Micarta versus G10 question.

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Houlahound

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Not sure I have ever handled both. A premium knife has come available to me. One is in G10 the other micarta. Don't know the price yet but it won't be cheap for either. They are the same knife otherwise. Both new.

Should one be cheaper if they are otherwise equal. If not which one is cheaper.

What is the difference to n quality, durability, feel etc.
 
micarta is a brand name and can be a lot of things.in the knife world you see mostly micarta made with canvas,linen,burlap etc. impregnated with phenolic resins/epoxy

G10 is glass fiber and epoxy resin.

micarta also comes in different finishes.you can polish it or sandblast it for a better grip.

i prefer G10 when im cutting up an animal.

while i prefer the feel and looks of sandblasted "natural" and burlap micarta,i always go for orange G10 if available for visibilty.
 
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edit: quality and durabilty are almost identical since most of them are made with epoxy resin and that stuff is extremely tough.

one exception would be CF G10,which is probably the most durable of all of them
 
Personally, gimme micarta! Just feels better to me. Some G10 feels like plastic. Micarta is more lively especially canvas. Linen and paper feel nice as well just not as grippy as canvas.
 
I have a couple of micartas, and maybe 8 or 9 in G10. Now granted, one of the micartas is inlaid, so not a handful of micarta.

The Hinderer G10 is next level G10 compared to my other G10 scaled knives. The milling is absolutely superb and it feels fantastic in hand. It’s so good it doesn’t even feel like G10. Not sure what they do, but whatever it is it’s magic.

I don’t have a favorite, just putting this out there.
 
G10 will be slightly more durable, but not much. Micarta, when not buffed, will have a grain to it from the fabric. Linen micarta feels and looks pretty similar to G10 but canvas and burlap micarta's are more textured.

A lot depends on the finish of the material. I dislike buffed micarta for a fixed blade as you lose a lot of the texture that makes it feel nice and adds grip. It looks great but functionally, I dislike it. On a slipjoint, buff the micarta all day long.

Terotuf is pretty close to canvas micarta as well but uses polyester. It's pretty interesting stuff in the grip department again.

When wet, micarta and terotuf seems to get grippier so for outdoors knives I prefer those materials but I wouldn't shy away from G10. I like some light texturing added to G10 for rough uses though.

Price-wise, they are very close.
 
I prefer Micarta to G10 because it provides a better grip when wet. A potential downside is that Micarta seems to stain more easily than G10, but that is of minimal concern to me. Both are incredibly durable and either will make a great grip/handle.
 
I hate g10, feels cheap, and won't buy another knife with it unless I can replace that scale with micarta. The nice thing with micarta is it looks new again after some dish soap and a soft scrub but you can also use oil to darken it. G10 is probably slightly more durable but I'm not basing that on any hard facts. I think micarta should command a small premium.
 
G-10 is a generic designation for a glass-cloth composite, and Micarta is technically a trademarked name for a line of composites made by Norplex. However, "Micarta" has gotten to the point of being a generic trademark (like Kleenex, Velcro, Escalator, etc.), with the public calling any cloth-based epoxy composite "micarta" regardless of who made it. There is also the possibility for overlap, since Norplex-Micarta actually makes G-10 composites...

Because the terms are used generically in the knife industry, both have a wide array of quality. Some G-10 feels especially "plasticy" while some is much nicer. Micarta, because of the different substrate materials used, can be all over the place. Micarta can sometimes feel fuzzy, which some folks don't like; manufacturers might specifically choose to give their micarta that sort of finish, which can increase grip. G-10, because the substrate is nonporous, can be more resistant to liquids and staining than micarta.

Since the difference is mostly aesthetic, my preference will change based on the application. In my experience, polished micarta feels nicer than polished G-10, so I'd go with micarta for applications where that's the desired finish.
 
Pretty well been answered.
I agree %100. In my experience, both are tough as nails and will last many years if cared for. Mostly just a preference thing.

I can add that lately, I've been all about canvas micarta. No special reason besides "I like it".

Hope you find what you're after and enjoy it.
 
G10 is slightly more impact resistant. Micarta usually feels slightly better in hand, but more readily absorbs hand oil and darkens. Like a previous poster said, I’d rather use G10 for dirty jobs.
 
There's really nothing between them but personal preference. They're both tougher than 99% of users, and both will last longer than the lifetime of the original purchaser.
In a given situation, one "MIGHT" be a "LITTLE" better than the other, but probably 364-1/2 days out of a year, they're identical, performance-wise.

EDIT: For the record, I'll take micarta any day, just not a fan of G10.
 
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