NEED SOME S!K HELP! Melamine scales?

Hale Storm

Hale Storm

Kydex Whisperer
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Sep 18, 2013
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I bought a used set of old spec 4.1 scales off the bay and I swear they are bone linen. The seller swears they are melamine which is why I bought them. After some back and forth, she is stating that they are bone white melamine.
Ellie said there were only 6 or 7 sets of white melamine scales in the wild.
I also swear I see the layers of the linen when looking at the edge. Isn't melamine a type of polymer that would be poured into a mold, dried/cooled and then you could shape it to make knife scales like any other material?

Any info would be appreciated.
 
All I can do to help is share this pic that I took from their Facebook page. It looks to me like your suspicions are correct and you have bone linen.

 
Not to derail this thread, but I want to know about that knife in the picture that has the false edge grind!! :eek:
 
A lot of crazy cool stuff has happened in the last few years! I feel bad for not remembering, but I think either OBX, McVeyMac or Junkyard have one of the swedge 4.1's.
 
Hale Storm said:
I bought a used set of old spec 4.1 scales off the bay and I swear they are bone linen. The seller swears they are melamine which is why I bought them. After some back and forth, she is stating that they are bone white melamine.
Ellie said there were only 6 or 7 sets of white melamine scales in the wild.
I also swear I see the layers of the linen when looking at the edge. Isn't melamine a type of polymer that would be poured into a mold, dried/cooled and then you could shape it to make knife scales like any other material?

Any info would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

From Silver's pic, and I assume this one is yous:

2z8sv2x.jpg



That looks pretty yellow to be "white" melamine... o_0 obviously we don't have the knife in hand... Here's a link with some other photos of bone linen micarta (not S!K knives, but gives an idea of the color variation for bone-linen):

http://www.captainchrisstanabackrandallknives.com/index.php?/main/catalog/268

getimage.php


Then again, USAknifemaker.com lists "bleached linen melamine"
http://usaknifemaker.com/knife-hand...ivory/linen-bleached-linen-melamine-3-16.html

Do we know how much color variation there was in the S!K melamine scales?
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Here's where the confusion sets in for me.

I've done a bunch of scale work so I have some experience with these materials, G10, Micartas, etc. I can clearly see the layers on the edges of the scales I have.

Going back to when I was younger, I can remember my parents and even myself having silverware sets with melamine handles. My understanding of melamine is that it is a resin (in powder from), It is heated, melted, and pressed in a mold. If my scales were melamine, I would not be able to see any "layering" and the scale would appear to be a solid piece of material.

I'm not really trying to diss the lady that sold me the scales. I've wanted a set of white/bone for a long time and S!K doesn't make them anymore and won't offer them again I'm told. But I did pay a handsome price for the set under the premise that they were the melamine white.

It's looking like they are bone linen but I would still appreciate anyone's input on my thoughts on melamine and that process.

Even my wife says they are a very very light tan bone color and she's a color expert.

We're moving in a few weeks so my jewelers loupe is packed up or I could get some really close up pics. I'll do that as soon as I can.

Thanks everyone so far.
 
If the handle was in my hand I could tell you exactly what it is, no problem. With pictures it is hard because of the different lighting. The white melamine linen handles were part of the big batch of sample colors in the picture Silver posted. We loved the white at that time but when we received the first batch of those handles they all had a little bit of a yellow tinge to them. Guy put some out in the sun to see if they would bleach out but they actually got more yellow. Most of them are in a box somewhere because I was planning to rit dye them. The bone linen will be more of a brownish off-white where the melamine linen would be a more yellow off-white. In the picture Chiral posted I would say it was definitely the white melamine, turned yellow. In some of the other photos you sent to Jordyn, it looked more like bone linen. Without seeing the handle first hand, I can't say for sure either way.

Now the "melamine" is a linen. I believe they use the term melamine only to describe the color of it. The material is called "Bleached Linen Melamine" but we called it white, because it's white (or at least it was that one time).

