Will Busse ever offer Terotuf?

rcb2000

rcb2000

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Apr 15, 2014
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I don't own any knives with it, but have handled it and heard nothing but great things.
I think it would be amazing for any users in INFI.
What do you say Boss?
 
Haha,
Its a handle material, but both tougher and grippier than canvas/linen micarta from what I'm told.
I don't think anyone has ever broken micarta,, but this stuff offers a very grippy texture.
This was a quote from Nathan the Machinist regarding it
Nathan the Machinist said:
G10 is the most stable and stiffest. It's also the heaviest. It is the most abrasive to work with, but surprisingly it has poor abrasive wear resistance. It looks good on a knife, but I don't like it on my own because it's unnecessarily heavy and other materials offer a better grip.

Micarta is significantly lighter than G10, and a little more flexible. It's still much stiffer, stronger and more dimensionally stable than wood (the material that's been used successfully in this application for millennia). It offers a good grip even when wet or goopy and it wears better in a gritty kydex sheath. It has poor impact resistance compared to other synthetics (not much better than wood) and can crack or chip if used on a throwing knife or similar. Phenolic is not inferior to epoxy, it's just different.

Tero Tuf is the most flexible (least stiff, not a good thing). It's durable and apparently it has the best grip when your hands are sweaty. It's on the knife that won the last two world cutting championships. It's attractive from a manufacturing point of view because it's nontoxic and non abrasive. To me, the biggest problem is poor dimensional stability. It can shrink away and allow a full tang to stand proud more than the others which requires some special thought on how and where it is used.

They're all quite good and we're fortunate to have them, but there are relative pros and cons to all of them.
Click to expand...

I bet Resinguy has a lot of info on it,,and could probably offer some insight
 
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I certainly hope they do. It's not very attractive, but it is super grippy. I like it a lot on the one knife I have with TeroTuf. I think it would be epic on a Busse fusion handle.

 
So it is described as polyester resin with polyester fabric. My searchfu is weak, can't find an MSDS. Polyester resin in this context almost certainly means an unsaturated polyester which is then cured with either styrene or methyl methacrylate. Think of it as the resin used to make gelcoat and 'fiberglass' for marine applications. The shrinkage thing is surprising to me, AFAIK boat hulls don't shrink, so why should this TeroTuf?
 
resinguy said:
So it is described as polyester resin with polyester fabric. My searchfu is weak, can't find an MSDS. Polyester resin in this context almost certainly means an unsaturated polyester which is then cured with either styrene or methyl methacrylate. Think of it as the resin used to make gelcoat and 'fiberglass' for marine applications. The shrinkage thing is surprising to me, AFAIK boat hulls don't shrink, so why should this TeroTuf?
Click to expand...

Boat hull is reinforced with glass, this is reinforced with some kind of stretchy polyester fiber, probably something like PET. I figure it's probably recycled water bottles and "fiberglass resin". Both, technically, polyesters. I think the resin might be styrenic and not methacrylate, based on the smell.

It does absorb some water (I don't know why, but it does), it's not real dense, and it's somewhat flexible. I've seen it shrink on a tang and leave more than .010" tang exposed, which is actually becoming a functional issue. I've seen this a few times too.

All that said, it's a wonderful scales material for a heavy duty knife that's going to see real use. Especially if it's hot out and you're sweaty and your hands get slick. I laminate it to a thick piece of micarta which addresses the stability issue. You could use G10 too, but I think micarta might be a better fit.

I think it would be a great material for Busse knives. Functional and high performance.
 
Nice, thanks for the insight Nathan :thumbup:
And congrats on your own forum!
 
I have two knives with terotuff handles. Love it. It is definitely more grippy without having all the carvings that Busse and many others do so micarta or g10 is not so slick. It also feels warmer in cold weather. I like Busse's micarta, prefer ResC and an enclosed tang over all other handles, but Terotuff is good stuff.
 
So, if it shrinks wouldn't that be a good thing on a basic model knife with the hidden tang? Wouldn't it form a tighter fit over time over the tang?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
When I am thinking about buying a knife, I always am highly influenced by the way the handle feels. It must feel right in my hand. Res C has done wonders for me since I find that protracted sessions with this type of handle results in less stress on my hands. Would TeroTuf be an improvement over Res C?

Any improvement over Res C would be welcomed with hearty applause, but I sense that Busse has selected just about the top notch handle material extant.
 
I have used it quite a bit, for several years. It does absorb oil/moisture a bit, but not as much as even micarta.
Personally I have never seen any movement or shrinkage, but I trust Nathan.

I can say say that it is called "Tuf" for a reason. I can take a 1/4" pc of G10 or micarta and snap it in half. Not so with tero Tuf, it flexes much, much more. For this reason it is my preferred handle material for hard use knives, especially tomahawks.

As a side benefit, it is also slightly lighter than micarta and G10 both.

Here is the info I have for it. I will try and get the MSDS and post it up.

It's trade name CIP101

http://www.cipcomposites.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/42100-CIP-Catalog-1.pdf

http://www.cipcomposites.com/composite-materials/properties/

A torture test done by Eric Ochs.

http://www.ochssherworx.com/index_files/Page513.htm
 
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