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Ever get bored of black?

A

Adamantium

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
355
Is it just me or are almost all handles of knive black? Nothing against black handles but Its getting pretty boring to me, does anyone else have any feelings on the subject?

Sincerely,
Adam

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"There are 2 kinds of people in life. The ones who don't post on this forum and the ones who are going to heaven" ;)
 
Check out GT knives, they have green and gray handles. The buck Master series have a high luster emerald green "dymond" wood pistol grip handles. I hear there are some mini-socums for sale with different colors. Spyderco has a mess of stainless steel handles and lets not forget Case and Remington, etc. that have everything from stag to wooden handles including a bunch of different colors.

Depends on the type of knife you're looking for, I guess.
Regards,

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~Greg~

 
I don't like black. I would rather the knife looked less stereotypically "evil". But, once I ordered a mini-Reflex in purple for this reason, and later I could not GIVE that thing away! I listed it for sale and the minute people emailed and found out it was purple handled, they didn't want it anymore.
So, now I stick with black knives if I think I might sell it later.


thaddeus
 
Black is beautiful!
smile.gif

 
Gray is fine for a change every now & then, but Black goes with everything.

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-Essayons
 
I have an Endura with an OD handle. It's the first one hand opening knife I bought. At the time I didn't realize how rare it was to find a non black handled tactical knife. I bought it because they were selling it cheaper than the black handled Enduras.

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Ciao

MM
 
Personally I like black, but Beretta has several lightweight folders that come in green and camo Zytel handles, pretty cool lookin' too!
bh

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GO BRONCOS!!!!
 
When Henry Ford painted every model T car off his new assembly line BLACK it was because that was the color paint that dried the fastest. But for the general public it gave an lasting impression that black was the really basic functional thing to use. In physics class we all learned that black wasn't even a real color, actually the absence of color, but when you buy a car (not a model T) you have to fill in something where they ask for color. So it must be a color.

In other product areas I have experienced the same problem with black. Twenty-five years ago I worked part time as a scuba diver for Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and all the serious work divers used black equipment. Everything black: wet suit, face mask, fins, all misc equipment black. If it wasn't black it was sissy equipment and not suitable for real men to use. Then a new blue nylon was introduced for wet suits. Very conservative blue, and I got one, but the real-men divers disapproved of it. After that there was an orange color, like for the Coast Guard. And it was very slow to be adopted by divers. Eventually the whole scuba industry learned that they could sell lots of people gear in new colors and now the ladies can be fully outfitted (and I mean everything down to the gloves) in pink or purple or any other color you could imagine. The underwater cameras were black at first too, then yellow because people discovered you could find and recover one if it got dropped. But the yellow had a myth about being attractive to sharks (yum-yum yellow) I think the real-men started the myth.
wink.gif
Now, most Nikon underwater cameras come in black, olive green, bright orange, or yellow. It is a choice of blend into the shadows or stand out and look stupid.

I have always had black handled knives and then grey seemed a refreshing advancement. Recently I bought an LUDT in Splash colors teal (a tropical blue) with dark blue, bright green, and shiny gold swirls. I love it! But I feel like I am wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt to a funeral if I show it to any of the real-men that I used to dive with.

[This message has been edited by senpai (edited 11 January 1999).]
 
Adam,
Colors present manyh dificults for both the manufacturer, distributor and the dealer in tems of inventory. We made
Enduras inBlack Red and Olive Drab Three times the inventory! Now add plain or serrated, or combo, suddenly you have six times the inventory. Sales for Spyderco have been slow for any color other that black, metal, or orange for our rescue knives.

Bradley,
Was at the game. Broncos cut though Miami like a Spyderco through anything! Local support for Broncos is nothing less than extraordinary.
sal




 
My personal favorites for handle materials are ivory and stag. Black is almost a necessity for a "tactical" knife though, as it is the least noticeable if inconspicousness is important. Even a bright blade between black handle scales is much more conspicous sticking out of a pocket than an all-black fully enclosed handle.

I do have a small Barry Dawson fixed blade with tan micarta handles, and highly polished it looks just like a light colored wood. Very nice for a non-tactical knife.

Harv

[This message has been edited by Steve Harvey (edited 11 January 1999).]
 
Actually, senpai, black is the absence of light while white light contains all the wave lengths. Black color, on the other hand, absorbs all wave lengths, reflecting none back so is basically "all the colors" while white color reflects all the wavelengths back. But I digress. For tactical use, I like black handles. I did much of the development of our military combat rations (don't hate me, please), including selecting a color for the five compartment paper tray for use as a disposable paper plate. The requirement was for a single color for all climatic zones. The only color that fits a camouflage pattern in all climatic zones (arctic through tropical) was black. No one would eat off of a black paper tray so some general ordered them to be OD green! So if it is possible that you may need your tactical knife in several areas of the world, black is your best color.
 
Black is fine. I want the color that blends in best with what I'm wearing on a given day, but since no one is making knives with handles in khaki, denim, tweed, or Stewart of Appin Hunting tartan, black seems to be a reasonable compromise.

On the other hand, bright colors are harder to lose if you set the knife down, especially in outdoor environments. I doubt I'd carry a bright orange-handled knife to work on a regular basis, though, so all things considered, I still prefer black.

David Rock

[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 11 January 1999).]
 
I was at the Heart of America knife show this past Dec. & there was a maker there that was using Dupont Corian counter top material for his handle slabs. That stuff comes in just about any color & pattern imaginable & it goes all the way through the material. Pretty cool idea.
Unfortunatly I ca`nt remember his name.






 
Bruce is correct on the laws of physics. For the record Black and White are not colors.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com





 
Don't forget those lovely colours EK knives gets by wrapping their knives up in various paracords. I thought their jungle camo version was VERY good looking.

Bill
http://www.southtower.on.ca
 
Personally, I don't mind black handles on knives, and I prefer them to more flagrant colours that serve to attract attention to the knife. I'm also rather fond of grey (Particularly the pictures of MOD tacticals posted on www.knifecenter.com), though the actual colour may vary. Both black and grey are low-visibility colours. I'd rather someone notice a knife I'm carrying for it's quality, rather than it's bizarre colour scheme.

Ted Stewart
 
I like black alot. It is my favourite colour (physical arguments understood) for clothes (though I try not to overdo it and look like a goth), but I have to say I am pretty bored with it for knives.

Black micarta is beautiful. Black zytel isn't. I have tried to acquire some of the old coloured handled Delicas and Enduras without success. *sigh*

AG Russell's coral linen Rucarta is mighty pretty...

Would love to see some other coloured G-10.

Maybe I am in the minority here, but hey, variety is the spice of life!




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Clay Fleischer
cdfleischer@yahoo.com

"10,000 Lemmings Can't Be Wrong!"
 
Clay, I agree with you about A.G. Russell's coral (or burgundy) Rucarta...just one of the reasons why that little Jess Horn Spydie is still one of my favs (I just love a flat grind).The only thing is Rucarta isn't nearly as stiff as G-10 and without liners you'll get some blade wobble (at least mine does).

Back to the original subject, I've got knives with every conceivable color (except splash
frown.gif
)and I can't say that I really have a preference. I love them all, allthough the chartruese (sp?) carbon fiber is very odd. Bone and stag are still very cool, if a bit old fashioned.Someone will probably decide very soon that they are "retro" and they'll be popular all over again.

Mike K.




























jess Horn
 
Some of my same thought exactly, Black isn't a bad color but its just over done. I would love to see more stuff like blue G10 and white and brown Micarta.

Sincerely,
Adam
 
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