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Handles! Man, it’s a entire subject...and I doubt you like my answer :)

I’m gonna say I love micarta for the feel, I love g10 for its ability to absorb abuse , and I love CS stuff for the aesthetics (and occasionally, the other 2 attributes!).

there’s no right 1...good thing you can have lots!
 
Thesian said:
Handles! Man, it’s a entire subject...and I doubt you like my answer :)

I’m gonna say I love micarta for the feel, I love g10 for its ability to absorb abuse , and I love CS stuff for the aesthetics (and occasionally, the other 2 attributes!).

there’s no right 1...good thing you can have lots!
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My reasoning for getting the g10 is that I believe it is tougher than micarta, but I don’t know where that belief comes from aside from having used both handle materials and that being my general feeling (no scientific testing for sure.)
Micarta is plenty tough too. But on the mega Ratweiler I wanted a handle that was as strong as possible.
Next time I should check out the micarta, i don’t know what the colors will look like though. I saw a picture of the black micarta and it at least didn’t look black in the picture.
Those crab shack handles look almost to good to use!
 
StrangeDaze said:
My reasoning for getting the g10 is that I believe it is tougher than micarta, but I don’t know where that belief comes from aside from having used both handle materials and that being my general feeling (no scientific testing for sure.)
Micarta is plenty tough too. But on the mega Ratweiler I wanted a handle that was as strong as possible.
Next time I should check out the micarta, i don’t know what the colors will look like though. I saw a picture of the black micarta and it at least didn’t look black in the picture.
Those crab shack handles look almost to good to use!
Click to expand...

You use the word toughness...which in material science is the ability to absorb energy (normally impact) and deform in a plastic range without fracture.

in that regard, I would generally agree that g10 resists fracture from impact better than micarta.

so...if u want to hammer things with the handle, g10 will likely hold up better than micarta.
 
You gotta have a little of everything! Your really gonna like your Blacked out mega ratweiler. Sounds like you need a ratmandu, maybe you could snag one with micarta. I really like the feel of the canvas micarta on a ratmandu. That handle feels perfect. You already know how great the res-c is. So I’d say your right on track. After you try all the handle materials , you can start experimenting with different colors. Hahahahaha welcome to the madness. As far as toughness goes. I wouldn’t worry about a thing. They are all tough as hell and guaranteed for life.
 
JACKMANDU said:
You gotta have a little of everything! Your really gonna like your Blacked out mega ratweiler. Sounds like you need a ratmandu, maybe you could snag one with micarta. I really like the feel of the canvas micarta on a ratmandu. That handle feels perfect. You already know how great the res-c is. So I’d say your right on track. After you try all the handle materials , you can start experimenting with different colors. Hahahahaha welcome to the madness. As far as toughness goes. I wouldn’t worry about a thing. They are all tough as hell and guaranteed for life.
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I do like the look of the ratmandu and the rodent 9. Thanks for the post and recommendation
 
I'm another one that likes micarta more for the feel, especially when wet/sweaty, and swinging that much steel around you're gonna get sweaty.

I think G10 is tougher but I find the way Busse does it to be a little slicker, though probably less likely to get blisters. If you wear gloves, it's a moot point.

I also like how micarta ages with the knife whereas G10 pretty much looks new for a really long time.

Based on the knives you have, I think you're going to like the Fat weiler. The handle is amazing and much roomier than the 1311 or BB13 (I've had both, only kept the 1311). I wouldn't take my word for it though as I'm pretty biased towards the handle shape. I like it much more than many of the Busse handles I've tried which take too much material away at both ends of the palm swell for my tastes. The res-C handles don't have that issue for me either though.
 
I like the feel/grip of the micarta, but I think you'll be fine with G10 on this model since the Ratweiler handle is so good. It'll definitely give you that deep black whereas their black micarta is going to look more gray.

fresh black canvas

mt2QSru.jpg


black canvas foreground (darkening with use), black g10 in back on the m9

qGrfpbs.jpg
 
I think there's lots of wisdom in the advices above regarding micarta vs G10, and I agree with the statements that out micarta ahead of G10 in feel, but G10 ahead in esthetics. I think they're both tougher than most things I'll do to a knife... If dressing game, I'd pick G10 for it's resistance against moisture (not soaking up the blood), but with most other things, is take the micarta for the grippiness and texture.

If you're having difficulties with color choices, head on over to the Busse sub, and check out the cookie combo vault that sixplymaple put together.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/color-combination-vault.1678560/
It's a wonderful resource.
 
Some time ago the handle toughness question came up and Garth Reckner said that G10 is the toughest handle material Busse uses. That said, years ago at the Blade show I bought a Custom Shop InfiDu with camel bone handles that fit my hand beautifully and looks great.:cool::thumbsup:
 
Micarta for users, especially over 5 inch blade
G10 for lookers & folders

Thesian said:
You use the word toughness...which in material science is the ability to absorb energy (normally impact) and deform in a plastic range without fracture.

in that regard, I would generally agree that g10 resists fracture from impact better than micarta.

so...if u want to hammer things with the handle, g10 will likely hold up better than micarta.
Click to expand...

I think that if you were to hammer the tang of a knife, you'd probably find that micarta will deform and G10 might crumble on the edges because it is harder composite, but that's just my untested theory
 
G10 is very strange to me, has unpleasant feel. I do not like it at all personally, but it is tougher and heavier duty with good grip in most conditions. Gets very cold quickly as it is poor insulator whereas Micarta is good insulator.
 
Maggot Brain said:
I did not know this, I have always wondered what it's first use was... I know they use it for countertops too haha.
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Quick trivia (As I recall it): Westinghouse turned their back on using micarta for countertops and gave permission to some others to use it for this purpose. When searching for a name, they went with naming it after what it was Formerly known as, "micarta". Or, shortened up a bit and combined into a single word, it was named "Formica" ("Formerly Micarta").

Cool huh?:thumbsup:

Let's Drink!:thumbsup::thumbsup::cool:

Jerry:D


.


.
 
StrangeDaze said:
I just ordered the Mega Ratweiler on Friday. It will be my first Rat. I’m excited, I have only 2 other Busse/kin at the moment ( BB13 and 1311) and think they are great. Both the BB13 and 1311 have Res C handles so that is all I know. I ordered the Mega Ratweiler with black g10 and a black blade coating. Now I am having second thoughts about the g10. What do you all prefer, micarta or g10? Pics of different swamp handle materials and colors are appreciated!
Click to expand...
With the ergonomic shape of this handle, regardless of material it will grab your hand. It is both comfortable and extremely useable... With that being said the actual choice is a personal thing between you and your Rat...
 
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