How important is scale color?

[kerrcobra]

Color is sort of important to me. I hate yellow, red and orange; however, if the knife is a model and steel I want, then I will look past the color of the scales (e.g. the Rex45 sprint runs). I am deeply drawn to blue scales though, so I will buy just about anything with a blue handle.

[DSH007]

My primary motivation for buying a new knife is usually to try out a design or steel that is new to me. Scale color doesn't play much of a role for me when selecting a knife.. unless I really despise it (most Zome options, any sort of flamboyant pastels or "rainbow" anodization..yuck). Perhaps due to what I'm pretty sure a psychiatrist would categorize as OCD, I strongly dislike mix & match scale sets haha. I'm also not a huge fan of CF, but I won't let it ruin a knife for me if I think I'll really enjoy the design.

Some colors are not my preference, but I can get behind them if they are an intended feature of the knife's design.. i.e. I very much appreciate a high-visibility yellow Salt knife when working in/around the water. I don't generally like to carry bright orange or red scaled knives, but I can see where the color is useful in snowy or woodsy conditions if you dropped your knife, so I like them for that reason. Situational uses I guess, where the color just makes sense, I can get on board with..

Generally though, I tend to be a simple person, and I'm fine with pretty much any solid scale color that isn't too flashy. I even really like "boring" black. Fortunately for me, the overwhelming majority of the Spyderco lineup falls into this category..

[Doc Dan]

I like black. I like blue, grey, and earth tones. I like orange and hi viz green for outdoors. I like blue earth tones, olive drab dark, flat dark earth, dark chocolate brown.

[Tucson Tom]

There is little as bleh as a grey blade with grey scales and grey hardware.

I actually really dig the grey scales/black blade/black hardware combination. And the grey scales on the Maxamet Manix and Native are totally fine with me. I think they'd take Rit Dye really well, though, if I didn't like them.

This is probably my favorite Manix 2 and it'll be with me tomorrow

Yes!! That knife. It might be the best looking Spyderco that has ever been produced. Having the liners done in black really adds a lot! I was admiring mine just yesterday, funny you should post this just now -- I'll carry it this week in celebration.

This might be one of my first and only knives with a black DLC coating. This is another thing I had to learn about and revise my opinions on. DLC is fantastic stuff. I always figured a knife with a black coating would look like a junkyard dog in no time with the coating scratched off and gouged in places. And this may well be true in some use cases, but for me it has proven totally bulletproof so far.

[Sharp Guy]

There is little as bleh as a grey blade with grey scales and grey hardware.

I actually really dig the grey scales/black blade/black hardware combination. And the grey scales on the Maxamet Manix and Native are totally fine with me. I think they'd take Rit Dye really well, though, if I didn't like them.

This is probably my favorite Manix 2 and it'll be with me tomorrow

Yes!! That knife. It might be the best looking Spyderco that has ever been produced. Having the liners done in black really adds a lot! I was admiring mine just yesterday, funny you should post this just now -- I'll carry it this week in celebration.

This might be one of my first and only knives with a black DLC coating. This is another thing I had to learn about and revise my opinions on. DLC is fantastic stuff. I always figured a knife with a black coating would look like a junkyard dog in no time with the coating scratched off and gouged in places. And this may well be true in some use cases, but for me it has proven totally bulletproof so far.

I prefer satin or stonewashed blades but I somehow ended up with several with DLC. I don't think I've actually scratched one yet. It does pick up marks from the material you're cutting but that's easily removed with metal polish (Flitz, Blue Magic, etc).

Last night I used a BD1 Manix 2 LW to cut several shipping boxes into tiny pieces. Side note: after all that cardboard cutting I still don't see why people think BD1 is so bad. Anyway, I realized how much I like my Manix 2s. They don't get enough attention from me. So this is going to be Manix week for me. Starting with the grey/DLC 52100.

[TkoK83Spy]

For whatever reason, that's one we never really see here! I agree, it's definitely one of the best...now after seeing your pic Pat, makes me wonder if I made the right decision with my swap...because CLEARLY color combos matter :p I started to have too many burnt orange/satin combos so I needed to switch one up! Man, I do miss it in its original format too :confused:

[aicolainen]

I was going to say it depends, but thinking it through, it matters more than I realized. Or to put it in other words; it rarely don't matter at all.
I usually buy knives for their function, and color is often a part of that. To some extent at least. A good designer will choose an appropriate color that suits the items intended purpose.
For EDC I usually prefer subdued and neutral colors that doesn't attract attention. What it is specific color it is within that range might not be as important.
For general outdoor, SAR duty, hiking etc. color serves a more specific purpose. I want the knives to be visible and I want them to be non threatening. Yellow or bright orange works well for that.

I avoid anything that's limited, so I don't really have to make up my mind about all the flavors of sprint run scales out there, and usually the regular production models have scale colors that are well suited to my intended use.
One of my only two limited production (Spyderco) knives, is the Cutleryshoppe P3, which I wanted primarily for its scale color. So there's that.

Living in northern Europe, aftermarket parts usually has to be imported from the US which takes forever to get here and cost a lot. So even though scale color can be modified in some ways, I prefer to buy knives ready to go out of the box, if I can.

[SG89]

For whatever reason, that's one we never really see here! I agree, it's definitely one of the best...now after seeing your pic Pat, makes me wonder if I made the right decision with my swap...because CLEARLY color combos matter :p I started to have too many burnt orange/satin combos so I needed to switch one up! Man, I do miss it in its original format too :confused:


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Halloween will be here soon!

[BobABQ]

I like colors other than black for handle scales. For me I would absolutely love to see the Lil’ Native backlock in the purple G10. I wouldn’t even need an upgrade blade steel either. give it to me in S30v and I am happy.

[phaust]

I'll buy anything dark and don't care past that. Bright colors stick out too much in the pocket, and with G10 in particular, light colors get dirty and nasty looking too quickly.

[ladybug93]

I like colors other than black for handle scales. For me I would absolutely love to see the Lil’ Native backlock in the purple G10. I wouldn’t even need an upgrade blade steel either. give it to me in S30v and I am happy.

as long as it's dlc, i'm with you. that new pm2 looks so sweet.

[ykspydiefan]

Hey standy99, nice scales. How good is the glow? How long does it last, how intense is the glow?

Thanks

[BobABQ]

I like colors other than black for handle scales. For me I would absolutely love to see the Lil’ Native backlock in the purple G10. I wouldn’t even need an upgrade blade steel either. give it to me in S30v and I am happy.

as long as it's dlc, i'm with you. that new pm2 looks so sweet.

I can live with DLC.

[Bamalt1]

I'm more interested in the steel than the scale color since I can always get new scales.

[FRNFanboy]

I don’t obsess over it, but I have to admit I never got used to the blurple.

[JohnAPA]

Black knives matter. There, I said it.

[Beach Cricket]

The color is black. Wait, what was the question?

Actually yellow, orange, and burnt red scales are in the mix here! :spyder:

[acer]

If I have a choice of colour I will always pick the colour I want. My collection has all different colours users I try to keep darker most of the time,.

[MichaelScott]

If I was smart I’d buy all my knives in bright colors.

But, I’m not.

[JMM]

I'd say scale colour & material are probably the last things I consider when buying a knife, the model, steel, ergos, & lock are way more important in my buying decisions.