I don't remember what the bone linen was looking like for the old spec GSO-4.1 batch, but the Necker II bone linen was pretty dark and they were done around the same time. The GSO-2.7 bone linen is a mix of darker and lighter shades. I will look for those white/yellow linen handles and try to get a picture. But again, lighting. Not to mention computer settings....

Sorry we can't be more helpful.
 
Ellie, that was a tremendous help. I think I may indeed have one of the fabled Bleached Linen Melamine Scales.

I did a google search and guess what I just ordered from USA Knifemaker? "Bleached Linen Melamine" slabs, and it is lighter in color than the Bone linen micarta from the pics in this thread and the necker 2. They are listed under the Micarta(tm)/Phenolic section of Knife Maker Parts/Knife Handle Material.

So, it appears, beyond the comparison of the new slabs when they arrive, that I actually scored a set of the Melamine. You said there were only 6 or 7 sets done for the old spec 4.1 right and in the wild?

And my old spec 4.1 is the old M390 version. I'm getting stoked at how rare this combo may be.
 
Well, the new slabs of bleached white melamine came in today and in comparing them to the 4.1 scales I just got, they are the same other than the color on the new set is brighter, which makes sense.

So, I'm excited. I have a very rare set of GSO 4.1 scales on a rare M390 GSO 4.1.

I ordered the new fasteners to put on as well.

Only thing left will be some tricked out kydex pants!!!! Can't wait.
 
Hale Storm said:
Well, the new slabs of bleached white melamine came in today and in comparing them to the 4.1 scales I just got, they are the same other than the color on the new set is brighter, which makes sense.

So, I'm excited. I have a very rare set of GSO 4.1 scales on a rare M390 GSO 4.1.

I ordered the new fasteners to put on as well.

Only thing left will be some tricked out kydex pants!!!! Can't wait.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Congrats. Who's going to make the sheath? ;) lol
 
Hale Storm said:
Ellie, that was a tremendous help. I think I may indeed have one of the fabled Bleached Linen Melamine Scales.

I did a google search and guess what I just ordered from USA Knifemaker? "Bleached Linen Melamine" slabs, and it is lighter in color than the Bone linen micarta from the pics in this thread and the necker 2. They are listed under the Micarta(tm)/Phenolic section of Knife Maker Parts/Knife Handle Material.

So, it appears, beyond the comparison of the new slabs when they arrive, that I actually scored a set of the Melamine. You said there were only 6 or 7 sets done for the old spec 4.1 right and in the wild?

And my old spec 4.1 is the old M390 version. I'm getting stoked at how rare this combo may be.
Click to expand...

I checked our old purchase orders out of curiosity, there was one made as part of our sample run for all the colors and then an additional 14 were ordered. I believe we received all 14 but most of them are in a box somewhere because I had planned to dye them. As far as in the wild...??? The one actual white one was most likely sold but I didn't think we had any of the yellower ones in the wild until this came up. So I'm thinking maybe I could divide my student loan balance by how many of those handles I have and .... Just teasing, I promise I won't flood the market on you.
 
SURVIVE! Ellie said:
I checked our old purchase orders out of curiosity, there was one made as part of our sample run for all the colors and then an additional 14 were ordered. I believe we received all 14 but most of them are in a box somewhere because I had planned to dye them. As far as in the wild...??? The one actual white one was most likely sold but I didn't think we had any of the yellower ones in the wild until this came up. So I'm thinking maybe I could divide my student loan balance by how many of those handles I have and .... Just teasing, I promise I won't flood the market on you.
Click to expand...

Well, for what it's worth, that makes me feel even better about it. Also, I paid $86.00 for them so I wouldn't call anyone just yet on the loan payments, although that is a lot of money for stock scales, at least it was for me.

AND, lastly, I plan on keeping mine. BUT, if you would like to send me one of the fourteen so I have a spare (and I am USING the knife I have this set on), I'd be willing to buy them straight away.

Thanks for the info Ellie and I'm serious about getting an extra set.
 
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