Do aluminum handle folders hold up?

SwissHeritageCo

SwissHeritageCo

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
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I've always enjoyed aluminum, seems like a no brainer for a knife handle material. I realize there are different grades of aluminum with different tempers and densities, but I have no experience with painted or colored aluminum outside of SAK's. People love the worn down colored saks, me not so much which is why I prefer the "natural" colored versions.

My question is for those who edc knives in colored aluminum like we, civivi, etc... do they hold up or does the first scratch show silver underneath?
 
I have used and sometimes abused a SOG Spec Elite II Auto with aluminum handles going on at least 2 years now. The scales show very minimal wear. The blade however shows significant wear; just today I used it to scrape some silicone from brick fascia prior to installing some new Gemini letters at Churchill Downs. After about 20 minutes on a TSPROF, the edge is back to fight another day. The finish on the aluminum scales that SOG uses/used seems very durable.
 
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Hard anodize (type III) holds up extremely well with a typical range in the low 60's on the C scale. What we do at work a file skates across it. it will eventually wear but it will take a good long while compared to Type II anodizing as the dye tends to wear.

DLC tends to hold up OK, but because its so hard if the material dents the coating will typically fracture or chip unlike with hard coat anodizing. Cerakote and all the other paint on finishes will hold up like any other painted finish..
 
Most of my higher end ones like my Mircrotechs seem to hold up better when it comes to scuffing. However, if you drop it, forget about it. It doesn't bother me any, but taking a header onto the concrete definitely puts more of a hurt on the aluminum handles than something made of of steel/titanium/etc
 
My only aluminum handles are black, on Protech models. They look great, feel fantastic and hold up well.
 
I love aluminum handled knives. For a while there, and maybe still, there was this idea in the knife community that aluminum handles weren't very good. Atleast from what I saw. However I've always loved them and I think maybe their popularity is coming back a bit. I honestly sometimes wonder whether I even perfer aluminum over titanium, and I'm a huge fan of anything titanium. But yeah, aluminum is an extremely light metal, holds up well, and you can anodize it any color. If you're a hard user, or it's your main carry knife, itll definitely show some wear around the edges and other high points, however some companies are even selling them pre-worn for style (somethin like those holey jeans).

In conclusion, I love the stuff.
 
Aluminum is perfectly fine knife handle material and your knife will likely hold up better than the average Boeing jet coming off the assembly line these days.

I usually have my metal handled knives in storage for the winter, but they're starting to come out again now that it's getting warmer.
 
They definitely show wear more than other materials l, but they are extremely durable and one of my favorite. But in terms of showing wear benchmades grivory is pretty high up on the list. I have a mini griptilian that LOOKS less worn than a 940, unless you really look at it.

But the coating really does matter. For example imo Benchmades holds up better than microtechs.
 
The last knife I carried with aluminum scales was a Benchmade. The black coating on the scales did wear off around edges showing silver aluminum underneath. I'm sure that all coatings are not created equal and ymmv, but the scales will not stay pristine if you carry and use the knife.
 
I try to stay away from anodized aluminum (applies to Ti as well) handles for this reason. I hate that rub mark underneath the knife clip you get, no matter how well you take care of the rest of the knife.

Old man yelling at cloud situation I guess :)
 
As already said all aluminum coatings are created equal, some are more paint like and others are more bonded to the aluminum. I have some that show zero wear from years of use and some that are pretty scuffed up after less than a year. It usually depends on price point but not always.
 
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A heavy anodized coating is pretty hard, so a lot of the marks that show up at first are actually other metals that have rubbed off on it. It will eventually go down to the metal and show bright marks, though, and if you drop it, it'll crater.

Raw aluminum is soft and scratches really easily, I've gotten used to it on my high polished aluminum Cold Steel Espada.
 
I have a favorite user PM2, it is an orange aluminum BD1N. Wish I had the purple. It has a "cosmic" pattern that absolutely hides any hint of scratch. It's a little lighter than the Ti, and my second lightest PM2 above the Maple. Absolutely no color wear from rough and tumbling, I take no special care of it and both my girl and I have carried it a lot.

This is distinctly better though, than some of the other coating I have. I want Alum Yo2/Yoj scales very bad.

Tsujigiri said:
A heavy anodized coating is pretty hard, so a lot of the marks that show up at first are actually other metals that have rubbed off on it. It will eventually go down to the metal and show bright marks, though, and if you drop it, it'll crater.

Raw aluminum is soft and scratches really easily, I've gotten used to it on my high polished aluminum Cold Steel Espada.
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This about the Espada - I have a couple, so I am thinking of getting it engraved to do away with some of that obvious scratching that's gonna be there.
 
Carried an old school Benchmade "Leopard" that had aluminium handles for about 20 years, the coating wore a bit. And I eventually stripped out the aluminium threads in the integral spacer after hundreds of times taking it apart.
I have lionsteel integral in aluminium, that is still like a bank vault 15 years on, again the coating has worn and I dont strip it nearly as often.
It needs to be coated, or it will leave black yuck on your hands. But its light, strong and springy enough for a framelock, but is a bit "gummy" with fine threads.
I like it!
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
I've always enjoyed aluminum, seems like a no brainer for a knife handle material. I realize there are different grades of aluminum with different tempers and densities, but I have no experience with painted or colored aluminum outside of SAK's. People love the worn down colored saks, me not so much which is why I prefer the "natural" colored versions.

My question is for those who edc knives in colored aluminum like we, civivi, etc... do they hold up or does the first scratch show silver underneath?
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The silver scratches are the patina of a life well lived,
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Most of my higher end ones like my Mircrotechs seem to hold up better when it comes to scuffing. However, if you drop it, forget about it. It doesn't bother me any, but taking a header onto the concrete definitely puts more of a hurt on the aluminum handles than something made of of steel/titanium/etc
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Was about to say the same thing. I love em, but My Kershaw autos look all beat up after a few weeks of carry.
My Socom Elite has been in my pocket off/on for at least a year, and it’s holding up pretty well. Much better than I expected. In fact, the pocket clip and the blade look much worse than the handles lol
I heard they use a higher grade of aluminum compared to what most other knife companies use, (7075 instead of 6061?) not positive about that tho…but they’re doing something right.
 
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