Why do manufacturers paint clips?

lava_lamp

lava_lamp

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Oct 5, 2006
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Am I the only one who wonders why great knife manufacturers like Spyderco and Benchmade attach painted clips that scratch, chip, and wear away at much faster rates than the rest of the knife?

I'd be happier, for example, if every Spyderco came with a wire clip.
 
Well, there's always the option of taking off the paint. However, I kinda agree with you. Stonewashed clips wouldn't stand out too much and wear well.
 
I don't get it either. I agree that they look better with painted clips that match the handle--for about a month. Then they start to look bad. Before long, they look terrible.

They'd look better with the same finish on the clip as on the blade, although that would probably raise the price of the knife a bit.
 
lava_lamp said:
Am I the only one who wonders why great knife manufacturers like Spyderco and Benchmade attach painted clips that scratch, chip, and wear away at much faster rates than the rest of the knife?

I'd be happier, for example, if every Spyderco came with a wire clip.
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Can't speak for anyone else. Black clips never bothered me in the past. Probably won't in the future.
 
Look is everything, man. As long as it shows nice and well in the picture as a unit (the knife and the clip), it is good.

Whether the coating will wear out is the smaller issue, and they do try to make the coating more wear resistant.
 
I don't mind a black clip, even if it does show some wear over time. It's still better than a shiny clip, and like somebody said paint can always be removed. Now the old BM parkerized clips are a different story, that was way better than paint. I wish they still put those on their knives.
 
knarfeng said:
Can't speak for anyone else. Black clips never bothered me in the past. Probably won't in the future.
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Black clips are fine, painted black clips suck. Every raised part of my Delica's clip has been worn to the metal. I don't even carry that knife much. My Zero Tolerance clips, on the other hand, only have a few small scratches. These knives get carried and abused more, too. It all has to do with the coating itself.
 
With all the garnishes that are available for knives, I'm surprised that there aren't more people / companies selling a more custom clip. Thats the only part of the knife most people see. Maybe there are and I just don't pay enough attention!!

Painted clips never bother me - all my clips end up taking a beating, as I am constantly hitting them against door jams, counters, etc. while in the pocket.
 
pianted clips dont bother me much. i only own one knife with a painted clip, and that is my s30v native. The clip is scratched on the raised parts from walking into things and the like. But i feel that it gives the knife a bit mroe character. and when it gets really bad, i can just strip the paint and polish the clip.
 
Maybe it's a concelment thing? A black clip tends to stand out less and doesn't say "knife!" as much if glaced at quickly.

I like black clips, they give a better flow to a knife's look than a bright clip. The bright clips were much more popular in the early- mid 90's when the SS Spydercos were king and their weren't really too many black handled tacticals on the market.
 
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+1 on Benchmade's parkerized clips. They wear much more nicely than Spyderco's painted clips. I can scratch up a brand new painted clip and have it looking pretty ugly in a single weekend of carry. After a couple of years of carry, parkerized clips still look great.

Spyderco's polished clips look nice, but they really do stand out a bit too much.
 
I like uncoated clips on certain knives. Sometimes a polished clip makes the knife look cheap though.

I really, really like worn, scratched, banged up old clips. They give the knife character.

A few months back, one of the clip screws on my BM710 stripped and I called Benchmade and they sent new screws and a clip. I put all the new hardware on and the knife looked silly with a brand new black clip. I went right back to the banged up, scratched old clip and couldn't be happier.

IMG_1196.jpg

I think it's beautiful.

I don't like Spyderco's wire clips though. In my experience they snag on everything they could possibly snag on, and I couldn't care less if people know I'm carrying a knife. So concealment isn't a concern when I pick a new knife.
 
knarfeng said:
Can't speak for anyone else. Black clips never bothered me in the past. Probably won't in the future.
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Same here. Unpained or painted are both okay with me and a little wear does not bother me. I've got a Spiderco Delica with a black painted clip thats 5-6 years old. The black is a little worn around the edges, but not too bad.

lava_lamp said:
I'd be happier, for example, if every Spyderco came with a wire clip.
Click to expand...

I don't really care for wire clips, though. They just look cheaper most of the time than a well made, solid metal clip to me.
 
I also like the black clips that are not painted. Can't tell if they are parkerized or what. At any rate I called benchmade last week and told them I had heard they would send you the newer clips. The lady said that was right and asked me what my knife model numbers were and what clips I wanted. I like the new clips that have a slot in them and which is not painted but have the parkerized finish which is on several of my newer benchmades. So I got 7 new clips on the way at no charge. I thought that was awesome service.:)
 
Hate painted clips myself, esp the Black one on my Green PARA:barf: Gotta get that fixed soon! I'm going to Bead Blast it, or send it for a low ride tip up clip.


I like the BB clips on my sebenza's. They would match anything, except for maybe black. A tempered clip(like the spderco wire clips) match black, and most all colors well.
 
^^ The clips on the Sebenzas are great. That's the great thing about titanium. The more you beat it up, the better it looks.
 
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