Desert iron wood or micarta on bark river bravo 1.5

[legato1]

Im planing on ordering a bravo 1.5 pretty soon in 3v and was wondering which handle material will be better. I love the appearance of the desert ironwood but this will be my primary user fixed blade because i dont have a fixed blade user currently other than a mora. The micarta version also looks good but not as good as the desert iron wood in my opinion. It will probably see bushcraft and food prep use primarily but may encounter some harder work (conservation work in outer banks north carolina and camping in the blue ridge). Is the wood they use stabilized? How will it hold up compared to micarta? Is the micarta more grippy, or grippy enough to make a difference? This is my first major fixed blade purchase, up until now its been all folders and otfs. Thanks for the help - Stanley

 

[humblerodent]

Ironwood is one of my favorite knife handle materials. It is one of the hardest (densest) woods in the world so it will hold up great. It is also lighter than micarta, so that might be a consideration. I also love the way it looks and how it sort of fluoresces in the sunlight. It's a great all around choice. Of course, I also have knives in micarta and that is a great material as well.