Let's see your plastic handled knives

[T. Erdelyi]

IIRC Gerber came out with the first modern plastic (fiber reinforced nylon) think plastic stock of the Remington Nylon 66 .22s in the 80s. It was called the Gerber LST Ultralite. I can't find my original LST but here's my collection of vintage modern plastic handled knives with a Case Black hard plastic Sodbuster for comparison.

In their day these were all considered to be the best at what they made for, a quality cheap alternative to the aging Celluloid and hard plastic knives of the 50s-70s.

 

[TBL]

This is going to be a good one some vintage stuff!

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Other than the Sodbuster I believe everyone of those is discontinued, Starting at the top and and goin' clockwise ...

Cold Steel Twistmaster, (essentially a giant FRN Opinel) in their superb Carbon V, this stuff takes an amazing edge that can't be beat, put a Moran edge on it and you can chop trees, process deer and still shave with it when you're done. , directly below that another CS idea that was ahead of it's time, the Ultralock, it had an adjustable liner lock with more surface area available for contact. Next is the FRN version of the Benchmade/Carrcci AFCK the Ascent, to the right of that the David Boye Prophet with FRN molded handle wrapping a Boye Dendritic steel blade. Under that is a Sears Craftsman Camp/Utility/Scout knife in sawcut delrin IIRC made under contract by Camillus/Schrade/Buck (it was at that time when a knife made for someone else would have been contracted to either of those companies at the time as they all had versions of the same knife.

@ 6 o'clock there's another Gerber innovation the Gerber Bolt Lock also in FRN boy that stuff was popular in the 80s-90s . Th the left of that the Gerber big boy the Magnum LST (Light, Strong, Tough). Above that areal rarity, the SOG Mini Autoclip in the super steel of the day, the one used in the best customs and by the early Sebenzas, BG42. You rarely ever find it in production knives. Above the SOG is the old 1980s Buck work horse the 426 aka Bucklite. To the left of that the Timberline TM10310 Timberlite, with the unique NEELEY LOCK where you pulled the blade out of the handle to unlock and close the knife and the last one is the Case Sodbuster in a black plastic compound.

 

[Hickory n steel]

IIRC Gerber came out with the first modern plastic (fiber reinforced nylon) think plastic stock of the Remington Nylon 66 .22s in the 80s. It was called the Gerber LST Ultralite. I can't find my original LST but here's my collection of vintage modern plastic handled knives with a Case Black hard plastic Sodbuster for comparison.

In their day these were all considered to be the best at what they made for, a quality cheap alternative to the aging Celluloid and hard plastic knives of the 50s-70s.

You do know that the nylon 66 came out in the 60's right ? And that nylon was created by DuPont ?

 

[JAB]

Here are a couple I've managed to hold onto.



And some current favorites.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

You do know that the nylon 66 came out in the 60's right ? And that nylon was created by DuPont ?

I know that I made the reference for the folks who never had an FRN knife before. Nearly everyone remembers the Nylon 66s, I remember my cousin havin' one in the early 70s when I was sportin' my old bolt action Marlin Model 80 .22 cal.

 

[smith357]

 

[T. Erdelyi]

You do know that the nylon 66 came out in the 60's right ? And that nylon was created by DuPont ?

CELLIDOR®, the red plastic used by Victorinox as a scale material on their iconic knives is made of Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB).

CELLIDOR® is an organic, thermoplastic cellulose ester which consists of approximately 45% cellulose, a renewable natural material. Some of the things that have made this a desirable material for more than just knife scales for more than 100 years...

High tensile strength
Excellent light transmission
Permanent glossy surface due to self-polishing effect when used
Unlimited colour possibilities, (SAK Red being one of them)

 

[T. Erdelyi]

Celluloid was another popular plastic material used for knife scales. Celluloids are a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, with added dyes and other agents. Generally considered the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1856[1] and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is easily molded and shaped, and it was first widely used as an ivory replacement and very desireable as a scale material eventually being able to mimic many natural materials and a wide variety unique looks like waterfall, butter and molasses and the most popular was cracked ice as a replacement for pearl and abalone.

 

[Wowbagger]

I got all excited then I read that the plastic needed to be fiber reinforced. I was crestfallen.
Oh well I'm going to post my original post anyway torpedoes be damnd.



No, no . . . not the Hold Out . . . the knife next to it . . . little Buck from about 1978. Is that one of the ones that you speak off ?

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I'm not biased, all plastic counts, even Bakelite, Micarta of CF. If it's not natural/organic like wood, MOP, bone or mineral like steel, aluminum, brass or titanium... You get the idea, post 'em here.

Here's a bunch of 70s Queen's faux Winterbottom bone in Delrin, similar to Schrade's Stagalon or Camillus' Dura Stag/India Stag

 

[P_Meticulous]

 

[Stelth]

RESURRECTION!

 

[Skywalker31]

Five-year bump's not the worst I've seen recently, hah.

I've been really impressed with Spyderco's "plastic." The 20CV Manix2 LW is my newest; very well made.

 

[sgt1372]

These are my favorite plastic handle knives.

They are made w/phenolic plastic that was prone to cracking. So, if you want to buy one of these early vintage Kershaws, inspect the handles very carefully before you agree to "take it."