Spyderco Sage 5 knives
Sal Glesser came up with the Sage line as a tribute to the most important locking mechanisms in the knife world. Each number keeps the same size and the same lines, but gets a different lock and different handle material. The Spyderco Sage 5 got the lock Spyderco itself is best known for: the Compression Lock.
The Compression Lock in Sage size
The Compression Lock sits on the spine side of the handle rather than on the inside. You push the lock bar aside, the blade drops free, and your fingers never come into the path of the edge. That means you can close it one-handed without having to think about where your thumb is.
The Sage size itself is deliberately modest. A blade just under eight centimetres, a handle that sits fully in the hand, and a weight you do not feel tugging in your pocket. If you want it even lighter, there is the Lightweight with FRN alongside the regular version with G10 scales, saving you tens of grams.
What changes is the steel. There are versions with powder steel for extra edge retention, with a corrosion-resistant variant for use on and around water, and with the in-house steel that Spyderco had developed for these models. You will find the same lock in a larger knife on the Spyderco Para 3.