Are matching scales important to you?

For me, it depends on how much I paid for the knife. I figure an expensive custom knife should have well matched scales. Otherwise, you get what you pay for. 🙂
 
Never given it much thought and I don't expect perfection from natural materials, but I suppose if they were polar opposites I'd have some thoughts.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Never given it much thought and I don't expect perfection from natural materials, but I suppose if they were polar opposites I'd have some thoughts.
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I feel like mine are night and day. The concern is, why did it even get put together in the first place. I'm hoping they make it right but being one of a few American made knife brands, I'd expect better. I hope they make it right but no material to do basic warranty work??
 
CEOh said:
I feel like mine are night and day. The concern is, why did it even get put together in the first place. I'm hoping they make it right but being one of a few American made knife brands, I'd expect better. I hope they make it right but no material to do basic warranty work??
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Apparently they don't know till they start making the knife.
Bone eyes differently and at different depths ...ect and once they start finishing the knife off you can end up with one scale l9o
KnifeHead said:
I can only look at one side at a time :D
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Exactly.
 
meako said:
Matchng thickness..eg bone ...i hate one side normal and the other about half a fleas dick thin
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They've been at this for a while. It should be easy. I hope they exchange mine but the big letdown is that they don't have repair parts on hand. That's crazy.
 
Tony Bose said:
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 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. Lazy has nothing to do with it.
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Read the above from a master, the only problem with scales that don’t match is the owner :) You know if you actually use a knife, matching scales can age differently too annd wind up different after 20y. I have a Queen toothpick in bone that ussed to be the same colr, but the backside is now lighter, probably from sitting in water or lemon juice in the kitchen...still cuts and looks puurty.
 
brownshoe said:
Read the above from a master, the only problem with scales that don’t match is the owner :) You know if you actually use a knife, matching scales can age differently too annd wind up different after 20y. I have a Queen toothpick in bone that ussed to be the same colr, but the backside is now lighter, probably from sitting in water or lemon juice in the kitchen...still cuts and looks puurty.
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No, that would mean all the times they get it right they just got lucky? This is not a wear issue. It should have never went out w that much difference in the shades from side to side. I've seen Case knives discounted in cases from one side being lighter from sitting on display.
 
CEOh said:
No, that would mean all the times they get it right they just got lucky? This is not a wear issue. It should have never went out w that much difference in the shades from side to side. I've seen Case knives discounted in cases from one side being lighter from sitting on display.
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It's not a wear issue, but I don't see it as a warranty issue either. It's almost impossible to tell how well covers are going to match before they're hafted, glazed and buffed. When the covers are dyed they're extra dark on the surface due to the dye building up on the outside. The final shade doesn't show up until the knife is finished. There's no way for them to match them by shade beforehand, and to blame it on the manufacturer just doesn't hold up. It just happens that some pieces of bone accept dye more readily than others due to their density, etc. Most times it's pretty uniform but not always. That's just a consequence of natural materials.

Eric

PS- I'm not referring to the discounted knives from displays either. That's due to bleaching and U.V. light damage which totally justifies a discount.
 
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Un-Chained said:
If I have the choice, matching scales are the favourite. If I don’t... it comes down to the rest of the build, no regret on this one here. A return policy is paramount when I buy a knife.
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Couldn't have said it better myself. I picked this up from Ray Cover's table at a knife show so it's not like I didn't know what I was getting. Everything else about the knife is superb and I've never had any regrets.
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It doesn't really bother me at all.
Would I prefer matching? Yes, of course I would.
But non-matching bone handles is not a reason to discard a really good knife.

Bright red mark side


Deep red pile side


Reddish brown mark side


Blackish brown pile side
 
I’m actually glad this old thread was revived.

I am OCD and a perfectionist as well. This hindered me, stopping me from collecting and using slipjoints for a decade.

Thank goodness as I grow older, my thoughts and tastes change.

One thing I now appreciate is the variance in natural materials. I don’t mind the colors on bone being slightly different, and sometimes polar opposite. (Still prefer matching covers)

Regarding wood, the two sides dont need to match in color, however, if one side has a lot of character, I don’t really like the other side to have almost no character.

This being said...I love me some natural scales...it’s the beauty of nature and how natural materials react. :)

What does bug me a lot, is when one scale is thick, and one is thin...drives me crazy.
 
CEOh said:
No, that would mean all the times they get it right they just got lucky? This is not a wear issue. It should have never went out w that much difference in the shades from side to side. I've seen Case knives discounted in cases from one side being lighter from sitting on display.
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Sorry, I'll take Tony Bose's word for it.
 
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