Knife handle

[unwisefool]

Thank you for your answer. I know that micarta, g10 and many others are the best things for durability. They have a good grip, resist water very well etc. But im is trying to identify which of these materials will win.
I guess when it comes to hitting hard with the blade it's probably the leather that will win. Wood is a great material for small knives. But the use of a big knife is not the same as for a small one, maybe a harder wood will be much more likely to crack, that's why I would like to hear the argumented opinions of manufacturers and users. Thank you to everyone who want to say something serious.

Yeah I would assume leather would be able to absorb impact better.

 

[herisson]

Stacked leather and stick tang is widely used for impact tools like billhooks. Comfortable, grippy and unbreakable. Here under one which has seen decades of abuse by me and before that decades of abuse by several other users. Not pretty but still perfectly usable. Now, if aesthetics is important, there's nothing like a nicely figured wood (curly maple, walnut burl, ironwood, cocobolo... the last two being the toughest).

 

[Francix]

A little amazed no one has asked "In what application"?
Don't care what wood you use, on a diver's knife knife they will all go to hell pretty quick. Wet environments would have a similar, if slower affect. What if you are EDC'ing in an industrial environment? Exposure to solvents, acids and other caustic materials can ruin a handle quick. What about lots of sun exposure?
Then there is the "Bushcraft" crowd and their love of batoning firewood. Clobber the knife on the handle instead of the spine and boom, there goes a chunk of what used to be a nice handle.

So how about it? Do I get the second "trouble maker" to be awarded in this thread? lol

Thank you for your participation. The knife will live in a coastal town, it will be used to cut wood, for garden work and occasionally as a camp knife, I do not intend to use it in contact with water, it happens sometimes but the knife will not be neglected or abandoned for days in the weather, after use the blade will be cleaned.