Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber- Bad Idea?

Jon Brand

Jon Brand

Joined
May 28, 2007
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I recently bought a very nice tactical folder with lightening strike carbon fiber and sold it after a week. The folder was built great but the handle material presented a problem. A few of the little copper fibers kept coming out in different places as I handled it. It also seemed to come out more when I would use certain fabrics to wipe it down. This stuff goes all the way through the handle scales so every side has wire exposed. I just can't imagine it being practical for long term (or short term) use.

Why does this stuff seem so popular? Thoughts?
 
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I have been working with LSCF both making things with it and carrying it for a week. I am sure someone much more experienced will step in here and correct me if I am wrong. I haven't tried this yet but have heard that you can (once you get all the wires sticking up out) fill the voids with super glue. Obviously you'll need to sand and polish the scale again to get it looking right.

I think its great stuff though I just made myself a backspacer out of it!
 
Jonathan
That's a common complaint from those new to lightning strike. Even the best makers can send out a blade made with this stuff from time to time that has bronze wire exposed. It's the nature of the material. As you noted, the wire is woven through the entire sheet of material, and as the material is ground down and sanded to shape it, wire will be exposed here and there.

The fact that certain fine fabrics catch on the wire is a good thing in my opinion. When I use LSCF on a knife handle in my shop I hand sand it to at least 800 grit. After that I use a Q-Tip and run it over the surface of the handle. The Q-Tip will catch on any tiny bits of exposed bronze wire. Wherever the cotton swab catches on some wire I rub the Q-Tip back and forth over the surface of the material, bending the tiny piece of wire back and forth until it heats up enough to snap off. I repeat until all the wires are gone and then re-sand with the last grit that I used.

I find that every once in a while the handle may need this type of maintenance again, but overall my experience has been very positive with LSCF in use. The little bit of extra work is worth the effort considering how nice the material looks on a knife. Don't hesitate to get another blade with LSCF. Try this little trick of mine you're good to go.

Hope this helped.
 
I think it's popular because it looks good with a superconductor bolster. I've seen folders with it used for the clip. I've never really understood the whole carbon fiber scale thing. From what I've been told it also poses some health risks from dust flying around a makers shop.
 
martinr said:
I think it's popular because it looks good with a superconductor bolster. I've seen folders with it used for the clip. I've never really understood the whole carbon fiber scale thing. From what I've been told it also poses some health risks from dust flying around a makers shop.
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It does pose a health risk while sanding, drilling it etc, but then again so does G10. With the proper safety gear, you'll be fine.
 
JSMcustoms said:
It does pose a health risk while sanding, drilling it etc, but then again so does G10. With the proper safety gear, you'll be fine.
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Good point JSM, and while we're at it....many good old fashioned hard woods can be hazardous to your health when you grind them if you don't take the proper precautions. The point of this thread wasn't really about health concerns from a maker's standpoint anyway.

To answer the OP's question....in my opinion, carbon fiber and lightning strike carbon fiber are plenty tough to be used as a handle material, but they are popular because of their appearance. Are there materials out there that are a bit tougher for hard use? Sure. That doesn't mean that it's not a viable material choice. Take into consideration how good it looks and that it adds a certain dimension of flair to a knife and you can see why it's so popular. The vast majority of knife buyers/users would be lying if they said that looks weren't part of the reason they were drawn to certain knives. If something doesn't catch our eyes we tend to not give it as much of a chance. Looks are almost important as function and performance whether we like to admit it or not, and when it comes to looks, carbon fiber has it in spades!
 
I actually hate the material due to the exposed copper wires and voids where the wires have snapped off. I've handled knives from 3 different makers with LSCF, everyone except and early Begg glimpse with polished LSCF had exposed wires. everytime a wire catches on, I use some fine grit sandpaper and sand off the exposed tip, then refinish with some super fine (down to the microns) sandpaper that I have from my watch days. To me, it's an overrated material not worth the $100 extra from normal CF (twill material). YMMV.
 
Jonny I understand the maintenance but I would think it eventually defeats the purpose of the LSCF- which is to look good. The more you remove those exposed fibers you are left with a carbon fiber handle with little holes in it, instead of pretty looking copper bits.
 
I have found the brightnes of the wires fades because of oxidation rather quickly as well. I have a few scales made from LS carbonfiber and they need brightened up with a spot of 800-1000 grit paper to get the copper/bronze colour back all too regularly. The whole point of it is that it looks cooler than regular CF but with the dull wires it just looks dirty, that on top of the voids and stray wires to be found has seen me grow to quite disslike LS carbonfiber.
 
Has anyone thought about putting a super thin "slip coat" of epoxy on the stuff? After all, that is the base resin typically used to make carbon fiber laminates.
 
you can sand it to 800 grit and remove all the little burs with no guarantee that new ones will not poke up in the future. its pretty stuff but not a prime choice for an everyday use knife.
 
I recently bought a knife with carbon scales. In discussing materials with the maker, I mentioned that I thought LS carbon fiber was cool, and he immediately mentioned the issue of the wires popping up.

FWIW, I would agree...bad idea.

Peter
 
Haze said:
I have found the brightnes of the wires fades because of oxidation rather quickly as well. I have a few scales made from LS carbonfiber and they need brightened up with a spot of 800-1000 grit paper to get the copper/bronze colour back all too regularly. The whole point of it is that it looks cooler than regular CF but with the dull wires it just looks dirty, that on top of the voids and stray wires to be found has seen me grow to quite disslike LS carbonfiber.
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I was wondering if it turned green over time..
I have never used it and based on what I am reading I will most likely stick with standard weave CF.
Much Respect.
 
I have a Lambert with LSCF scales which I got in a trade. I have carried it for months with only one fiber sticking out.
 
Thanks for the info folks. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who feels this way.
 
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I'm also new to working with it. I hand rub it with 600 grit then clean my buffing wheel and lightly buff it back and forth til you can feel any burrs. Then add some green compound to the buffer and very lightly go over it a couple more times in each direction. So far this has worked extremely well for me.
 
Glad this thread was started. LSCF is like fake breasts! Looks great from a distance but when handled they are not up to spec! Lol. Love to see thread evolve into a defense of silicone!!!
 
I've had the same experience with LSCF as well. IMO, LSCF has become seriously overused. But I agree that it looks great with superconductor.
 
All your hands are to soft :)

I have been EDC a knife with lSCF scales and the wires that lift are no big deal. I just rub them off with my thumb and eventually they stop popping

This is a material from the aircraft industry and it looks cool simple as that

This is one of the hottest handle materials out there and you should all get as much as possible because its not gonna be around forever :)
 
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