In the 11th hour, the supplier sent this photo over to Buck. Today, the supplier of the Micarta sent this picture of these 2 samples. The lighter sample is the sample Buck used to make the mock up seen above. We did not know until mere hours after I posted that picture, that they do indeed have a darker version of the blue.
Though I do like the way the lighter blue pops, I think it's a more grounded choice to go with the dark and it's more in line with the wishes of the contributors (you all) to this knife.
So ignore my previous post on color, the darker version here is what we will see. Order is in. Now we wait for final ship date.