Photos Spyderco Color Crazy

So, I've decided that I want a few Manix 2 colors. But they don't really come in that many. The orange cutlery shop exclusive is expensive second hand. No purple yet. And I have the red St. Nicks in the mail. I say all of this to preface the idea that I hit on that I could just make my own. The storm trooper GP Knives DLC release is literally perfect as a base to dye. I already have one, which I plan to keep white. But I ordered two more and plan on doing purple and orange.

I'm also going to test dye my PM2 camo scales a purple shade. I have a spare set from one that I got aftermarket purple scales for (3rd from bottom in PM2 column). If that goes well I'll swap out those scales with the current stock camo. Then also probably dye the gen 1 Military purple to match.

I've been doing some research and found some scattered tips, but no definitive guide, per se. Does anyone have experience dying their own scales? I'm excited/nervous.

Appreciate any tips/advice. Also here is a current shot of the spyderco collection (most of them, anyway) to liven this post up a bit.

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There's a lot of threads about it already out there but from what I've been reading recently is that the FRCP used on the Manix LW may be a little more difficult to take the dye than the FRN from Seki models. And you want to make sure the knife is free from any finger oils etc. But I've seen Rit dye at my local Walmart for pretty cheap. Good luck!
 
So there was definitely some trial and error. But in the end this worked out reasonably well. I basically sacrificed a pot and just kept water with a bunch of the dye at a simmer for twenty minutes. Some white vinegar in there as well. Used chopsticks to pull them out and rinse them off under cold water to check the color every once in a while. I might try a slightly lighter shade for the military model though as the scales are a little darker.

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So I've come to accept that this is much more art than science. I tossed in the spare scales I had for the hell of it. They came out more of a bluish tint. I quite like them and will save them for when I finally get a PM2 Tanto, which I think they will fit on perfectly. Then I took apart my gen 1 military and tossed that in. I tried dying it in one piece since the lanyard connector didn't want to come off. I maybe could have left it in longer, but I'm not mad at the results. It's a huge improvement over the stock look in my eyes.

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Fantastic pictures, you've got a real eye for putting great combinations together, and an even better eye for capturing them. Beautiful!
Knives&Lint said:
I prefer non coated blades, but color crazy???

Ummm🤔...

Maybe a little 🤪

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smills said:
So I've come to accept that this is much more art than science. I tossed in the spare scales I had for the hell of it. They came out more of a bluish tint. I quite like them and will save them for when I finally get a PM2 Tanto, which I think they will fit on perfectly. Then I took apart my gen 1 military and tossed that in. I tried dying it in one piece since the lanyard connector didn't want to come off. I maybe could have left it in longer, but I'm not mad at the results. It's a huge improvement over the stock look in my eyes.

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I did a few Para 3, for a friend's wedding.
2x LW and the Camo G10.
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You should really be using the "synthetic RIT".. Way better results.
 
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winnerone23 said:
I did a few Para 3, for a friend's wedding.
2x LW and the Camo G10.
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You should really be using the "synthetic RIT".. Way better results.
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I actually got some, but haven't tried it yet. What was your process?

Dodge said:
You are missing the bright green lc200n salt
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It's not actually that bright anymore it seems. I got one the other day and it's only marginally different from the forest green. I was hoping for a neon green. It seems spyderco changed their salt dye formula. I'll try to take a picture of the two next to each other this weekend before I send the salt back next week.
 
Dodge said:
There are some bright green on eBay right now.
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Thanks. It's just so hard to trust what you see as you never know how the camera is white balancing with neon colors.

It's actually funny, when I first got the Salt I thought it was way too close, but in looking again to take this picture maybe it's different enough after all.

What are everyone's thoughts? It seems like this one is more neon. But you never know without seeing them together.

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I felt the same way until I compared to my Atlantic lc200n. It’s still not toxic green but closer
 
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