Black Knives Matter

[Bolster]

My older Spydercos are nearly all black handled. (I remember when the Persian was made in a red handle and everybody went a little nuts.) Nowdays, unique handle color appears to be a major consideration for purchase. Currently, for models which have multiple versions and steels, the black handle seems to indicate the entry-level steel. This makes me a little sad.

I like black handled knives. In nearly all situations I can think of, I don’t want a pocket knife to call attention to itself (the one exception being an outdoor knife that is often laid on the ground—a rare occurrence for me, I use either pocket or sheath). I recently purchased the orange XHP native chief (good price, good steel) but have yet to give it any pocket time becauase of the orange beacon that signals “knife in pocket!”

At the risk of soundling like a cranky old-timer (but at least that’s being honest), I’d like to see black handled scales used for some of the upgraded steels, too. I think that screw construction does give us a lot of freedom to “subdue” knives of even the craziest colors, so I’m glad that’s a trend.

(Counting the seconds until Vivi posts his tri-color Rasta Rit knife...)

[Manixguy@1994]

I would never accuse my younger brother cranky. I get what you are saying and have a bunch of black scale knives . I have seemed to have a growing amount of blue scale knives and also have same orange . Plan on some scale mods on a couple black scale knives next year just to personalize them to my taste in Micarta burlap . I think it’s refreshing and creative when someone puts their stamp on a knife . Nothing wrong with Black though. Dan

[James Y]

I generally prefer my knife scales to be black. Especially G10 scales. My S35VN PM2 that I carry a lot has brown scales, which I'm OK with, but i wouldn't have complained if they were black.

I guess I'm just a boring guy.

Jim

[tbdoc4kids]

My favorite color is green, so I gravitate towards that handle color. I have found that the general public seems to find black handles more “threatening”, though this makes little sense to me. Of course, I also own a black lab, and people also find black dogs less appealing at shelters. Fortunately Duke is a very social guy and can win them over. My knives just don’t have that same ability!

[JSumm]

Get out of here old man and give me my color!





I am joking, ignore me. I see what you are saying Bolster. Most the upgraded steels come from exclusives. I wonder if there is just a built in pressure to differentiate the exclusives from standard. Knife Center has boldly gone black with their smooth G10. I bet it would not hurt sales at all if an upgraded steel used black for an exclusive. I doubt Spyderco themselves would do it as to not confuse between the standard models. I think that is an established norm for them that would be hard to change. But it would be cool to see something like K390 on a black Native Chief for example. Though I will not lie, that subdued grayish blue they use on a the Sekis converted to a G10 on a Chief. Oh my goodness.

[Raylas]

I prefer colorful knives, just for variety.

I have too much black G10, Forest Green, and Grey in my collection. I like things with different looks.

[Bolster]

Get out of here old man and give me my color!

Get off my lawn, JSumm! (OK, I admit, those photos are easy on the eye...but some are threatening...to my masculinity.)

I was unaware that the public considered a black handled knife more threatening. The implication being that I'd be better off with a hot pink Hello-Kitty knife.

And while I'm at it: What is the deal with shiny chrome pocket clips? I don't get it.

[JSumm]

I don't think black is more threatening. Not even with a DLC coated blade. Well maybe a pink hello kitty would cause confusion and disorientation before a good stabbing. But someone feeling uncomfort by a large knife is going to be uncomfortable with a large knife. I don't think black scales adds to that. I think a built in pressure to differentiate is the issue.

[vandelay]

I have trouble getting excited for a new knife if I already have some with the same handle color. Cool colors and brown tend not to stand out, so they're fine to carry. I really like the look of the S110V series. I wish there would be more models like that.

Bright colored scales have their place. Pretty hard to lose track of a bright orange/yellow knife. I'm not sure that really fits on more expensive models since I'm more careful to not lose those.

I have found that the general public seems to find black handles more “threatening”, though this makes little sense to me.

Huh that's the opposite of what I would have expected. I would have thought an orange/yellow FRN handle would be least threatening because it looks like some sort of construction tool.
What color tends to be most threatening? (aside from camo)

[Sharp Guy]

I have knives in a whole bunch of different colors including black. I have at least 4 or 5 base models with black G10 or FRN/FRCP and, even though I have upgraded versions of those same models, I've kept them around because they have better actions than sprints and exclusives. Plus I kind of like the base steels. I also like carrying a knife with a black handle sometimes. I've said before that I like variety and that includes black handles

[varossdg]

Thank you! Totally agree!

