Are matching scales important to you?

[comoha]

I can only look at one side at a time

Good point!

 

[artmichalek]

I've seen these folks do this operation. You can't tell what color it is till you start grinding on it. They are already on there when this happens.Many people don't understand what goes into a pocket knife, they have to get it done fast enough to make money or they would all be out of a job.

I'll freely admit that I'll never be doing this kind of work at your level, but I do understand the process. Mostly because people like you are generous enough with their knowledge to inspire hacks like me to give it a try. But as an engineer, I can't look at any manufactured product (like jigged bone) without thinking about how it could be made better. I've seen some knives where it looked like the color variation was the result of the two scales starting out different thicknesses and one being ground down more than the other. There has to be some step in this process that could be under more control.

I think Case knives are a fine value. You can give $60 for one and if you don't lose it they will last for 20 years under normal wear.

That's part of the issue though. 20 years is a long time to carry a knife that you don't think is perfect.

Lazy has nothing to do with it.

Perhaps lazy was too strong of a word, but I still can't help but thinking this could be done better.

 

[338375]

I have a true weakness.. I'm a perfectionist.

I'll use Case as my example just because they offer so many different scale options. When I first started buying Case slipjoints it really drove me nuts.
Then I came to the realization that non matching coloration was a common thing.
I have to admit I to thought at first it was just a matter of them not caring, then as time went on I learned a little more.

The only one it really bugs me on is my favorite, early red bone...
Ocassionally you can find one that has close to matching coloration.
I have an early 6347, and 6207 that are perrty close to the same coloring..
The majority of them always have one side that is dramatically darker, and it almost always ends up that the darker of the two is on the backside, which is good..

I guess its just another good reason to buy yeller knives, they are almost always a match

 

[hunterfisher808]

my uncle had an old Corvair with a pair of stock hubcaps on one side and hubcaps from an Impala on the other side. Nobody new the better....as like he said you can only see one side at a time....kinda applies here

 

[KnifeHead]

Here's a weird thing about bone and dye....I can stick 20 pieces of bone in the same container of dye for 30 days and get 20 different shades of color and varying degrees of absorbsion. It is MADDENING I tell ya. It's a miracle that any of it ever matches.

 

[Don Hanson III]

All my yellow handled VCs' match

 

[KnifeHead]

All my yellow handled VCs' match

I'm almost positive that's a fluke.

 

[CL01]

It's not stag or jigged bone, but my '04 Case Seahorse Whittler & '07 Tiny Trapper have matching orange G-10 handles, but that's probably a MUCH easier thing to do, I imagine.

Hmm, I don't think I mind if they don't match, though. I've never really gave it much thought.

However, on that note, I do have several knives with the same "color" scales on it, but they aren't exact matches either. I have a G-10 scale Seb, Case Seahorse Whittler, Case Tiny Trapper, & a Kershaw Zing, all have orange scales (Although the Zing's aren't G-10).

 

[mdauben]

In this thread, Morablades mentioned something I've been thinking about. He wrote that, in his quest to expand this growing collection of Case chestnut bone-handled knives, he had to search a store's whole inventory to find "some good matching scales."

I am kind of suprised at this. Perhaps I am just less critical than Morablades, but I don't think I have ever seen a bone handled Case without acceptably matched scales. No perfect matches, perhaps, but close enough that they both looked like the same material and the same color.

That's not too say I find matching scales totally unimportant. I just recently returned a red stag handled Case knife becuase the two sides of the knife were so totally missmatched (one one side was nice, while the other didn't even look like the same material. Totally differnent colors and texture). My experience with that knife will probably cause me to think long and hard before buying another stag handled knife sight unseen, simply because of the wide variations present.

 

[malextwo]

I spoke to Bill Ruple at a show a couple of years ago. If I understood correctly, he said originally there was little attempt by makers to match scales. That, after I told him how much I liked his knives, how many I own and, how, until late, so few of his scales do match. Besides, I can only look at one side at a time.

Mike

 

[double man]

I like both sides to match. I had the opportunity to buy a Tim Britton folder (that didn't have matching scales), or a Amherst folder that had scales that matched for about the same price. I bought the Amherst.

 

[glamdring]

I have to admit I'm pretty anal/obsessive compulsive when it comes to fit and finish. I like matched scales, that said now I will inspect the scales with a less critical eye. Since finding out how difficult it is to actually end up with a knife that has matching scales it should make them more desirable because in theory there should be less slipjoints with matching scales.

 

[rmfnla]

Well, we can recite reasons and excuses all we want but all I know is I have stag Bokers, German Eyes and others that match pretty darn well.

Then there are the Case knives that look like the scales came from two different species!

They don't have to be perfect, but reasonably close is nice.

That goes for shape as well as color & figure.

 

[knarfeng]

Matching scales? makes me no nevermind.

I only worry about the steel.

There's one in every crowd.

 

[mdauben]

Matching scales? makes me no nevermind.

I only worry about the steel.

I guess that's how I feel about bone or synthetic scale knives.

However, for something like stag or exotic materials like lapis, coral, etc. I am paying a premium price for the looks of the scale materials, so I expect it to look good (and to my eye, badly mismatched scales just don't look good)

 

[neeman]

A jigged bone is about $10 more expensive than delrin (yella)
Stag is at least $15 more expensive than bone, sometimes a third extra on the price of the knife.

So when I am paying such a premium of a knife's price because of the Stag,
I want it matched........

 

[CEOh]

Sorry to bring up an old post. Blame the search bar I guess but this knife drives me crazy. Contacted Case and was told they don't have any replacement handle material in stock. I was surprised by that.
My grip is it should've never made it into a box and left the factory. I've considered leaving it out in the sun as someone above mentioned. I have also asked that they exchange it for something similar
that they have in stock. We'll see.

 

[Ernie1980]

With wood or bone the scales need to be very close to matching for me. (Burl being an exception) For stag, a variation in character is actually preferable BUT the thickness has to be the same. I have gotten rid of a couple of stag knives I liked otherwise because of one fat scale and one skinny scale.

edit to add: I just saw how old this thread is

 

[CEOh]

With wood or bone the scales need to be very close to matching for me. (Burl being an exception) For stag, a variation in character is actually preferable BUT the thickness has to be the same. I have gotten rid of a couple of stag knives I liked otherwise because of one fat scale and one skinny scale.

edit to add: I just saw how old this thread is

It's very old. I was hesitant to revive it but also surprised that some would almost prefer a difference from side to side. I do not.

 

[Elgatodeacero]

I like covers to be well matched and I feel there is no excuse for bone or wood to not be well matched.

However, due to the material on stag I accept more variation than bone or wood, but I highly prize closely matched covers.

Here is a 33 with good stag match but not much bark (has been carried everyday for about 6-8 months so worn a bit) and a 74 with really excellent stag match and beautiful bark. I also prefer when the stag thickness and contours match and both of these are excellent in that department.