Kirinite?

BellaBlades said:
WOW, that gun looks sweet.

Mixed Feelings by most. It is not for everyone, but it does make up for at least 30% of the requests for custom handles. First off, in person it does look much different than in pictures. Some tasty patterns that I used. Sorry these are not my custom knives. But the handles are hand made. So that is what we are showing any way.
It can look expensive and elegant if used properly. Sometimes the material can be brittlel, which makes it PIA when something happens at the end of the handle process. When adding liners underneath I will not take the material below .09 for thickness.
Otherwise easy to machine. And some patterns look great. Others looks like old lady toilet seat as someone once said.
I like
-Lava
-Desert
-Red/Blue MOP
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That is interesting info, and the kind of thing I was looking for. Thanks. See, I had done some reading, and everything I read indicated that it was a very tough and strong material. But if it IS brittle (or fragile as Joe puts it), then I agree with Joe 100% - what is the point? I would love to hear more opinions on its toughness and durability.



And actually, thanks for all the comments. Of course I am not surprised in the least that it would not be popular with the folks who post in this forum . . . even though it is very popular and seemingly becoming more so with other knife collectors.

I see a lot of comments from folks saying "I'll stick with ivory and stag" (and maybe pearl). I like ancient ivory and blacklip pearl as much as the next guy. And good quality original-color stag can be awfully nice. I have many knives with these handle materials. However, and maybe I am wrong, when I read comments from folks indicating that they are just going to stick with ivory, pearl, and stag, I get this mental image:


head-in-sand.jpg



It doesn't take a weatherman to see which way the wind blows regarding ivory of ALL kinds. Who needs the hassle of playing reindeer games about what kind or age the ivory it is, or having to try to prove it? I am sure I am not the only one here who has seem the recent explosion on purveyor websites of "amber" :rolleyes: on custom knife handles now that authorities have been cracking down on tortoise shell. It will be fun to see if/how ivory morphs into "bone" or "natural material" etc.

I think that GOOD stag is also scarce - at least I spent a fair amount of time at shows last year and did not see much good stag. Certainly not enough to support all the great knives we might all like to have with stag handles. And I have had two well-known makers who post here tell me privately that they do not make stag knives anymore because they cannot find the quality of stag they want. Good large pieces of black lip pearl - equally scarce. White or mother of pearl is different, but personally almost always looks like crap to me.

There is a lot to be said for wood, and in fact I probably have more wood handled knives than anything else. But after a while, I wood get board with wood. ;)

I am going to see if I can find out some more information from some other folks about the fragility (or lack thereof) of kirinite, and based on that decide whether to proceed with the order I have in mind. If I do proceed, I'll be sure to post the knife here when it's done so those of you who so choose will have a good opportunity to throw tomatoes at it.
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LOL!!!
 
Ken, maybe that dude dropped his knife in that hole? ;)

I for one am looking ahead and see an awful lot of fossil & stag handled knives in the future...:)
 
I think most of you know that I am not a fan of synthetic handle materials.
But......Mark Behnke did a dagger a while back using the mop kirinite.
I thought it turned our real nice.
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Myself, I cringe when I see a $500+ fighter with g10 as handle material.
 
I personally don't care for the looks of Kirinite at all, but, I don't care for many synthetics. I also don't care for tooty fruity colored woods. I just like natural colors. I do see the practicality of synthetics as far as obtainability and durability for working knives.

I also don't think we should just give up on nice natural materials just because they're getting hard to get. It is scarcity that drives the demand and makes them valuable. If there were diamonds laying around in gravel pits everywhere we wouldn't be putting them on wedding rings and dangling them from various body parts.

I also don't think we should be giving in to every restriction on natural materials that comes down the pike unless it's foundation is in analytical thought and sound science. I feel the same way about restrictions on anything. I personally feel better if the things we use were biodegradable so that once discarded it wouldn't sit around in a land fill or somewhere else for thousands of years littering up the place, though I would not appose the use of synthetics for that reason.

