First-- Recon Stone is the short name for Reconstituted Stone.
This is a description that I think describes it best.
Recon stone is produced from approximately 85% natural stone ore. The ore is pigmented, compressed into blocks and impregnated with approximately 15% acrylic gem resin and is sold by the oz.
Recon stone is the industry standard for custom knife handles, Jewelery, custom guns handles, musical instruments, furniture and most custom inlay items today. Yes that custom inlay on your guitar is probably recon. That furniture that is so beautiful to look at with inlay. You got it. Most likely recon. You know that jewelery that you love and bought for a great price. The Jewelery business seams to be where this started. As to the fact that it is called by the name of the stone dust that is in it. Well that is the rule of thumb from all the mfgs. ALL major knife manufactures use recon stone on their custom lines of knives. I own some Case, Boker, Buck, YH, myself that are recon. I have looked at all the others and it is the same. Now most of these also offer knives handled with real stone, but the price starts at about $600 or more. The normal is about $900 to $1000.
Second-- Does anyone think that you can buy a knife that has been file worked, custom bolsters, custom blade work and custom handled for $250 to $400 and use real stone. This is where my research proved that David Baker is not charging enough money for his custom stone handles. That knife that David gave away for the Sharp Fans 1 year anniversary should have sold for $700 to $800. Yes that is right. The price of the stone and the equipment alone. Not to mention his work. That is the other plus with using recon. It is much easier to work with.
Third-- This product came out as a way to bring the nicer higher end look to the masses. Most people that own a YH or PP or any other custom knife from Case or any other company could not own it if they used solid stone. Yes I do know that YH and PP do produce many knives that are of real stone. But be prepared to pay the price. Thats right. Priced out of the market. So I understand that some people feel that they are being mislead. But the fact is that this has been standard industry practise for many years in most lines of custom products. NOT just knives. The other problem I have found is that the people selling the product don't understand what it is. That is not the mfgs fault. That is not the knife companies fault. I have added some links for members to look themselves and get some info. These will also be added to the links section for future info. From what I see education is the key.
http://www.bordeauxinlay.com/pg12.htm
http://www.jantzsupply.com/cartease/search-products.cfm
http://www.masecraftsupply.com/html/recon_stone.html
I hope this helps everyone to understand what this is and why it is used.
Last-- The key to if a person was mislead or shamed is did they get wat they paid for. The anwser is easy. If you bought a ( I will use Yh but it could be any of the mfgs) YH custom knife for $300 5 years ago. Did you get riped off. NO. The fact is that the knives are graded by the name, the number produced and the condition. Then last the looks. If it is a custom knife company like YH or PP it will not lose money. Case has made a series of recon handled knives. Do you think they have gone down in price? NO WAY!
So I have found this to be a learning experiance. If you want a custom stone handled knife and don't want to pay $800 or more you might want to rush to some of our custom makers before their price gos up. Because we have been spoiled by the low prices from them.
Kevin Fisher