carbon fiber vs FRN

G

grouse hunter

Joined
May 30, 2002
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57
I have been reading the posts mentioning carbon fiber.... DELICA's in particular.....what is the advantage( if any) of carbon fiber over FRN????

GH
 
Well, CF is super strong. Much stronger than FRN. And, it is light. Plus, it looks real nice. But, it also very expensive.

Spyderco does limited runs of CF knives - so they're considered collectors pieces.

Hope this helps.

-- Rob
 
CF looks awesome when done right, is durable, liteweight and strong makes a great handle material IMO, plus it's just defferent, FRN is great for low cost and EDC though, all depends on what your wanting.
 
So-called FRN (Fiber Reinforced Nylon) is thermoplastic substance what can be melt and injection molded. Short (3-5 mm) glass fibers embedded in the plastic add strength and hardness, on the other hand they can be pressed into molds relatively easily. Once the mold is made the technology allows making particular details at pretty low cost. Drawbacks – it is relatively week (comparing with G-10 or Carbon Fiber) material and pretty heavy as well. It is not stiff, embedded steel parts, for ex. pins, can “flow” at extreme loads, especially at somewhat higher temperatures. However it is not brittle and has pretty big pre-breaking deformation, at beginning elastic, then plastic.
Since pretty expensive mold is necessary at starting point you could never found handmade or small series production knives (or something else) with FRN parts. Only big quantities make production inexpensive. The material as itself is not too expensive too.

So-called Carbon Fiber is the laminate based on epoxy or similar resin reinforced with long fibers of modified carbon. Once polymerized (usually under pretty high pressure) this material can not be melted anymore so it is not thermoplastic. Laminate comes usually in sheet form, with different thickness, structure and even colors (although carbon fibers as themselves are in graphite color). Visiting Hans Peter Klötzli’s workshop in Burgdorf (Switzerland) I have seen at least dozen different kinds of Carbon Fiber. It can be worked by crafting only, btw producing pretty malicious, health-threatening dust and blunting crafting tools in a flash.
This material is very strong although somewhat brittle, with little pre-breaking plastic deformation.
It is pretty expensive and its processing is even more expensive. However CF parts can be proceeded in any quantities, you can take a piece of CF sheet, saw, files and make what do you want (and can, of course).

There is basic difference in physical properties. The look is quite individual matter however...
 
If you buy the carbon fiber model as a user, once the scales get scratched, can you easily polish them so they're new-looking again?

BTW, Serg, that was a super post. :)

Johnny
 
A GREAT post from Sergiusz.

I have a short sword which I have almost completed.
I have both G-10 and Carbon Fiber scales already cut and drilled for it.

I have some concerns about working with the Carbon Fiber.
If I wet-sand it will that keep the particles under control?
Should I wear gloves?

The G-10 scales would require almost no shaping, just a little edge finishing, and I have given serious consideration to using the G-10 instead of the Carbon Fiber.

I would appreciate it if Sergiusz could extend his comments to include G-10.

Thanks.
 
How does the Spydie CF especially on the Police, compare to the CF on the Microtech LCC? The Mico CF has more of a matte finish, not glossy or slick. I am defiantly close to ordering the CF Police and CF Civilian. I just prefer the more natural CF look.

Thanks,

Mark.
 
metaxasm

I don't have a MT LCC to compare it to but the finish on the CF Police handle is very smooth and shiny.
 
Ken,

By all means, wear gloves when working with CF materials. Otherwise you could be itching and scratching for some time. (Voice of experience talking here.) Also, breathing CF dust habitually or for extended periods of time could have rather nasty effects. Make sure to use a good quality respirator; the dust can easily be filtered out with decent equipment. Wet sanding will obviously reduce the level of dust, but I wouldn't depend on it to solve the problem completely.

Always treat CF (and G10, for that matter) with plenty of respect when machining or sanding blanks. They're nothing to fool around with, but still relatively safe if you use some common sense and don't think you can "macho" your way through the work without proper protection.

Then again, from you posts on other forums here, you seem to be a rational, intelligent person, so I don't think you'll have much trouble.

PS: a little tip. If you forget the gloves, wash off with cold, not hot water. This will close your pores and allow the fiber or dust to come off freely rather than be absorbed into your skin.
 
I would appreciate it if Sergiusz could extend his comments to include G-10
Click to expand...
Well, G-10 is the laminate pretty similar to CF just with glass fabric in place of carbon fiber. Glass fabric also can vary in structure and thickness, for knife handles usually is used laminate based on pretty thin fabrics to obtain possibly consistent structure in relatively small pieces. For boat hulls are used cheaper forms of laminate reinforced with thicker fabric and polymerized together with less expensive polyester resin.

Since glass fiber become practically colorless being soaked with resin (also almost colorless by itself) it is possible to make G-10 practically in each color adding suitable dye to resin.

This material is quite similar to CF in mechanical properties, however somewhat less strong because glass fiber is weaker than carbon one. It is also pretty malicious to work with but not as far as CF. Somewhat easier to work with...
 
Well im bringing this thread back from the dead to say thanks to Sergiusz Mitin for your information on g10 and carbon fiber. I have been searching for an hour for a comparison between g10 and CF and I have finally found it. Thanks man, very informative.
 
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