Someone finally made contoured micarta scales for the Para 3

[kennethsime]

…and they’re only $7 on AliExpress.

Then again, they’re only $7 on AliExpress.

Any takers? Let me know how you like them if so.

[Wartstein]

[At first I thought you must be kidding 'bout the price.
But it's actually true.

No offense, but I would not get those (if I needed Para 3 scales in the first place).

Made in China, come from China... I don't have anything against Chinese people, but I don't like at all how these crazy low prices give makers from other parts of the worid no chance to compete pricewise and lead more and more to "everything made in China"...

[Edit: Now I realize that my reply could somewhat fall into "discussing politics" already and if so violate forum rules. I don't mean to do so of course, so, Kristi, please delete my post if inappropriate]

[Evil D]

Well, I think it's all in the title of this thread..."finally made". There's nothing stopping other scale makers from making these kinds of scales, so if someone in China sees an opening in the market that nobody will fill, I say more power to them if they're making a quality product. Everyone needs to make a living. The real question is, are they even worth $7? That'll be for someone else to find out since I don't have a Para 3 lol.

[Granoo Fink]

Not for me, it thanks. Got only one P3 left and this one already has micarta scales made by cuscadi. Price isn't everything. If I cannot afford it, I don't need it.

[Evil D]

Not for me, it thanks. Got only one P3 left and this one already has micarta scales made by cuscadi. Price isn't everything. If I cannot afford it, I don't need it.

I think price is just a side note here. I don't think CuScaDi are making contoured scales are they?


And I definitely need a vacation home on a tropical island. I can't afford it, but believe me I do need it

[Gtscotty]

[At first I thought you must be kidding 'bout the price.
But it's actually true.

No offense, but I would not get those (if I needed Para 3 scales in the first place).

Made in China, come from China... I don't have anything against Chinese people, but I don't like at all how these crazy low prices give makers from other parts of the worid no chance to compete pricewise and lead more and more to "everything made in China"...

[Edit: Now I realize that my reply could somewhat fall into "discussing politics" already and if so violate forum rules. I don't mean to do so of course, so, Kristi, please delete my post if inappropriate]

If this counts as a "problematic" opinion these days, we're in trouble. The scales themselves look kind of interesting, but I probably won't be trying them out for all the reasons.

[TkoK83Spy]

They look nice in those photos, but that price seems too good to be true...and you know how that saying goes!

[kennethsime]

I’m still not willing to enter my credit card details into AliExpress. I suppose that PayPal and Apple Pay are options that would protect me.

A Reddit user shared these with me. His knife actually looks pretty good.

[olywa]

Flytanium makes their Lotus contoured scales for the Para 3 in several different materials. Micarta is just $49 and I have them in green micarta on my only Para 3. Definite improvement.

[sal]

They will probably be making counterfeit models sooner than later.

sal

[sn0wman72]

$7 dollars?

Seriously this is an affront to what "real" aftermarket scale makers are producing, AND to the OEM product that Spyderco innovated, designed and produced. In a more clear way the AliExpress scales are surely complete junk.

[kennethsime]

Flytanium makes their Lotus contoured scales for the Para 3 in several different materials. Micarta is just $49 and I have them in green micarta on my only Para 3. Definite improvement.

I’ve stayed away from Flytanium for much the same reason. Tempting, though.

[nerdlock]

$7 dollars?

Seriously this is an affront to what "real" aftermarket scale makers are producing, AND to the OEM product that Spyderco innovated, designed and produced. In a more clear way the AliExpress scales are surely complete junk.

How is it an affront to aftermarket scale makers? To be fair to the Chinese maker, I don't think this is a blatant copy of an existing production design from the established aftermarket companies like Flytanium, RGT, etc. If only Spyderco contoured their scales like that from the factory, or at least increased the edge bevels/chamfering of their Golden G-10 models like a few of us were asking, I doubt this would be an issue to begin with. But since the company insists on sticking with the harder edge bevels so that the 3rd party scale market could exist, then why would anyone complain about this since this too is part of the aftermarket economy.

