You are straight scales with anodized hardware. I'm anodized scales with straight hardware.
Ah, I see what you're getting at--same knife with quite different finishes. Not to be argumentative, as I knew even less about anodizing than the little I know now since doing a bit of web crawling after reading your post, but there are different types of anodizing that yield different results and I think my Frieze, like a lot of knifes and particularly Cheburkovs, went through one of those. The dark grey to brownish color is the result of the
Type II process which you'll find by scrolling down
this page. Type III yields the brighter, more colorful finishes that we're familiar with.
My Frieze sometimes looks more brownish and other times clearly grey, depending on the lighting. You can see some anodized rod samples on this page from
TFC's website. The three in the bottom right corner are all Type II's. I'd hoped for a finish similar to the one on the right--almost black--much like
ferider
's knife or the one I saw at the Cheburkov site when I ordered mine. Instead, my slabs seem to bridge the left and middle ones for coloration. Maybe I'm just a bit disappointed, but I'm still happy with what have.
Cheburkov features lots of different levels and subsequent finishing of his Type II anodized Ti, from the brighter grey buffed/polished reverse side surfaces of many of his frame locks, to the deeper, almost coated feel of my Pyramid Scout, to others that are more matte, darker, or lighter. Lots of variation is nice and individualizes the knives.
Day 6, Knife 5 on Scout Saturday of Cheburkathon is my second of that model, one of what I believe Alex characterizes as his
Limited Knives. This one has the light grey smooth finish, a Zladinox dama blade, flamed backspacer, Timascus clip, and extensive interior milling. I'm the 5th or 6th owner, the knife shows a little wear, but it's found a long-term home as I'm extremely pleased to have it.
