Not impressed with G10

L

Lucky Strike

Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
131
So I finally went down to the local sporting goods store and got to handle a knife with a G10 handle. It was a BM 710

Wasn't all that impressed. I know it's got great physical properties like being chemically resistant and won't transfer heat but I'm just talking it's feel.

I read people on here saying they didn't like FRN or a Griptilian cause of the cheap feeling handles. Because of this I was expecting G10 to feel a lot more "luxurious" i suppose. Felt a little better then my endura and ritter grip but not all that much.

I still have a 710 on my wishlist cause of the axis lock and nice blade design but I feel like i'm in a lot less of a hurry to get one (in fact i used the money i had saved for one to buy boxing equipment) now that I finally handled G10 which up until yesterday was a big mystery to me.

I guess if you overhype just about anything in your head you're bound to be dissapointed.
 
It's a plastic handle. What's to over-hype?
Got a Dalton Tiger in solid G-10 It does what it is supposed to do.keep my finger away from the steel blade that pops out with great speed.
Doesn't chip,warp,peel,fade,and is immune to synthetics and other fluid. What did you expect it to do in your hand?:confused:
Oh forgot to mention bulky and heavy as well.

Peace.
 
Well, I think it's just because it's the 710. Try a Spyderco Manix or a Strider. It's a lot rougher and tougher looking. It's also not shiny, well, not in the same was as Benchmade's smooth g10. But G10 is still awesome stuff and a lot of the likes and dislikes are subjective. For me, I'm only going to buy FRN knives as beaters--they just don't look very good or feel very good to me. However, despite, the subjective likes and dislikes, objectively, I think it's just a superior handle material to FRN in every way.

But, case in point, try the G10 from other manufacturers and see if you feel differently. Kershaw's rough G10, like on some leeks and the Avalanche, is also really nice.
 
I like G10, great handle material, most of my knifes that have it are custom and i go for the checkered G10 so it grips, it feels great to me and it's tough as nails.

I would try out a different maker and look for one without smooth handles.

James
 
I have couple of Al Mar Shrikes, one of which has G-10 scales. It has a distinctly different feel than the 710, almost has the fuzzy texture feel of cloth- it feels good in my hand. I do like it much better than the g-10 on the 710, it is one of my favorite knives. The 710 does have a much slicker, plastic feel to it- but without feeling "cheap".

my 2 cents worth:)
 
G10/FR4 the material is in and of itself smooth when you buy it at least that has been the way it was always shipped to me when I still used it. The company or maker that uses it textures it or gives it the finish the end line user sees and feels. Some do the texturing better than others. Personally I don't much care for sandpaper finishes tearing up pockets that are already being torn up by pocket clips and Waved folders and many of todays G10 texturing jobs are way too course for my own tastes.

In my opinion Emerson does it the best for hitting that middle of the road area where their G10 is just grippy enough to keep the knife secure yet not so course it will make your pocket ragged and frayed inside a week like many others of the so called tactical ilk of folder do. I've had in the last year two Buck/Strider knives and a Kershaw G10 Leek with this super course texture that while very nice in the hand sure did a number on a new pair of pants in no time flat. So much so that my wife was on my case about it for what they did to some Eddie Bauer expensive jeans she bought me.

I've had more than one textured G10 handle sent to me to sand down for its owner and for that matter I've done that to more than one of my own although my allergy to the dust has prevented me from offering that service any longer. Last time I inhaled the G10 dust off my shirt I ended up in the ER because of my asthma attack shortly thereafter, which is why I stopped working with it altogether.

I have mentioned this to at least two manufacturers but will post it here also. I think it would be a very good idea to ease up on the texturing on the pocket clip side of knives they make that are clipped for right handers only. Why not have the best of both worlds instead of equally aggresive scales? Make the one scale smoother that slides and contacts the pocket on the clip side so it stops eating pockets and leave the thumb side course for added grip to allow extracting the knife.

I saw a post a while back by someone. Sal I think that said they never liked the way frame locks looked with the bare side. Personally I never did either but I think most people go for it because it slides on the pocket so well and the ones with the G10 textured on the other side make it easy to extract. Its the best of both worlds in other words.

STR
 
While there are some knives with G-10 I like, BM710 being one, the G-10 isn't necessarily what I like about them. I don't care for the weight of G-10 and often it's too abrasive .... I would almost always take carbon fiber instead if it were available.

