Have Questions about handle materials.

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dzlvs8

Joined
Jun 13, 2013
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OK. I am making my first ever knife supply order and have questions about handle materials. I am unsure of the different terminology used for stuff.

First off, I may want what I think is Micarta. On knives that I have seen it basically just looks like black glossy plastic with zero texture. What is that just zytel/glass reinforced nylon? I swore it was micarta.

Second. What the heck is peel ply vs normal g10

This is such a foreign and overwhelming hobby to get into. It has taken me a long long time to get to this point of making my first order and using real materials to make a real knife.
THANKS
 
The three commonly-available types of micarta are paper, linen and canvas. Linen and canvas both have obvious texture to them, both tactilely and visibly. Paper micarta finishes very smoothly with only a very slight visible texture. Zytel and FRN have almost nothing in common with micarta.
Micarta is a great material for beginner and experienced knifemakers (Bob Loveless considered it to be the perfect material for knife handles). Linen is my favorite.

- Chris
 
If it looks like plastic I'd bet you are thinking about G10. Sorta similar to micarta, but made from fiberglass. It's used very frequently in high quality production knives. It is impervious to water and most chemicals. I love both personally.

Peel ply is a type of G10. It comes in sheets that has a top layer that peels off revealing a very grippy surface. This, again, is becoming more common on production knives. Two examples, off the top of my head, are the Spyderco Southard and Benchmade 810 Contego, although it is featured on many other knives as well.

Hope that helps.

Btw, G10 comes in many forms. One of the most popular being dual colored layered G10. This provides a cool pattern when ground through the layers. One well done example is on the Benchmade 950 Rift in black and gray G10.
 
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Strigamort said:
Here's an example of stock that you can buy.

http://usaknifemaker.com/handle-mat...-phenolic-c-95-36.html?dir=asc&order=position
Click to expand...
Ummm, yeah, That's where I found the peel ply stuff.

Also I know what G10 is. I am wondering what the difference between peel ply and regular g10 is. I saw a video where you peel off the top part and then its grippy underneath but???? There are other grippy G10's too. So, none of that answers my question.

I have held a contego and from what I remember, the general texture of the G10 was smooth but grippy (I'm not talking about all the sharp grooves cut into it). From what I remember, it reminds me of an anodized aluminum Benchmade, where it's smooth but grippy.

Is that what peel ply is like? Smooth-ish but grippy.
While something like an emerson is what you would consider grippy with a texture. ...aka medium grip G10 from usaknifemaker?


Also, the micarta / glass nylon question.... I'm still confused. Here's is a example of a knife (buck special) that I thought was micarta but looks like glass nylon. Is this micarta...and if so - what type? It just says phenolic...so G10??
http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productid=3051

What type of micarta is this? It's seems smooth an has a high gloss.
http://www.blackjackknives.com/?CONTEXT=art&cat=19&art=47&BISKIT=3917453443
blob77323.jpeg
 
I would lean more towards g10 if you are starting out, I feel it's a little easier to cut, grind, shape. It doesn't heat up and distort color like micarta will.
 
I think the main difference between the two is that G10 is a resin impregnated glass fiber weave, basically fiberglass. Micarta is a trademark brand of Westinghouse. The generic description is phenolic laminate. Similar to G10 it is a resin impregnated laminate. That laminate can vary. As others have mentioned the main varieties are paper, linen and canvas laminates. Other home brew varieties can be made from old jeans(canvas), knit yarn, and many other things you can imagine. The commercial varieties are produced using pressure and heat to get very dense flat sheets. Home brew varieties lack that sophistication but serviceable sheets can be made using fiberglass resin and some sort of paper or fabric. The resins used in G10 are different from the resins used in phenolic laminates but the two are similar in their concept, an absorbent material like paper or a woven fabric with a tough resin binder. The final texture is up to you. They both can be finished to a smooth high gloss or left a bit grippier when finished to lower grits.
 
dzlvs8 said:
Ummm, yeah, That's where I found the peel ply stuff.

Also I know what G10 is. I am wondering what the difference between peel ply and regular g10 is. I saw a video where you peel off the top part and then its grippy underneath but???? There are other grippy G10's too. So, none of that answers my question.

