"Traditional" Handle Materials?

Agree hundred percent JTB_5 JTB_5 . Recently handled a g10 and a carbon fiber handled knife. Both were visually attractive, the carbon fiber stunningly so. Made a guy go WOW! But what I called warmth and you called feel was missing. I also understand the synthetics greater durability. I have made numerous knives for folks going to bad places/harms way. I have no hesitation in using, have used and would use synthetics for these kind of knives with my preference being either micarta or G10. Interestingly I have had very experienced folks still sometimes choose natural materials, mostly wood, when going back to these bad places. I've asked some of them why and they say "that's what I like", kinda with a shrug of the shoulders. I think that is what it comes down too. What does someone like? For me as someone has mentioned above I think its because natural materials are what I grew up with, they just look right to me.
 
Horsewright said:
Agree hundred percent JTB_5 JTB_5 . Recently handled a g10 and a carbon fiber handled knife. Both were visually attractive, the carbon fiber stunningly so. Made a guy go WOW! But what I called warmth and you called feel was missing. I also understand the synthetics greater durability. I have made numerous knives for folks going to bad places/harms way. I have no hesitation in using, have used and would use synthetics for these kind of knives with my preference being either micarta or G10. Interestingly I have had very experienced folks still sometimes choose natural materials, mostly wood, when going back to these bad places. I've asked some of them why and they say "that's what I like", kinda with a shrug of the shoulders. I think that is what it comes down too. What does someone like? For me as someone has mentioned above I think its because natural materials are what I grew up with, they just look right to me.
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Good word. I prefer woods myself (having not had much experience with bone) as far as feel in hand and warmth go--in fact, when I bought my Enzo Birk 75 it had carbon fiber scales; but when I saw that Enzo was selling desert ironwood scales (how I wish they had burl!) I jumped on it. I haven't gone back to the carbon fiber, and I doubt I ever will. I just like wood better, and maybe that's because I grew up in the country and fell in love with trees and grasses and such. If I grew up in the city, perhaps I'd be less attached to wood. In any case, I'm glad to have materials that all manner of preferences can enjoy.
 
Wowbagger said:
I would post a pic like yours . . . slip joint side by side with a modern . . . but every time I have tried that in this Traditional's forum I find my self thrown out the back door into the alley along with my photo.

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lol, context perhaps? My pic clearly shows the GEC superior to the benchmade! Gec does make some beautiful micarta though. The stainless steel comment is a good point though, what is a "traditional" material? Stone only? Where is the line drawn? Its all perspective from your personal experience. I consider high carbon steel more traditional than stainless because I didn't grow up seeing it used, from my pov it is before my time and hence more traditional. That perspective is undoubtedly going to be different from others.
 
White Crown said:
The Queen thread has had enough discussion on this topic to warrant its own thread, methinks. What are your thoughts on modern materials such as g10, micarta, and stainless steels replacing the old high carbon steel and bone or wood covers? As always, pictures encouraged!
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My first knife was older than I when I adopted it from the family tool drawer sometime in the 1950s. It had synthetic rubber covers and a carbon steel blade.

Until I started hanging out here in about 2006 all of my knives had synthetic covers and stainless steel blades. The only exceptions were my Buck 110 with it's wooden covers and a German hunting knife I was given (and never used) that had a carbon steel blade. They were all traditional designs. I never tried any modern designs until the 90's.
edited to add: Forgot. My Klein electrician's knife that I used as an electrician's helper in the 70's had carbon steel blades and synthetic covers.

As several have posted, your preference frequently depends on what you grew up with. I've used traditional patterned knives with synthetic covers and stainless blades for most of the almost 60 years I've been carrying traditional patterned pocket knives. So the contention that stainless steel and synthetics are not traditional, really doesn't register with me.
 
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White Crown said:
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One of my favorite knives, carefully chosen to extend my love of a deep patina into the handle... Osage orange wood, which also darkens beautifully over time. This knife shows every day of 2 years finding its way in my pocket on a weekly basis. When I have grandkids one of them will receive this one and even after I'm gone be able to view a remnant of the many days I was alive and cutting up apples for lunch.

The Queen thread has had enough discussion on this topic to warrant its own thread, methinks. What are your thoughts on modern materials such as g10, micarta, and stainless steels replacing the old high carbon steel and bone or wood covers? As always, pictures encouraged!
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White Crown said:
"Traditional" Handle Materials?
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Osage orange wood is a material used on "traditional" knives but it is not a "traditional" handle material. If you research the knife sections of old hardware store catalogs or just look at catalog examples in books about old knives, you won't find Osage orange wood. It is a type of wood, and cocobolo and ebony were widely used on knives.

