Translucent Juice

[turnsouth]

Just wanted to share these pictures of a translucent Juice that was recently part of an eBay auction in a set of prototype Juice's. According to the listing, this is one of only two that were ever made for Tim Leatherman's approval (which apparently they never were )

_{Pictures used by permission of eBay member rooger}

[genevabuck]

Cool.  I take it that it is a Kf4?  How much did this dandy go for?

[enki_ck]

Cool.  I take it that it is a Kf4?  How much did this dandy go for?

$710

[turnsouth]

Discussion here: Juice LTD Prototype Set on eBay

[J-sews]

Cool.  I take it that it is a Kf4?  How much did this dandy go for?

That looks like a bit of a diamond file peaking out on the top photo, so I'm betting Kf4 also.

[AHB]

For $710 there should be at least one Camo in the set...

[J-sews]

Too bad Leatherman did not decide to mass produce these It looks pretty cool! I assume the yellow tint was because it is a Kf4, whereas the C2 would have had red tinted plastic, and the Cs4 would have been blue tinted, etc?

[Chako]

I was shocked that it went that high to be honest.

[Mr. Whippy]

My guess is, Tim Leatherman did not want to deal with a boatload of warranty work for broken plastic scales.

[J-sews]

My guess is, Tim Leatherman did not want to deal with a boatload of warranty work for broken plastic scales.

Hmmm, you're probably right. Still and all though, they must have proceeded pretty far with the project before cancelling it. Plastic injection molds are not cheap to make. And in order to have those scales come out with a "see-thru" finish, the mold cavity would have been micro-polished to a mirror finish. (both the top half of the mold and the bottom half) Which is not inexpensive, so that suggests the translucent Juice scale project wasn't just a "Hey cool idea, let's see how it looks" sort of a whim idea. Someone at the time was seriously considering it.

[Chako]

Which could also explain the decorative cuts in the handles. I always wondered why it was done so pretty just to cover it up with metal handles.

[Outback in Idaho]

That are one juicy Juice mate! 

  Would make for an excellent 2011 Edition - 10th Anniversary run for the holidays!! 

[J-sews]

That are one juicy Juice mate! 

  Would make for an excellent 2011 Edition - 10th Anniversary run for the holidays!! 

Good idea. And now that Leatherman saw what that auction one sold for, I'll bet they're frantically rummaging around up in the attic looking for the plastic injection mold dies!

[Mercury]

I have to say, I would buy one of those.  If they could get a plastic that was close to Cellidor in makeup, they would nail it.  It's worked for Vic for how long now?

[Mercury]

Which could also explain the decorative cuts in the handles. I always wondered why it was done so pretty just to cover it up with metal handles.

I would assume that the handle cut outs were to eliminate weight where they could a la Skeletool, but the finish is a mystery.  LM doesn't take the time to slurry polish every tool anymore, they just bead blast everything and burnish the handles with a mild abrasive belt.  The finish of a Wave or Blast is not a fine one and is very easy to duplicate with minimal knowledge.   It is very aesthetically appealing though, and I too wonder why the effort was made, let alone maintained for the (continuing) life of the line.

[ari6126]

I have to say, I would buy one of those.  If they could get a plastic that was close to Cellidor in makeup, they would nail it.  It's worked for Vic for how long now?

A Juice with Plus scales? Sign me up.