Who Else Loves All-Stainless Steel Handles?

J

James Y

Joined
Feb 18, 1999
Messages
6,504
This is sort of a continuation of my Harpy question in the Spyderco Forum.

At this time I only have one all-stainless, a Spydie Rookie. Although the surface of the handle is smooth with no "traction," I appreciate the thinness of the knife, and the fact that it clips solidly to the pocket but does not rip up material clipping on or off. The slightly greater weight is no bother, and in fact, sometimes a slightly hefty feeling is welcome in a knife. Although I also like Zytel and G-10 handles, I found over the holidays that even some heavy cutting chores that have strained some other one-handed folders in the past were easily handled by the Rookie, and I think the majority of the reason was the solid steel handles, in addition to this knife's excellent edge geometry and steel (ATS-55).

I am becoming a fan of all-stainless, and hope Spyderco keeps these handles in their line.
Jim
 
I was messing around with one that my friend had. right off the bat, it seemed like less friction. I didn't use it for anything really tough, but it seems like the chances of that knife escaping a grip are better than something with texture. I'll have to buy another knife to test it out, OH DAMN!
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Knives and Cars...
Simple but EXPENSIVE.
 
I like metal handles on my folders provided they have enough grooving, handle-holes, or other surface break-up to provide an adequate grip. For me, it's a question of durability over all other factors: you know the handle will last as long as the knife blade, if not longer, under normal use.

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.

 
I like my knives to have more heft to them too. Added weight doesn't bother me either unless you try and make the knife weigh 4 lbs.
I bet that a an all stainless handle would be considered less frightening to all the idiots who see knives as weapons and only weapons.Black handles give sort of a tactical look. Whereas you could do some engraving on a stainless handle and have it look more like a gentlemans folder. If it still scares them just hold it up to the light. If they're that stupid, chances are they're fascinatd by shiny objects
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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
I like my SS handled Spydercos, I love the extra strength and rigidness, and like Matt I also like the heftiness of them. There are a couple of things I don't like about them though. First is that they are too heavy to clip on my pocket when I do jogging, especially the larger Spydercos. The second is that, I don't know about you, they get scratched easily. I refinished the handle of my old SS Endura with Scotchbrite and a little sanding, the result is a hand-rubbed finish. I love it even more now.


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Reynaert
 
Sometimes I don't mind a few light scratches on a SS handle. It gives it a "used-look" type of charm. Unfortunately, I've dinged up a G-10 handled AFCK before. The dings were permanent and IMO looked awful.

Yes, a disadvantage to smooth SS handles is a lack of traction, plus I agree they are a bit heavy for certain types of carry (like exercising, etc.). It probably matters a bit less on my little Rookie than on, say, a Police or Endura II, though.
Jim
 
Stainless is best, in my humble opinion. Toughness, solid feel, easily restored surface. Just changed daily carry Delica98 (stripped clip) to 'old' stainless Delica. The AUS6 needs more work, but the overall 'feel' is worth it. When grip is an issue use griptape -- available in a multitude of colours to match ensembles -- does the trick and comes off easily. Plus, stainless sounds cool jangling around with the keys, tools and change in a pocket.
 
I like a metal handled folder as well, though prefer Titanium and Aluminum to Stainless Steel. I would prefer some heft in most of my knives, and find the Spyderco Military too light for its purposes. I live in a temperate climate (despite Samuel Langhorne Clemens’ comments to the contrary) and so don’t need to worry about cold conditions adversely effecting the handles. And a well-designed profile will go far in compensation for the loss of “traction” that Stainless has.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
I stripped the clip on my delica too. A little 2 ton epoxy is an easyy fix. I just sanded the black powder coating off to give aclean surface for the glue. I did the whole clip because it was all scratched up and looked like crap. But you only have to do the part where the epoxy will be. Then fill the little mortise for the clip with epoxy and put the clip in, then tighten the screw up all the way. Some of the epoxy will squeeze out but it will also form around the clip and repair where the chips are.Let it dry and your ready to go. I did that 6 onths ago and I've carried it every day since then no problem.
 
Epoxy is a great idea, but my stripping 'incident' (I think I did it when I brushed up against a dining room chair a little too harshly) gave me a chance to i) buy a new knife (the SS Delica) and ii) toy around with a fob. Great for inside coat pocket when hiking. A big knot ready and handy, and my baby won't accidentally get slipped out of my pocket. At first I thought the concept of a fob was cumbersome, but having used it on a few occasions, it seems to work great. Plus, on the occasions you don't want to hear "is that a pager or something" re. your clip, a piece of knotted black shoelace/string never gets noticed, or at least commented on. And that's why I like stainless steel handles...

Cheers,

RLR
 
The thing that I like most about stainless handles is that they dress up very nice.

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Dennis Bible
 
My preference depends on various elements.
There's no question that stainless steel scales are superior in strength. I can't imagine them folding upon use or the threads holding the clip screws stripping.I would also think that they would wear far longer than any composite. The irony is the weight with respect to a larger knife, particularly when clipped on a loose fitting pocket like a jacket or coat. No problem in jeans pockets, though.
G-10 is strong stuff, but the clip screw threads are far more likely to strip or relax their grip over time.
The outcome is that the sturdier setup has a slippier grip and is twice as heavy. Stainless is prettier IMO, unless it is severely scratched. If it is scratched, it can be buffed as there is no color or coating issue.
Take my Calypsos for example. The stainless one has it's clip removed, while the micarta model wears it's clip. Micarta is weaker still than G-10, and is as slippery as stainless.My preference is for the stainless model. In fact, I use the micarta model only for very light chores. Also, I find that micarta is far more likely to get surface scratches, and there is no acceptable restoration remedy.
Too bad we don't have the option to get the Calypso in G-10. I think a textured G-10 handle would be far better than the current plastic/linnen option.
On a smaller knife like the Navigator,where strength is in proportion to size, G-10 is great. I have a pegasus in stainless as well as a Dragonfly. Both are not too heavy when clipped to a loose coat pocket. The G-10 Navigator, which is textured, does not slide around so much in the dash tray of my car. The stainless Pegasus and Dragonfly are all over the place when I turn corners.
I like how REKAT uses stainless liners and G-10. You get the advantage of the texture available with G-10, and the strength of stainless steel.
Nothing feels as good to me as the thinness of a stainless Spyderco clipit SANS CLIP.
I get a confident and comfortable grip. Clips dig into your hand when the knife is used extensively. Also, the profile is 50% thinner w/o clip.
The least preferred handle material to me is micarta. I just do not understand it's strength qualities, particularly when not supported by a metal sub-liner.
Aluminum is great stuff. Very strong yet lightweight. The problem here is colored anodizing. If you go with anything other than clear or pewter and get a scratch, you're screwed. Scratch a black anodized Benchmade or grey MT and you'll see what I mean.
Over time and extended carry, I find that the most superior scale material is natural-colored bead blasted titanium like Chris Reeves uses. My Sebenzas have been scratched and fully restored to the original finish with a little rubbing with Soft Scrub.
Like most things in life, knives and supporting materials are a compromise.
Bill

 
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