Colors other than Basic Black

F

FullerH

Joined
Nov 25, 1998
Messages
12,632
Sal, I know that you are not Henry Ford, so might you consider offering some of your non-tactical knives in colors ther than basic black? In a post in a thread on the BM 940 over in the General Forum, I noted that it is available in other colors, and that I like the green in which I bought mine. I also noted that I believe that offering knives in colors is the next step in knife marketing as many people seem to feel as I do, that we are not tactical and that we do not need our tools looking tactical. They don't need to be in wild colors, but something other than black is nice. Remember what happened to Ford when he stuck by the "basic black" and the "cars need only as many cylinders as cows have teats" philosophy? That was when Chevrolet first surpassed Ford to become the number one selling automobile, and they did it by offering what people wanted, larger V-8 engines and other colors.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
You know what, you're right. Damn right! I'm with you on this all the way.

So, anyone else think Spydercos should have bigger engines?
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I think the teats should be pink micarta
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I Love micarta


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><CHINOOK*>
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Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
 
Several months ago, I would have pushed harder to keep basic black(classic black) as the core handle scheme. But now that a solid Martial Bladecraft line has materialized, and the obvious tac-models in the regular line up have seemingly distinguished themselves from most of the general use models, I say go to town with the colors on the general use models.
Black has a proven longevity as far as style goes and has functional appeal as well, I nor
anyone should be afraid of black going out of style.

Ken
 
I ducked this one before, but I decided "To H*ll with it" and I am not going to duck it any longer. Black, tactical-looking knives tend to be scarier looking to the hoplophobic or even neutral among us than do other, warmer colored, knives. As a practicing Quaker who is also a practicing knife carrier I get quite a bit of exposure to these people, both hoplophobe and neutral, and I have noted that the BM940 tends to alarm them less than does the, say, Spydie Endura. If you want to hear something truly weird, I have carried the Carnivour that I won back in 1999 and it has medium brown G10 scales on it. Even my knife-hating wife prefers it to such knives as my StarMate, let alone my Military. In my opinion, the Carny is very much nastier looking that a StarMate, but the medium brown scales do, indeed, give it a warmer, friendlier look. The bottom line is that it just might make it easier for those of us who have to live and work with hoplophobes if our knives were in warmer, friendlier colors.

Now, I know that I am going to catch H*ll for wimping out here, but let's get real. If you live in an urban environment, as I do, then you live cheek to jowl with about 100 other people and nothing that you do is going to go unnoticed, so you must learn to live with it or you must find some way to earn a living outside of said urban area. I hope to retire soon and to leave, but, until then, I must live with people in my hip pocket and try get along. And, if a colored knife will make that easier, so be it.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller

[This message has been edited by FullerH (edited 11-07-2000).]
 
I'll betcha those grey Matriarchs will scare people!
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I've got a Pink Cricket, Red Snap-it and an Orange Remote Release. I guess that's a start.
 
Well, yess, Mr. Olivaw, the blade on a Matriarch, as the blace on a Civilian, would scare H*ll out of most folks whatever the color of the scales. But those iare purely tactical weapons, not tools.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
Hi Sal!
I like EMT blue, FD Red, Bright Yellow, and International Orange. I am also tired of Black.

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Although it does not mindfully keep guard in the small mountain fields, the scarecrow does not stand in vain
Bukkoku
 
I would also like to see colours other than black, but subdued functional colours like olive drab, khaki, and grey -- not bright or showy colours.

The problem with colours other than black is that any dirt shows more, so black will always have its place.

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Carlos
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"..And in those days the mad prophet Glesser did come unto the knife knuts, and He did speak of The Hole, and the knife knuts did see that The Hole was good, saying 'Yea, and verily shall we carry holes all the days of our lives!'"
-- The Hole Bible, by Ken Cook
 
While some knives serve a pure tactical purpose,most are everyday carriers.
Probably the most non-threatening Spydercos are the Rescue Jr. in Orange.and the Pink Delicas. Color does have a lot to do with peoples perceptions.I would love to see the Enduras offered in anything but Black and Stainless.
 
I can see flourescent orange for the rescue or for knives like the Snap-it but, on the whole, the colors that I had in mind were browns, greens(including olive), blues (navy, torquoise, medium), somewhat subdued reds, and even grey. What I don't see are the kind of colors that you used to see on cars in the late 1950s and into the 1960s, you know, bright pinks and purples, that sort of thing.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
Hugh,
I guess alot of where people stand on this subject regarding comforting the people around you is per individual values of how you feel you should interact with the world. If you are one of those people who are honestly just wanting a change in color scheme in the general-use line, I can understand that point of view.
However, I will not compromise my lifestyle(which is largely influenced by my training) for the people around me. If I by my training and choice wish to carry multiple black-tac knives on my person at work(office building environment in downtown), that is my business and people are going to have to exercise the same tolerance for me as I exhibit towards them expressing religious and political views(among other things). I hope not too many knife people 'bend' for their environments, afterall, we are the ones whose rights are being challenged.
I agree that colors affect many peoples perceptions of what something is all about(not necessarily knives), but I also know most of them are wrong, and they realize this(most of the time) when they get more exposure and greater understanding of a thing. They can't get that if I'm always bending for their comfort level.
I hope you don't consider this as me throwing you H*ll, I just feel strongly about how knife people can positively 'redress' their environments if they hold their ground and take on some of the burden of educating the people around them. There are a couple of people I've been working with(in a subtle manner) for a few years, with some positive results.

Ken
 
Ken, your choice is Martial Arts and you are tactically trained. You, therefore, have a preference for tactical knives. I would not gainsay you that preference, that is your right and I support you in it, just as I support Jim March in his love of mega-foders and in his desire to carry a concealed weapon. I happen to live in a relatively civilized commonwealth which has a "shall issue" concealed carry law, but I am also a Quaker by convincement, which means that, for me, carrying weapons is not an option for religious reasons. I do carry one or more knives, and I tire of people accusing me of carrying weapons when I am NOT carrying them, at least not in my mind. I am carrying mankind's most useful tool. I simply think that it would be a lot easier for folks like me if we had the option of buying our favorite knives (note that I didn't say tools) in colors other than basic black. But, mind you, I would NEVER deny you having your tactical knives in black or whatever color you may deem appropriate.

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
I too would love to see more colors put on Spydies. In my collection, I have several older models with colored handles:

Rescue Snap it w/orange handles
Blue Delica
Pink Delica
Green Delica
Green Endura
REd Endura
Yellow Rescue
Green Ladybug

I would love to see more colors. I know that Spyderco has the trainers with red handles now so I guess red would be out of the question. I can't wait for the blue Delica to come out again.
michael


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"For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword."
Heb. 4:12

"I don't question your existence" God
 
Hugh,
I'm glad you can associate with my point of view. I agree that choice is good, I personally, wouldn't mind seeing(and buying) occational sprint runs of MBC and black-tac models with g-10 shell inlays(like the Native sprint run), as long as they are options to the core line-up.
I don't know much about Quaker ideologies or customs, but I can relate to practicing something in a religious manner and the need/desire to conform to it's ways. Take care.

Ken
 
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