rounded over, and slicey. Plus, unlike all other TRM knives, batches stay in stock for a long time. Okay, not really. Like 24-48 hours. Everyone else would clamor for those numbers, but for TRM, its like, kinda underwhelming.

BK16: How could one of the most heralded fixed blades of all time be underrated? Because it is better than the hype, even though the hype is insane. This is a knife literally everyone should own.

A.Purvis Progeny MR: 154CM is great. The design is clever and the fit and finish really superb. These are all sold out, but 100% worth tracking down. New run please?

Chris Reeve Mnandi: Much like the Nerd, this is the “forgotten” knife in the CRK line up. You will see two dozen pictures of a Sebenza on IG before you find a picture of a Mnandi. And it is a shame because while the Sebenza is great it is crude by comparison. There is no better gent’s knife on the planet than an old nail nick Mnandi.

Amazon Links

BK16