When bone cover colors don't match your expectations :(

S

spkn01

Joined
Apr 17, 2009
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Guys, it happened again! :( Now, some of you may find this trivial - but it really BUGS me. I'm starting to wonder if this happens ALOT with bone colored knives...

Scenario: You see a picture of a knife you want on a dealer/company website. It's "chestnut bone" or "sunset bone" so you expect some shades of brown/maybe yellow. I mean, you can just imagine it in your hands cutting up fruit or rope or boxes of more knives. It looks amazing, has a great walk and talk, fit/finish is on par with other productions. You are a happy camper. AND did I mention it looks great, I mean, it looks just like it did in the picture!!!!!! (picture is just a stock picture, of course)

BUT, then it arrives, you open it up, and all you can see are shades of RED!

Is this what I should come to expect from stock bone covers? Do they really have that much variation?

I'll have to post some pics of the knives in question - I mean, crap, they look red and reddish to me!

(I guess I was hoping that "chestnut bone" meant more brownish like the chestnuts my mom roasts for Christmas and "sunset bone" meant more yellowish/ "earthy" overtones like a beautiful sunset)

Thanks for listening to my silly rant. Has this happened to you?
 
Yes and some manufactures are definitely worse than others. To a certain extent it is one of the things I love about bone as they all look different and I like some variation. I don't like it when for example I ordered up a Case Dark Red Bone Peanut and it actually look more pale red and pink. It was actually a fun project using tea and boiling water to get it to the true dark red it should have been in the first place though.
 
Can you be more specific about what you ordered? I'm guessing its a case knife from what you say.

I have two case peanuts in cv. Both ordered from the net. My first was an old red bone (which is vivid red and pink at the edges, a little disappointed) and the second is chestnut bone (which is exactly as I envisioned it, and has a beautiful range of browns throughout).

Edit: dark red bone sorry, not old red bone.
 
Yes, taking some pictures now :)

Case Swayback Jack "Chestnut bone"
Canal Street Cutlery English Barlow "Sunset bone"

pmew said:
Can you be more specific about what you ordered? I'm guessing its a case knife from what you say.

I have two case peanuts in cv. Both ordered from the net. My first was an old red bone (which is vivid red and pink at the edges, a little disappointed) and the second is chestnut bone (which is exactly as I envisioned it, and has a beautiful range of browns throughout).

Edit: dark red bone sorry, not old red bone.
Click to expand...
 
I've only had one experience with tis, and it was with a S&M folder who's actual bone colors were not representative of being in the earth toned brown family...it was more like the bile chartreuse vomit green family which I don't like. I tried to sell it to no avail, and just returned it to the web store where I bought it and took the hit for all the shipping and a 20% re-stocking fee. I really, really hated that knife; oh, and the web store I'll never use again. Insofar as Case bone colors, I've never had an issue, if anything, while the colors may not represent the words used to describe it, I've always been pleasantly surprised with what I've received.
 
spkn01 said:
Yes, taking some pictures now :)

Case Swayback Jack "Chestnut bone"
Canal Street Cutlery English Barlow "Sunset bone"
Click to expand...

I'm curious to see your CS Sunset Bone. I was very happy with mine. Here are a few pictures. In the second picture you can see where it has a light streak through the bone but that is an example of where I like it just because it is different and probably not another one exactly like it.
IMG_20140224_102811947_HDR_zpsn8oig6z_edit_1393317313135_zps851nl2ly.jpg
IMG_20140224_103409207_HDR_zpsaodhplry.jpg


Here is a thread I made awhile back where I was able to fix the pale red and pink areas on my peanut. It turned out really good and even though the cv blades no longer looked all shiny I really didn't care at all as I bought it to be a user. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Red-Peanut-actually-look-red!-Thanks-bwperdue!!
 
It does bug me a bit when the colors aren't even close to pics on dealer's sites but that is the nature of bone. My Case Mini Trapper and SBJ don't look the same shade of Chestnut. I prefer the SBJ.





I do however like the reds and variations in my Sunset bone HMT.

 
That is an excellent example of Case's Chestnut Bone on that Swayback Jack. That's exactly what it is supposed to look like.

If you want to see an example of a Case knife NOT looking like the catalog, check out this older post of mine where I got a "Winterbottom Sunset Bone" that didn't look much like the stock photo (which was typical for that particular handle material from what I have seen).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...yeing-Bone-A-Tutorial?p=12208999#post12208999

As shown in that post, I ended up dyeing it to a darker reddish brown, closer to the original concept but unfortunately with stovetop dyeing it's hard to retain the range of color variations so it ended up mostly one color.
 
