Why the hate of Zome?

[Ez556]

I've noticed across multiple platforms that whenever a Zome model is mentioned, so many people complain about it in some way. Some wish it were just a solid color, some say they don't think it'll sell well because of the coloring, and some even say that anything done in Zome is an immediate pass by them. I personally love the Zome pattern and I think it makes the knives more fun and interesting, and because of its "Japan exclusivity" it makes me more interested in any Seki models that come with it. I would like to hear some opinions of why you do or don't like Zome!

[TkoK83Spy]

I don't like it. I'm not really sure why, but I don't care what the steel is, the model knife it is, how rare it might actually be or become...it's an easy pass for me.

[Evil D]

Less about the patterns and more about just not buying those models for the pattern.

[JuPaul]

Mostly depends on the color combo for me, and if the zome "painting" looks well done and interesting.

[VashHash]

I'm not buying many knives this year and I haven't seen a zome knife that calls to me. I don't buy enduras or delicas and those are the zomes I've seen. I have other knives that fit my hand better. If I saw a knife that I was interested in and it was zome I'd still buy it. Like a SE K390 zome police 4 is something I'd probably buy. Of course I can't think of any color I wouldn't buy that configuration in. Just like the SE h1 spyderhawk. I don't care for orange or yellow handles but I still bought multiples of both of those because of the performance. I dyed one of the yellow handles black. I haven't dyed the orange because I don't care.

[jpm2]

Why is it called zome?
It's camo to me.

[Mushroom]

I like it but when something like color is as easy to change as it is, I don't find Zome patterns particularly groundbreaking.

I think there can be some really interesting color combinations and patterns achieved with Zome though.

[Mushroom]

Why is it called zome?
It's camo to me.

Via Spyderco's Website

"Zome (pronounced "zoh-may") is a class of Japanese handicrafts that focuses on dyeing textiles. This ancient art form includes many different methods of creating patterns on cloth using dyes derived from plants, flowers, fruit, and other natural sources and is closely related to many aspects of Japanese history and culture.

Inspired by this rich artistic heritage, Spyderco's Zome knives are unique variations of our lightweight models, which feature injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handles. The handles are molded in a light base color and then individually hand dyed by expert Japanese artisans. Using a technique reminiscent of traditional hiki-zome (brush dyeing), various colors of dye are hand brushed onto the handle to create distinctive, one-of-a-kind patterns. Like Japan's classical dyeing methods, the special dyes used completely permeate the FRN to permanently color it."

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C11ZFGR/993

[nerdlock]

Not hate... I actually like the green zome, if anything, because it looks like well-done camo. But the other pairings just look like solid colors muddied with black paint. And DLT'S latest exclusive could have been stellar had it gone for a solid red instead of zome so that it'll match their other red scaled exclusives. A really big miss on their part there, unless they are willing to put out an M390 red Delica someday (I don't know how plausible is this given that an M390 Delica has already been released for Bento Box).

[MFlovejp]

I ordered a zome dragonfly 2 and was excited to have something “different.” When I received it, I realized that it really is just a green/brown camo pattern. Very difficult to even see there is a pattern except under bright light.

I think it would look MUCH better in more contrasting and brighter colors. Blue/orange, toxic green/black, and red/black (which I’ve seen somewhere) are some combos I’d buy. That said, I love my little Dfly and its little splash of character.

[Sharp Guy]

I don't really hate it. I just don't care for how it looks.

Actually....I really like it because it creates a whole bunch of knives I don't want to buy

[steelcity16]

Not sure why I don't like it, but I don't. I like all my Spydies to be "stock", and I guess this triggers my OCD and make it feel like it is not "stock". I like plain old solid FRN, G10, and Micarta with the base textures. So that said, Zome is deal-breaker for me and I don't own any and won't buy any.

[ChrisinHove]

I quite the look of some of them, but one’s never come my way.

I’m not into the camouflage look, at all, though. The right to wear that belongs to the people that wear it for real, in my book.

[tonijedi]

The green ones that look like camo would be interesting with black blade. Other than that, I don't really like it.
I'm tempted to do my own zome with the green Salt 2 if it ever comes out... And if homemade zome is possible.

[The Meat man]

I am indifferent.

[Notsurewhy]

As always these things are subjective, but I'm not a fan. It reminds me of the "sponge painting" my mother did on the bathroom walls in the 90s.

Some color combos look better than others though. I saw one distributor exclusive version that literally looked like melanoma. It was unsurprisingly on a clearance site.

[Sumdumguy]

Unless the color combo is right, I am a firm no.

However, there are a couple that look nice.

[PStone]

No hate here. I really like the Zome. I just wish there were more color options other than black. Like the pink/purple one that was done a couple years ago. A Zome Pacific Salt that is green w/blue would be very hard to resist. Or that same hi-vis green w/purple too.

[clintonde]

I'll start off by saying that I'm not at all familiar with traditional "zome" and what it entails. But I think that the miss here is that all of the zome by Spyderco looks the same. There are no cool patterns/varying colors. It all winds up looking like camo or random spots across the handle. I think that there could be a lot more opportunity for Spyderco's Zome if there was more variation. But like I said, I'm not at all familiar with traditional zome and maybe this is exactly how it's supposed to be/always been done.

[blades&wrenches]

Mostly depends on the color combo for me, and if the zome "painting" looks well done and interesting.

Same