Handle Materials, What are your favorites?

[ptgdvc]

What handle materials do you prefer to see used on a knife you are thinking about purchasing or ordering?

You may vote for more than one.

 

[ptgdvc]

Darn! I forgot to add Giraffe Bone to the poll!

Sorry for the oversight.

P

 

[Michael Starr]

Whatever happens to be on the knife you're selling...



For me its a toss-up between stag and ivory.
All depends on the knife and the maker, of course.


Got a soft spot for wood, also.
Some pieces have just as much character as ivory or stag.

In short I guess I kinda like them all.
Even have a piece with the much maligned giraffe bone.

 

[Ken Williams]

Not just Sambar stag, AMBER stag is the greatest of all knife handle options--beautiful, colorful, durable, and gripping power. With some notable exceptions, I don't generally care for stag carvers. As for walnut, only English walnut, please. On my list in addition to ironwood and African blackwood, I would also include ringed gidgee, snakewood, and the very best curly koa. Blackwood is moving up my list largely due to the spectacular knives I've seen here on BF.

Ken

 

[RogerP]

All the above choices except the first and last.

Roger

 

[flava]

I like walrus on bowies. For example Don Hanson makes GREAT use of that material just look how the handle and blade design flow together.
Premium wood looks nice on bowies and hunters too, I mostly like dark or nicely nuanced woods (blackwood, walnut, birch, snakewood).
On full tang I'm partial to ivory and wood in general but I like good stag, carbon fiber and micarta.

 

[Joss]

I like them all, with a preference for ivories. I also like MOP, but apparently not an option?

 

[andrevh]

I also like MOP, but apparently not an option?

I was also wondering how it did not make the list

Andre
www.andrevanheerden.com

 

[betzner]

Since stone is not included, I suppose I'll defer to stabilized exotic woods, although walrus ivory and mammoth ivory are right up there in terms of numbers in my collection. But rare forms of stone can really add to the flow of something exotic.

 

[hunterfisher808]

For custom skinners I like Desert Ironwood and giraffe bone, for tacticals I like Carbon fiber and polished G 10 and for slippies I like a translucent piece of bone with a good dye job and a worm jig pattern, sambar if its a sweet select piece, sadly nowadays its a toss up if you'll get one that looks better than a good bone job.

 

[C. STORR]

Stacked Leather!!

 

[commodorewheeler]

I'm guessing that this poll only refers to fixed blades? I didn't see any kind of metal listed as a handle choice, unless that fits into the synthetics category for the purposes of this poll. Also, no shells or stones?

I'm not the world's biggest fan of wood in general, so I picked everything else on the poll.

 

[Kevin Jones]

How about the ram/sheep horn?

As the handle is the second thing I notice at a glance and a VERY important feature of the overall design I want a material that has substance, and makes a statement. Never flashy but classy and striking like a beautiful women.

Natural, old, deep color, nice texture, and durable.

I love looking at a piece of ancient mammoth and wondering; if it could only talk, what stories would there be?

Life is too short for dull handle material.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

I like just about all the materials in your poll, plus MOP, oosic, Stellar's Sea Cow bone, mammoth bone, ancient whale bone, and probably a few others that I have missed.

 

[cnas122]

This may be a little off subject, but where do you guys see remington bone coming into the mix? I know it's not that popular on fixed blades, but I'm looking at a couple nice folders...one sambar the other remington bone. I really don't know much about the remington bone. Can anyone give me some background and/or collectibility pointers?

 

[canineforge]

Ordering, top three would be walrus, mammoth or stag, in most cases.

Purchasing, 'wood' depend on the knife. I like most woods, prefer walnut.


- Joe

 

[MVF]

Not to be crass, but I would be much more partial to Mammoth and Ivory if I could actually afford it! ; )

 

[Kyle Royer]

My favorites are, Mammoth Ivory, Walrus Ivory, Desert Ironwood and African Blackwood.

 

[Don Hanson III]

What handle materials do you prefer to see used on a knife you are thinking about purchasing or ordering?

You may vote for more than one.

I guess makers can vote I did anyway

In order;

Fossil walrus ivory

Mammoth ivory

Premium Stag

Ozark Black Walnut

Curly Koa is another fav as is Black Lip pearl on folders.

 

[peterinct]

My favorites vary according to the application but nice popcorn stag is amongst my favorite.

Additionally, I like various stone such as jasper, picasso marble, fossilized dino bone, lapis, tigereye, etc.

Buster Warenski used a solid ruby chrystal on a dagger that I thought was amazing.

Peter