Backspacers......................whats your preference?

ARtsig1

ARtsig1

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I started a thread over on the other forum about this and thought I would get one going here. What brought this up was a J.W. Smith knife I traded for that had been refitted with a titanium back spacer.
The feel was a bit more solid in my hand........of course it could just have been me thinking it was more solid. Anyway I have always favored the solid back spacer over posts and a steel/titanium spacer over micarta or other synthetics. I don't mind the extra bit of weight you gain with steel spacers and in fact desire it. As a result I've just sent three folders off to J.W. Smith and two of them are going to receive steel backspacers. This is just my preference and I was curious as to others thoughts along this line........or if you have ever considered it! Thanks.
 
it really depends on what kind of knife it is and what material is the handle made out of. if it's suppose to be a tactical knife i usually expect a more solid handle while if its a dressy knife i'd prefer whatever makes the handle look better. in general for a user knife i prefer a long back spacer not a tiny one towards the pommel, if the knife has thin liners and thin scales then a big spacer would be better to prevent flex but if the handle is Ti of T6 and the liners are thick then a big spacer isn't really necessary, my favorite spacer overall is a file worked anodized Ti one
 
Using folders,open back. art have you ever tried to get meat,hair and gore out of a closed back knife? not good.
Others I just do not have a preferance.
 
Art,
From a maker point of view, the Micarta is easiest to fit and finish and much faster to do. The partial and/or partial-plus-post(s) is easier to clean on a hard use knife (like Bob Tersuola's tacticals which are built to withstand jungle warfare environments).
But for a collecting knife, I personally prefer making a solid back spacer that fits all the way to the blade tang is the way to go....in 6AL4V Titanium or stainless...and it just calls out for you to heat color or anodize it and filework it, along with the Titanium liners. With only one exception, all my folders in the "collector grade" have titanium, or solid metal, back spacers that are decorated in all sorts of ways....heat color, filework, anodized, polished, bead blasted, or ?
A number in the "using" price range also have Titanium backspacers, or may have micarta. The one exception to "collector grade" where I do use micarta is maroon micarta with presentation pearl grade slabs and fileworked liners and hand rubbed ATS34, or S30V, or 154CM, or Damascus blade where the knife is a gift to a friend who has had a sad loss in his/her life.
As a collector, if I buy a colector grade folder from another maker, I almost always anticipate it having Titanium or Stainless full spacer with exceptionally well done filework (look at Frank Centofante's for example of not necessariy intricate but extrememly matched up, very delicate, and highly attractive filework...I buy Frank's folders not because I specifically like his knives (I do), but rather because the knives showcase a wonderful talent)....and to get back to the topic of this thread, you need a ful metal spacer to most advantageously display the product of such talent.

Stay Safe,
 
Good responses, thanks. For some reason the solid spacer seems to give me more confidence in the overall strength of the knife. I don't know if there is any actual gain in strength with steel or titanium over micarta or G-10 especially where it is being used at, can that be spoken to? I do like the gain in weight that a solid steel spacer gives you, as I don't really care for all the light weight tactical folders you can find now. Not a knock against these folders, they just aren't my cup of tea, and it seems like there are more lightweights than heavyweights to be found.
Just a personal preference I guess!
 
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