Thoughts on acrylic covers?

Ahh, Will, the good OLD tortoise. I wonder why they changed to a different look with the later batch?
The red ribbons make it look so much more realistic.
 
Buzzbait said:
Nope. Hate GEC's acrylics. From an aesthetic perspective, they do absolutely nothing for me. Actually, even worse. I find them revolting.
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Why dont you tell us what you really think.:D
Im sort of in the same boat as Buzzbait.
There are some acrylics that look great eg the awabi shell. They combine a natural material with a protective layer of acrylic.
Some of the colours and patterns are nauseating eg pheasant feathers. Some are quite classy in an old school way eg glitter gold but dont seem to be right for a knife. There are a couple that look as though they went horribly wrong eg the black and red 'lava brick ?' mostly black with unpredictable slurps of red ...or not depending on the individual knife. A bit too modern art for my taste.
So mostly no but with a couple of standouts where they got it right .
In favour of acrylic it is lessikely to chip or split or crack than bone or wood.
If I take Case kirinite into account I reckon a 50 50 split between yeas and nays for acrylics.
 
I have nothing against acrylics really, but I generally much prefer bone, and especially jigged bone. I love the texture of the jigged scales as well as the way it allows different shades and hues of the dye to show.

There are some GEC acrylics though that I feel are a step above the rest. Neptune and Dead Skunk in particular come to mind, and there's one other that's like a fiery reddish pinkish yellowish mix that I can't recall the name of (looks like a sunset).

A Neptune #38 is my only acrylic and it's one of my favorites.
 
I'm digging the 48 in acrylic now that I have it in hand--kind of puts this one into the "fun" category instead of more formal looking knives. I like it! I'm glad that the material is not too plastic-y in hand. I still don't think I'll be getting too many knives with acrylic covers, but I'm glad I took the chance on this one!
 
08CC737B-DE2D-40FC-86A8-D0E3FB8DE6B4_zpspqsgljkz.jpg
~apologies folks~
 
pmew said:
Hmm, why didn't that work? Can anyone see that image?
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pmew said:
Each to their own I suppose. I'm a big fan. Here are some 25s with acrylic covers,
from left to right; northern lights, patriot, dead skunk, orange crush, kryptonite and inferno red from the 2008 open house.

URL=http://s1340.photobucket.com/user/pmewUK/media/25s/08CC737B-DE2D-40FC-86A8-D0E3FB8DE6B4_zpspqsgljkz.jpg.html][/URL]
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I can see them. :) Very pretty. :thumbsup:
I think acrylic fits certain patterns better than others, but I can't always tell which ones that will be until I see them. The WLSTs sure do look nice in colors.

I don't think I could resist one in Glitter Gold. :D
 
I cannot make myself buy an acrylic handled knife because I think they look cheap. BUT, I am betting that if someone gave me one I'd love it. Same sort of thing happened when my wife gifted me a GEC 25 in micarta, I would never have bought that little knife in that handle but I love it and carry it all the time.
 
I was slow to warm up to Acrylics until I saw a few in person. The best ones have depth. You can see into the color for a 3D effect. Most pictures can not capture this.

Also, sometimes you need to mix it up. I can look at my 30 or so knives from 5 feet away and they all sort of blend together since most wood and bone handles are some shade of brown. However, the yellow and glitter of the Acrylic Beer Scout really pops. If your average person sees my wood handled knife they probably wouldn't comment on it. If that same person sees the Acrylic handled knife they are sure to take notice.
 
Question for those describing acrylic feeling "not as warm" as other handle materials. Can you expand on what is meant by "not as warm"? This seems to be one of those terms that somebody once coined and others latched onto because, mentally, the person is aware of a difference in material so it must have a different feel.

If i'm completely honest with myself, and if I did the pepsi challenge with a a polished-to-a-shine bone/wood/micarta/acrylic on the same exact pattern i wouldn't be able to tell the difference in feel.

Totally understand the visual appeal (or lack there of) for acrylic. But IMHO when in hand there is no difference between it and another polished-to-a-shine handle cover material.
 
I'm not a fan of acrylics at all. I simply haven't seen one that I like. I'm not a fan of polished synthetics in general. Polished micarta, G-10, delrin, acrylic, it's all ugly to me. Some of these like micarta and G-10 can be redeemed by roughing them up. I usually hit my micartas with sandpaper if I can't order them in a blasted finish. I don't think you can do that with acrylic.
 
To me the "not as warm" is mostly due to the slick finish and the lack of porosity. Natural materials have imperfections, rough spots, pores if you will, that give some feedback when handling. Hard to put into words, and maybe it's mostly emotional rather than physical, but it's there. Smooth bone isn't my favorite either, but it's better than acrylic for feel. I do like acrylics for "chicken-eyeing", but they are slightly lacking in the "coon-fingering" department.

Here's another GEC by Painted Pony, called Nighthawk Micapearl.
nighthawkmicapearlcomp_zps66feecef.jpg~original
 
Some awesome collections here! I agree with Travman that sometimes it's important to mix it up -- I'm glad this one is riding with me today:

E349D303-2B70-4442-A07F-DF22E175E931_zpsgcv5idf0.jpg
 
Jeff Didn't know the Tortoise had been 'tampered' with and changed, not so good. That Half Congress of yours looks great and I think there were versions of it some 'red' some 'yellow'

Pumpkin Patch was another interesting type as well, it came on the 66 Jacks, I missed one by minutes..

Here's Smoke Grey Pearl (think it's called? must look up the tube) on a 66 Slim Pen, centre

IMG_1752.jpg
 
As someone who's particularly averse to bone/stag handles and the like, I like acrylic a lot.
The variety is great, and in my experience they are durable and comfortable. Plus, no animals were harmed, so that's a bonus.

My draft beer acrylic GEC Beer Scout is my favourite knife.
 
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