Handle Material

joshsmith

joshsmith

Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Messages
646
What type of handle material do you prefer to see on using knives. Do you prefer natural wood or synthetic materials. I'm taking ivory and pearl out of the discussion. I would like to know your opinion on the wood vs synthetic topic. You could also throw in cow or giraffe bone if you like.

The second question is which synthetic/wood do you like most and why?

Thanks.
 
On a hunting/skinner I prefer stag and ramhorn. It's durable and offers a good grip dry or damp.
I just don't care for synthetic handle material.
Both Ironwood and Cocobolo wood appeals to me.

Natural colored giraffe bone is also appealing IMO, and is quite durable.
 
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I prefer permium wood on a using knife as it allows the most flexibility for shaping the handle to maximize ergonomics - important in a working knife. I love stag - but the piece either fits your hand or it doesn't. You can't shape it too much without detracting from the beauty of the stag.

I'm not a huge fan of synthetics - just a matter of personal preference.

Almost any type of wood will do as long as it is a very good (or better) example of its kind. The difference in cost between very nice wood and the so-so stuff is not all that much relative to the overall cost of the knife.

My favourites include:

Black Wanut
English Walnut
Koa
Ironwood
African Blackwood
Amboyna
Gidgee
Maple
Snakewood
Curly Oak

Natural, undyed giraffe bone is okay by me, but it is well down the list. I'd rather have wood.

Roger
 
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It depends, if it's something I'm going to be using, I'll take a synthetic, but at that point I'd want the blade to be stainless as well.

For a user, I tend to like micarta on fixed blades and G10 on folders - but either one generally works well for me.

For a collector piece, I'm not sure I'd want anything with a synthetic handle. Woods is definitely a step up from a synthetic, in my mind (though anymore I generally prefer ivory or stag). Blackwood & ebony always work well for me, and I'm a big sucker for buckeye burl. All that said, as long as the wood compliments the piece, the particular type wouldn't bother me.

Giraffe bone is something that I've begun to sour on. It can look very nice, and if I was in love with the piece it wouldn't stop me. But if it wasn't something I knew I'd keep forever I'd likely pass anymore.
 
Stag and figured wood. I am so offended by the smell of micarta (stag smells like cookies baking compared to that stuff IMO) I have, in the past, used African blackwood where most would use black micarta.
 
Its funny. Giraffe bone is known as being durable but I dropped a folder of mine once and cracked/chipped the bone pretty easily. Maybe it just hit on a bad spot?

Josh, remember that slip joint I had and you were definitely playing with for like 10 minutes? The mammoth ivory is holding up well and the cracks feel great in the hand. Its way warmer then giraffe bone and seems to be durable. Maybe cheap, less good looking mammoth ivory would be good on a user and not too pricey.

Sorry that doesn't really answer your question.
 
For a using knife I really like stag.
Searched for, and found a quote I like from Charlie Mathews in another thread, " Harry(the second twin of Twin Blades) does call antler, natural micarta".
I'll most definitely agree with that. :thumbup:

For a wood handled using knife.
EVERY wood Roger listed in addition to Hanson Walnut. :)
An all time favorite is DI, beautiful and virtually indestructable.
Wood handled knives also make fantastic collection pieces, IMO.

Doug
 
I like either stag or an exotic hardwood.Cocoblo,ebony,rosewood etc. Wood feels *warm* to me,unlike synthetic,s and is purdy !
 
I'm a big fan of wood in general. But for a serious work knife (I'm talking building sites, heavy industrial work etc) I prefer Micarta due to the fact you can drop it from scaffolding or drive off with it on the roof of the van,(yep, I've done that several times:rolleyes:) and it won't break.
My favourite woods are;
Black walnut
African ebony
Maccasar ebony
Yew
Lignum Vitae
I love the look of desert ironwood, but I've not got round to trying any as yet.

Ian
 
Stag is king in my book then wood and last micarta .. Micarta has to be on the right knife like a skinner or caper something that will be getting repeated blood and water baths micarta is practical. But for bowie's and fighters stag all the way
 
I like both woods and micarta, but you can also go the route of combining the two and using a stabilized wood, and you get the best of both worlds. Beauty of the wood, and a high durability.
 
I like wood myself quite a lot, but leather or a good wrap are fine too.

Synthetics like epoxy laminated fabrics, foam rubber, rubber are fine.

Horns are fine. I especially like wooly mammals' horns.

Rock and minerals are fine. Bone too.

To me, it's all about application. It's all intrinsic and handle materials work or they don't usually depending on application in my book.

Poor quality materials always suck.
 
Josh, it was good meeting you face to face at the Santa Barbara show! My wife and I loved your stories about making those knives for the sheikh!

For using knives, I will go against the consensus here so far and say that I actually prefer synthetics as a handle material. Sure, they don't look as good as ivory, pearl, or a nice piece of stag, but I find them to be more durable and lower maintenance out in the field. I've had a lot of problems with natural handle materials shrinking and cracking on me when I don't oil them often, and when I am out and about, I usually don't have the time to be doing that kind of constant maintenance on them.

My favorite synthetic material is carbon fiber. I think it looks the best out of the synthetics, and I've read that it is the strongest.
 
For a true user, my preference is synthetic material, and even a synthetic guard if it's something to be used outdoors. I have 2 pack knives made for me to my specs (by Terry Primos and Nick Wheeler) and both have micarta handles and guards. It's also what I would want on a cooking knife.
 
How did I forget cocobolo.
It's right up there on my favorite woods list. :thumbup:

Doug
 
Synthetics are nice for users, but on custom users, I prefer wood or stag. Roger makes a good point about fit in hand...much easier to contour wood to personal preference than stag. On a user, handle ergonomics is of utmost importance. My favorite woods are Missouri black walnut, curly maple and koa. Highly textured stag is more difficult to keep clean as a user material, but gives a better grip.

- Joe
 
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