Is that what peel ply is like? Smooth-ish but grippy.



What type of micarta is this? It's seems smooth an has a high gloss.
http://www.blackjackknives.com/?CONTEXT=art&cat=19&art=47&BISKIT=3917453443
blob77323.jpeg
Click to expand...

Peel ply has some sort of aggressive checkering diamond pattern pressed ingo one side with some other peel away material to protect the texture.
It's thin, if you sand off the pattern to give it any shape, the texture is gone.
I've used it on thin flat folders for the texture- makes no sense on fixed blades.






What type of micarta is this? It's seems smooth an has a high gloss.
http://www.blackjackknives.com/?CONTEXT=art&cat=19&art=47&BISKIT=3917453443

http://www.blackjackknives.com/?CONTEXT=art&cat=19&art=47&BISKIT=3917453443

Read the photo caption
Black Linen Micarta Handle with Pommel
Click to expand...
Black Linen

If you can visualize linen micarta - the fibres are the texture of linen.


G10 is more or less the same process, but the texture of the fabric is like fibreglass cloth you would use in autobody repair.
http://static.hardwarestore.com/media/product/212225_front500.jpg


The more aggressive the weave like canvas, burlap, or G10 allows you to sand it smooth to get the shape you want,

then use abrasive blasting to bring out the grippy nature.



It's perfectly easy to understand once you hold the materials.
Buy a piece of each, or go to a show where you can finger all they types

Seeing the finished knives shows you how it looks finished.

or this is where learning in person is helpful - if anyone would have you.
 
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Thanks for the info.
So an Emerson is actually Peel Ply???? It has a texture to it. I know my Benchmade 890 Torrent is just normal G10, but the difference between peel ply and grippy non peel ply g10 confuses me.

The original basis for this post was to find out if there was a G10 or micarta that is smooth and glossy (or can be polished) and doesn't have a texture.

This Buck is a good example of it. - Their site just says phenolic.
B-119-99-Buck-Special-Hunter.jpg
 
dzlvs8 said:
Thanks for the info.
So an Emerson is actually Peel Ply???? It has a texture to it. I know my Benchmade 890 Torrent is just normal G10, but the difference between peel ply and grippy non peel ply g10 confuses me.

The original basis for this post was to find out if there was a G10 or micarta that is smooth and glossy (or can be polished) and doesn't have a texture.

This Buck is a good example of it. - Their site just says phenolic.
B-119-99-Buck-Special-Hunter.jpg
Click to expand...



the difference between peel ply and grippy non peel ply g10 confuses me.
Click to expand...
-not famalier with those terms, I'm assuming it's just a more aggressive pattern


The original basis for this post was to find out if there was a G10 or micarta that is smooth and glossy (or can be polished) and doesn't have a texture.
Click to expand...
Paper is the smoothest I know.


This Buck is a good example of it. - Their site just says phenolic.
http://www.soonerstateknives.com/B-119-99-Buck-Special-Hunter.jpg
Click to expand...

The production processes they will use are different from those you will use.
I assume that handle is cast possibly even cast and cured on the knife itself.
There is probably no substrate like cloth or paper in that process.

that would explain why it's so smooth.


Smoothest for you, probably paper micartia

or a cast resin like the Kirk as suggested above
 
Peel ply...

Before the g10 is pressed it has the top (removable) layer laid on top. This top layer has a unique pattern on the underside that transfers to the g10 when curing. The texture is not achievable by hand. The top layer can be difficult to peel off.

I'm not sure what else I can tell you. Thought I covered your questions. If you read the description for peel ply and g10 at the link I provided, coupled with your experience looking at knives that feature it, it should become obvious as to what it is.

Another thing you can do is look them up on Wikipedia. They have a page on micarta that explains it's origin and other information.

Good luck!

Last thing, you should wear a respirator while machining either micarta or g10 (or peel ply carbon fiber for that matter).
 
Good info. The kirinite actually does seem to be the only option. Unfortunately they don't make plain colored kirinite. Oh well. Thanks.
 
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