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- Jul 23, 2015
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I have placed one order with Matt Kriebs from rocksolidscales.com so far, or I guess technically, two orders that got merged into one.
His communication is top notch. He's prompt, courteous, and considerate.
But the material he created, Grip-Tec, is outstanding. For the past few years, until now, I have been saying over and over that Suretouch is my favorite material, often including this spoiler in such posts:
Well, now I have a new favorite material.
Grip-Tec is resin peppered with flecks of rubber. It's easy to work, tough, and lighter than Suretouch. I've used it on two knives so far, and it requires even less strategy than Suretouch does to make it maximally grippy. That's because Suretouch is layers of G10 and rubber, which means the top layer, if it is G10, will still be slick, and only the places where black rubber is exposed are grippy. But with little bits of rubber fairly evenly distributed across the entire surface of the handle, it's impossible not to make it grippy, basically along the whole surface.
One thing to note is that the rubber bits here and there seem like they can partly tear out during grinding, leaving small voids. This is not really an issue functionally though, because those voids add grip themselves, and aesthetically, though it presents as a sort of white or grey speck, I feel it looks just fine.
The handles made with the material are grippy, have a feel of slight give to them (surely due to the rubber) without being too soft, and feels to be about as light is your typical micarta. At the time of this post Grip-Tec is my new favorite material for user knives, instantly surpassing Suretouch upon my first use of it. It’s a bit more expensive than Sutetouch, but it was invented by a knife maker who knew what he wanted in a handle material, and hand made by him to order. I think it is worth every cent.
Here are the first knives I made using this material.
His communication is top notch. He's prompt, courteous, and considerate.
But the material he created, Grip-Tec, is outstanding. For the past few years, until now, I have been saying over and over that Suretouch is my favorite material, often including this spoiler in such posts:
Suretouch is an ingenious handle material, which consists of colored G10 laminated with durable and grippy black rubber, combining the best qualities of both materials. You will find that Suretouch has great grip, even when smooth. I find that even a smooth Suretouch handle feels like it is glued into place in my hand, even while wearing slippery gloves or mittens. Suretouch also has a very slight amount of give to it so that it does not feel as rock hard in the hand as straight G10, adding further to the handle's comfortable feel.
Well, now I have a new favorite material.
Grip-Tec is resin peppered with flecks of rubber. It's easy to work, tough, and lighter than Suretouch. I've used it on two knives so far, and it requires even less strategy than Suretouch does to make it maximally grippy. That's because Suretouch is layers of G10 and rubber, which means the top layer, if it is G10, will still be slick, and only the places where black rubber is exposed are grippy. But with little bits of rubber fairly evenly distributed across the entire surface of the handle, it's impossible not to make it grippy, basically along the whole surface.
One thing to note is that the rubber bits here and there seem like they can partly tear out during grinding, leaving small voids. This is not really an issue functionally though, because those voids add grip themselves, and aesthetically, though it presents as a sort of white or grey speck, I feel it looks just fine.
The handles made with the material are grippy, have a feel of slight give to them (surely due to the rubber) without being too soft, and feels to be about as light is your typical micarta. At the time of this post Grip-Tec is my new favorite material for user knives, instantly surpassing Suretouch upon my first use of it. It’s a bit more expensive than Sutetouch, but it was invented by a knife maker who knew what he wanted in a handle material, and hand made by him to order. I think it is worth every cent.
Here are the first knives I made using this material.