You will find plenty of synthetics used on old knives. Much like Osage orange wood, you won't find G10 but you'll find lots of other synthetics.

There are lots of posts about handle materials. Also, I apparently forget and start one every 7 years!

Here's a handle material poll that I started a few months ago...
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-are-your-top-5-favorite-handle-materials.1517599/

Another poll that I started 7 years ago...
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...andle-materials-on-traditional-knives.910943/

And a pro/con for different handle materials that was started by another member...
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/handle-slabs-materials-properties-cons-pros.1338575/

There are many others as well. I just picked a few.

I like most. I'm not a fan of acrylic but I like Delrin and other synthetics. I don't care for the the feel of acrylic.
 
I think most would agree that wood itself, yes not Osage specifically, is more of a traditional material than any man made material, but like I said everyone's perspective is going to be different. I have a 1920s Robeson with celluloid covers, but if that material was a tradition wouldn't we still be using it?

Thanks for pointing out my error when I chose that specific knife to post, I was more focused on how those specific materials age gracefully. Thanks for the links to the other threads as well... I was attempting to pull the handle material discussion out of the queen closing thread, it seemed like there were a lot of people with things to say about it. Had I revived an old thread someone would have probably found fault in that too though.
 
tra·di·tion·al
trəˈdiSH(ə)n(ə)l/
adjective
  1. existing in or as part of a tradition; long-established.
It looks like technically speaking g10 and tactical folders are traditional now. Maybe "traditional folders and fixed blades" needs a new name. Classic? Antique/antique replica? Hmm...
 
White Crown said:
I have a 1920s Robeson with celluloid covers, but if that material was a tradition wouldn't we still be using it?
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It was used up until the 1990s on some knives. The reason it isn't used any more is it is just to dangerous to produce. The factories that didn't blow up were closed before they did.
 
Hence the tradition ceasing to be a tradition. Look, I didn't start this thread to argue over what materials are "traditional", I just wanted to give people a place to talk about what covers they preferred on slipjoint knives. Osage orange is not a traditional material, synthetics are... Let's move on, which ones do you prefer on your knives.
 
White Crown said:
Hence the tradition ceasing to be a tradition. Look, I didn't start this thread to argue over what materials are "traditional", I just wanted to give people a place to talk about what covers they preferred on slipjoint knives. Osage orange is not a traditional material, synthetics are... Let's move on, which ones do you prefer on your knives.
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Your prior posts, make distinctions between traditional and modern and ask for "thoughts". There were errors so I addressed a couple. In addition, stainless steel was used for almost 100 years. Some types of stainless are modern but I wouldn't characterize stainless vs carbon as modern vs traditional. I highly recommend the book Levine's Guide to Knives and their Values. It's the first knife book that a new knife collector should read.

As far as what I like. Stag and elk are probably my favorites.

White Crown said:
"Traditional" Handle Materials?... Osage orange... What are your thoughts on modern materials such as g10, micarta, and stainless steels replacing the old high carbon steel and bone or wood covers?
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In direct response to questions that you posted (see quote below)... I think those who don't grow up with family members who carry a pocket knife don't usually think about modern vs traditional. They may not even know the meaning unless they read books or research the history. There's a difference between knife history and personal history. If "traditional" referred only to personal history it would lose some of it's meaning.

Most folks aren't collectors. Among collectors there's a growing interest in appearance or pocket jewelry. Interest in history or knives as tools is dwindling. That's unfortunate since history is what makes some knives "traditional". I'd encourage more folks to read books and learn about traditional knives.

History is important for traditional knife collecting and it is a great reference for manufacturers. Some old patterns and styles have proven their utility for over 100 years. That's over 100 years of free product research that should not be ignored!

As far as what manufacturer's should do, I think Case and GEC have been successful with what they are doing now. But growth is always good for the future.

I think what Mike from Collector Knives is doing with Italian manufacturers knives is really good. But I'm not sure that it would work well for Case or GEC. Case has used G10, ats-34, 154cm in limited amounts. They haven't made a traditional knife pattern with modern construction. I'm not sure they are set up for that. It would be easy for Spyderco but they seem to be more interested in other markets.