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Prior to the very early 1980s it was not uncommon (almost the norm) to see knives with different colored covers mark side to pile side on Case knives as evidenced by the below pictured knife. It is a 1-dot (1979) 6292 Texas Jack. In those days, Case did not as a matter of course name the colors of their bone covers.

casetexasjack1.jpg

casetexasjack2.jpg


The best advice I can give is that if someone wants consistency in cover colors, texture, etc. is not to buy via the internet but only buy knives you can hold up close and personal and get all touchy feely with before you buy.
 
The swayback jack just above jc57 post is what I think chestnut bone should look like. It seems that the Case "artisans" think a bit different. I have found that the current Case browns, reds, and chestnut bone knives actually vary wildly in color. I would only buy one in person or with actual photos of the actual knife, probably a good practice with any knife, but, especially current Case bone knives.;)
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the responses so far :) I'll have to keep this in mind next time I order any bone covers online. Wish I had a dealer near by... hand selecting in person would be ideal. But alas, that is not always an option. So yeah, have to say thanks to any dealers who actually show exact pictures of a specific knife model (especially when there is a lot of variation from stock model)

The two CS Sunset Bone examples posted above look about like what I was expecting.... My barlow is just red. Wish it was noted on the sale because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have purchased it. Sue just doesn't like red handle covers :(
 
After seeing your pictures I think you just have high or different expectations as those are both great examples from Canal Street and Case. If I know I'm going to be wanting a certain color or pattern to the wood or bone I always request pictures from the dealer. Not all dealers will do this for you but I usually eventually find one that will. Also watch the exchange on this site religiously.
 
That may definitely be true. I'm just recently coming over to slip joints after collecting mostly custom tactical knives. I might have to stick to custom ordered models direct from makers (where I can be anal about color/pattern selections).

Thanks for all the responses. I really just wasn't sure about variation in production bone covers in general.

jkulysses said:
After seeing your pictures I think you just have high or different expectations as those are both great examples from Canal Street and Case. If I know I'm going to be wanting a certain color or pattern to the wood or bone I always request pictures from the dealer. Not all dealers will do this for you but I usually eventually find one that will. Also watch the exchange on this site religiously.
Click to expand...
 
Chestnut Bone Sway Back Jack:


Chestnut Bone Peanut:


Chestnut Bone Stockman:


Chestnut Bone Mini Trapper:


That's pretty much what Case Chestnut Bone looks like. I have a few others but no pics. It's one of my favorite Case handle materials.
 
Hey John, thanks for posting these chestnut bones!! I guess what I imagined (probably based on the name) was more of a darker/brown color.

But yes, I will agree that Case Chestnut Bone looks pretty much like your pictures.

jc57 said:
Chestnut Bone Sway Back Jack:


Chestnut Bone Peanut:


Chestnut Bone Stockman:


Chestnut Bone Mini Trapper:


That's pretty much what Case Chestnut Bone looks like. I have a few others but no pics. It's one of my favorite Case handle materials.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for posting your barlow - that was the color I was basically expecting. Thanks for providing that link. I might have to try some dying sometime :)

jkulysses said:
I'm curious to see your CS Sunset Bone. I was very happy with mine. Here are a few pictures. In the second picture you can see where it has a light streak through the bone but that is an example of where I like it just because it is different and probably not another one exactly like it.
IMG_20140224_102811947_HDR_zpsn8oig6z_edit_1393317313135_zps851nl2ly.jpg
IMG_20140224_103409207_HDR_zpsaodhplry.jpg


Here is a thread I made awhile back where I was able to fix the pale red and pink areas on my peanut. It turned out really good and even though the cv blades no longer looked all shiny I really didn't care at all as I bought it to be a user. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Red-Peanut-actually-look-red!-Thanks-bwperdue!!
Click to expand...
 
There is such a great variation of color on my sway back jack and I just love it. Black, brown, maroon, red, slight orange, and some white.
Guess it is just luck of the drawl when you order online. Sorry to hear you were not happy with the coloration of your knife. I am sure someone
on this forum would buy or trade you for it.

 
jc57 said:
That is an excellent example of Case's Chestnut Bone on that Swayback Jack. That's exactly what it is supposed to look like.

If you want to see an example of a Case knife NOT looking like the catalog, check out this older post of mine where I got a "Winterbottom Sunset Bone" that didn't look much like the stock photo (which was typical for that particular handle material from what I have seen).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...yeing-Bone-A-Tutorial?p=12208999#post12208999

As shown in that post, I ended up dyeing it to a darker reddish brown, closer to the original concept but unfortunately with stovetop dyeing it's hard to retain the range of color variations so it ended up mostly one color.
Click to expand...

Wow your example was really bad in the before pic, but you did an amazing job dying it! Looks like a whole different knife.
 
They look alright to me, very much so.

'Sunset' is a rather variable term colour-wise. Here in Scandiland you can indeed get very red sunsets in late winter, and even PURPLE now there's thought:D
 
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