There are a lot of top-selling Spyderco Knives on our website, among them the Para 2, Smock, Para 3, Shaman, Chaparral and Manix 2.

So why might a model like the Spyderco Sage 5 be called the best Spyderco knife of the bunch when there are so many others?

That has to do primarily with 5 key things - not that any other Spydie isn’t a great buy, but here’s our take on why this might be one of the best.

Blade Profile

The blade profile on the Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight is actually completely in league with the brand’s standard leaf-shaped aesthetic.

But there’s something more aggressive about this one that can only be matched for toughness by a sheepsfoot or maybe a tanto point.

This leaf-shape is nearly a spear point, a lot less delicate than what you’d find in other models like the Para 2, Para 3, or even the Tenacious.

This broad leaf shape makes for a high grind and leaves a lot of blade stock, which makes it a tough little blade. Don’t abuse it, but we have a feeling that even if you did it wouldn’t quit.

It also makes for a blade that can take some tough cutting tasks.

In this particular case, though it isn’t just about the blade profile, it’s also about the grind. The full flat grind is unrivaled here (as in other models) for slicing tasks.

Blade Steel

All in all, the blade steel is probably the single biggest thing to love about the Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight. In this case, it’s CPM S30V.

Now, if you’re not familiar with this particular Crucible Metallurgies Steel, it’s a martensitic stainless alloy whose main calling card is that it’s full of carbide-forming vanadium.

Why should this matter to you? Well, the rich vanadium content of 4% means that there are a lot of carbides that offer excellent edge retention, so you can go longer between sharpening sessions.

The other thing is that vanadium is a dense element that makes the steel a lot tougher and able to withstand impact and general abuse. It also makes the alloy more wear resistant.

But that’s not all that S30V offers. It’s also packed with molybdenum, at 2%, which also improves toughness, as well as 1.45% carbon, which assists with edge retention.

It’s also loaded with chromium at 14%, making it fairly corrosion resistant without making it too soft. All in all, it offers a pretty good balance of toughness, edge retention, and corrosion resistance, without being impossible to resharpen.

Definitely its two strongest attributes as an alloy are edge retention and toughness, though - which are two of the things that just might make this the best Spyderco knife on our website.

The Scales

This thing is called the Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight for a reason: it’s made with FRN, or fiberglass-reinforced nylon scales.

Now, if this is your first foray with FRN, you’re going to be shocked at how lightweight they feel - hence the moniker of this knife.

It’s the nylon, chiefly, which is a low density synthetic. The thing about nylon is that it’s not just light, it’s also not that strong.

Not when you reinforce it with fiberglass, though - then it’s nearly as tough as iron. Seriously, if you’ve never handled FRN before you will not believe how tough it is.

But unlike iron, it is a fraction of the weight, and on top of that, FRN is basically immune to corrosion and other such ills. It can get wet and stay wet, and nothing’s going to happen to it.

So you get a really lightweight knife that needs very little care. The other thing is that the scales of the Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight feature tactile texturing that makes it sure to grip in all conditions, including when wet and slick.

The Lock

The Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight is made with a Compression Lock, a unique type of lock specific to Spyderco that is one of the best lock types out there, bar none.

The Compression Lock, developed by Spyderco in 2000, is basically a liner lock, but on the other side of the blade. It’s on the top instead of wedged within the liners under the blade.

The thing is a Compression Lock is stronger than a liner lock, but more importantly, you can engage and disengage a Compression Lock without putting your fingers in the path of the blade when closing.

This is the sort of thing you need to experience. You can read about it all you want but you won’t really get the value of it until you get one in your hand.

And the Sage 5 Lightweight is probably the best Spyderco knife to introduce you to it.

Overall Size and Weight

Lastly, two things that make the Spyderco Sage 5 great in most respects are the overall size and weight. It’s neither too large nor too small to be practical in most scenarios, which is one of the things that makes it a great Spyderco knife.

This Spydie only weighs 2.7 ounces and its dimensions are great, too. It has a 4.17” handle and a 3” blade with an overall length of 7.13”.

It’s like literally the perfect middle ground. A 3” blade can do pretty much anything a smaller blade can and almost anything a larger blade can, and at this size and weight, carrying it for multiple days at a time would be a breeze.

You’d forget it’s even there - that is, until you actually had a need for it. And that’s a great thing about this Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight.

Here for a Spyderco Sage 5 Lightweight? Get It Here

Not sure if the Sage 5 Lightweight is the best Spyderco knife out there for you? No worries, we carry a wide range of other popular Spyderco models. Take a look through our full collection and get in touch with us at WhiteMountainKnives@gmail.com if you have any questions before buying.