I think that some day in the U.S. the average guy on the street will not be able to carry a knife for the same kind of reasoning that many other things are being restricted in the U.S.
 
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Interesting discussion....not much love for the Kirinite here...

I agree with BellaBlades, about 25-30% of my orders these days are requesting Kirinite specifically. Personally Im not a fan of bone, I feel that it looks cheap and gaudy (ironic since thats how most of the commenters feel about Kirinite). It all comes down to personal prefrence and taste, at the end of the day we all have our prefrences. Hopefully we can all at least agree that all of us here appreciate the diversity of options in the knife community.

Regarding Kirinites strength and durability, here are a few things I have noticed over the past year in working with it:

1. It can be brittle when being cut or drilled. You need to use steady speeds when drilling holes, and have a backing under the piece if you are drilling through holes. When cutting with a bandsaw or other power saw, expect some light chipping on the cut edge, you can work around this easily once you get a feel for the material
2. Its grippier than you think. Even when given a high polish, kirinite has a unique slick but grippy feel. I dont know how to explain it, but the surface retains tactility even when super smooth or slightly damp.
3. sanding can be tricky. I equate this to be similar to Silver Twill and other woven glass synthetics. If you sand at high speeds it can heat up and even melt a bit. A steady and swift pace when sanding works best.
4. durability. When given high polish it can be scratched, similar to carbon fiber. These can generally be buffed out with minimal effort. I have been using Kirinite on my Mule for about a year now. I have dropped, smashed, and just plain beaten it to hell and it still looks great (for those that appreciate the look anyways). I have yet to see a chip or crack appear on a properly finished scale.
5. No Satin. Kirinite is a glossy material, and doesnt take a matte or satin finish well. If thats your style, this is not for you.

hope this helps, and please...before you hate on it, give it a try.

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Rival1314 said:
Interesting discussion....not much love for the Kirinite here...

I agree with BellaBlades, about 25-30% of my orders these days are requesting Kirinite specifically. Personally Im not a fan of bone, I feel that it looks cheap and gaudy (ironic since thats how most of the commenters feel about Kirinite). It all comes down to personal prefrence and taste, at the end of the day we all have our prefrences. Hopefully we can all at least agree that all of us here appreciate the diversity of options in the knife community.

Regarding Kirinites strength and durability, here are a few things I have noticed over the past year in working with it:

1. It can be brittle when being cut or drilled. You need to use steady speeds when drilling holes, and have a backing under the piece if you are drilling through holes. When cutting with a bandsaw or other power saw, expect some light chipping on the cut edge, you can work around this easily once you get a feel for the material
2. Its grippier than you think. Even when given a high polish, kirinite has a unique slick but grippy feel. I dont know how to explain it, but the surface retains tactility even when super smooth or slightly damp.
3. sanding can be tricky. I equate this to be similar to Silver Twill and other woven glass synthetics. If you sand at high speeds it can heat up and even melt a bit. A steady and swift pace when sanding works best.
4. durability. When given high polish it can be scratched, similar to carbon fiber. These can generally be buffed out with minimal effort. I have been using Kirinite on my Mule for about a year now. I have dropped, smashed, and just plain beaten it to hell and it still looks great (for those that appreciate the look anyways). I have yet to see a chip or crack appear on a properly finished scale.
5. No Satin. Kirinite is a glossy material, and doesnt take a matte or satin finish well. If thats your style, this is not for you.

hope this helps, and please...before you hate on it, give it a try.
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Great post!

Thanks. Especially for making the distinction between brittleness when it is being cut or drilled and the fact that you can drop, smash, and beat it to hell without damaging it.

I had read others comment on the "grippiness" which was one of the first things that intrigued me.


Maybe some enterprising soul will start specializing in rehandling old ivory-handled knives in kirinite so they can be resold. :thumbup: Maybe even add some pizzazz to some old Loveless Riverside or Lawndale micarta knives by replacing that old drab brown and green micarta with some brand spanking new 21st century kirinite. ;) LOL!
 
