Spyderco Sage 1 C123GPGY Folding Knife

Spyderco Sage 1 C123GPGY Folding Knife

To truly understand and appreciate knives, it helps to understand the rich history of their development. To do that, we must also properly appreciate the innovative minds that drove it. The entire Spyderco Sage Series is dedicated to this noble purpose.

Spyderco created the Sage Series to recognize the groundbreaking innovations that shaped the knife industry, specifically the form and function of the modern folding knife. Every knife in this remarkable family follows the same basic design parameters—a full-flat-ground leaf-shaped blade, an ergonomic handle design with a textured index-finger choil and thumb ramp, and a reversible wire clip. What makes each one unique, however, is that every Sage model highlights a specific lock mechanism and pays tribute to the visionary knifemaker or designer who invented it. The knives in the Sage Series also support a very worthy cause, as a portion of the sale of each knife is donated to the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Sage 1 Maxamet

The first knife in the Sage lineup was the Sage 1, which recognized knifemaker Michael Walker’s revolutionary LinerLock mechanism. This elegantly simple lock had a profound impact on contemporary folding knife design and remains one of the most popular locks in the knife industry. Although Walker is not widely known or credited as its inventor, Spyderco’s Sage 1 publicly acknowledged that fact and also recognized him for the ball-bearing detent he later developed for it.

The original Sage 1, introduced in 2008, featured lightweight carbon fiber/G10 laminate scales, skeletonized full stainless steel liners, and an open-backed construction that reduced weight and allowed easy cleaning. Its full-flat-ground blade with a satin finish was precision crafted from Crucible CPM S30V stainless steel and featured the fully accessible Trademark Round Hole. Although the LinerLock favored right-handed operation, the easily accessible blade opening hole and reversible deep-pocket wire clip also made it very friendly to left-handed users.

Stylish, practical, and ideally sized for comfortable everyday carry, the Sage 1 remained in production for more than ten years. In fact, it stood out as one of the most popular members of the Sage family, outlasting the subsequent Sage models that showcased Chris Reeve’s Reeve Integral Lock (R.I.L., aka frame lock), Blackie Collins’ Bolt-Action Lock, and the front-positioned back lock developed by Harvey McBurnette, Dick Dorough, and W.T. Fuller. Despite its long life, the original Sage 1 was discontinued in 2019—not because interest had faded, but to make way for a new direction in the evolution of the Sage Series.

Sage 1 Maxamet

All Sage models are expertly manufactured by Spyderco’s maker in Taiwan. To fully leverage the incredible quality of their craftsmanship, Spyderco has always made the extra investment to source American steel. In the case of the Sage Series, that steel was traditionally CPM S30V, a particle metallurgy stainless steel that still sets a strong standard in the knife industry. To raise the bar even further, Spyderco decided it was time to showcase more exotic American-made steels—and the reintroduction of the Sage 1 was the perfect place to start.

This version of the Sage 1 remains completely faithful to the original in terms of size, form, and function, but its blade is made from Carpenter Technology’s Micro-Melt Maxamet. This extraordinary material is a super-hard high-speed powder tool steel enriched with cobalt, vanadium, and tungsten, as well as more than two percent carbon. Its sophisticated alloy blend gives it properties that surpass conventional tool steels and approach the performance of cemented carbides—ultra-hard materials used to machine other steels.

Carpenter developed Maxamet specifically for use in the rollers of their state-of-the-art steel rolling mills. Rolling and forming red-hot steel requires a material that is incredibly hard and tough and can retain those properties even at extremely high temperatures. Maxamet’s advanced composition allows it to meet these challenges and gives it properties that offer exceptional potential when used in other applications—such as knife blades. When Carpenter first developed this remarkable alloy, they sent samples to various companies in the knife industry to evaluate it as a blade steel. Although many tried, Spyderco was one of the few companies to successfully develop the specialized methods needed to machine, heat treat, and grind this demanding material into reliable, high-performance knife blades. Today, Spyderco’s American factory leads the industry in producing knives with Maxamet blades. Spyderco also shared its hard-won expertise with its Taiwanese manufacturing facility to enable them to use Maxamet in meticulously crafted knives.

The primary advantages of Maxamet as a blade steel are its high carbide volume, extreme wear resistance, and ability to achieve very high hardness while remaining reasonably tough. In use, that means outstanding edge retention and good working toughness. Although it contains a significant amount of chromium, Maxamet’s chromium content is far lower than that of stainless steel, so it must be properly maintained and can be expected to develop a patina over time.

In keeping with Spyderco’s tradition of pairing exotic blade materials with signature handle colors, the Sage 1 Maxamet proudly features cool gray G10 peel-ply-textured scales. They are supported by full stainless steel liners that form the foundation of the knife’s LinerLock mechanism and house the deep-pocket wire clip, which is reversible for right or left-side tip-up carry.

The Sage 1 Maxamet continues to recognize one of the most significant and influential inventions in folding knife history and Michael Walker, the man behind it. At the same time, it launches a new era in the evolution of the Sage Series—and a whole new set of possibilities.

Specifications

Closed Length: 10.6 cm

Blade Style: Leaf Shape

Blade Grind: Full-Flat

Blade Finish: Satin

Liner Material: Stainless Steel

Locking Mechanism: Liner Lock

Pocket Clip: stainless steel wire (tip-up, right/left carry)