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What is G10?

F

flip

Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
190
Basically, what is G10? What are it's good points and bad points? How does it compare to aluminum, carbon fiber, titanium, etc. as a handle material? I did try a search on G10 and got 500 hits so I decided to go ahead and show my ignorance with these questiions.
 
I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I think I've read that it is woven fiberglass soaked in some kind of resin.

The Good: It is fairly lightweight. It is extremely durable and will take no visible damage to pretty much any kind of normal abuse including scuffing and dropping. It isn't affected by tempurature or wetness, and is very grippy when textured properly. It is considered a high-end handle material.

The Bad: It can eat up more gentle fabrics and even jeans over time in the pocket. It may be uncomfortable to access other things in your pockets with a G10 handled knife clipped in it. Some may consider it's looks bland and uninteresting, or even ugly.
 
The is the google web definition of G-10 - "fiberglass based laminate. Layers of fiberglass cloth are soaked in resin and are compressed and baked. The resulting material is very hard, lightweight, and strong. Surface texture is added in the form of checkering. G-10 is an ideal material for tactical folders because of its ruggedness and lightweight."
 
Here's what you need to know:

It's grippy--not smooth. Metals actually provide decent grip under good conditions, but when you're sweaty or the knife is wet, you want G10.

G10 can shrug off huge damage without any visible effect. I've accidentally beaten the heck out of my paramilitary with G10 handles and not only is it not damaged, there is absolutely no visible effect at all even under the closest scrutiny.

It's lightweight and strong. That's enough of an explanation.

It's overpriced. The stuff is awesome, and I pretty much use it exclusively now, but the value is CLEARLY in FRN knives.

By far my favorite....titanium is probably my least favorite because it scuffs so easily and is so expensive. I still have two titanium knives though.
 
Thanks guys. I saw that CRKT has discontinued their M16's with G10 handles and replaced them with Zytel. I have a bunch of different models of M16's but don't have any of the red FD models. I'm not a fireman and I don't really want a knife with red handles but if G10 is superior to the other materials, I figured I should get 1 or 2 while they are available.
 
I'm not totally convinced that G-10 is superior to FRN in a knife with steel liners.
My personal experience indicates that FRN can withstand high-fall impacts much better than G-10.

Allen.
 
G-10 is glass cloth in an epoxy resin matrix.

Micarta is either canvass, linen or paper in a phenolic resin matrix.

Both are extremely durable and tough especially as handle materials. although micarta can absorb petrol and a couple other chemicals where G-10 does not.
 
G-10 is the best handle material ever designed. Very comfortable and durable overall. I love my Para handle and all of my other G-10's as well.

Jack
 
Agreed, for practical use in tough situations (e.g., outdoors in the rain), G-10 can't be beat.

Next question: Does anyone know why has Benchmade pretty much given up on G-10? I agree the Spyderco Paramilitary with G-10 is awesome! I keep trying to find a comparable Benchmade but just can't. The 710's a bit big and the few others with G-10 are too small and/or aluminum w/g10 inserts.
 
illumination said:
Next question: Does anyone know why has Benchmade pretty much given up on G-10?
Click to expand...

My guess it has either to do with cost, or ease of manufacture, which brings us back to cost.

G-10 does make an excellent choice for handle material due to the reasons mentioned above--it's grippy even when wet, and it's tough. Another benefit is it's non-conductive to heat or cold. This means in winter conditions, if you hold a knife with G-10 handles, it won't feel as cold as one with aluminum handles.
 
hardheart said:
gave up? AFAIK, all they did was match the presidio handles to the Nimravus.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. BM got rid of the G10 on the 722, and switched to Aluminum, towards the end of that model's run. When they did, they cited "difficulties in machining the handles" as the reason. They got rid of the 721 (G10), deciding to instead keep the 720 (Al).

The Sequel came back with an Aluminum handled (with G10 inserts) version of the 705's handle. I think most people would have prefered solid G10.

As to what you said about "matching the Presidio's handles to the Nimravus", why did they do that? They already have a Fixed Presidio! They didn't need to make a Fixed Presidio II out of the Nimravus!

Pretty much all of BM's line of G10 handled knives are going away. No more 806D2, no more TSEK, no more 730 series. BM must own stock in Aluminum.

Best wishes,
3Guardsmen
 
Some of this has already been said but hey...I'll second/third it. I Don't think that all g10 is exactly like one another. Some tend to be more "grippy" than others. It can wear and can also show marks if you give it a good enough scrape or whack. I have marked more than one. FRN can too though iof course. I think some of the patterns on the FRN don't show the scrapes as easily as a flat slab of g10. If you give either a good enough scrape, it will show. Either will show far less wear than titanium/aluminum/ss in general though.

If one of your requirements is a grippy texture....g10 can't be beat as far as I've seen. FRN feels cheap in the hand to me. g10 feels like a more substantial material. Either will do usually though. I prefer the g10 because in general it won't slip as easily...even when wet. It might be overpriced but it's an excellent material. If you want something flashy it might not be the best choice. If you want something practical, it's the best. I still have a few FRN handled knives that I love though. I think it depends more on the actual shape. Try one out and see what you think.
 
Excuse my ignorence, but what is FRN?

Second... with G-10 does it usually make the knife heavy and unbalanced toward the blade?

Thanks,
Cleary
 
FliGuyRyan said:
Excuse my ignorence, but what is FRN?
Click to expand...
Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon. It looks and feels like normal plastic. A couple exmaples are the Spyderco Delica and Benchmade Griptilian.

I think G-10 can feel great. The Manix and Military make FRN feel like cheap crap in comparison. The SERE 2000 feels good, but not as good as the Spydercos.

But G-10 can also feel no better than plastic. My AFCK 806D2 has G-10 scales and doesn't feel anything like my Manix. It feels more like my Griptilian, but with a different checkering pattern in the FRN.
 
The origninal and still major use of G10 is as an electrical insulator and especially as a circuit board substrate. It has excellent high-voltage insulating characteristics, pretty good high-frequency characteristics, is water- and humidity-resistant, it survives high-temperature soldering processes and also solvent-based cleaning, it's stiff and strong, and does not support fungus growth. It's fire-resistant too.
 
Well, from the 72x series, they kept the first one-720 (just going by the number designation), which I guess means sticking with Al (although I don't know why they still bother to make that one, either)

I figure the change in the Nim habdle is to keep a theme going in their 'uber-tactical' line. And I don't think it's possible to make that kind of grip from G10, at least I haven't seen any thick enough for it.

I agree on the sequel, I would buy one if it weren't Al.

And BM is coming out with new models. Many people hate the loss of the 806, but the Gravitator, Rukus, fixed Grip, etc. aren't Al handled either.

Personally, I hate aluminum, and the only knife I own with it is an LCC that was mis-labeled on the website as still having the Ti bolsters :p
 
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