Don Hanson III said:
Ken, I do understand where you're coming from, my friend.

Just not sure I like where you're going. ;)
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I think it's frikkin insane....and not in a good way. "The Kids".....maybe there is hope for them, maybe not.

Can say this....not one of my friends has shown me MOBB or celluloid handled knives in the last 10 years...Ivory of all types, stag, stone, micarta, G-10, Moonglow, rayskin, wood of all types, pearls.....yes.

I'd like to keep it that way. HAVE seen the material for sale at shows, which is what elicited the MOBB comment.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I think it's frikkin insane....and not in a good way. "The Kids".....maybe there is hope for them, maybe not.
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I get where this is coming from, and I think you have accurately identified that there is a distinct difference in taste between generations. I would consider myself to be a "young" maker...

however to quote Bob Dylan:

"Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin...
For the times they are a-changin"

for better or worse is not for me to say, but I have already admitted my tastes are much different than many in this thread.
 
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Rival1314 said:
I get where this is coming from, and I think you have accurately identified that there is a distinct difference in taste between generations. I would consider myself to be a "young" maker...

for better or worse is not for me to say, but I have already admitted my tastes are much different than many in this thread.
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It isn't necessarily that there is a distinction of taste between generations...there is definitely differing taste between young and old(er), I hated the look of gold in jewelry when I was younger, now I like it, as an example.

There are more than a few aspects of cutlery geared towards the youngsters that I can't stand, but that has been posited in different threads over the years.

I wish you luck and a long career filled with profit and personal satisfaction.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Burl Source said:
I think most of you know that I am not a fan of synthetic handle materials.
But......Mark Behnke did a dagger a while back using the mop kirinite.
I thought it turned our real nice.
attachment.php


Myself, I cringe when I see a $500+ fighter with g10 as handle material.
Click to expand...

Than this must kill ya :)

2463b4a68ce85d4171f2128ae67ba586.jpg


As for me I'll be looking for choice pieces of Stag when I can grab them

I bought a nice piece of Elk horn earlier this year
 
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Don Hanson III said:
Ken, maybe that dude dropped his knife in that hole? ;)

I for one am looking ahead and see an awful lot of fossil & stag handled knives in the future...:)
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I'm with you Don. I've been hearing that stag and fossil ivory are on the way out for years, however we continue to see more beautiful stag and fossil ivory handled knives than ever. There will always be those who enjoy reporting the sky is falling.

I don't care for Kirinite or most synthetics, however I hope their popularity continues, as it will leave more beautiful wood, stag and fossil ivory handles for the rest of us. ;)
 
"4. durability. When given high polish it can be scratched, similar to carbon fiber. These can generally be buffed out with minimal effort. I have been using Kirinite on my Mule for about a year now. I have dropped, smashed, and just plain beaten it to hell and it still looks great"

This just doesn't stack up to me. It reminds me of an ad. for pick-up bed liner material I read once. " virtually indestructible, impervious to wear and damage. Cuts easily to fit any pick-up bed"
 
The Virginian said:
Great post!

Maybe some enterprising soul will start specializing in rehandling old ivory-handled knives in kirinite so they can be resold. :thumbup: Maybe even add some pizzazz to some old Loveless Riverside or Lawndale micarta knives by replacing that old drab brown and green micarta with some brand spanking new 21st century kirinite. ;) LOL!
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Now your just trying to get people riled up, that's just sacrilege man.
 
Mark Knapp said:
"4. durability. When given high polish it can be scratched, similar to carbon fiber. These can generally be buffed out with minimal effort. I have been using Kirinite on my Mule for about a year now. I have dropped, smashed, and just plain beaten it to hell and it still looks great"

This just doesn't stack up to me. It reminds me of an ad. for pick-up bed liner material I read once. " virtually indestructible, impervious to wear and damage. Cuts easily to fit any pick-up bed"
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:D:D:D:D That's good Mark.
 
Let's face it.. ivory and stag will be around after we are gone. Let the future generations worry about losing it. :) enjoy it since you can.
 
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