Seeing your gear

[Lynn LeFey]

This is a general question on people's opinion of color choice in MT/knife/flashlight/etc.

Let me start out with a story of my youth. I did some work for a friend in High School, and was given a 2-bladed Buck folder and a nice Buck hunting knife in return. I loved the hunting knife, but had no use for it. So, I traded it to my brother for a minimag, and some other stuff (I forget what now). The minimag was camo. I dropped it, at dusk... into leaf clutter....... on a hill.

Gone, gone, GONE forever!

I came to realize that maybe camo wasn't the best color choice for a flashlight I took into the woods.

Years later, I took a course in SCUBA, and bought a bright yellow dive light, that I then carried for years. That thing was EASY to spot!

Setting aside some need to go all ninja... is there really any reason (besides personal taste) to carry anything other than really bright-colored gear? And I have to be honest: I'm getting fewer and fewer calls to go on ninja missions as I get older.

I suspect that maybe the standard for Vic knife scales being red has a reason beside flag colors.

[sawman]

When it comes to gear, I would prefer a nice bright industrial orange, if possible.  In reality, I get  silver or black, because that's what color things come in 

[Mr. Whippy]

Personally, I like deep cobalt blue (just my preference).  I avoid camo because I drop stuff on the farm or set it down and I doubt I'd find it again.  I try to avoid black tools for the same reason.

[J Mackrel Jones]

"The Officer’s Knife was officially registered on 12 June 1897. It is said that
the scales were made red to prevent loss in the snow."             SAKOM

[N_N_R]

Hm... this thread gives some food for thought

My favourite colours are the OD-green type ones and khaki, then black... just because they look cool to me. And in general I'm not a fan of bright colours of anything. However, as I use a lot my flashlight as a night's lamp... sometimes in the dark I leave it somewhere and I can't see & find it at the PC's screen light at all (it's a black flashlight). So, I'm starting to thing that a brighter colour would be indeed more functional in some cases.

[Zed]

Black  and shinny things 

[Steinar]

My favourite colours are the OD-green type ones and khaki, then black... just because they look cool to me. And in general I'm not a fan of bright colours of anything.

I think that's the main reason “everything” is black. A knife maker I know refuses to use orange G-10 because he thinks it is just too ugly. Most of the time, color isn't really that important, and then it boils down to what people think looks good. And I know of nobody who actively dislikes black.

Personally, I go for bright and easy to spot over black and discreet. I second sawman's opinion on orange. Excellent color for knives and pocket tools.

[Ashley]

As anyone on here can tell you I'm all about ORANGE!

Sent from Ash forum mobile

[jzmtl]

Easily seen by you also means easily seen by others. I don't want everybody on the street to know I have a knife in my pocket, nor everybody in the store/cafeteria to know I took out my scary knife to cut some stuff. Hence I do not use knife with bright colors.

[nuphoria]

"The Officer’s Knife was officially registered on 12 June 1897. It is said that
the scales were made red to prevent loss in the snow."             SAKOM

I didn't know that - cool

I tend to have a lot of black gear, but then I mostly use things in an urban environment so it's fine.
Definitely go for bright colours if you need to find things though. Camo would be a total nightmare

[Zed]

Although i prefer black scales on my SAK's ,for camping etc i use bright orange lanyards on them  you never know 

[jerseydevil]

I've found a similar problem to dropping a camo tool in the weeds with my Opinel #6.  I use it a fair amount at work, and have really taken a liking to it.  But, the color of the handle blends in perfectly with the wood used in our shelving.   I've put it down on a shelf and gone, "damn, where the smurf is my knife?" too many times.  Today I decided to refinish the handle, staining it a deep red.  I'm going to give it a second coat tomorrow, and then some polyurethane.  Shouldn't have that problem again once it's done.

[Zed]

I've found a similar problem to dropping a camo tool in the weeds with my Opinel #6.  I use it a fair amount at work, and have really taken a liking to it.  But, the color of the handle blends in perfectly with the wood used in our shelving.   I've put it down on a shelf and gone, "damn, where the smurf is my knife?" too many times.  Today I decided to refinish the handle, staining it a deep red.  I'm going to give it a second coat tomorrow, and then some polyurethane.  Shouldn't have that problem again once it's done.

change the opies handle colour      ive died a few and darkened using black shoe polish 

[user24]

Yeah I prefer oranges and blues to darker colours. Colour is another function, it can be used to draw attention either to or away from your gear. It's up to your personal requirements to decide which of those is better. For me, it's more likely I'll need to spot it than I'll need someone else not to.

[nuphoria]

It just occurred to me that what I tend to do is add things like GITD or tritium lanyards to things I am likely to drop in the dark.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I used to be a tactical black or OD type guy, but I gave it up.  While I didn't actually lose anything in the woods as a result, I found things were a lot easier to find (less wasted time looking) when it comes to things that weren't dark.  Since I killed all the ninjas here in the province I really haven't had any need to keep things low key anymore, and I prefer high visibility.  Yellow is my thing nowadays.

When it comes to multitools, I prefer no special finish.  The black coating on a well used tool becomes more or less grey (metal) sooner or later, so why go to the effort of coating it at all?  The black coating is (other than looking cool) supposed to protect the metal from corrosion, but the metal underneath is usually roughed up to take the coating better.  Once the coating wears or chips off, that roughness helps to retain oils, moisture and gunk that increases the chances of corrosion.

