Handles + knife suggestion

E

earthman

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
4
Hi...

Why are most handles not made of wood... or something natural?
Are the synthetic ones that much better?

Thx.

P.S. Any suggestions on a good camp/survival knife that can take alot of abuse but is not too expensive. Some criteria:
-drop point
-flat grind
-full tang
-no fancy stuff that isn't necessary.
-....

thx.

Earthman
 
I can't answer the handle material question, but some knife suggestions:

SOG Northwest Ranger
Becker Knife and Tool BK-2 Companion
 
I think that generally speaking most natural materials are unpredictable whereas you can control the properties more easily in a synthetic material. Every specimen of a natural material is unique to itself while you can pretty much create a synthetic material that will (almost) always execute itself in the same manner time after time.

What's your definition of "not too expensive?" The TTKK from Trace Rinaldi is one of the knives I'd look at that fits your criteria (depending on what you consider expensive).
 
Wood can rot, contract, and expand. Also more expensive and would have to be modified to provide a very agressive grip texture.
 
when plastic was developed over a hundred years ago it was introduced as something hi-tec of course. during world war 2 colonial was the first govt contracter to make plastic handles (plastic developed by kodak film) on their issue knives (navy mark 1) on the premise that it was cheaper and more resistant to enviromental conditons, impact resistant, ect. since then plastic has become much more durable then natural materials, and is much more cost efficient to produce. such as the material I do not care for called "zytel". wood, bone, stag, mother of pearl, is much more expensive these days, requires more hand finishing, something most production companies are not willing to do, and when they do its at a much higher cost to the consumer. however when you talk about g-10, carbon fiber, micarta (linen, paper, canvas, ect.) ect these are more expensive to produce than the other plastics, but their wearing capabilities are much higher then any other forms of plastics (zytel, thermoplastics, staglon, durastag, ect.) due to their different epoxy laminate characteristics (more expensive to produce.
 
It is hard to generalize about natural or synthetic materials. Ironwood is different than stag. G-10 is different than FRN. I like both, natural and synthetic, as long as it is high-quality, and strong.

Many natural materials are very strong and stable. Some are not. Most are expensive. Many synthetic materials look and feel cheap. Most of them are cheap and strong. Some look and feel very high quality, as good as any natural material (though of course, very different). I like figured hardwoods like Ironwood and Maple Burl, as well as high-end synthetics like Micarta, G-10, and Carbon Fiber. They are all different means to the same ends: great looks, great feel, and great strength.

Synthetics are used more often because they are cheaper and easier to mass produce (rather than mass procure).

I am not sure how much you want to spend, or how big of a knife you want, but look at the following (in order from cheapest to most expensive):

Becker
Ontario RAT series
Bark River
Charles May
Gene Ingram
Bob Dozier
Busse

Of these, my favorite is Bob Dozier, by far. He makes the best knives in the world, IMO, at any price. His standard grind is the hollow grind, but he want do a flat or convex grind on any knife as well. He uses D2 as standard, but will also use A2 if you want a tougher steel.
 
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