G10 - Is it hazardous to work with?

Hawk45

Hawk45

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Jan 28, 2005
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I was thinking of getting some G10 slabs to make some custom grips for some of my knives. Is G10 hazardous to inhale or work with?

Thanks,
Hawk
 
I know of one custom maker allergic to the dust on his skin, breaks out in a red rash. He can not use it at all. Be careful.
Jim
 
Would you advise to stay away from working with it as a do-it-yourself'er?
 
Hawk45 said:
Would you advise to stay away from working with it as a do-it-yourself'er?
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Put into context, a number of materials produce dust which is hazardous or irritant, either immediately or over time. This includes natural materials like ironwood as well. I know knife makers who can no longer be anywhere near the stuff without becoming deathly ill.

Use a respirator. A real one, not just a dust mask. My dad is a woodworker. He has powerful exhaust fans in his shop, and wears a full-body "moon" suit along with a full-face respirator with an electric pump type apparatus. A healthy shop should have some provision for periodic eradication of built up dust.
 
In my few trys at working with it. I sanded it in my OPEN garage,in front of a fan and wearing a dust mask. You can hardly see the growth on the side of my neck.:o
 
Hawk45 said:
Would you advise to stay away from working with it as a do-it-yourself'er?
Click to expand...
Nah. The other folks are right, wear a respirator and use as much ventilation as you can. What you're dealing with is fiberglass, probably the next best thing to asbestos for messing up your lungs when talking about the fine dust from grinding.

What kind of tools do you have on hand? If you don't have a metal cutting bandsaw, it's worth the extra cost to buy the scales already cut close to your needed size. It's a bear to cut with a hacksaw. Oddly enough, it's not any harder to shape or sand than micarta or most woods, though.

Don't grind too aggressively and let it get hot. It can scorch and get kind of raggedy; that's not much fun to clean up. Don't ask me how I know. :o
 
Basically anything you're going to cut or grind requires at LEAST a dust mask and safety glasses. I wear a full face shield when working with power tools. Even if the material itself isn't harmful, particles of anything in your lungs or eyes is a bad idea.

Micarta is easier to cut by hand than G10. It shapes up about the same. You can get paper (can take a very fine finish), linen (shows some pattern/texture) or canvas (can be very grippy and shows a nice pattern). It's much less costly than G10 and not quite as durable. Honestly it's a great overall choice; the only reason I'm working with G10 right now is because the client wanted blaze orange scales and that's the only material I could find in that color.

Dymondwood is cheaper yet and still holds up very well. It's available in all sorts of cool colors and patterns. You have to be a little more careful working with it. It wants to chip wherever there's a sharp corner and drills tend to make it tear-out when they cut through. Drill before shaping (standard practice anyway) and it's no big deal. Round off any corners and the chipping problem goes away. I have a dymondwood-handled K-Bar; I've used the butt (bare d'wood, no cap) to pound many a tent stake into rocky ground with no ill effects other than light scratches.
 
Thanks everyone.. I'll grab some of each and try. I'll get some new filters for my resperator.. haven't used since drywalling my kitchen about 4 years ago..
 
People may become allergic to the phenolic resins used to hold both G10 and Micarta, but it is the glass fibers in G10 that can permanently mess you up. Sanded glass can get under your skin and in your eyes, but inhaling microscopic glass particles into your lungs is an invitation to lung cancer. Not only will you feel like you have needles in your lungs (because you do), but your lung tissue will try to encapsulate it, this can lead to mutations of the cells when encountering glass. Mutation = cancer.

It isn't as bad with micarta because it is composed of paper, linen or canvass. These are organic, do not form sliver shapes like glass, and is easier for your body to purge.
 
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