What's your favorite handle material for fixed blades?

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Oct 18, 2001
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What are your favorite handle materials for fixed blades?

...and what do you like best about them?


This is open to all fixed blades...whether handmade or factory-made.

My List would be
Blue/Black G10 - grippy synthetic
Natural Canvas Micarta - warm/friendly synthetic
Ironwood - high quality, rare, tough, nice figure
Cocobolo - same as above but less rare/$$$ :D

What are yours?

Dan
 
G10 and micarta - they are basically bulletproof
desert ironwood - classy, strong, won't shrink in arid regions
amboyna burl - aesthetically pleasing, and again don't have shrinkage issues
 
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I didn't know cocobolo was less rare than ironwood. My favorite handle material would have to be Micarta, preferably linen because it has that rougher texture. Micarta done right just feels great and is still very grippy with sweaty or wet hands. I also love the way that raw micarta handle scales will soak up moisture and darken with use. The sad thing is that is not very pretty in that unfinished state and most knife makers will polish or sand it to a smooth finish that looks great because it reveals the grain, but it kinda defeats the purpose of using micarta in the first place because polished micarta is just as smooth as polished G10 or wood.

I tend to stay away from wood handles in general because they are not as strong or durable as the synthetics and I think they are mostly used nowadays for aesthetic reasons instead of utility.

Never had a fixed blade with G10 handles, I think this might not be a great idea as G10 is very stiff and doesn't offer that little bit of flex that wood or micarta will provide. Plus, it just doesn't have that warm feeling when you wrap your hand around it.
 
Natural Canvas Micarta - looks good, durable , grippy even when wet, won't swell ,crack or absorb liquid
 
I like the bombproof-ness of canvas micarta. Green looks good to me and you mentioned that it's the toughest of them all, but I've got a natural canvas micarta knife on order too. Grippy, tough, no nonsense material.

I also love the looks of exotic wood. Since Ironwood is rare and expensive, I'm not going to have any on my knives I don't think. I love Cocobolo dearly and have a bunch in my shop for future woodworking projects (if I don't succumb to the allergic reactions). My new favorites are some of the lesser used woods such as Wenge and Ziricote. I love the looks and they are both pretty damn tough. Wenge is striking and has a certain tactile feel that I like, probably because of the large pores. Ziricote is related to Bocote and is oily, warm and almost like ebony, but without most of the instability and cracking issues that ebony can have.
 
Paracord!!!!!

Kidding, I prefer G-10 and Micarta, either a brighter color like black/blue or red/black, or just plain black.

Seriously though, paracord has its benefits :)
 
It's hard to beat micarta for durability and grip, but I'm partial to wood. Wood is fairly durable with a little care and has a lovely aesthetic appeal. Horn intrigues me, but I've never had a horn handled knife.
 
Ironwood and African Blackwood are 2 of my favorite handle materials. Otherwise, Canvas Micarta (OD Green and Black) are my choices in synthetics.
 
Green Canvas Micarta. Koa.:p
Dense jungle woods: Rosewood. Kamagong. Cocobolo.
Ironwood is really nice.
All the cool exotic woods over at HI. :thumbup:
 
I have quite a few in micarta. Like the feel better than G10.
As far as woods go Bocote and Osage Orange are good...
always like the look of Spalted Maple as well.
 
For hard-use, I like canvas micarta (or eqivalent) for much the same reasons as listed above. Natural is my first color choice, followed by green. Black is OK, but I have come to eschew it for it's association with mall ninjas. :p

For ANYTHING, I love wood handles. Any kind as long as it has nice figure and is "natural" in color. I don't care for the dyed stuff at all. I like brown and/or tan. With only a few exceptions, I don't even care much for woods that are naturally reddish or pinkish or purplish.

As a matter purely of my own taste, I really dislike the look of stag, bone, horn or even mother-of-pearl as primary handle materials. They have their place, along with things like coral and Corian, as accents, but not as the principle component. ;)
 
For knives that I'm really going to use I like canvas micarta. It just has a great feel when bead blasted and is pretty bomb-proof. After that g10 is next. Blue/Black G10 just has a great appeal to me. I do love the look of spalted maple on a knife though. I'm not altogether sure I'd buy a knife with a spalted maple handle but they sure look good in the pics.
 
Black G-10, when paired with a satin blade it looks great & super tough

canvas micarta, super grippy a great working material

Bocote, always has super nice grain- very tough wood

Lignum vitae, super hard and dense has interesting coloring great for a working knife also
 
One thing I should clarify....

I like Cocobolo...yes....but really I should be saying "I like the Cocobolo I pick out"...:D

There's quite a bit of variety in it....some pieces are quite boring with no prevalent grain....and others are quite brilliant with beautiful flowing grain. So, as long as it's the latter, I really like it. :thumbup:


I was turned off from it for years....considered it a "cheap wood" for knifemaking. That's because I was seeing the wrong kinds...the dull colored, wide-grained kind. But now I have a source for the "good stuff" and I can't believe how nice it is. It is a knifemaker's dream-come-true wood. Works great, doesn't "evaporate" at the grinder, heavy, tough, can have nice figure....and best of all, needs no stabilizing - it is resistant to movement and changes in humidity.



Keep the suggestions coming....:thumbup:


And feel free to point to examples of knives with those handles and why you like 'em.

...don't forget to explain what you like about that particular material too. ;)



Thanks!

Dan
 
green or black micarta, canvas or linen.
orange g10.
desert ironwood.

I'd go with black horn, too, if it wasn't a hard work knife. I have a black horn straight razor that's just amazing.
 
Oak is a pretty nice wood.. Atleast some oak.
Burls from a variety of different trees, yield quite figurative cuts. Ofcourse, burls do usually need to be stabilized in one way or another, or they might crack.
Curly birch is another that can have great wavy lines running through it.
All of these are pretty good for both ordinary work-knives, or for show-case knives, if the cut is appropriate, and shows of the grain in the best way possible.

My favourite handle material however, would be canvas micarta. Natural, green or black at that.
Or maybe stacked leather, like the KaBar USMC knives.
Or stacked birch bark, like alot of nordic knives.
Both of those requires less of a tang though, than a knife with scales.
 
Pretty much for me it is anything that a good knife is attached to....... :D

That being said.......
....Micarta
....Wood that is nicely figured. [Either woods that do not require stabilization or stabilized one's.... both work for me as long as they are nice wood.]

PS/ Linen Micarta is my favorite, followed by Canvas.
 
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I agree with Teacher -

I have owned one of yours in Cocobolo and Green Canvas Micarta - I liked both.

Let me not speak about what TYPES I like - but let me talk about what QUALITIES I like.

It has to be tough, grippy, and look decent to excellent.

For a bushcrafter knife - I care less about looks than if I was doing an EDC or something.

TF
 
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