handle materials

Tsujigiri said:
Almost. Composite materials are made with a fiber and a matrix (the resin or plastic). The two together provide a much stronger material than either alone. But there's a wide variety of fibers and matrices that can be used. Most use an epoxy resin for the matrix, which is hardened and cured at a high temperature. G-10, carbon fiber, and kevlar are all like this. The difference there is the material of the fiber reinforcement used; G-10 uses a glass fiber fabric and CF uses carbon. Micarta, on the other hand, uses a thermosetting plastic (meaning you can't just melt the plastic and reuse it) as the matrix, and there are a few different fibers that can be used with it, like canvas, paper, and linen.
Click to expand...

Epoxy is a thermoset polymer, but the way you describe the difference between G-10 and Micarta makes it seem like epoxy is not. Micarta and G-10 are both fibre-reinforced thermosetting polymers (as implied by the fact that epoxies are cured with heat). The differences are in the fibre materials and the thermosetting polymer used.

Edited to add: I just noticed Bill1170's post above which also gives the correct distinction.
 
Last edited:
Could someone add price element into the comparison? It seems that carbon fiber fetch higher price?


Tsujigiri said:
FRN-lightweight and fairly grippy, dents instead of shattering on impact, pretty strong but flexy, but feels cheap to some.
G-10-very grippy, strong, but can shatter and tears up pants if too textured
Stainless Steel-strong, but can't be anodized like Ti or Al, slippery and heavy, and shows scratches easily
Titanium-lighter than stainless steel and very strong, preferred for framelocks
Aluminum-lightweight, but scratches easily and is too soft to use in a framelock (compared to Ti and SS)
Carbon fiber-similar to G-10, but looks a little nicer
Micarta-fairly strong composite that is usually either finished smooth or with a canvas texture.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top