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My Para 3 Salt showed up today. I handled a few knives with the Caribbean Bi-Directional texture pattern scales at the Seconds Sale and I remember them as being more vibrant than mine, mine looks dirty already. Am I being overly harsh?

da1cyclist wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 4:29 pm

My Para 3 Salt showed up today. I handled a few knives with the Caribbean Bi-Directional texture pattern scales at the Seconds Sale and I remember them as being more vibrant than mine, mine looks dirty already. Am I being overly harsh?

My Caribbean is not what I would call a vibrant yellow. The FRN Salt scales are a much brighter yellow

I like those scale that youze guyz have!

I would like to get some solid black Bi-Directional texture pattern scales on a Native Chief.

You are looking at two kinds of materials the scales are made from. The Caribbean is made from G10, that may be the difference in the color your trying to compare.

The Yellow Salt lightweight is made from FRCP which is different from the FRN. We have a host of different materials Spyderco makes our scales from.

The lighting in your picture doesn't show the color of the scales super well, but if you are able to get a picture of them outside in the light, we can compare. I have a picture of the Para 3 Salt bumblebee from the SFO display, as well as my own PM2 Salt.

Jeb wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 5:44 pm

You are looking at two kinds of materials the scales are made from. The Caribbean is made from G10, that may be the difference in the color your trying to compare.
....

His Para 3 Salt has G10 scales too tough, just like the Caribbean.
The difference in color (if there is one, I don´t know) might have something do with the different factories they are made in? (Golden vs Taichung)

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 10:53 pm

Jeb wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 5:44 pm

You are looking at two kinds of materials the scales are made from. The Caribbean is made from G10, that may be the difference in the color your trying to compare.
....

His Para 3 Salt has G10 scales too tough, just like the Caribbean.
The difference in color (if there is one, I don´t know) might have something do with the different factories they are made in? (Golden vs Taichung)

Oh, I bet your right on the place where they were made.

Jeb wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 10:57 pm

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 10:53 pm

Jeb wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 05, 2026 5:44 pm

Oh, I bet your right on the place where they were made.

Maybe, but it is just a guess.
I don´t own either a G10 Golden or a G10 Taichung Salt myself.

Well I did have both, but I dyed the PM 2 red and black to make me a Texas Tech Red Raiders GameDay knife. So I don't have it to compare to my Caribbean...lol

Here is my Caribbean next to a Tasman Salt 1 and a Ladybug 3 Salt. The FRN is a much brighter shade than the G10

The color between the Caribbean and PM2 Salt is very similar. The PM2 scales are less glossy than the Caribbean. Your para 3 looks like my Paramilitary 2 Salt.

8th_Note wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 06, 2026 8:07 am

Here is my Caribbean next to a Tasman Salt 1 and a Ladybug 3 Salt. The FRN is a much brighter shade than the G10

IMG_20260106_100219689_HDR.jpg

That is G10 vs FRN and if you had some of the frcp, it's even lighter color of yellow, but they are different material... going to be very hard to park all these on top of each other evenly...

I just tried to dye my Caribbean to the red and black I was wanting it. It flat out wouldn't take the red Dye. It went a little more than a pink, but that was it lol.

So there are certainly scales for some odd reason that just won't dye like others and being made from the same material.

I have ended up putting these scales in the dye remover and going to start all over with these. So your yellow may be some that just didn't won't anything to do with the dye...

I have done several sets of the G10 yellow and black to the red and black now and this is the first time I have had any trouble getting them red.

At the point I am now with my Caribbean, I am hoping it's Turing red as I type this lol. Otherwise it may get a set of something else or worse yet get thrown in my parts box YIKES lol...

Won't be the first time that sort of stuff happened around here, nor would it be the last.