Handles with Skeletonized or nested liners – how strong are they?

[boris01]

I believe that Spyderco uses handles with skeletionized liners(see def below) on the Para Military and the Military. Other companies such as Benchmade use full stainless steel liners on both sides. IMO full SS liners should be stronger than sleletionized liners but they will also be heaver. Let’s assume we are going to beat the heck out of this knife.

My question is how strong does a knife handle have to be?
Has anyone ever heard of the handle on a Para Military or Military breaking?

Definition of Skeletonized or Nesting liners
Hollowing out a section in G-10 or other handle material on the inside of the handle where the lock and or liner is then inset/inlayed and fitted into the hollow section. Nesting increases strength and creates a thinner overall profile to the knife

 

[Brutus013]

They will not be any less strong under normal usage. I cannot possibly imagine the handle breaking before the blade, not by a long, longshot.

Edit: Especially on those two knives by Spyderco.

 

[trimcut123]

Only depends on the model...
the para is fine with it.
But the military will flex and give way in my hand a bit much

 

[STR]

Nested or solid lock and liner models can both test out to be quite strong.
One of the weaknesses of nested would be in the screws that hold the lock in place on some models like say in the Dozier Thorn model by Kabar. I've had two of these and both needed an occasional check of the mount screws that hold the lock in place on that aluminum handle. On others like the Kershaw Blur where the body mount screws are also responsible for holding the lock in place over the stand offs its not as big an issue where the lock can literally fall out of the folder during use because the mounting screws loosened up or one fell out while the other was loose. For one there are usually more body mount screws so you have more backing up the lock. When its just the lock screws that hold it in place it can be one of those you have to make an effort to at least check out now and then about like you do your pocket clip screws to make sure they stay tight. Both these items endure some stress so constant pressure from leverage and moving in and out puts stress on the screws that hold them in place. As a result both can loosen up some over time.

STR

 

[dalefuller]

They will not be any less strong under normal usage. I cannot possibly imagine the handle breaking before the blade, not by a long, longshot.

Edit: Especially on those two knives by Spyderco.

I can't imagine that either. I have and use both of these knives and I wouldn't even know where to start if I wanted to break one of the handles. G10 is extremely tough material by itself. As I understand it from company posts, the liners are most often added to give anchor points for the screws and to add some rigidity to the handles so that they don't flex too much when gripped and used hard (the Millie will do that some, as Matt mentioned above).