Purely esthetics. I have a SpecWar logo 6, and had one with the newer dated logo. Both have the same great construction, twenty + little screws holding everything together, and all the other stuff. Actually the newer one had nicer bolsters - file worked - but I didn't like the beadblast finish. I've just always wanted one with the older logo, and since it'll be my daily carry, it might as well look the way I'd like. I'm not picky about which color micarta the handles are, for example, even though the greenish seems more "original".