Kraton Handles Opinions

[Dart368]

I have read that they don't hold up to chemicals such as insect repellants with DEET, gasoline or oil.

Anyone seen any problems with thier Kraton handles or should it even be a consideration when looking at choosing a knife?

Thanks.

[TorzJohnson]

I had a folder's kraton handle turn sticky and gooey once. It's very unpleasant to touch after that happens. I won't be buying anything with kraton again, but a lot of people like it and if you are careful maybe it won't be a problem for you.

[destroythealter]

I own a Kabar with Kraton handles. Only good things to say about it, I don't know what DEET is but gasoline, and oils don't affect it at all. I've had it for about a year and the handle is literally in perfect condition. I think the material is pretty underated (if made right, however they do that) because I was almost talked out of buying one but glad I didn't.

[Alberta Ed]

Kraton is tough to beat when it comes to sheer utility -- they provide an excellent grip even when cold, wet, covered with fat, blood... as professional hunter and outdoor writer Ross Seyfried wrote in a review of the Cold Steel Master Hunter in the May 1990 Guns & Ammo magazine, "...the Cold Steel knives continue to carry the finest working handles of any knife on earth. These are soft, checkered moulded rubber -- a material that is very similar to the famous Pachmayr handgun grips. The material makes wonderful grips and knife handles for one simple reason, pure traction. Hot, cold, wet, dry , or even covered with fat, the Cold Steel handles give you a firm, comfortable grip." I couldn't agree more. However, they may provide too much traction for chopping, as on the CS kukhris.

[t1mpani]

Deet is a chemical present in most pesticides.

Kraton is grippy as all get out, but I only like it on smaller knives, as it gets hard on the hands during extensive work chopping/limbing/push cutting, and is not especially hardy. It also makes my hands sweaty very quickly, and this accelerates discomfort due to wear (since you then have to grip the handles tighter).

In a rubber handle, my preference is uncontested with resiprine, the hard, chemically inert material that Busse/Swamp Rat use, and then neoprene, which isn't quite as tough but is a lot harder than Kraton. Any rubber-like material gives excellent purchase for your hand, and the extreme grippiness of kraton doesn't, for me, overcome the material's other shortcomings.

[Artfully Martial]

What do you folks think of Santoprene and Akulon?

[Dart368]

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

[Blue Sky]

I think DEET is most common in insect repellants.

Be aware that "Kraton" is a general term for a material family with many different formulations, each with different properties. It is possible that a Kraton handle from one manufacturer may resist DEET (or some other chemical) and another may not. It depends on the grade used.

[MikeH]

I too had a Kraton handle turn soft and sticky, and peel off the liner at the edges. It was on one of the old original Cold Steel clip point folders. This knife did EDC duty only, and was not hard used.

[Dart368]

So, I am guessing if it says "Thermorun" and another description says "Krayton" for the same knife handle, it is the same?

[STR]

Kraton is great in the smaller knives but in the bigger ones it is only great when new and after some use. With heavy use they don't hold up IMO. Actually in long term use they degrade also. I had a Cold Steel Shinobu I carried for years that the Kraton grips were the first thing to go on while the lock up and the blade still had lots of service life left in them. My Recon Scout Kraton grip got lose on one knife. On the other it just started loosing material from heavy chopping.

STR

[Dart368]

Thanks for all of the opinions

[mete]

Kraton is made by Kraton Polymers and Thermorun is made by Mitsubishi Chemicals . Two different polymers but with similar properties. If you are curious about polymers www.furionind.com has a long list of polymers and who makes them......According to the Fallkniven website , their MC-1 knife has a Kraton handle which is not effected by solvents, oils or DEET !

[Dart368]

Excellent! Thanks for the info.