It's cool to see the cool handle colors and I know some distributors have their own exclusive color.

Sometimes I would like m4 or 20cv or s30v, but done need/like jade g10, mint, electric green, or teal.

A black or grey or chocolate richlite(!) Delica or native 5 in s30v/s35vn/s45vn would be sweet.

I do really like the blue knifejoy used for their endura and delica....to completely contradict myself.

[ladybug93]

Get out of here old man and give me my color!

Get off my lawn, JSumm! (OK, I admit, those photos are easy on the eye...but some are threatening...to my masculinity.)

I was unaware that the public considered a black handled knife more threatening. The implication being that I'd be better off with a hot pink Hello-Kitty knife.

And while I'm at it: What is the deal with shiny chrome pocket clips? I don't get it.

i tried to walk into legoland with my yellow native salt thinking they'd be least offended by it since everyone says it's blocky like a lego and the bright yellow makes it look like a toy. they were not amused when they saw it. they completely freaked out like i had never seen before and were very proud they caught me (i put the knife in the tray for them to see, so it's not like i was sneaking it). i'll never forget the "security" holding up my native and proclaiming, "this is why we're here!" before sending me back to my car with it. all that to say, people will still be offended by less threatening colors.



when i got my m2lw in hershey brown, i basically realized i care less about handle color than i thought. there are some colors i don't care for, but if i wanted the knife bad enough, i'd probably still buy and carry them. there's always dye and aftermarket scales to fall back on, but i've never dyed a knife even when i planned to do so, like the caribbean.

at this point, i'm mostly fine with black or earth tones. i'm looking at modding most knives now anyway because it's fun to make it my own.

[JSumm]

That's true! Bolster, I almost bought that CTS-XHP Native and RIT Dyed it a dark red. That is always an easy option to get that thing in your pocket more. Or go all the way and dye it black.

[Manixguy@1994]

Get out of here old man and give me my color!

Get off my lawn, JSumm! (OK, I admit, those photos are easy on the eye...but some are threatening...to my masculinity.)

I was unaware that the public considered a black handled knife more threatening. The implication being that I'd be better off with a hot pink Hello-Kitty knife.

And while I'm at it: What is the deal with shiny chrome pocket clips? I don't get it.

Little brother , I’m not a big fan of shiny clips and if I decide to keep on knife I mod the clip .Dan

[Coastal]

For me, it depends on the knife and to a great extent on the handle material. A fixed blade, or a blacked-out Pac Salt or Autonomy, I'm all in! Carbon fiber, ebony, or polished G-10, take my money!

On the other hand, a design has to interest me a lot for me to purchase a base model in VG-10 with black FRN or G-10. A great example is the first Stretch 2 XL. Another will be the Enuff 2, when it arrives. But there aren't many base models that excite me like those do.

Several months ago I suggested Spyderco make their base models with gray scales and reserve black for their blacked-out models. Sal thought it was an interesting idea, but I believe this is the first time the topic of black handles has come up since. I think, for me at least, after almost four decades with them, I just find black handles boring. Nothing wrong with them, but 9 times out of 10, I won't be buying or carrying a black-handled knife if something else is available.

[mikey177]

I'm okay with black handled knives, except when taking colored candy photos.

I would have missed out on many good models such as the Rockjumper and Mantra 3 if I waited for an exclusive in a color that I liked.

I'll take a black handle over jade G10 or the black & yellow Caribbean scales any day.

[kennethsime]

Green. Any color green and I’m happy. Brown is ok, too.

[RustyIron]

Hey! Cheer up you guys!
Put away your safety pins!
Get some color in your lives!

[vivi]

The nice thing about liking black knives is it's super easy to dye them. I'm not a fan of the bright green LC200N scale color so I dyed one black.

[Scandi Grind]

I like black mostly because it is very practical. It doesn't cause attention to itself. However I also like other colors, my favorite somehow being the admittedly somewhat obnoxious mint green. I'd take most of my knives in that color even though it is not discreet. I also bought a blue Endura just for something different, but I am hoping I'll get around to dying it something darker and more teal, similar to what Spyderco uses on their K390 knives, or maybe something like their Spy 27 knives. I like color, but also consider low profile to be a good thing in general, so darker blues and greens strike the best middle ground for me.

But I could still carry mint green all the time if I could get my hands on one.