Anyone else getting tired of black?

I like gray a lot! :)
"I see a radio and I want it painted black.....no colors anymore I want them to turn black..........."
 
Shootist, I'm the opposite! I just started using G-10 on my own stuff and I like the way it looks a lot. Previously I was a "Micarta kicks G-10's ass in a minute" type guy, but after slapping G-10 on two knives I like the look of it. I would like to try tan/natural. That looks nice, too. I have used blue and black and both are attractive. Also, just got an Ed Chavar Monocacy in trade and it is one VERY classy knife, black scales or not. If anyone thinks that "tactical" can't also be really classy-looking, too, then they need to see Ed's work up close and personal. As long as the handles fit the theme of the overall knife then I think they are fine. You wouldn't put Smurf blue G-10 scales and a black coated blade on a San Francisco style boqie, for example.
 
Absolutely!I look into my knife cases and see row after row of nearly identical looking knives. I really value the occasional Ares BM, CRKT Wasp, or Kershaw Boa or Doublecross, not to mention my green handled SIFU.Lets have more color!
 
I think the advantage of black is that it looks subdued, but gray and OD look subdued too and are infinately cooler. And when a knife is in your pocket, it's nearly invisble, even if it's pink... I'd like to see more colors.
 
Black G-10 is damn good stuff! It's not the only stuff out there and I would like to see more other options as well, but not instead of black G-10, I'd like to see other options in addition to black G-10. If a knife was put out in all manner of colors and materials, black G-10 isn't the only one that would sell, but it would sell the best. What I think most manufacturers should do is make a few (hundred, thousand) knives in different colors and materials, with most of them still in black G-10. That way the black G-10 folks can get what they want, the collectors can go crazy with all the possibilities, and the non-black G-10 people can also get what they want. I like black knives, though I like other colors too; I like G-10, though I like other materials too. If all knives were offered in a huge variety of colors and materials, my collection would be more colorful than it is now, but I would own more black G-10 than anything else, and I think many, if not most, people are the same.

Hell, I'd love a stag damascus 940, bone handled Native, green & black Ti framelock AFCK, pink Civilian, purple Matriarch, flourescent Sifu, etc., but I don't know if I'll ever see them short of custom work.

If you look at many production companies, you will see a lot of different colors, between BM's 94X, 73X, KOTM's, 770, & 690, Spydie's pink, blue, inlays, CF, micarta, MT's LCC & mini Socom colors, the two looks of the EDC, Delta Z's variety of colors & materials, Rekat's green and red, Emerson's green, Buck's variety of wood colors + PCKS, etc., there's already a lot of options out there for those who don't want black G-10.
 
I would side with those anxious for more variety becoming available in knife handles. Unlike the majority here, apparently, for the most part, I find FRN black to be more attractive than the typical textured G -10 handles. They almost instantly acquire a dusty, not-clean look, and spend the majority of their existence looking ugly, IMO.

Thanfully, since CRKT was the primary manufacturer of the first "good" knives I bought, they seem to like gray -- well at least a dark charcoal gray. I still think that aluminum handled anodized charcoal are very attractive.

I know little about the manufacturing processes of FRN, G-10, and micarta, but have a strong suspicion they can be made in any color of the rainbow. I've tried to make a case with SPyderco on their forum that lagging sales of the Calypso Jr are likely due to the "party-time" sounding name, and only black handles available. If any knife name cries out for a bunch of colors -- IMO -- that name is Calypso. We know from present and past Spyderco offerings that red, blue, pink, orange, and at least yellow are possible, in addition to black and gray. (Well, not sure of SPyderco gray)

Anodizing aluminum and titanium handles opens up a world of color possibilities. The world of stabilized and died wood, in addition to nature's colors, offers a plethora of color. Pearl, to me, is absolutely gorgeous. I think it is because I grew up thinking abalone shells were beautiful -- even if not ashtrays -- and that abalone was one of the best foods available.

I think the manufacturers are primarily to blame for the concentration of black. I think that by and large they've shown an unwillingness to experiment much. When they do some experimentation, they don't advertise it very heavily, excepting Gigand and the Fred Carter Titans. But then too, it may be us customers. Maybe sales of knives with handles other than black or SS simply haven't sold well. Even if there is a turdish quality about bead blasted titanium, at least it is gray!

Hell, I think that knives made with titanium blades, excepting military tacticals, should have the blades anodized the entire spectrum of colors. Just imagine a TNT with a turquoise blue blade, fading to gold at the point, and plum and gold blended handles. If nothing else, if such a knife were pulled in a live or die situation, if the BG laughed at the colors or combinations of them, he can at least die with a smile on his lips, as you strike ferociously while he's distracted.

I don't know why some outfit, like Gigand, doesn't offer a knife with scales in all the colors they presently use. You could carry a different colored knife every day, without the strain on the budget that would ordinarily entail. They provide wrenches with some of their models, I don't know about the Titan. Gerber has a natural for multiple scale colors, the Chameleon.

It is true that the darker knives aren't as obtrusive when clipped to one's pocket. Then again, all knives could use the SERE 2K clip, that leaves virtually no knife showing at all. I really long for the late 60s and 70s, with the sense of color and life that was so prevalent then.
 
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