Ideal handle material?

I don't know if Zytel would qualify as ideal, but I honestly think it's "good enough", at least. Some of its qualities include being lightweight and keeping the cost down. More to the point (pun intended) it works for me... Certainly not fancy or flashy, though.
All in all, I still prefer G-10, but Zytel has a lot going for it, IMHO.

Regards,

Leo Daher

------------------
"Though the meek shall inherit the Earth, they won't keep it past Saturday night..."
 
For cosmetics- you can't beat stag (Hello PhilL!) & some woods.
For real use, G-10 or Micarta in either order.

------------------
Runs With Scissors
AKTI# A000107
 
I really like the look of a stag scale or a highly polished hardwood. However, those are hardly ideal for real user knives...so it'd have to be G10 for down right toughness but for a compromise between toughness and beauty....micarta.
 
I like G 10 in colors other than black. Black has been way over done. Plus how many black knives can you own before they all start to look alike? I think in a folder this would be ideal.

------------------
Later, Jim
 
Hi Sal,

My favourite is G10 -- particularly the high-weave G10 used by Spyderco.

My ideal would be G11 or one of the fire-resistant versions of G10 and G11, FR4 and FR5 respectively. Additionally I would like the laminate to be based on S2-glass rather than E-glass. E-glass has better electrical resitance, but S2 is stronger.
 
Favorite: G-10 in black as well as colors.

Ideal: G-10 as above finished like the BF Native/Police. (Although polished G-10 looks pretty cool too!)

Ben

------------------
"If you're upside down and burning, you probably went too fast."
 
hmm, i think presentation wise and over good looks, a polished and clean (no finger prints) stainless steel handle would be best.

practically, i think G10 would be the best, and for practicality and presentation - Multicolored G10
smile.gif


Daniel
 
Sal, I think Ivory Micarta is hard to beat for beauty and durability. Cocobola is also a close second for looks. On a practicality/ tactical side plain Titanium or carbon fiber are nice.
 
My favorite handle material has to be Micarta or wood. For an everyday user knife G-10 is tough to beat. Just make knives in more colors than black. The blue handle on the Bladeforums Native is beautiful, I know they make G-10 in green and red. Just start using colors other than black.
 
Ideal? Hmmm, I have gave up with looking for ideal stuff (knife, car, gun, wife, etc.
wink.gif
) 20 or more years ago... No ideals in this world (just my opinion).

Favorite? Depending on the knife intentional use, as usually at least.

For heavy duty folders (sometimes also called as tactical) I would like G-10 for these reasons:
* it has very impressive strength to weight ratio (especially if it is dense fine fiber composite like on SPYDERCOS);
* it provides non-slippery grip in different conditions (if suitably finished of course);
* it is thermally neutral - not hot and not cold;
* it's visual appearance isn't affected too much when scratched and is relatively easy to restore the surface if needed.
My favorite heavy duty folders with G-10 handles are SPYDERCO Starmate closely followed with Military and BENCHMADE AFCK closely followed with model 710 Axis Lock.

For medium sized daily carry folders I like also G-10 for the same reasons. My favorite here is KERSHAW Avalanche.

For lightweight folders, in another words - if minimal weight and reasonable strength combination is required glass reinforced nylon is unbeatable. My favorite here is SPYDERCO Calypso Jr. Ltw. closely followed with Delica.

For gentleman's folders bead blasted titanium is very nice, has enough durable finish and provides grip sure enough for this category's knives. KERSHAW Ti-Hawk and CRKT S-2 are illustrating this nicely. Bead blasted and anodized aluminum provides very pleasant "warm" touch and visual appeal (BENCHMADE model 940 Osborne), sometimes can be quite sensible to scratching.
 
G-10 most definitely!
biggrin.gif
Errr, ever considered G-10 with kraton in-lay?
tongue.gif


Sam

------------------
have spydies
will travel...
AKTI Member #A001148
 
All-around winner(for now) would be G-10 in its current high performace(black) form for me. But if you're into colors and all that, It's not just a textured hard use material. As a few companies have already demonstrated, G-10 can be flat and textured , contoured/sculped, smooth polished, and it can come in a variety of colors or a mix of colors(Ares style) or a combination of any of those, and lets not forget Spydercos new G-10 shell, which could be applied to the entire scale surface, or just to certain areas, leaving some texturing to preserve more functionality.
Spyderco has a couple of real nice examples of this in their prototype line up.

Ken
 
Sal, If we are talking scales on a knife with a metal liner, I'd say Carbon fiber or G10 are both very nice.

If we are talking about the scales being the handle with no liner, I'd have to vote for titanium or stainless steel or aluminum. aluminum being my least favorite.
 
I think Carbon Fiber inlaid in G-10 is the best working and looking handle IMHO


jonny
 
Favorite: Giraffe bone (right now)
Ideal: G-10, with some texturing, or grooves like the Talon.

------------------
iktomi
 
Favorite is Aluminum! Just like the metal feel!
smile.gif


Ideal is Aluminum with some type of insert for grip.
biggrin.gif

 
favorite man made: carbon fiber (something about that grain gets me every time.)

favorite god made: anywood with an intresting grain/color. (hard to beat a nicely done natural scale/inlay. proof in the sebenza wood inlays)

ideal: boring ole G-10 for work. handels well in many odd conditions, its reasonably lite, and seems impervious to chem. or natural wear.

as much as i like the visually pleasing stuff, its the g-10 that goes to work in my pocket every day. now the weekends are a diffrent story, g-10 NEVER leaves the house. i want some style when im not expecting a knife abusing day.


------------------
'Till next time,
Rich the kite guy
 
Ah, nice thread! Thank you Sal.

It would seem that the overwhelming preference for hard use handles is G10. I agree. But only if it is amply textured! It is lightweight, has a very high tensile yield strength, is very chemical resistant, won' t bond to flesh in sub zero environment and is widely available from suppliers.

I have no problems with "slippery" handles. They have a place but for specific functions. An example is my Co Pilot as a favorite for money clip use and vest pocket carry. In this sense it serves well to be a smooth finish. Easy on the clothing. And okay for small mundane tasks.

I' ve retired my Police, Worker, and Standard many years ago due to slippery steel handles. They simply do not work with a work environment where there is oils, solvents, greases, blood and other liquids. I' ve had some steel handles checkered with adequate results but not without considerable costs.

The Military is one of my favorite folders currently. But I still wish for an even more "grippy" texture on its G10 scales. The special edition BF Native came close but its ergonomics simply doen' t suit me very well.

Further, if only those models with G10 have a slightly rounded profile to "melt" into its scales...

L8r,
Nakano
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top