I'm not defending Chinese business practices nor their ethics - I have issues of national concern of my own with them and their government too; but fair is fair. This isn't a ripoff of a production/mass market design as far as I know so it's good to go in my book. Now with regards to the quality or durabilty, then it's another story altogether and I'll let the market decide. If it sucks and it falls apart easily then the market will react accordingly. Let's just not jump into political discussions like these willy-nilly since even Spyderco makes some of their knives in China.

[sn0wman72]

$7 dollars?

Seriously this is an affront to what "real" aftermarket scale makers are producing, AND to the OEM product that Spyderco innovated, designed and produced. In a more clear way the AliExpress scales are surely complete junk.

How is it an affront to aftermarket scale makers? To be fair to the Chinese maker, I don't think this is a blatant copy of an existing production design from the established aftermarket companies like Flytanium, RGT, etc. If only Spyderco contoured their scales like that from the factory, or at least increased the edge bevels/chamfering of their Golden G-10 models like a few of us were asking, I doubt this would be an issue to begin with. But since the company insists on sticking with the harder edge bevels so that the 3rd party scale market could exist, then why would anyone complain about this since this too is part of the aftermarket economy.

I'm not defending Chinese business practices nor their ethics - I have issues of national concern of my own with them and their government too; but fair is fair. This isn't a ripoff of a production/mass market design as far as I know so it's good to go in my book. Now with regards to the quality or durabilty, then it's another story altogether and I'll let the market decide. If it sucks and it falls apart easily then the market will react accordingly. Let's just not jump into political discussions like these willy-nilly since even Spyderco makes some of their knives in China.

I reference no region or country of manufacture in my post, hence I was not making any political discussion at all

I referenced the $7 price point. Surely it is not possible to make a product of the quality that we see from the established 3rd party scale manufactures for 1/10 of the price? Will the scales fit the steel liners of the Shaman, how will the blade centering be, will the thickness be correct so the screw fit properly, is the material of constant quality, etc. These are the items that I am speaking of.

For $7 you likely get what you paid for, not quality or service or commitment or PASSION

[ImaCutSumSchitt84]

$7 dollars?

Seriously this is an affront to what "real" aftermarket scale makers are producing, AND to the OEM product that Spyderco innovated, designed and produced. In a more clear way the AliExpress scales are surely complete junk.

If only Spyderco contoured their scales like that from the factory

This is a terrible idea, Spydercos scales are great just as they are. The only change I would like is to get rid of the left hand carry clip options. IMO every model should come stock with no left hand carry holes in the g10 and Spyderco should either include a left hand carry scale or offer to mail one for free. If they wanted to increase the cost to cover it I would gladly pay the few extra bucks to have a Spyderco made show side scale without the hideous holes that only a handful of customers use.

[Wartstein]

...
The only change I would like is to get rid of the left hand carry clip options. IMO every model should come stock with no left hand carry holes in the g10 and Spyderco should either include a left hand carry scale or offer to mail one for free. If they wanted to increase the cost to cover it I would gladly pay the few extra bucks to have a Spyderco made show side scale without the hideous holes that only a handful of customers use.

No offense, and I am not a Lefty myself, but calling roughly 10 % of all Spyderco customers "a handful" is not something we can agree on.

I respect that you don't like the looks of the holes, but I think your approach is not really practical for Spyderco.

But perhaps there is a market for aftermarket scale makers in that?

[ImaCutSumSchitt84]

...
The only change I would like is to get rid of the left hand carry clip options. IMO every model should come stock with no left hand carry holes in the g10 and Spyderco should either include a left hand carry scale or offer to mail one for free. If they wanted to increase the cost to cover it I would gladly pay the few extra bucks to have a Spyderco made show side scale without the hideous holes that only a handful of customers use.

No offense, and I am not a Lefty myself, but calling roughly 10 % of all Spyderco customers "a handful" is not something we can agree on.

I respect that you don't like the looks of the holes, but I think your approach is not really practical for Spyderco.

But perhaps there is a market for aftermarket scale makers in that?

To me 10% is still 10% no matter what the total amounts to. I understand the few extra holes has zero to do with the performance of the knife but it still bothers me a little at the fact I have no option to have Spyderco made scales in the original color with no holes. Every g10 and micarta spyderco I own have their own unique colored scales that can't be matched by an aftermarket pair. It would just be nice if Spyderco would at least offer a small batch of clean show side scales on their sprints and exclusives for those of us who want stock scales.