White Crown said:
...Those that didn't grow up with knives in the pockets of their fathers may more inclined to steer away from tactical folders in favor of modern materials though, should manufacturers offer more of these? Is it materials or is it design that drives buyers toward tactical folders? Is it neither?
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I have an unusual favourite Traditional fixed blade handle material and yes it is " Old School "
My late father was in the British Navy for many years and all of his work knives had the very old Traditional Sailor handle covering of weaved canvas sail thread .
I personally have no problem with modern materials , but for me because of my father Traditional means Traditional materials and manufacturing processes , that doesnt mean I'm right , just biased .



Ken
 
I'm a fan of almost all traditional jigged bone and some smooth bone handles. I love ebony and like some of the darker woods. That said I do love the modern and traditional melding. Canvas Micarta is a perfect example. Here's something I know most will say is heresy, I'm not a big fan of stag personally. Or maybe I just don't see much of it that warrants a big Oooh Aaah. Occasionally I do though, see some extraordinary examples.
 
I like wood very much and stag for handle materials

I am not much of a bone guy. Bone makes a great material, I am just not too fond of it.
 
I'm all for the old materials. Bone, various horns and stag, wood and pearl. That's what I like. I don't like micarta and g10 but delrin or other kinds of plastic can pass sometimes with me. I got bored of stainless steel because it's basically everything you can get here, but a humid summer makes you apreciate it more. Metal covers can look alright too. My favourite material of all is jigged bone though.
 
Horsewright said:
Natural handle material kind of guy. Natural materials posses a warmth that synthetics can't match. Same with carrying these guys around, leather has soul, synthetic materials are just plastic.

Here's the pic. Last years batch of knives to ship just prior to Christmas. Nary a synthetic to be seen.

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Horsewright said:
Natural handle material kind of guy. Natural materials posses a warmth that synthetics can't match. Same with carrying these guys around, leather has soul, synthetic materials are just plastic.

Here's the pic. Last years batch of knives to ship just prior to Christmas. Nary a synthetic to be seen.

NHpoehI.jpg
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That's a nest of great knives! No. 56 particularly interests me, is that Camel bone?

Thanks, Will
 
It's always interesting and always going to be contentious as to what people regard as 'traditional' materials, but that's what makes a forum worthwhile-debate.

Simply because 'x' was not used decades or centuries ago clearly does not debar something from becoming accepted in the traditional knife world. Otherwise, there would never have been any change or evolution, flint fixed knives anyone?;):D Moreover, due to globalization and a scarcity of materials, different materials may become accepted as other become unavailable or even unethical for some. I think few Americans realize how controversial and unacceptable the use of ivory has become in many European countries. Ebony and Rosewoods appear to be becoming rarer and much more costly than they used to be, large scale felling of forests, lack of replanting. This may in some sense explain the use of Zebra Wood or Osage Orange on current traditional knife scales, both these woods look very attractive and seem very durable-an ideal combination. But no, you likely would not find them on knives a century ago, because there was no need for them or no awareness or interest in alternatives.

Currently, a lot of makers & customers are showing interest in Camel Bone, or Giraffe. It aint traditional I suspect, at least not in America or Europe - probably in Arab or African countries obviously. Yet there is a vogue for it, it takes dye differently, seems harder than Bovine bone and seems to be gaining ground. Ram's Horn is a very traditional material in Europe (excepting Britain) but that too has caught the American eye and is well received, but you would not be likely to find it on offer in catalogues from a century ago etc..

Material is also very pattern sensitive, and that's another consideration in all this. Yes, I agree with an earlier poster, Sodbusters look odd to me in jigged bone. They, or work knives like them, were usually wood or delrin, but it's largely an aesthetic prejudice. Convention can be based on this too.....

OK, what are my likes?:)
Stag, Jigged Bone, Smooth Bone, (Bovine, Camel) certain woods, Horns, Delrin, certain acrylics,Micartas.

My dislikes?:poop::D
MOP/MOT, Metal handles esp Brass..,Abalone faux or real, faux woods, Carbon Fibre, Cell due to fear of its metamorphosis but it can look great, weird colours of stabilized woods, blue knives....Gum fuddy:rolleyes:
 
Great stuff whatever Dave. That Oak you posted the other day was very interesting too and traditional, no question :)
 
Here is an example of a great wood covers. They are Macassar ebony and they are not a uniform color but have streaks in the wood.

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