The real difference in price between a knife using Zytel vs. one using G-10 or Micarta, is not the material price between the materials as much as the manufacturing costs for the company. G-10 and Micarta need to be manufactured, purchased, machined and finished (often by hand). Zytel on the other hand is either purchased from a subcontractor as a preformed (molded) part or molded in-house. There is no finishing required as evidenced by the visible seams and sharp edges often mentioned. You want G-10 a certain shape, you need to machine it. You want grooved G-10 or Micarta, you need to machine it. You want holes in Micarta, you need to drill it. You want these features with Zytel, design it in the mold and forget about it. It is not so much the properties of the Zytel itself that I dislike, as much as the method of the manufacturing processes used and the knife designs it is used in. CRKT does Zytel handled knives very well. Their Mirage for example, is a traditional liner-lock with Zytel scales and it seems to exude a sense of sophistication that far exceeds it's bargain price. All depends in the design and application.
To buy similar scales of G-10, Micarta or Zytel from a knife supply house is splitting pennys.
