Carbon Fiber -- good handle material?

[tallwingedgoat]

I have begun to take notice of carbon fiber handles. They look nice but how do they compare to G10?

 

[Corduroy]

I belive that carbon fiber has the highest strength/weight ratio of any material normally used in knives. Its strength/volume is also quite good. This means that you can make fairly thin, unsupported scales from it and they will be quite strong enough to support most folders and weigh very little as well. My understanding is that it also provides a fairly grippy surface when bead-blasted.

This is not how the material is frequently used, however. It seems to be more widely chosen for its aesthetic and high-tech appeal. You will often see it in applications that make little use of its strength (supported or partial scales for folders, scales for fixed-blades) and finished to a high shine that, while slippery, shows off its prismatic woven structure.

Basically, it's an extremely strong lightweight composite material, but most of us knifemakers and customers just think it looks cool. No harm in that

-Drew

 

[stjames]

I will agree with Drew about its looks. I sent my brother a WH CF Spearpoint for his birthday and he told me the other day that his wife keeps trying to steal it!

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James
San Francisco, CA

 

[Chiro75]

I just finished using a little CF for the first timne on a small 1095 kit blade and I liked it a lot. I took the handle scales to a 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and they are quite grippy. Moreso than Micarta at the same grit.

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