Why the dislike for plastic handles?

R

Raylas

Joined
Jul 27, 2012
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504
I've been reading around and I've found a LOT of hate for artificial handle materials, and I got to wondering something: Why so much hate for plastic/FRN/Rubber handles? I've found that I actually PREFER G-10 or FRN handles over wood. So why do people dislike them so much? What do you think of them?
 
I think people generally equate plastic with cheaply made junk. Done correctly plastic handles can be nice.
 
I didn't know there was a lot of hate for synth handles going around. :confused: I like wood, rubber, plastic, laminate (G10, Micarta, etc.), bone, stag, whatever, it just depends on the knife.
 
Some plastic handles can feel a bit on the cheap side. Knives are tools and where handtools are concerned it's easy to equate light with cheap, particularly if they have a little flex to them. There's also the simple fact that one of the main reasons to use plastics is to cut costs. Plastics don't really bother me on a working knife, but aesthetically I'd much rather have micarta, stabilized wood or titanium. I just think it looks and feels higher quality.
 
Couple of bushcraft forums, several people have commented something to the effect of my Opinel Outdoor looking like a toy when I pull it out.

If you'd care for quotes, I'll get them for you.
 
I prefer G10, Micarta, and Titanium over the lightweight plastics; but they are not a turn-off for me. I feel that they get bladeplay easier and they don't feel as heavy duty as a knife with a handle of G10 or something like it. The most plastic knife I have is my Griptilian and I love the knife, I had an Endura and I hated the thin FRN handles.
 
I only dislike plastic scales/handles when the price of the knife is high and roughly the same as a similar knife with micarta or g-10.
 
FRN does feel cheap, but I still enjoy my FRN knives.
FRN is also not as rigid as G10, which tends to make FRN knives feel less strong, imo.

The "Valox" plastic handles on my Benchmade 585 were slick and awful, but the knife was still acceptable.

I prefer synthetic handles, but I have not given natural handles much of a chance.
 
I'm not too keen on FRN because it feels cheap, but it IS cheap and if I buy a very inexpensive knife with FRN handles I don't mind it.

Most of my folders have G10 and I think it is a good material for that use. It is light, not too expensive, strong, and gives good traction. OTOH my 10+ year old knives with G10 don't look so good because the G10 seems to oxidize over time.

I have a lot of custom fixed blades, many with polished micarta. I like this material and don't mind it on custom knives. It looks like an expensive product and it seems to stand up very well with age.
 
I prefer G-10, titanium, Carbon Fiber, or some sort of metal handle really.
My SOG Sculptura is FRN and I'm carrying it right now though and I've carried and used several FRN/plastic knives.
I don't prefer them though.

And yeah there would be a lot of hate for these on a Bush Craft forum.

Most Bush Craft knives have Micarta or Wood handles.
 
Raylas said:
Couple of bushcraft forums, several people have commented something to the effect of my Opinel Outdoor looking like a toy when I pull it out.

If you'd care for quotes, I'll get them for you.
Click to expand...

So not here, then, at a knife forum.
 
Only knives i recall feeling cheap and crappy is my benchmade mini griptilian and that ... long assisted opening one
580 barrage, damn there is a lot of new goodly shaped benchmades on their site
 
The crappy plastic handles are by far and away the biggest let down on my Mini-barrage.

I do not like FRN and will try to avoid knives like that just because they do feel cheap.

That being said, the texturing on my Kershaw Zings (which are GRN) does a very good job of mimicking G10 and is more than acceptable to me considering it is a high value, low cost USA made knife.
 
I prefer G10 to FRN, mostly because thin shell FRN is relatively easy to shatter compared to G10. I actually like polypropylene handles a lot, though there aren't too many knives that use them.
 
I like G10, I dont like the plastic. Feels cheap, looks cheap and I dont see a benefit to it.
 
I prefer natural to synthetic.. (guess I am a bit of a traditionalist in this way)

That being said I have nothing against mircarta or rubber style handles if done well..
 
I hated/despised/wouldnt look the way of FRN handles until i got my griptilian. That is a SOLID knife. I didn't like the way spyderco did it until my girlfriend bought me a salt 1. I had bought a few years previous a SS delica, due to the dislike of the FRN, but after carrying the salt 1 i love it. It opened up many more options from spyderco and other companies for me. It's actually solid!
 
Raylas said:
Couple of bushcraft forums, several people have commented something to the effect of my Opinel Outdoor looking like a toy when I pull it out.
Click to expand...

Part of it is undoubtedly the nature of the forum. Bushcrafters and naturalists probably do prefer natural, rustic, authentic materials over synthetics.
Go to some knives-as-combat-weapons forum or "EDC" forum and you'll probably not see many natural handles.

Another factor, plastic handles are something new on the Opinel line, "It's not how Opinel knives are supposed to be." We're talking about a knife that has been produced relatively unchanged for 120 years. And now they're made out of plastic!?! You get the idea.

Third, a lot of people really do prefer natural materials. I, for one, was tired of the black plastic "tactical" trend by 1995. Sure, there are some rugged, durable, grippable, lightweight synthetic handle materials. And yes I own plenty of them, and still buy them occasionally. But really, it's been done to death. Since I mostly purchase knives for lookin' at I do tend to buy natural - bone, wood, stag, etc. There's a definite aesthetic that's missing from man made materials, a character, a 'soul'...

Didn't mean to ramble on so much. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
 
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