- Joined
- Jul 22, 2000
- Messages
- 981
YET ANOTHER LOOK AT ZYEL -- A Commentary
With the help of forumites and searching through threads, I settled on my next knife purchase. A Zytel handled Spyderco Native.
The thing that surprises me is that I found myself going against the buying trend of my last few knife purchases of knives with high-end scale materials.
This time I actually preferred a Zytel handled Native. Yes. Cheap Zytel (or FRN).
It's tough, scratch resistant, and it's also fairly light. Best of all, it molds to virtually any shape with aggresive textures for grip; something not easily done with some other synthetics like Micarta, and G-10. Zytel is just plain comfortable. It's a wonderful material for a hard/daily user knife.
With all these advantages, why have I been swayed away from Zytel by marketing, and peer pressure? Now, I'm strictly speaking in regards to user knives; not collector knives which SHOULD have high end everything.
Why do we treat G-10, and Micarta like gold? True, each has an advantage if you want to make banal comparisons: G-10 is stronger per square inch, and Micarta is prettier. However, they are still just synthetics formulated in a lab...just like Zytel.
It took forumites at a thread hailing the advantages of a Zytel Calypso Jr. -- cheaper yet lighter, and better steel (arguable), over its stainless handled counterpart, to open my eyes to this unappreciated material.
I think another turning point was when I was handling my BM-710 (G-10) and Pinnacle (Ti), and my inexpensive SOG Magnadot (Zytel). To my surprise, the Magnadot was much more comfortable. I could cut all day with the molded Zytel handle in my hand over slabs of G-10 and titanium. Besides, isn't comfort a major issue when buying a knife?
With companies like Spyderco sticking high end steels in FRN handles, perhaps Zytel is set to make a comeback. There's just a simplicity that's lost when you get into "fancy shmancy" materials. The Zytel knife is like a Glock, or a '68 Camaro: simple, and it does it's job well.
I'll continue to cave into peer pressure and buy knives with high-end handles but, I'll always be able to squeeze a Zytel handled knife in the collection.
With the help of forumites and searching through threads, I settled on my next knife purchase. A Zytel handled Spyderco Native.
The thing that surprises me is that I found myself going against the buying trend of my last few knife purchases of knives with high-end scale materials.
This time I actually preferred a Zytel handled Native. Yes. Cheap Zytel (or FRN).
It's tough, scratch resistant, and it's also fairly light. Best of all, it molds to virtually any shape with aggresive textures for grip; something not easily done with some other synthetics like Micarta, and G-10. Zytel is just plain comfortable. It's a wonderful material for a hard/daily user knife.
With all these advantages, why have I been swayed away from Zytel by marketing, and peer pressure? Now, I'm strictly speaking in regards to user knives; not collector knives which SHOULD have high end everything.
Why do we treat G-10, and Micarta like gold? True, each has an advantage if you want to make banal comparisons: G-10 is stronger per square inch, and Micarta is prettier. However, they are still just synthetics formulated in a lab...just like Zytel.
It took forumites at a thread hailing the advantages of a Zytel Calypso Jr. -- cheaper yet lighter, and better steel (arguable), over its stainless handled counterpart, to open my eyes to this unappreciated material.
I think another turning point was when I was handling my BM-710 (G-10) and Pinnacle (Ti), and my inexpensive SOG Magnadot (Zytel). To my surprise, the Magnadot was much more comfortable. I could cut all day with the molded Zytel handle in my hand over slabs of G-10 and titanium. Besides, isn't comfort a major issue when buying a knife?
With companies like Spyderco sticking high end steels in FRN handles, perhaps Zytel is set to make a comeback. There's just a simplicity that's lost when you get into "fancy shmancy" materials. The Zytel knife is like a Glock, or a '68 Camaro: simple, and it does it's job well.
I'll continue to cave into peer pressure and buy knives with high-end handles but, I'll always be able to squeeze a Zytel handled knife in the collection.
