Carbon Fiber Makeover

Jaytaylor

Jaytaylor

Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
1,720
Having recently (temporarily) satisfied my desire for an XM I’ve ventured on a scale quest and those carbon scale / XM shots across the webverse (and Hinderer site - the one on the Ti Standoff page sporting bronze standoffs - wow) looked damned hot but as usual I’m useless at deciding on which to get – textured or smooth.

I found the textured fairly easy but the smooth carbon wasn’t so easy and a bit of a hunt and a week later I found one and pulled the trigger hoping the site stock status was not an error – it wasn’t and I got the last one.

So, three days later and waiting for the smooth carbon scale to get to NZ I got itchy pants and started lusting over the textured carbon……..why fight it?

The textured carbon arrived in record time. (sorry about quality - only iphone on hand)

IMG_4326.jpg


IMG_4321.jpg


Then the smooth carbon arrived.

Carbonator1.jpg


Carbonator2.jpg


Carbonator3.jpg


Trouble is I still cannot decide which I prefer, the smooth carbon looks awesome but I prefer the tactile texture of the Hinderer grip pattern in hand.

Damn having choice!
 
That's a tough one Jay BUT Congrats! They are both Winners. I started looking at the photos and was OOh then AAH
No help here. I too like the look of the smooth (3 dimensional) but would like the feel of the other.

How bout, put the smooth one on the knife and rough up your hand? :eek:
 
I am thinking smooth on a Slicer and textured on a Spanto.

Looking good, Jay. So you got the last one. I suspect I was not the only one watching and then wishing they had not waited too long. :thumbup:
 
Jan I said:
I am thinking smooth on a Slicer and textured on a Spanto.

Looking good, Jay. So you got the last one. I suspect I was not the only one watching and then wishing they had not waited too long. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Hey Jan I,

It was the only one advertised, the dealer may have more stock. Shoot me a PM if you want the details - worth a try.

I think you have the right answer, I need another XM-18 3.5 in slice grind...:devilish:
 
Smooth looks cool, but as stated, textured grip feels more reassuring in hand and glove. My smooth carbon scaled knives get dusty and my textured carbon or G10 get EDC duty. I'm not going to bring up the Ti scales in your thread.

Looks nice either way and it is your knife. What works best for you is the way to go.
 
I've never played with any textured carbon fiber, but i have with a sm smooth cf CRK and spyderco, so for a 3" i really want the smooth. I've been on edge on whether or not just to get a textured, and these pictures just don't help:p

do give your impressions after some use :thumbup:
 
Jaytaylor said:
Hey Jan I,

It was the only one advertised, the dealer may have more stock. Shoot me a PM if you want the details - worth a try.

I think you have the right answer, I need another XM-18 3.5 in slice grind...:devilish:
Click to expand...
I just assumed (yea, I know) that you were talking about Vince at Fort Henry. I got his last 3" smooth.
 
I too have both, and while smooth CF looks slightly cooler, I prefer the textured one which is on my XM18 right now. The smooth CF scale feels just a bit too slick for my taste. And after all, the textured CF scale looks pretty nice too........much nicer than a black G10 scale.
 
Good info guys, as usual learning by reading. I have a tendency to jump right from G10 to Textured or smooth Ti.
Definately going to try some Hinderer CF :thumbup:
 
I had the textured CF and it's very hard to tell that it's CF compared to black G10. I love the look of the smooth CF. I don't see the point of the textured CF, it has to be so close in weight to the G10, I'm not sure what the benefit of that over the black G10 is.
 
Yes, it is hard to tell that the textured CF is actually CF, as the trademark pattern is not present. Yet, I like the fact that some sort of a pattern can be seen still, and that the color isn`t actually black but rather a dark grey. It definately has an interesting look to it-and I think it is much nicer than uniform black G10.


onlooker96 said:
I had the textured CF and it's very hard to tell that it's CF compared to black G10. I love the look of the smooth CF. I don't see the point of the textured CF, it has to be so close in weight to the G10, I'm not sure what the benefit of that over the black G10 is.
Click to expand...
 
akubra said:
Yes, it is hard to tell that the textured CF is actually CF, as the trademark pattern is not present. Yet, I like the fact that some sort of a pattern can be seen still, and that the color isn`t actually black but rather a dark grey. It definately has an interesting look to it-and I think it is much nicer than uniform black G10.
Click to expand...

Agreed, when I first saw textured carbon fiber, I was "ho hum" and didn't really understand why despite being a carbon fiber nut. But, once I had one, I really liked it. I also love the smooth carbon fiber but don't dismiss the textured carbon fiber immediately, you may find out you really like it like I did.
 
To each his own. I like textured scales. And the textured carbon fiber is appealing to me.

photo-35.jpg
 
The Frag Carbon Fiber looks pretty sweet. If I can't find a smooth carbon fiber for a 3 inch than the Frag CF might be the way to go for me. Any one have pics?
 
snowreaper1 said:
The Frag Carbon Fiber looks pretty sweet. If I can't find a smooth carbon fiber for a 3 inch than the Frag CF might be the way to go for me. Any one have pics?
Click to expand...

I would help if I could but I do not own any frag pattern scales. Here are a couple more textured carbon fiber pics so comparisons can be made when and if the others scales are ever posted.

photo-38.jpg


photo-36.jpg
 
For lack of a better word, there is a look of "correctness" of that scale on an Xm. Keeping in mind
The form and function in design.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top