Spyderco Forums

Yes on Vanax.

No on plain clear and CBBL.

I gave some thought to doing some clear scales. But, ultimately I decided that they would wear awfully. Clear plastic doesn't age well.

Car headlights would be a good comparison. That would be the knife scales, with any real use.

The only downside of clear scales, for me anyway, is that they'd look pretty shabby after a couple days in my pocket.

I have clear Manix scales (the ones that got posted here and then someone--BHQ?--got in stock). They're a fun novelty, and it's cool to look at, but for Vanax I'd rather have something more appropriate to the kind of wet/dirty work that the blade would excel at.

FWIW, I have been able to polish scratches out of the scales.

In regard to wear/aging of the clear scales, I disagree that they would be horrible after even light use. If it were perfectly crystal clear like the aftermarket scales Spydergirl linked to, yes, they would be very apparently dirty very quickly. However the FRCP scales used in the prototype aren't perfectly clear, more of a frosted/cloudy look, so that would obscure the dust, grime and most of the rest of general pocket debris perfectly fine. And since it already appears frosted, if it were to get a bit more cloudy after years of use, I don't think it would be any more noticeable than your cars paint slowly getting lighter every year from environmental exposure. On top of that, the texture would further obscure/distract from normal dirt and grime that gets on it. Yeah, if you garden with it or process game it'd look pretty grody, but so would any other scales before you cleaned it. I don't see any reason it would be worse off than say a white Delica or a tan straight spine Stretch, and the translucency of the basic Manix LW isn't a nightmare to keep clean either. Yeah, I wouldn't buy it for use it at work with my hands covered by grease/oil/dirt from forklifts, but I wouldn't buy a white Delica for that either. Just like any knife, if it gets to the point that its distractingly filthy its probably time to clean it, and the Vanax SuperClean would mean you could easily do so with normal soap and water.

I would love to try Vanax SC, just not in the Manix platform first. Give us a Mule and everyone wins, because you can pick your own scales!

I’d love to see a Waterway and Siren sprint in Vanax. I’ve got a custom vanax waterway that Chad Kelly made me and its incredible! I don’t know what MSRP would look like on a production knife in vanax but it might be disproportionately expensive. I’d be very curious to know though because I’d pay a pretty big premium for a salt knife in vanax.

Hi EZ,

We're considering it, but IF we were to make a Vanax piece, we would more than likely test with a Mule Team.

sal

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:30 pm

We're considering it, but IF we were to make a Vanax piece, we would more than likely test with a Mule Team.

Yes, Please!

Now that would be a fast mule team sellout!

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:30 pm

Hi EZ,

We're considering it, but IF we were to make a Vanax piece, we would more than likely test with a Mule Team.

sal

Ah!! That is music to my ears.

sal wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:30 pm

Hi EZ,

We're considering it, but IF we were to make a Vanax piece, we would more than likely test with a Mule Team.

sal

Are there any downsides to with working with Vanax aside from its high cost?