whats the deal with G-10?

My .02.
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buckknifebibletotin said:
hey all. It seems that everybody goes on and on about how amazing g-10 is and how its so grippy and if its not g-10 then this or that knife is a pile of trash. Am is the only one here who thinks g-10 is the worst handle material?
1) its brittle. My zt 300 has a chip or two out of the corners on the g-10 from falls to the concrete. They are very small chips but my cold steel voyager with the "trashy plastic" handles has gone thru the same drops many times with no chips.

2) Its not grippy. I never understand why people think it is a grippy material. Its not. a Grippy material is rubbery like krayton or something similar. Think the the tires on your cars, rubber is grippy. Just because the surface of it is like sandpaper on some knifes does not make it a grippy material.

Anyways just my .02 cents
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im curious now...what handle materials do you prefer?

titanium scales are not grippy...SS isnt grippy...Al not grippy...

g10 is in so many knives because they have probably figured out a way to produce a lot of it efficiently and it is workable, machinable, comes in colors, etc.
price to advantages ratio on it is pretty high, i suppose. there are some knives out there you may not have tried yet that have g10 in the level of grip that you like. besides, i would like to attribute the security of a knife in hand to the design of the handle so i don't have to worry about material friction so much.
 
I am hopefully going to be trying out TeroTuf in the near future as a replacement to g10, although I do like g10.
 
razor-edge-knives said:
I am hopefully going to be trying out TeroTuf in the near future as a replacement to g10, although I do like g10.
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TeroTuf is very much like canvas micarta.
Micarta or TeroTuff can be very grippy with a cloth like feel to them.
G10 is glass and be machined with different surface textures to be very grippy, but not cloth like.
In fact the surface can be textured so precisely that it can become quite sharp and abrasive.

 
I love G-10. My hands can get a little sweaty, and G-10 definitely feels better in the hand than smooth metal, FRN, etc.
 
Like all other materials, G-10 can be screwed up. However, on the blades I have with it, I like it. I definitely prefer it over plastics (aka "polymers") in almost all cases.
 
buckknifebibletotin said:
Its not grippy. I never understand why people think it is a grippy material. Its not. a Grippy material is rubbery like krayton or something similar. Think the the tires on your cars, rubber is grippy. Just because the surface of it is like sandpaper on some knifes does not make it a grippy material.
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A note about this: G10's texture depends greatly on the finish. If overly polished, the scales could turn into "wet bars of soap", quite the opposite of that "sandpaper" finish you mentioned.

It's an effect of the finishing process, not necessarily a property of the material itself.
 
I really wish G10 wasn't so common, and micarta was more common.

I do like it when makers do creative things with G10, like Sibert and Strider who combine the backspacer and non-locking frame into one solid piece of G10.
 
My only real issue with G10 is that it's heavy . . . heavier than Micarta and far heavier than Carbon Fiber. If weight is an issue, G10 is not the best solution.
 
bld522 said:
My only real issue with G10 is that it's heavy . . . heavier than Micarta and far heavier than Carbon Fiber. If weight is an issue, G10 is not the best solution.
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There is very (very(very)) little weight savings between carbon fiber and G10, because they are made the same way using layers of material and epoxy.
 
I prefer scales made of human flesh. Grippy, shock absorbing, comes in a variety of colors.
 
buckknifebibletotin said:
hey all. It seems that everybody goes on and on about how amazing g-10 is and how its so grippy and if its not g-10 then this or that knife is a pile of trash. Am is the only one here who thinks g-10 is the worst handle material?
1) its brittle. My zt 300 has a chip or two out of the corners on the g-10 from falls to the concrete. They are very small chips but my cold steel voyager with the "trashy plastic" handles has gone thru the same drops many times with no chips.

2) Its not grippy. I never understand why people think it is a grippy material. Its not. a Grippy material is rubbery like krayton or something similar. Think the the tires on your cars, rubber is grippy. Just because the surface of it is like sandpaper on some knifes does not make it a grippy material.

Anyways just my .02 cents
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I can't speak to it scientifically but through experience; I dropped a small custom fixed blade in my driveway yesterday and it barely marked the end of the handle (fell right on the butt of the knife hitting the scale). I think the asphalt took greater damage...

None of my G10 handled knives show any damage from use/abuse that would be considered chips or missing material; rather just a little scuff or scrape.

G10 is an amazing material IMHO due to how many textures or finishes can be easily applied to it using low tech (file & sandpaper) to high end (cnc mill) tools. :thumbup:

The first and second knife I've redone scales on:

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I personally haven't found G-10 to be brittle. I've accidentally dropped G-10 handled knives on concrete and pavement, not often, but enough times, and have never had G-10 chip. Dings, yes, and sometimes barely even that.

That said, I do agree that many people seem to believe that any knife that doesn't *at least* have G-10 handles is junk. The knives I carry most often have FRN or stainless handles...not considered "the latest greatest", but they serve my purposes very well. FRN is a lot tougher than many people think.

Jim
 
I like G-10 a lot. not so much the very grippy peel ply textures but the machined or hand done patterns and gentler surface finishes that can be achieved. Micarta is a whole other subject, it can be made from so many different materials from paper to sacking to get the grip and compliment the textures on the finished scales. I relly like the "map contour" effect that can be had from both materials when it is laid up in Strata of different colours.
Carbon fibre isn't on my preferred list, I'm not sure why, maybe because I've only had a few knives through my hands that had it.
FRN, ABS, as well as the proprietary brands of handle material I don't usually like at all.
Wood is good and bone, antler etc has it's place in the more traditional market.
Of all the more "custom" materials Kirinite, C-tek and the more modern plastics can be used to great effect for looks more than use.
I've recently bought a Y-Start Folder, Chinese designed and made, that has sand coloured G-10 for the bolsters and red/brown Micarta for the scales. Good looking combination.
 
You are not alone. I've tried knives with G-10 from various makers and IMO no matter how it's finished it has very little grip compared to other materials. I long ago reached the point where G-10 handles/scales mean that I simply won't purchase the knife.
 
I find myself using micarta on all the knives I make- for the grippiness.
G10 is stronger, but on a full tang fixed blade the handles are more for ergonomics than structural support.
 
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