Traditional handle material durability

K

kaizo

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Oct 17, 2014
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798
Most of my knives has micarta or g10 for its handles and I know they are tougher but realistically would it make such a difference? After all wood and horn has been used as handle materials for generations (even for swords and machetes like katana and kukuri which goes under considerable strain). Has anyone experienced any practical differences?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Although micarta and G10 are tougher, there are many traditional woods that will stand up to daily abuse. I carry wood-handled knives every day, and I have some antique knives that are over 100 years old with blades worn down, but the wood is still in good shape.

If you go for the really tough wood, it will take a lot. For example, lignum vitae was used for submarine propeller shaft bearings during WWII.
 
Look how many old Buck 110's are around, that have been used hard and put up wet, and the wood scales are still there.

Or, look at how may old Case knives have had the blades sharpened down to half their width by 30 years of use, and the jigged bone handles are still in good shape.

If you treat the traditional materials with just a little care, they may outlive you.
 
My parents have an old boning knife banging around there knife drawer in the kitchen that sees the inside of a dishwasher on a regular basis. Worst possible conditions for a knife IMO. The knife is carbon steel and has a wood handle. It's older than I am(40+ years). Aesthetically it's not a looker anymore. The wood has shrunk and pulled away from the tang a bit in places. Still, the handle is solid and 100% useable.
 
In my experience...

-The translucent cattle, ram, and buffalo horn is probably the most susceptible to humidity/temperature shrinking and also beetles.
-Real elephant ivory is durable but also prone to checking or light cracking. I imagine warthog tusk, etc. act similarly.
-Mother of pearl can be used and survive on old knives but is very fragile. A vintage and uncracked MOP knife is not an easy thing to find.
-Jigged and smooth bone, usually cattle shin bone, can be very durable if properly oiled and treated with care. It can crack if dropped or otherwise sharply impacted.
-Stag, as in India sambar, is very hard and tough, more so than bone IMHO. Can still crack from drying and impact but I'd call it significantly stronger.
-The dense and oily woods, on the harder end of the Janka scale, will be very very durable and resilient over time. Ebony/blackwood, cocobolo, the ironwoods, rosewoods, and lignum vitae all included.
-Some of the cheaper plastic covers you will see shrinking and warping with age. But, micarta and proper acrylic have the highest durability (and arguably the least character.)

Celluloid gets an honorable mention for being a highly unstable explosive used as a traditional handle material :D
 
jackknife said:
Look how many old Buck 110's are around, that have been used hard and put up wet, and the wood scales are still there.
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Good point.

Aren't the 110's wooden scales treated with some type of resin or plastic? At least the ones from more recent decades?

Jim
 
James Y said:
Good point.

Aren't the 110's wooden scales treated with some type of resin or plastic? At least the ones from more recent decades?

Jim
Click to expand...

The more current 110 knives aren't natural wood; they are like plywood or "dymondwood" or "pakkawood". I don't know offhand when the change happened.
 
Thanks for the answers guys :)

I'm now tempted to grab something other than g10 and micarta!

It's not traditional per say but I think kirinite makes a nice looking handle too. Especially the faux mother of pearl.
 
Both Great Eastern and Canal Street have been releasing some nice-looking knives in acrylic.

It's not traditional per say but I think kirinite makes a nice looking handle too.
Click to expand...

I had to look that up. I wonder if that's the "acrylic" that makers are using, or if it's something entirely different.
 
Hmm not sure about the chemical composition of it but apparently it's the same thing as what people use to make pearlesk lavatory seats out of. I've seen some fantastic looking scales made by guys on this forum like spketch. Apparently it's about as strong as wood and its used as gun scales as well.
 
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