Carbon fiber on Handles?

Tracer-san

Tracer-san

Joined
Jan 28, 2000
Messages
854
Hey folks :)

I was wondering if besides the looks and low weight, the CF handles have any particularity?
Specialy how "scratch resistant" are they, since I wouldn't want that on a EDC if the handles are getting all scratched after a low period of time.

How much lighter than G-10 is it? is as scratch resistant as the G-10?


Thank you!


NsB
 
Ive never done an actual weight comparison but I think CF and G10 are about the same ( if different, its not noticable ). As per the scratch resistance, everything will scratch, it how well it camoflages it. CF and G10, and frankly most of micartas, are very scratch resistant to normal everyday pocket stuff, they will also hide scratches quite well. Dont forget, theyre not really scratches, theyre character :)
 
I do not know of any shortcomings that carbon fiber has. It is my favorite synthetic scale material with G-10 coming in second and micarta coming in third. The great thing about carbon fiber is that it looks great with either a rough or smooth finish and both finishes are extremely scratch resistant. In my opinion, the perfect knife is one with carbon fiber or G-10 scales with no bolsters. These sorts of knives age more gracefully than any other design that I can think of.
 
CF can be quite slippery. I agree that it is about the same weight as G-10 and very scratch resistant.

Akwack
 
I have a Carbon Fiber handled 941 that is holding up well. I admit I have had it only a week, but I don't use a clip, so it rides in my front pocket with my car keys. It doesn't show scratches and is very comfortable in the hand. I don't know how it compares to G-10 in the weight department, but it is a very well made knife and so far the Carbon Fiber is holding up very well. I don't know if that helps at all, but it is my two cents. :D
 
G10 has a specific density of about 2, change the fiber to carbon and you get about 1.6, a difference but not much in practice.

The one real problem a have had with various carbon laminates is when it and some metal are in contact with some electrolyte (ie. salty water), most metals tend to corrode fast, Monel and titanium handle the conditions best. If the metal and carbon fibers are electrically isolated by even a thin layer then no problems.

TLM
 
Easyrider-Was your 941cf sharp when you got it? Mine was as dull as a deer antler.
 
I had both a CF handled Spyderco Dragonfly & a CF SOG jet edge I

In both cases the handles were far too "slippy" and the CF cracked up around the lanyard holes.

I much prefer G10 or Micarta for a handle material although since I got my first Sebenza a couple of weeks ago I have not carried anything else yet. :)
 
Carbon fiber handles that have been tooled improve grip. However, that's still not enough to make me want to get one.
 
Well, G-10 for me is then :-)

I'd surely want to handle a Carbon Fiber knife thou.

Thank you for all your answers gentlemen!

NsB
 
Hey Fudo, mine wasn't as sharp as it could have been. The blue 940 I have came out of the box much sharper than the 941CFD2 now that I think about it. A couple of passes on the Spydie sharpmaker cured the dull edge problem. :D
 
Carbon fiber can crack if the knife is dropped. Micarta will not. I also understand that there are glass fibers that get released when carbon fiber is damaged in some way.

If the Carbon Fiber is finished amazingly well and all polished up, you'll be bummed if and when it scratches, as usually carbon fiber is bought more for it's looks than anything else. So far, I've been lucky and not suffered a carbon fiber scratch.

Micarta will scratch, but it's usually a matte finish, so the scratches will not be as noticeable. I still get bummed when one of my micarta handled knives get scratched, though.

Carbon fiber is definitely more slippery. Good handle shape design will be needed for better grip, as may, for instance, holes clear through a fixed blade handle, for increased puchase when gripping.
 
I wonder how hard you have to drop carbon fiber to get it to crack? I own a bunch of carbon fiber handled knives and none of them has cracked even though most have been dropped. I also think that carbon fiber scratches less than any other synthetic material that I know of (or at least it hides sxcratches better than any other material). Finally, not all carbon fiber is slippery. I have several carbon fiber knives with grippy finishes. I think that often people assume all carbon fiber is slick because slick finishes are more common. I own a number of customs like my Carson small model 4 which has a non-slick finish. For perspective, G-10 can finished very slickly also. Check out the old Kershaw Random Tasks or maybe check out some of A.T. Barr's polished G-10 customs. I have a great Barr Wharncliffe in polished blue G-10 that is as slick as any carbon fiber scaled knife.
 
Go Carbon Fiber !

I've got or had over 20 knives that had carbon fiber scales. They look good, are exceptionally scratch resistant and feels great in the hand.

It's surprising to hear that cf can crack if dropped. I've dropped a few from heights of 3 to 8 feet and haven't experienced any cracking. Did sustain some very minor chipping when it contacted the concrete/asphalt though.

In fact. . . I was repelling recently and was using a fixed blade to perform a cut-away and I dropped the knife after cutting the rope. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lanyard attached and the knife made a very rapid descent. Surprisingly. . .we found the knife. Banged up. . .but the cf survived the 120+ foot fall into some rocks. Some scratches and a dent ~ no cracks.

The blade is another story. . .I discovered that ATS-34 has a hard time surviving a 120+ foot fall.

Blade length prior to impact = 5.5”
Blade length after impact = approx. 3.45”

I didn’t even try to put another edge on it. . . ;)
 
Carbon Fiber has always felt to slippery to me when it is finished smoothly. It does seem quite scratch resistant...but it's just not a favorite of mine...


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Besides the general slippery feel (which I do not like :( ) and the looks (which I like :) ), I just had a check on my CF knives for Bagman's remark. The Beretta Avenger (CF handle + CF laminated on the blade; probably the lightest 3.5" folder available + it is :cool: ) and Microtech Option II are perfect, on the Al Mar Falcon you can see that the CF is under pressure (slightly raised at rhe lanyard hole) but it holds up and my dragonfly is indeed cracked from lanyard hole to the edge (without ever being used).
In general I prefer G10 (with not to heavy checkering).
 
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