your favourite handle material?

S

Seb

Joined
Oct 1, 2000
Messages
188
Could you feel with closed eyes, if the handle is Zytel or G10? are there really differences in performance (there are differences in cost...)? and what's your favourite material?

Seb

 
I guess that I'm a little old fashioned, but, I prefer the traditional look and feel of stag and bone.


 
I am with Raptor. Nothing beats natural material, wood, bone or stag. It looks pretty and is plenty durable if you are not throwing your knife at stuff.
 
Hmmm... wood semms ok, but I can't really imagine a stag handle... seems a bit too rough and unsymmetrical to me... but I've never handled one, so I don't know what I'm talking about (again...
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Seb
 
My favorite handle materials are:

Mastodon Ivory
Sunbleached elkhorn
Polished buffalo horn

I really prefer the natural materials. They look and feel better to me.

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John Foresman
Lifetime member Buck collectors club
Member NKCA
Member AKTI
 
I love the look of stag. I have two very similar fixed blade hunting knives, one with stag and the other with black micarta. I like the stag much more.
 
I really love the look and feel of wood. It may not be as durable as G-10, but if you don't toss your knife around then it should last a long time.
 
I've developed a fondness forthe one I balked for years. Zytel. I used to say, "you couldn't give me one of those cheap a$$ plastic things", now it is among my favorites. Lightweight, durable, and strong. It ain't pretty, but it is functional. G-10 is very nice, but more expensive. I have never seen a zytel handle wear out.

Paul
 
I always like to have some natural material on the handle. I feel more connected to the knife if the handle is natural. That doesn't make any sense to anyone but me does it?

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Brian
AKTI# A000991
b.teel@lycos.com
 
I prefer natural materials, my favorite is stag, followed by horn, bone, and wood. They have a much warmer feel to them. Although in some uses a synthetic handle may be more sensible, e.g., a knife that will be in the bottom of a tool box, pack, etc, where it may get dinged around or left wet.

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Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu - R.J.E. Clausius
 
Micarta and aluminum for me. Annodized Aluminum looks great to me and I find it grippier than G-10. My Sentinel has aluminum which looks and feels great on it. But, I looove micarta too. Laminates imply strength and these ones look great too. You can get wood looks with linen or grainier looks with canvas. White micarta can be scrimmed, rag micarta looks like NO other material, etc. And the stuff is damn strong. Strength and beauty- great combo. Longevity tops off the package.

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"Come What May..."
 
There isn't anything that looks neater, or as classy as Elephant Ivory... In my opinion!

Then you have the woods, and the top two wood be Desert Ironwood, and Snakewood.

In your pearls of course, would be you Presentation grade MOP.

In the composites, you have the high polished Carbon Fiber.

Good post!



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us_marine_corps_md_clr.gif
BC... For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know... Semper Fi
 
I've always been partial to the warm, grainy feel of fine hardwood, especially Cocobolo and Desert Ironwood. The practical side of me, however would probably select something with Micarta or G10.

A Micarta or G10 handle doesn't need maintenance and care and will look about the same through 20 years of use. They don't rot, shrink, or crack either. While it looks hi-tech, carbon fibre feels 'sterile' and has never really appealed to me.

Just some thoughts
Red


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"Praise not the day until evening has come;a sword until it is tried; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk" - Viking proverb
 
I'm a huge micarta fan. When done correctly it has a beauty all its own. That being said I should be receiving one stag handled blade today, and am sending off two for stag scales tomorrow (the three will be a matched set). Since I collect hunters, here's how I break it down.
1. Hard-use hunters: micarta
2. Medium-duty hunters: stag
3. Light-use hunters: stabilized wood

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Knives: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Login?User=ptpalpha@aol.com&Login=Visit&Password=&Album=Incoming
 
I used to love zytel, until i broke two in a week. Now I prefer G-10 and am willing to pay the price. Here in upstate NY we get temperatures that range from tropical in the summer to Arctic conditions and -40 during the winter. G-10 and zytel provide the durabilty, stability, and insulation in those ranges. I've had some beautiful bone and antler handles crack and shrink.
 
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