What's the appeal of one-piece handles?

Q

Quiff

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Aug 10, 2013
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I have the LionSteel TiSpine and SR-2, their handles are both cut from one solid piece of titanium, and they are both beautifully made and elegant. Besides LionSteel, there are also other knives that are one-piece solid handles, such as the Spyderco Nirvana and the new Benchmade Anthem, and Stedemon SHY.

I know these knives are harder to manufacture, and they can show off the capabilities of a brand, therefore asking for a higher price. But other than the aesthetic standpoint, it doesn't really make a knife better or worse, maybe even harder to take the knives apart and clean them. Do you think solid handles are a plus for knives?
 
I understand there are less parts, but they do seem like they would be a huge pain to take apart and clean!

I prefer two pieces that are easy to take apart and clean or repair if needed.
 
One piece construction has an aesthetic appeal. Building that way creates a smooth transition from handle to spine and keeps parts aligned. I however don't feel the extra cost is justified when doing a performance based comparison to more traditional knives.
 
I don't think it necessarily looks any better, or has any advantages I can think of especially when it limits they types of lock or blade retention mechanisms that can be utilized.
 
Its a feat of engineering. You can have benefits and negative aspects depending on your knife needs. I think they are very interesting but not worth the current market price for such a knife.
 
A lot of people are in the knife hobby because they're manufacturing aficionados. Fancy materials, innovative designs, and difficult machining are the reason they spend big money on knives. Those kinds of people are the the target audience of integrals/OPHs IMO.
 
I don't want to hijack this thread, but since you're already be talking about titanium I have a question.
What exactly is so good about titanium ?
AFAIK it's expensive, hard to work with ( compared to other materials ), and being metal it would get cold in the winter.
 
Ti, Steel and other metals not only get cold! The can get hot!

As Mentioned, there is a specific market for those kinds of knife handles & Knives. I personally prefer the tactile feel of Stabilized woods and a few synthetics,
but each to his own!
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't want to hijack this thread, but since you're already be talking about titanium I have a question.
What exactly is so good about titanium ?
AFAIK it's expensive, hard to work with ( compared to other materials ), and being metal it would get cold in the winter.
Click to expand...

Titanium is stronger than steel but light as aluminum. For a knife blade,as I understand, it can only reasonably reach an RC hardness of around 53 or 54. For just about anything else though, titanium is superior to steel. It's not a rare metal, it's expensive only because it's so hard to work with.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't want to hijack this thread, but since you're already be talking about titanium I have a question.
What exactly is so good about titanium ?
AFAIK it's expensive, hard to work with ( compared to other materials ), and being metal it would get cold in the winter.
Click to expand...

titaniums main claim to fame is its strength to weight ratio. While steel of equal size and thickness to titanium can be stronger it wont be by much and titanium will be strong enough to perform the task of frame or liner but be significantly lighter which makes many of the tactical designs more pocket friendly. Its also prized for its ability to take a wide variety of colors with minimal investment in anodizing equipment and requires no dyes to do so. Titanium also has excellent corrosion resistance which makes the material very desireable in salt water environments where such corrosion can be a problem.
 
An integral handle (Cook Lochsa, Raymond Estrella, Lion Steel offerings, Spyderco Nirvana, Peter Ressenti's knives, ect.) would certainly offer more rigidity to the handle. Even the largest applicable fasteners could not be as strong. I personally love the way the knives look but the big cost to me is that if anything goes wrong with the lock bar, the owner/user is SOL. It can't be bent inward to make an adjustment and if there is no replaceable lock interface once the face wears out the entire (expensive!) handle would have to be replaced.
 
If I may, the Strider folder integral rear spacer G10 handle is a fantastic design.
rolf
 
Ti isn't quite as strong as steel (other than low grade steels) but its about 95% as strong depending on what grade of steel (and titanium) you're comparing to. The weight is generally 40% of steel, which results in huge weight savings. Ti also is essentially non-reactive to corrosion, less reactive to heat, non magnetic, and is much more flexible than steel.

Basically with Ti you get essentially the weight of aluminum and very close to the properties of steel other than the 60s RC hardness.
 
People don't care about functionality, it's all about how cool and collectible something is. Arguments of how a solid handle is better because it is more sturdy is kind of weird, I don't know in what instance this would ever matter.
 
Integral handles offer benefits in terms of alignment.

The "sandwich" construction of most knives in which there are two liners/scales and a backspacer/standoffs means that a loss of tension in a screw or overtightening of a screw can cause enough flex to be detrimental to the parts' alignment, resulting in various issues.

Many non-integral knives are sensitive to an extent where even an overtightening of a pocket clip screw may be enough to adversely effect the smoothness of the action.
 
I bought a Lionsteel SR-1 because I'm a nerd and the construction of the knife is industrial art.

There are no screws in the handle other than the pivot. It's just an amazing design ( IMO of course).
 
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