Liners and Handle Material

B

blackjackdan08

Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Messages
555
Can anyone tell me if a handle material such as G10, Frn or that polymide that Kershaw uses, does not have a steel liner behind it, is this considered a inferior handle?
 
Can anyone tell me if a handle material such as G10, Frn or that polymide that Kershaw uses, does not have a steel liner behind it, is this considered a inferior handle?
 
IMO, it depends upon the thickness of the scales and the material used.

I used many Spyderco knives without liners for years and never had a problem with any of them (FRN Endura, FRN Delica, Native, Native 3, Rescue, Rescue Jr., Calypso Jr., Goddard Lightweight, Salt 1, Atlantic Salt, Pacific Salt).
 
Liners protect against side to side movement more than vertical movement. Like if you use your knife incorrectly, e.g. as a prybar, a steel linered knife vs the same knife without a steel liner, the one with the liner I would see as lasting a little longer before breaking.... G10 is insanely strong. Look at spyderco military. It doesnt have full liners, and it is a hard use knife. A linerless FRN knife can be strong, but I personally wouldnt take it in the woods with me if you know what I mean.
 
It depends on several things. The size of the knife, the composition of the handle and the maker.

A larger, linerless knife will naturally have more flex in the handle, a softer material will have more flex, and shoddy manufacture will have problems.

But if done correctly, the absence of liners may not be noticable.

Look at the Spyderco Endura/Delica, the Native and several others. They were just fine with no liners under the FRN.

I put my Endura through some hard workouts and it never developed blade play and always locked up solidly despite having no liners. And it was an amazingly light weight knife.

Again, it all depends on the knife.
 
As with most aspects of the knife industry, there are tradeoffs, and liners are no exception. There is no doubt that a liner will make a more robust knife. However, it will also make a heavier knife.

The question then arises, how much rigidity and robustness do I need at the expense of weight savings? A good G10 handle without liners will likely withstand most tasks people perform with their knives. G10 is strong enough in my eyes that if I were to break a G10 handle, I would have been using the wrong tool for the job and should have either been using a fixed blade or something else for the task.
 
I have a couple Fallkniven U2's with linerless Zytel (Dupont's FRN) handles.

They are great little knives and I've had no problems with them.

As already mentioned, if the knife is quality manufactured, and used as intended, composite handles should serve you well and make for a nice light pocket carrier.

Kevin
 
I have a Cold Steel 4" Voyager and 2 Gunsites 4" and 5" that are liner-less Zytel and they hold up just fine. ;)

Depends on what the knife is and what company made it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top