Working in the bars though I preferred my black coated handcuffs to the nickel ones though, not because the idiot being cuffed couldn't see them, but because they weren't as obvious to other people in the bar still trying to have a good evening despite some idiot starting fights.

Def

[Beerplumber]

I'm attracted to white things lately. It's important for a man to accessorize. Sunglasses, shoes, lighter, knife maybe wallet, watches or bracelets are all interchangeable and can be paired up. I think I like white because it looks so good when it's new. Camo is cool too but I usually choose snow camo when I see it.


Stay multi my friends

[sawman]

I'm attracted to white things lately. It's important for a man to accessorize. Sunglasses, shoes, lighter, knife maybe wallet, watches or bracelets are all interchangeable and can be paired up. I think I like white because it looks so good when it's new. Camo is cool too but I usually choose snow camo when I see it.


Stay multi my friends

White is nice also = snow camo     I think white sunglasses look awesome.

[allyourblood]

I prefer brightly-colored gear and knives when possible. Mainly, it's a visual thing: I just like the way they look. I tend to wear a lot of dark or dull colors when it comes to clothing, but I like to accessorize with a bit of color to offset it. Unfortunately, most of my stuff has black handles as that's what sells best. I can live with that, since ultimately, the functionality of a given tool is what is most important to me, but if given a choice, I'll choose something with some color.

When it comes to knives, I'm not concerned with keeping it out of sight. Here in southern California, it's never been an issue. Lots of folks carry knives here and when they see 3/4" of one peeking out the top of someone's pocket, they either don't know what it is, or don't care (I expect it's the latter). In my experience, knives with bright handles come off as more public-friendly and I suspect they raise less eyebrows than those with a more subdued color scheme which often lends a tactical appearance to a knife (obviously). Makes sense too -- how could something so loudly-colored be threatening?

As for visibility, that's also a plus: While it hasn't happened with knives, I've rescued some of my other EDC items due to their wearing a brightly-colored lanyard. That little 3" loop of neon green or orange has saved me more than once!

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm attracted to white things lately. It's important for a man to accessorize. Sunglasses, shoes, lighter, knife maybe wallet, watches or bracelets are all interchangeable and can be paired up. I think I like white because it looks so good when it's new. Camo is cool too but I usually choose snow camo when I see it.


Stay multi my friends

The Beerplumber look!





Def

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I find I'm liking things that are orange and yellow more now, and I'm getting fewer things that are 'tacticool' black.  My new Wenger 179 is currently my favorite SAK because I love the color of the handle scales, and I have an orange Delica on my want list, and a OH Trekker like on the IWA video on +B's site with the new orange and black scales.

[Beerplumber]

I'm attracted to white things lately. It's important for a man to accessorize. Sunglasses, shoes, lighter, knife maybe wallet, watches or bracelets are all interchangeable and can be paired up. I think I like white because it looks so good when it's new. Camo is cool too but I usually choose snow camo when I see it.


Stay multi my friends

The Beerplumber look!

(Image removed from quote.)



Def

:ahh. :ahh.   the shoes are all wrong.   Metro and I have been eyeballing a white endura at the local shop. Niether one of us want to pull the $110 trigger though.


Stay multi my friends

[Metropolicity]

I'm attracted to white things lately. It's important for a man to accessorize. Sunglasses, shoes, lighter, knife maybe wallet, watches or bracelets are all interchangeable and can be paired up. I think I like white because it looks so good when it's new. Camo is cool too but I usually choose snow camo when I see it.


Stay multi my friends

The Beerplumber look!

(Image removed from quote.)



Def

:ahh. :ahh.   the shoes are all wrong.   Metro and I have been eyeballing a white endura at the local shop. Niether one of us want to pull the $110 trigger though.


Stay multi my friends

I have been on an OD green kick, still subdued, but still colored.

I even went and got a brand new $250 spyderco captain coated in black/OD green

[Biru]

A relative once borrowed a discontinued Colt semi-auto pistol from me. While shooting he carelessly ejected the magazine into the weeds. I nearly never found the magazine. So I subsequently painted some splotches of bright color on the mag. I haven't tried to lose the mag, but I figure the splotches have to help, even if they might devalue the gun a bit.

[Smaug]

Some folks carry black because it doesn't clash with their uniform, e.g. cops and military.

I think the most important is the flashlight, which would ideally have a glow-in-the-dark case.

Other things are not as important, as I don't spend much time in the woods these days.

I too, am not getting as many ninja missions as I used to. When I did get them, they were mostly in my mind anyhow.

[David]

I still like back black but prefer brown or tan. I really like most camo stuff. I has never occurred to me it might be hard to find. Most camo doesn't blend in with the surrounding environment very well any way. So I've never had a problem finding a tool or knife in camo. I also like orange. Especially my orange Military. I normally carry a black handled knife at work because it doesn't clash with the blue uniform I gotta wear at the ice cream factory I work at.

[Metropolicity]

I still like back black but prefer brown or tan. I really like most camo stuff. I has never occurred to me it might be hard to find. Most camo doesn't blend in with the surrounding environment very well any way. So I've never had a problem finding a tool or knife in camo. I also like orange. Especially my orange Military. I normally carry a black handled knife at work because it doesn't clash with the blue uniform I gotta wear at the ice cream factory I work at.

Whoa. Back that train up. You work in the most magical place on earth?!