Victorinox Translucent/Transparent Scales

C

Carloxicus

Joined
Oct 3, 2011
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Can anyone tell me about the Victorinox Translucent/Transparent Scales (handles)?

I'd like to know if they are more durable than the cellidor ones. Are they less scratch resistant? Are they more prone to cracking? Do they crack when placed in hot water for cleaning?

I'd just like to know whether or not it's a good idea to get these scales. Any information or experience regarding them would be really useful.

Thank you!
 
Carloxicus,

As you recall, I've just ordered some this past week. I have two translucent sapphires (Tinker and Spartan) and a Silver Tech (Climber). Obviously I cannot comment on long term durability yet. I did notice that my translucent Spartan developed a wear spot ... more of a wear blemish (i.e. cloudy spot, indicating surface abrassion) than a gouge on the very first night I had it. This was just from carrying it around my house, sometimes with more than one knife in the hand. It didn't even get the "ride in pocket with keys" treatment yet and it already had a mark. This is not promising.

Since then, the translucent sapphire and silver tech have ridden in my pocket with other items, including keys. There's no discernable wear. So perhaps the wear spot on the sapphire Spartan was a fluke.

I fully expect these scales to develop at least as much wear as the standard red celidor. Because they are clearn/translucent, I expect them to cloud up as well due to pocket wear. I don't think I'll have a big problem with this, so long as the color is maintained. The silver tech may look the more worse for wear out of the bunch. But I don't mind honest wear on pocket knives. It adds character.

Moe
 
From all the used Victorinox knives I have seen in both plain red and translucent colors they tend to wear about the same and have the same heat problems of warping. One thing though is the translucent colors scales really show the wear since they have such a shiny surface. I like them. I have a couple of Silver Tech knives and one is well used. Due to the pattern of silver backing inside the scales the wear does not seem as noticeable as the other scales. Could be just an optical illusion though.
 
My translucent scales show more wear. Think about the plastic headlights on many vehicles. They get foggy and scratchy over time, and you can see the scratches easily because the material is translucent.

You can sorta kinda maybe get an idea here:

IMG_1915.jpg
 
Have a Silver Tech Huntsman and a Sapphire Spartan. So far so good.

No really concerned with any cloudiness over time. BTW, they are fine tools for what they are.
 
Carloxicus, I bought a lot of ten translucent sapphire Classics on eBay. They are all TSA seizures, so they are used/worn and it's a good bet that most of them were on keychains (where they get more wear than normal due to constant friction with keys). They all appear fairly good to me. In fact, not one of them is below "good" condition and while the gloss is off the scales on most of them, they all remain fully translucent and nice looking for user knives.

I've also been carrying my Silver Tech Climber in my pocket with my keys for three days now. Not a long time, I know, but there's not a single visible mark on it yet. Not one. That's pretty promising.
 
Powernoodle, that's a strong EDC right there. Is that the Native 5? And the mini pry bar is a nice touch. Spydercos and SAKs are my two main brands. I always carry a Classic, and usually another SAK in addition to one Spyderco. It's a great, very practical EDC combo.
 
Off topic alert!

Thats a Spydie Caly 3. Sweet knife. Packs a lot of blade length into its size, and is ergonomic and aesthetically appealing.
 
powernoodle said:
My translucent scales show more wear. Think about the plastic headlights on many vehicles. They get foggy and scratchy over time, and you can see the scratches easily because the material is translucent.

You can sorta kinda maybe get an idea here:
Click to expand...
If you can still read the "Victorinox" under the scale then its not really that worn yet. I have a couple that it is hard to see the letters and insert tool underneath.
 
If anyone else has anymore pics of their user translucent SAKs I'd much appreciate seeing them. I'm in the middle of deciding between an emerald translucent deluxe tinker, or just going with the forest green.
 
madman44 said:
If anyone else has anymore pics of their user translucent SAKs I'd much appreciate seeing them. I'm in the middle of deciding between an emerald translucent deluxe tinker, or just going with the forest green.
Click to expand...

Here are several.

100_0870.jpg


Last week I bought a used translucent sapphire Climber with a vendor logo on it. The logo annoyed me enough that I scraped it off, using the can opener tool on another SAK. To my surprise, despite the deep scrapes, the knife isn't really that marked up. I intend to sand it down with fine sandpaper and polish it out with polishing compound. I think it will look ok ... not new ... but ok.
 
Thanks for the pics Moe! My only concern was that the scales would eventually "cloud up". But from the pics i've seen they look like they stand up pretty well to wear. I went ahead and ordered an emerald deluxe tinker a few days ago and should be receiving it tomorrow. And I'm already thinking about getting a minichamp...uh oh.. i'm getting the SAK bug
 
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