Micarta is another synthetic that IMO is somewhat over-regarded. Polished it's not grippy enough, roughed up it doesn't look that good, and it just doesn't have the warmth and appeal of natural materials that some seem to think it has.

Still, be grateful for choice, and just buy what you personally like.
 
I like G10 because it is practically non-reactive to most chemicals, it looks great, and it give the blades I have a great grip. I also don't worry about it getting scratched or chipped. Now if we are talking about mammoth ivory or expensive woods...
 
Just a point of comparison
bm_710_c.jpg



Kershaw_Avalanche_faktura_okladzin_det.jpg
 
Lucky Strike said:
Wasn't all that impressed. I know it's got great physical properties like being chemically resistant and won't transfer heat but I'm just talking it's feel.

I read people on here saying they didn't like FRN or a Griptilian cause of the cheap feeling handles. Because of this I was expecting G10 to feel a lot more "luxurious" i suppose.

I guess if you overhype just about anything in your head you're bound to be dissapointed.
Click to expand...

Don't give up on G-10 completely. It comes in many varieties and some can be finished to appear quite luxurious. Here's a nice blue twill G-10 handle:

100_3258.jpg
 
The way Benchmade finishes their G-10 makes it feel like utter crap in my opinion. I love my 710, but am sending it to Chax Knives to get a new material. Spyderco's G-10 is head and shoulders better. :thumbup:
 
G-10 can have a wonderful feel to it, but it is all about the texturing. Try holding a Kershaw Spec Bump if you can, it has the best feel of any of the knives I own.

MySpecSpeed1.jpg
 
For anyone who is reading this and still wondering what G10 feels like ... it doesn't have the greasy feel of cheap plastic. That's mostly what people are talking about when they say they like the feel -- they mean it doesn't feel like plastic. G10 is glass-filled epoxy, so if you haven't had the opportunity to feel it, feel some hardened epoxy. It doesn't feel wonderful, maybe, but it doesn't have that greasy plastic feel. If it's given some texture it might even feel good, but at least it doesn't feel bad.
 
dpimpc said:
The way Benchmade finishes their G-10 makes it feel like utter crap in my opinion. I love my 710, but am sending it to Chax Knives to get a new material. Spyderco's G-10 is head and shoulders better. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Agreed. All G-10 is not the same. Spyderco had their own made up for improved performance. A light beadblast with no polishing is ideal. See the Spyderco Military, Manix, Chinook, etc. for examples. Also, it depends on grip design and contouring - all contribute to a good grip.
 
Lucky Strike said:
So I finally went down to the local sporting goods store and got to handle a knife with a G10 handle....
Wasn't all that impressed. I know it's got great physical properties like being chemically resistant and won't transfer heat but I'm just talking it's feel....
I guess if you overhype just about anything in your head you're bound to be dissapointed.
Click to expand...


it takes a while to aquire a liking to g10, i think for some. just like it takes time to understand why you would pay upwards of 300 for a knife.

takes a while to appreciate what goes in to making g10, cuz its not just squishing a liquid form into a mold.

takes a while to wrap your head around the fact that it is extremly ridgid. that it has very little flex, compared to many of the other materials in the world


... and its a cool material cuz as STR pointed out. that stuff can frickin kill you. :mad:RESPECT!!! :D
 
From the knives I have handled, Spyderco has the BEST G-10 around!! I would also make yet another suggestion to try Spyderco's offerings before you dismiss it!!
 
I like it, but I think it's somewhat of a gimmick. I just bought a BM Vex so I could spend some time with a G10 knife to see what all the woo-hoo was all about. It does feel more solid, heavy and spiffy than most plastic knives I've handled, but it don't seem to be all that much to write home to mama about.

I'm not so sure about its durability in the long run over a Glass Filled Nylon (FRN) as far as its application for knife handles goes - I've worked extensively with many types of Micarta/Glass Phenolic and various glass-filled polymers in aircraft and machinery manufacturing including some G10. As far as impact and abrasion resistance goes, FRN would make a much better hocky puck than G10 would. FRN has a lot of "bounce" to it and is more forgiving to sharp blows at edges or being struck with sharp objects. G10 is apt to start getting hairy fibers sticking out of it in places. I've seen banged-up pieces of glass phenolic (Like G10) become blocks of itching powder that you don't want to handle without gloves on.

Treated reasonably well, G10 should hold up nicely though, and damaged spots are easily blended in by sanding. I doubt that many are going to be sending their knives bouncing across rocks and pavement much...
 
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