Folks, I am not sure what I have here.
The story is, I bought this off eBay in 2004 (used, of course). The seller said it was Ivory scales with red and white spacers, hidden pinned.
When I received it, I just looked at it and put it in a drawer. Not a Professional job. But pretty good.
I was thinking Ivory Polymer (IP) and never thought anymore about it.
Today, I decided to add it to my "cull" process as I move over to a Spyderco collection.
So, I pulled it out of the drawer it's been in for seven years, wiped it down and took some pictures.
While I was photo "Chopping" the pictures, I noticed a patina that I didn't remember.
So I took the knife into the sunlight in my kitchen and used a burgundy scotch pad to lightly get any gunk off the knife. I had not cleaned the knife when I had put it away, seven years ago.
I then smelled the pad and was surprised to smell what I have come to recognize as a 'bone" smell.
And the pad created NO swirls in the material. IP would have shown the friction. This stuff didn't.
I have rescaled 100's of blades in the last 5 years. Whenever I work with any Stag, Giraffe Bone, Buffalo, and Mammoth bone/tusk, it has this smell. Once you heat the bone material from any friction media, and the smell hits you, you will never forget it.
This was THAT smell. Just the friction and the micro amount of material brought up that smell. That tells me that this is some OLD material, no matter what it is.
It's not IP.
I have four custom fixed blades that have IP (I really like the stuff) and three of them has patina-ed over the years. But, it's surface patina.
I pulled my customs out of the drawer and laid them beside the 112. Not even close in texture, color, or translucence.
It could be bone of some sort. However, I have never seen bone this fine. Even the smoothest bone has "pores" This stuff doesn't. And it feels silky/oily to the touch.
Considering I can't definitively say it's pre ban Ivory, you can look at the pictures and make up your own mind.
The action and lock up are 1st rate on this blade. The blade does have a wavy kind of scuff on one side that wiping it down left. I would call it scratches, but they just aren't that deep. They would probably polish out if you wanted to do so.
The brass bolsters have not been polished since I have had this knife. If I were to carry it, I probably would, then wax them.
This does not come with a leather sheath. I am including a Jaguar nylon sheath that fits it perfect. It is a horizontal belt sheath. I carry my Spyderco Embassy in one of these and it's 1st quality. I hope to find a few more of them soon. I only have one left as I also carry my spare mags for my Kel-Tec PF-9 in a couple of them.
I want $90.00 rip $60.00 $PF shipped and PP. PayPal only.
OR I will trade it for a Spyderco Balance, or a lock back Kiwi, or a Kopa. No Stainless steel handles. (I will consider any trade in a decent Spydy. No Delicas, or Enduras, have too many). I don't care if they are new, carried with some light wear on the scales/clips, or have a box as long as they are in great shape. Especially the blade and lockup.
If you look real close, you can see the patina starting right down the middle of the scale. The patina is more pronounced in person.
And on this side, you can just barely see the shadow of a patina in the lower left half of the scale. The patina is more pronounced in person.
To be honest, I am about a day from withdrawing this. I think I can detail it and it would be a keeper for myself. I have had some interest on it so will make up my mind Monday afternoon after a suitable waiting period to see if the offer comers through.
The story is, I bought this off eBay in 2004 (used, of course). The seller said it was Ivory scales with red and white spacers, hidden pinned.
When I received it, I just looked at it and put it in a drawer. Not a Professional job. But pretty good.
I was thinking Ivory Polymer (IP) and never thought anymore about it.
Today, I decided to add it to my "cull" process as I move over to a Spyderco collection.
So, I pulled it out of the drawer it's been in for seven years, wiped it down and took some pictures.
While I was photo "Chopping" the pictures, I noticed a patina that I didn't remember.
So I took the knife into the sunlight in my kitchen and used a burgundy scotch pad to lightly get any gunk off the knife. I had not cleaned the knife when I had put it away, seven years ago.
I then smelled the pad and was surprised to smell what I have come to recognize as a 'bone" smell.
And the pad created NO swirls in the material. IP would have shown the friction. This stuff didn't.
I have rescaled 100's of blades in the last 5 years. Whenever I work with any Stag, Giraffe Bone, Buffalo, and Mammoth bone/tusk, it has this smell. Once you heat the bone material from any friction media, and the smell hits you, you will never forget it.
This was THAT smell. Just the friction and the micro amount of material brought up that smell. That tells me that this is some OLD material, no matter what it is.
It's not IP.
I have four custom fixed blades that have IP (I really like the stuff) and three of them has patina-ed over the years. But, it's surface patina.
I pulled my customs out of the drawer and laid them beside the 112. Not even close in texture, color, or translucence.
It could be bone of some sort. However, I have never seen bone this fine. Even the smoothest bone has "pores" This stuff doesn't. And it feels silky/oily to the touch.
Considering I can't definitively say it's pre ban Ivory, you can look at the pictures and make up your own mind.
The action and lock up are 1st rate on this blade. The blade does have a wavy kind of scuff on one side that wiping it down left. I would call it scratches, but they just aren't that deep. They would probably polish out if you wanted to do so.
The brass bolsters have not been polished since I have had this knife. If I were to carry it, I probably would, then wax them.
This does not come with a leather sheath. I am including a Jaguar nylon sheath that fits it perfect. It is a horizontal belt sheath. I carry my Spyderco Embassy in one of these and it's 1st quality. I hope to find a few more of them soon. I only have one left as I also carry my spare mags for my Kel-Tec PF-9 in a couple of them.
I want $90.00 rip $60.00 $PF shipped and PP. PayPal only.
OR I will trade it for a Spyderco Balance, or a lock back Kiwi, or a Kopa. No Stainless steel handles. (I will consider any trade in a decent Spydy. No Delicas, or Enduras, have too many). I don't care if they are new, carried with some light wear on the scales/clips, or have a box as long as they are in great shape. Especially the blade and lockup.
If you look real close, you can see the patina starting right down the middle of the scale. The patina is more pronounced in person.
And on this side, you can just barely see the shadow of a patina in the lower left half of the scale. The patina is more pronounced in person.
To be honest, I am about a day from withdrawing this. I think I can detail it and it would be a keeper for myself. I have had some interest on it so will make up my mind Monday afternoon after a suitable waiting period to see if the offer comers through.
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