Alternative to black G-10 -- Optional 2nd color choice for regular production knives?

[Ned]

I love the sound of dark grey. Coyote brown sounds good too.

[twinboysdad]

natural/clear just like the Leafstorm!!

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

I would reeeeeally like to see a charcoal grey. A really good dark navy and burgundry would be nice too. I'd be excited about a foliage green in a darker shade...

[aquaman67]

Any of the Manix sprint run colors wouid be great.

[paladin]

"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." __Henry Ford :eek:

Sal, of course, is a lot more flexible than ol' Henry. :spyder:

I'm all in with the Twins on the natch G10... :)

And of course the white FRN would be a great option also. :cool:

Most of you guys thought it was a good idea about a year ago too: :)

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... =white+frn

[xceptnl]

I wouldn't say most of us, but I see some interest. Bumped old thread for the halibut.

[mark greenman]

I think it would be the most practical to have knives produced in black, with a "Spyderco Custom Shop" of different color FRN and G10 handles available exclusively at the SFO that could be purchased separately for Spyderco's core 4 (Endura, Delica, PM2, Manix 2).

Producing a run of colored handles should cost quite a bit less than producing a 1200 piece minimum for each color of knife, allowing a wider variety of colors to be produced. It would also allow you to swap colors of your existing knives, much like you change the color of your shirts.

[Strong-Dog]

I think it would be the most practical to have knives produced in black, with a "Spyderco Custom Shop" of different color FRN and G10 handles available exclusively at the SFO that could be purchased separately for Spyderco's core 4 (Endura, Delica, PM2, Manix 2).

Producing a run of colored handles should cost quite a bit less than producing a 1200 piece minimum for each color of knife, allowing a wider variety of colors to be produced. It would also allow you to swap colors of your existing knives, much like you change the color of your shirts.

It's the same thing though, right? The only difference would be you would void your warranty while installing them yourself, or you could buy the knife from spyderco with the different colors. For FRN it's just different dyes, you wouldn't need to re-tool anything. Same with G10. Or am I missing something?

[razorsharp]

OD Green and Coyote brown... Like strider does

[TomAiello]

Spyderco's core 4 (Endura, Delica, PM2, Manix 2).

Are those the top 4 by sales numbers?

[Spydersense]

I like the sound of dark blue and charcoal gray.

[Holland]

White! dye it whatever you want. Or i would be satisfied with blue or orange

[mark greenman]

It's the same thing though, right? The only difference would be you would void your warranty while installing them yourself, or you could buy the knife from spyderco with the different colors. For FRN it's just different dyes, you wouldn't need to re-tool anything. Same with G10. Or am I missing something?

Well, a completed, colored knife represents a much larger upfront investment for Spyderco than a colored handle. I'm not certain, but I recall that at least the Japanese made versions had a 1200 piece minimum? Which is why Sprints are 1200 pieces. When you're talking about making 1200 knives, that's tens of thousands of dollars in upfront investment, whereas making just the handles should be much lower. Lower investment threshold will allow for a wider variety of colors to be produced, and reduces the risk to Spyderco should this actually be a terrible idea.

Are those the top 4 by sales numbers?

I have no idea, but I think it's safe to assume they're all in the top 10. The Delica/Endura have been in the top 10 forever, and given the tremendous interest in the PM2 and Manix 2, and the phenomenal value they offer, and general practicality, it's a safe bet that they're quite popular as well.

I just call them the Core 4 because those are the 4 knives I see of Spyderco's that have the most universal appeal, and Core 4 rhymes :)

Additionally, these are the popular models that have screw together construction, and have an established history of custom scales being produced for them in a variety of materials.

[Gunslinger]

I love grey g10, it's my favorite. Foliage green is nice too.

[DougC-3]

Well, a completed, colored knife represents a much larger upfront investment for Spyderco than a colored handle. I'm not certain, but I recall that at least the Japanese made versions had a 1200 piece minimum? Which is why Sprints are 1200 pieces. When you're talking about making 1200 knives, that's tens of thousands of dollars in upfront investment, whereas making just the handles should be much lower. Lower investment threshold will allow for a wider variety of colors to be produced, and reduces the risk to Spyderco should this actually be a terrible idea.

I have no idea, but I think it's safe to assume they're all in the top 10. The Delica/Endura have been in the top 10 forever, and given the tremendous interest in the PM2 and Manix 2, and the phenomenal value they offer, and general practicality, it's a safe bet that they're quite popular as well.

I just call them the Core 4 because those are the 4 knives I see of Spyderco's that have the most universal appeal, and Core 4 rhymes :)

Additionally, these are the popular models that have screw together construction, and have an established history of custom scales being produced for them in a variety of materials.

I see your point and dig your jive, but let's add the Millie and call it Core 5 :D

Certain people would also want the Native 5 G-10 included, but the new light weight FRN Native 5 will no doubt cut into its sales.

And by the way, we're already getting a lot of FRN colors with the Delica and Endura, but this could apply to G-10 versions if there's a big enough market for them.

Several things seem pretty clear from all this:

I guess we already knew a lot of people wanted other colors of G-10 knives and that it would be too expensive to produce each model in several colors. Also there's a lot of interest in subdued "earth colors," for more heavy duty knives, like green, brown, tan, charcoal gray, olive drab, foliage, and ranger green. We could have a poll to see if one color stands out (I would vote for a slightly darker foliage green!). There's also a contingent of people who want orange or smurf blue, and they tend to be men of few words who know exactly what they want :D

If we could agree on a color, and if Sal went along with it, it could be market tested as a second default production color choice on maybe one or two knife models.

Having scale kits in different colors would be great for us afis, but it would have to be tested to see if it appeals to the general knife buying public.

There's also a demand for white, or maybe light gray, as a second default choice or maybe as a scale kit, for dying purposes, but I think it would appeal only to hard-core afis. There's an appeal to modding a knife, but I think generally more people would like to get the color they like as a genuine Spyderco-done job.

And don't forget, the people who wanted ready availability of other colored Fords finally won out :D

[D1omedes]

Navy blue, for me.

[DougC-3]

Well guys, I don't know where this is going, but I started a poll :D

I voted, so, so far it's Foliage/Ranger/Olive Drab 100%, everything else "0" :)

[v8r]

I'm down with pretty much any shade of green. Foliage was
One of my favorites, but a lime green would be awesome.

[Clip]

I think one of the things I recognize most about Spyderco is the unique color assigned to certain exclusives and sprints. Therefore, I'm not a fan of offering multiple G10 colors for the same knife (unless its a sprint or exclusive). I picture this turning into Hindererville where everyone that wants to sell a PM2 has 12 different scales to go with it and about 3 lbs of different screws and backspacers to match :)

This isn't to say I only want black G10, but if a model is popular enough it will probably have a different color and steel associated soon.

[computernut]

Having different coloured G10 does make it easier to distinguish different Sprints. It seems to be only the FRN handled knives that have multiple colours available at once. If a factory scale really bothers me that much I'll probably invest in some 3rd party ones.