G-10 vs Carbon fiber?

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SkinnyJoe

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Which one is:

1) "grippier"?
2) more resistant to physical wear/damage?
3) more resistant to chemicals?

Thanks.

P.S. thinking about higher grades, i.e. Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw...
 
1. The amount of grip is determined by the finishing process.
2 & 3. Do a google search for "carbon fiber chemical resistance" or "chemical resistance of carbon fiber" there seems to be 3 different kinds of CF, each may have different levels of resistance and strength.


I have limited use with my CF millie but in comparison to other knives with G-10 handle's and years of use I would say that G-10 would be the overall winner. Carbon fiber has been known to peel up around screw hole's and I noticed that the surface can be easily compressed.
 
Carbon fiber is gryped to be slick in comparison . Both are resistant to most chems. althogh i wouldnt be soaking my knife in acetone or gas both would beak down in a few hours. The debatable would be wear and toughness. G10 would stand up to scoring and abrasions better but carbon fiber is stronger. Yet, if you score some carbon fibers deeply across the handle, its overall weaker.
 
i got both cf & g10 they feel about the same and both are very tough , i believe is up to you and how it feels in your hand, g10 texture when is molded it can have a better grip but if both are sand smooth they are about the same. both very durable as well.
 
As far as chemical resistance I am un sure. Gripiness seems similar and depends on finish. As far as durability is concerned I think g10 is a clear winner. The stuff is amazingly tough
 
SkinnyJoe said:
Which one is:

1) "grippier"?
2) more resistant to physical wear/damage?
3) more resistant to chemicals?

Thanks.

P.S. thinking about higher grades, i.e. Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw...
Click to expand...


1) grippiness has to do with how the material is finished, not the material itself.
2 &3) Since both G10 and "carbon fiber" are fiber reinforced epoxy resin, and the properties in which you are interested are dependent on the epoxy, there can be just as much variation between two examples of G10 as in an example of G10 and one of "carbon fiber".

The only difference you can really say there is between these two materials when used for knife handles is appearance.
 
I thought G-10 uses phenolic resin. When you machine it, it relaeases formaldehyde !
 
You gents are misreading that site.

There are versions of Micarta (trademark material name) that meet the specification for G10. They consist of glass fabric embedded in epoxy.
http://www.portplastics.com/download/pdf/plastics/laminates/laminates5.pdf

G10 is defined by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) specification, specification L1, “Industrial Laminated Thermosetting Products” as being glass fibers embedded in epoxy resin.

Both carbon fiber handles and G10 handles are epoxy based.

Edited to add:
There is no formaldehyde in cured phenolic.
 
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I would think a CF SnG would be much stronger than a G10 SnG.
 
Charlie Mike said:
I would think a CF SnG would be much stronger than a G10 SnG.
Click to expand...

Why?

1 -Composites provide directional strength. The fibers carry the load. Therefore, loads applied out of the plain of the fibers are borne by the epoxy, which is not all that strong as such things go.

2 -Composites are strongest in Tensile mode, not nearly so much in compression.

That means that, in order to see a real difference between the two materials as knife handles, you would have to pull on the end of the handle away from the blade or try to pull the handle apart. Not a likely scenario. Pulling in the direction of the fibers is not a common stress applied to knife handles.

In standard use as knife handles, there is no reason to see that much difference between carbon fiber and glass fiber.

But the carbon fiber looks fantastic.
 
I've talked this over with Reese and for my need as an integral spacer with Ti slab (SnG), CF is the way to go assuming both slabs are (without the spacer) equal thickness. In my case that is .160" for a knife with a 4" blade.
 
knarfeng said:
You gents are misreading that site.

There are versions of Micarta (trademark material name) that meet the specification for G10. They consist of glass fabric embedded in epoxy.
http://www.portplastics.com/download/pdf/plastics/laminates/laminates5.pdf

G10 is defined by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) specification, specification L1, “Industrial Laminated Thermosetting Products” as being glass fibers embedded in epoxy resin.

Both carbon fiber handles and G10 handles are epoxy based.

Edited to add:
There is no formaldehyde in cured phenolic.
Click to expand...
If I understand this correctly , there is "G-10 Micarta" and there is G-10 ?

Same thing different name ?

I remember seeing some knife ad saying G-10 Micarta thinking they got it mixed up .

1234,,,,

Skinny , I think grippy G-10 holds up better in a hard use knife when it comes to look´s, the shiny CF gets scratched , and it´s slicker than grippy G-10 ,
Spyderco made some knives with grippy CF , maybe that is the answer !
 
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I know it "feels cheap", but if those 3 issues are your criteria, you might just want FRN. But again, I know FRN is a love/hate material.
 
Only real difference to me is that CF feels warmer. It is also lighter then G10, but difference between G10 Military and CF Military is 1g so it is not an critical difference.

Thanks, Vassili.

I am not sure that CF stronger then G10 - from what I read it has better strength/weight ratio - so same piece of G10 with same size will be stronger, but heavier.
 
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1234 said:
If I understand this correctly , there is "G-10 Micarta" and there is G-10 ?

Same thing different name ?

I remember seeing some knife ad saying G-10 Micarta thinking they got it mixed up .

1234,,,,

!
Click to expand...

Almost. "micarta" is normally used generically as the name for fabric reinforced by phenolic resin. However, "Micarta", capital "M" is a trade name used by the Norplex-Micarta Corporation:
http://norplex-micarta.com/

Norplex-Micarta makes many grades of "Micarta" sheet material. Many of them are based on phenolic resin. But there are others based on epoxy, silicone, and melamine resins. Among these, Norplex-Micarta makes a grade of "Micarta" that consists of epoxy resin with glass fabric reinforcement.
http://norplex-micarta.com/products/product-detail.php?page=31

Some of these meet NEMA G10. Others meet FR4. FR4 is still epoxy glass, but flame retardant additives are added to the resin.

mete said:
I wonder then what I have .The TOPS website says G-10 but there is a distinct smell [formaldehyde ?] when cut with dremel. For further confusion --- http://www.mcmaster.com/#plastics/=2ijwh1
Click to expand...

Mete, while I have worked with lots of both uncured epoxy and uncured phenolics and am familiar with their odors, (Don't tell OSHA.) I don't have enough experience with their thermal decomposition products to be able to answer you. But I'm not sure that the decomposition products from epoxy would smell all that different from those of phenolic. Once phenolic is cured, there is no formaldehyde left. (Phenolics are heat cured and the temperatures needed to cure them are above the boiling point of formaldehyde. So any formaldehyde not consumed in the cure reaction would simply boil off. Once the formaldehyde has reacted with the phenol to form the phenolic polymer, it cannot turn back into formaldehyde, no matter how much heat is provided.

Frank
 
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