Preferred handle material?

A

allenC

Joined
Jun 18, 2000
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Okay, this topic has'nt been discussed in a while...so what is your preferred handle material for a FOLDER?

And why?

Mine is G-10 for a work knife.

It's lightweight.
It's very strong.
It affords a good grip if textured right.

For a dress knife I prefer carbon fiber or mother-of-pearl.

Cheers,
Allen.
 
Generally I prefer knives with classy natural materials. Bone, wood, leather, etc.

-Bob
 
I prefer natural materials. My favorites are mother of pearl and mammoth ivory.
 
For handling characteristics, I like carbon fiber. It's grippy without being sticky, and warm to the touch. Looks cool, too!

For just looks alone, abalone just kills me on a HP blade.
 
SS. Feels nice and solid, heavy chunk of steel kind of feel that I like.

Titanium and aluminum are nice too...when I need a smaller more EDC friendly knife, I prefer these. My titanium knife scratches too easily though...

And I really like how those look.

I'm not a fan of FRN, but it's something I have to live with I guess....I don't do zytel. I just don't.

G10 is cool, but I usually don't like how it looks.

I don't like MOST woods in my knives. Just preference.

Micarta looks pretty slick.

But mostly SS and aluminum
 
I think of folders purely as tools - they don't need to look good, and I don't want to pay for fancy/fragile handle materials (I get a fixed blade if I want a good-looking knife). So for durability and grippiness I prefer medium course G-10.
 
For work I prefer micarta, G10, FRN.

For dress I prefer natural bone, woods, stag.

I DO NOT like metals of any kind, just never felt one that felt right.
 
i dont care, but im really starting to get sick of zytel.

personally i have nothing against aluminum handles if they are done right: like the CRKT M16/M21 series gives a very solid grip and also strengthens the lock and pivot. it also looks pretty slick.

my uncle is a career hunter and has been making everything out of antlers for decades now - everything from chairs to tobbacciana to knife scales, so im slightly biased towards those for 'natural' materials.

as for man-made.. well, whatever works and looks good. micarta, aluminum, anything but zytel. zytel = instant beater.
 
-Very strong
-Light weight
-Warm to the touch
-Grippy, wet or dry, when done right
-Just might be the most practical handle material out there right now. From this point of view, most practical = best.
 
I like natural materials best. Wood but it has to be either exceptionally beautiful or exceptionally durable. Even better if it has both qualities.

I like stag a lot also.

As for man made materials I would have to say G10 is the best to come around in a long time. Nice and tacky, durable and strong too.
 
For an EDC Folder that gets a fair bit of work, G10 or textured micarta gets my vote. FRN or other reinforced plastics, although lightweight and strong, don't inspire me with the same level of confidenced.
For a Gentlemens Folder, whatever floats your boat - Im not a gentleman so I have no requirement for this type of folder.
 
what God intended... G10 on one side and Titanium on the other :-)

i also like micarta alot. and non-satin aluminum (like the Kershaw Bumps).
 
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