My Experience With Peel-Ply Textured G10

[redsquid2]

Maybe some of you have heard of this stuff. I don't think I have ever seen it on a knife for sale by custom maker. It is a G10, in a standard thickness, that comes with a smooth, clear peel-off layer, which covers a grippy, woven-like texture beneath. The idea is you glue it up onto your tang, then remove that clear protective layer, to expose the textured surface.

I ordered two sets of scales from USA Knifemaker. When It arrived, I could not figure out how to peel off the clear protective layer. I sent an email to them, and they replied promptly, saying I just needed to get it started with a knife. Not wanting to scratch up or dull a nice knife, I got a cheap steak knife, and started one corner. After carefully loosening about 1/2", I was able to grip it hard between thumb and forefinger, and finish peeling it off. It takes a firm grip, even after you get a corner started, in order to peel it.

I believe the scales I ordered have a thickness of 3/16" - perfect for the small fixed blade I made. I glued them up, ground off the excess, then further secured them onto the tang with peened pins. The result does not look as good as I had hoped. The processes of glueing, sanding, shaping, and then putting an edge on the blade involved a lot of handling. Consequently, there were greasy smudges on my finished product. I tried scrubbing with acetone, then isopropyl alcohol, then just soap and water. Still could not get the stains off. I may have to just sand off the texture in order to remove the stains. The handle will still look pretty good, but it won't have that same grippy texture.

If I choose to use this material again, I will wait until after glueing, shaping, sanding, and sharpening, before peeling off that protective layer. That should leave a nice, clean, surface on the handle. My mistake this time was to remove the clear protective layer before doing all that other work.

This material looks promising for smaller knives. I like a smaller knife to have flat scales, and grippiness.

Your thoughts are welcome. I will be able to post up pictures early next week. If you have any pictures of knives with this material, please post.

Thank you.

Andy

 

[redsquid2]

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

If I choose to use this material again, I will wait until after glueing, shaping, sanding, and sharpening, before peeling off that protective layer.

It is just about impossible to remove the peel-ply layer without damaging the G10 after contouring the handle.

It is hard keep any bright non-textured G10 clean while working. Texture makes keeping it clean much more difficult.

Chuck

 

[redsquid2]

It is just about impossible to remove the peel-ply layer without damaging the G10 after contouring the handle.

It is hard keep any bright non-textured G10 clean while working. Texture makes keeping it clean much more difficult.

Chuck

On the bright side, that AEB-L you sold me is great to work with. .118" is a good thickness for lots of different knife patterns.

 

[JAGKNIFE]

screw the scales then pull off the barrier That what i do

 

[kuraki]

Also, don't use Corbys. Or anything you intend to grind flush. The one knife I made with the stuff ended up getting the texture ground off.

 

[Darrin Sanders]

When I use it, I use 3/32" pins and finish them with a cup burr. The last thing I do is remove the peel ply with a sharpened scrap of G-10 or Micarta. If you do put a little scratch on it, you can hand sand it out in just a few seconds.
Having said that, in use it gets really grimy pretty quick and is impossible to get clean again. At least for me. I find it a bit rough and actually prefer the feel of canvas Micarta finished @ 120.