What is your personal favorite handle material(s)?

Micarta on most all of my fixed blades, and certain folders.
I would have to say Ti would be my second favorite since the Sebenza is my favorite modern.
Carbon Fiber would be my third favorite.
Stag fourth.
I like many others, but I'll stop at four.
 
I have not seen stacked birch-bark mentioned yet. When done right, it is as durable, comfortable and beautiful as any other natural material.

From a purely structural/functional viewpoint, G10 gets my vote hands-down, every time. It just plain works, and from a knifemaker's view, it's also easy to work with... and that makes it affordable for my clients. Micarta pales in comparison, in every regard. Carbon fiber is the only currently-available handle material that comes close in raw toughness; but it falls far behind when comparing costs and color choices and availability.

Figured, stabilized wood will always be the prettiest in my opinion. But it still has certain structural problems. No matter who did the stabilizing, I have never seen a piece of stabilized burl or figured wood that could come close to G10 or carbon fiber in any durability test. Anyone who tells you different, is full of baloney.

I personally think molded materials are just plain fugly.

But! Two of my favorite production knives (and production-knife handles) ever are the Cold Steel Master Hunter and Becker BK-16. Both have handles made of molded materials (the CS "Kraton" is softish, the Becker "Grivory" is hard), but they are both well-designed, comfortable, durable, and they represent a lot of "bang-for-the-buck".

Let me put it this way: I make knives for a living; I can and do customize nearly everything I own, from guitars to gas pedals. That's just how I am. I have put beans in my cupboard rehandling both those knives for other people. However... I own both a CS MH and a Becker 16 and I have not done a goldang thing to change the materials or shape of either one's handle.

The upshot is this:

We are living in a true Golden Age of knife design. :)
 
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Give me a nice stabilized burl

Nice pattered aluminum for folders
Canvas micarta is so so for me, but its probably the best handle material from a user standpoint
G10 has always felt like cheap junk to me

I want to get a sambar stag handle eventually. I always forget when it comes time to destroy my wallet
 
Gotta be plain jane G10 for me! My hands get a little sweaty and nothing beats 2 slabs of G10 in my palm.
 
New "tactical" knives = Ti or Carbon fiber.
Traditional folders = Ivory, MOP and Stag.
Fixed blades = Leather
 
C-tek for folders... Micarta for fixed.

Although I could switch them and they would work perfectly!

Micatra provides a perfect grip dry or wet. when working in cold conditions micarta does not absorb the cold, thus being warm to the touch.

When I look for folders, I'm not a traction snob, so I prefer looks. C-tek does the job exceptionally!
 
I like G10 on folders, both rough and polished.

On fixed blades I like micarta, G10, stag, and various burls such as maple, ironwood, buckeye.
 
When done right they are all so nice that I have no favorite.
 
If I had to pick one for all my knives it would be wood. Micarta, jigged bone, and titanium are all in the rotation too though.
 
My favorite handle material is "not celluloid".

Wood, Bone, Derlin and other modern plastics, leather, all good.
 
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I prefer synthetic handles over natural materials for stability, little or no shrinkage issues, and water (i.e. “fluid”) resistance. I like standard color linen micartas and G10’s.

My favorite handle materials by far are custom burlap micartas from Shadetree Custom Composites. They make them in a great variety of colors and they have a warm grippy texture on a finished knife handle.




My 2nd favorite handle material is black carbon fiber. Here are a set of Bark River knives wearing black carbon fiber handles. Top to bottom: Kalahari Sportsman, Bushcrafter, and Ultra Light Bushcrafter (i.e.”ULB”.)




Here are samples of my two favorite handle materials together in one photo. On top is a Bark River Kalahari Sportsman with black carbon fiber. The bottom knife is a Fiddleback Forge Bushcrafter Jr. with Shadetree Tangerine burlap micarta paired up with black canvas micarta bolsters and 1/8” thick liners.




Great thread idea!

Phil
 
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For folders, my favorite handle material is easily G-10. It's strong, usually somewhat cost-effective, doesn't transfer temperature to your hands, can be very grippy and looks really good. If you want a fancy-looking handle it can be polished at greater cost and it'll look gorgeous. For larger folders I also to a lesser degree like metal handles of all kinds just because of the way they feel, though I recognize they definitely are not as practical as G-10. I'm also down with FRN and grivory.

For fixed blades, I feel there is no equal to kraton for many of the reasons I like G-10 for folders. Though it's not fancy looking, it's cheap and practical. I expect a fixed blade to deal with more shock and rough use than a folder would, and I wouldn't want something as rough as canvas micarta or textured G-10 for that; kraton fits the bill nicely.
 
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Comprehensivist said:
I prefer synthetic handles over natural materials for stability, little or no shrinkage issues, and water (i.e. “fluid”) resistance. I like standard color linen micartas and G10’s.

My favorite handle materials by far are custom burlap micartas from Shadetree Custom Composites. They make them in a great variety of colors and they have a warm grippy texture on a finished knife handle.

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wow those are beautiful

Dantone05 said:
Agreed. Polished canvas micarta :thumbup:
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yup yup! Canvas micarta or even linen micarta

close 2nd is Carbon Fiber

For small traditional folders I also prefer bone over wood, but don't particularly care for stag. Sawcut is my favorite closely followed by smooth bone.
 
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I'd have to say that for sheer beauty, mother of pearl, mammoth ivory, abalone, and ebony wood. For function, hard to beat G-10 or micarta, although aesthetically I'm more partial to natural materials. It's currently "not pc" but I like regular ivory as well, especially with some age on it, In fact, there's really not much I "don't like", even paracord wrap can be nice if done right.
 
Cobalt said:
When done right they are all so nice that I have no favorite.
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Well said :)

Comprehensivist said:
My favorite handle materials by far are custom burlap micartas from Shadetree Custom Composites. They make them in a great variety of colors and they have a warm grippy texture on a finished knife handle.
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Right on! I bought a couple sets of burlap scales from Shadetree at BLADE last spring, and I am very pleased with the quality of their work. It is easy to work with and I have found no soft spots or voids in it. It looks good and more importantly, feels good in the hand when all is said and done. :thumbup: For all those reasons, I prefer it more than canvas micarta.
 
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