.......I wanted the green linen, but no one that I have seen has them. Dlt has a bone micarta which is nice, but I think the white will look dirty after a while,...........I don't really know how I feel about wood or carbon fiber..seems slippery to me. Any suggestions? or should I just wait for the next run?
I wouldn't wait because, unless DLT (my favorite) or KnivesShipFree (very good) told you they'd get some, there is no guarantee that they'll get the handle scales you want. The only way to guarantee is to call DLT or ShipFree and ASK them to order those particular scales from BRKT. Bark River makes their knives in long production runs and then lets their retailers know, and the retailers will order however many of whatever models. Just recently, DLT added about 45 mini-Skinners. If you get on their mailing list, they'll email you with recent incoming shipments. ....shipFree may have a similar notification procedure, I don't know.
The white bone won't get dirty....at least, not any dirtier than any other. You see, BRKT finishes their scales so well there is little if any porosity, so dirt will just clean off with soap and water. I suppose maybe over a long period of time and substantial use your hand will wear away the finish a little, then a "patina" will form on the scales.
I like the carbon fiber. Unless you've held and looked at a carbon fiber scale, you can't understand the depth and beauty of the material. Like somone else said, all BRKT scales (except sheep, impala, etc) are smooth...not slippery, but smooth finished. If I could afford a Highland in Big Horn SHeep, I'd get it. Now, I have seen a few Barkies with "textured G-10" scales. I can't remember which models, but they'd be textured with very fine cross-hatchings or similar etchings.
What exactly is "stabilized" wood? I don't really know much about handle materials. Is there a place where I could get some information on these.
Bark River Highland Knife--Amboynia Burl--Solid Pins -this would be as grippy, and durable as micarta? Thanks.
Amboynia is a hardwood (from Africa I believe, maybe South America). It's nice but its relatively cheap (priced) because, #1 it's not a burl, spalted, quilted, or otherwise "exotic"; #2, it's not a high-priced hardwood. It would be every bit as "grippy" as Micarta but remember, all the BRKT scales are smooth....there is nothing "grippy" about them... they're just smooth scales. EXCEPT for the aforementioned SHeep, Stag or Impala scales....now they have a texture to them. I think the Stag and maybe the Impala are imitation, but the Sheeps are real. I have an Impala and I like it, but I can;t tell if it's real or not.
Amboynia would NOT be as durable as Micarta, since it is wood. I've been working with wood (furniture) for more than 30 years now and I wouldn;t hesitate to buy wood handled knives, especially the way BRKT finished them. They'll last just fine. Problem is, however unlikely, if you dropped the knife from a height onto a hard surface like concrete, and it landed just right, wood scales would be more susceptible to cracking and chipping than Micarta. Micarta would chip too, but it's more likely to chip less and probably wouldn't ever crack, due to its manufacturing process (layers of linen/canvas impregnated with epoxy resins). Both would degrade and turn to something very ugly if you left them in the sun for several months, especially the wood scales. But you wouldn;t ever do that, I wouldn;t think.
"Stabilized Wood" is two things or a combination of two:
1: wood that has been properly dried, either by kiln or air, and has reached its "stablization" point, AND/OR
2: wood that has been soaked in PEG or a similar chemical wood stabilizer that helps solidify the interior cell structure of the wood, hardening it and sealing many of the pores, reducing the wood's natural expansion and contraction. Note the word "reducing".
Stabilizing chemicals are usually not needed on most hardwoods that are dried properly. No matter what you do to wood, aside from encasing it in concrete, you cannot stop its expansion and contraction. You can only limit it and live with it.
I looked at your link (KnivesShipFree, Highland amboynia $135). That's way too much, in my oh-so-humble opinion. DLT (I'm biased toward them, understand) has the Highland in Twisted Wire Fibermascus, Chechen Burl and, yes - Spalted Beech !!!(both with Mosaic pins), Black Carbon Fiber !!!!!, all for under $120. Shipping USPS Priority will cost you $9. I'm a big fan of the red linen too....$105.
Good luck. DLT, KnivesShipFree, or elsewhere, you'll like the Bark Rivers, I'm sure. ((
D)))
