Any tips on what to use for the handle of a blade?

J

Jerms

Joined
Jul 12, 2014
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3
Ok so I've made knives before and all I used for the handle was bone and antler, but I was wondering if anyone could give me some alternative materials to use?
Thanks
 
The more obvious, a varieties of wood.
Micarta, some polymers can make decent handles.
 
Jerms said:
Would a leahter wrap grip be sufficient?
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If it's tightly wrapped, they can be awesome. Make sure it's secured though. Some people think a little knot will suffice, generally (depending on the style of blade) you'll screw in a holding piece to bind the leather to the handle.

Just make sure when you use leather, you don't cheap out. Nothing devalues a good knife like cheap material.

Cheap leather wears and breaks in a way most people will... turn their heads at, to say the least...
 
Micarta, g10, wood, bone, brass, copper, corian, delrin, plastic, carbon fiber, zytel, leather, etc... I just saw a handle on the knifemakers exchange on here a few days ago that was made of prickly pears and pinecones suspended in resin and it was gorgeous! Basically anything that is hard, and machinable I would think would be ok for handles. It's only limited by your imagination!
 
^^^ Ewwww! Just kidding. I've seen some really nice knives with oosic handles, but just the idea is funny to me!
 
Figured tropical hardwoods like padauk, rose woods, yellow heart, ebony,jatona, buninga, bocote, lignin vitae. Domestic Osage Orange might make a striking-looking handle. Zebra wood and marble ebony would certainly be attention-getters, but too gaudy for my taste.

All these species are decay-resistant and tough as nails (though Osage might chip if you drop it on a hard surface.)

I like mother-of-pearl as well.
 
Pinecone stabilized in resin is quite unique.
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Wood, micarta, G-10, G-11, carbon fiber, rubber, titanium, FRN of various sorts, leather, etc.
 
STONE!!! I know, it would crack much easier than pretty much everything mentioned and most are quite expensive....but it'd be really cool!
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Even polished concrete even looks good, plus it's easy to attain.
 
There are also animal skins, I just had Moore make me a saya from gar hide which he also uses, along with Armadillo on knife handles.....


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You can't go wrong with Micarta and G10. They are readily available, come in tons of solid and multi-color combos and resist oils, water, corrosion, warpage and will outlast any wood, bone or antler scales/handles. Also easy to work and can provide lots of grippy texture and Micarta actually gets more grippy when wet.
 
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