What's the toughest handle material- G10, micarta, or carbon fiber?

Status
Not open for further replies.
For you super handy types, you can make your own 'micarta' scales pretty easily using polyester resin (or fiberglass resin) and paper or fabric. It's on the web, do a search. Here's an example a pal did using Fender-amplifier tweed.

2870155990033885154S600x600Q85.jpg


You can see another micarta blank underneath it. It's layer upon layer of soaked tweed, not just one layer on a brick of resin.
 
I have tried them all....Tero Tuf from Columbia Industrial Products are tougher than all of them afore mentioned...I hit a piece for 2 minutes straight with a ball peen hammer with no damage...Good stuff to use for handles...It is used to replace babit bearing material in industry...It is unbelievable and safe to work with without a respirator. When finished properly it grips just as good when wet...Me

No dust is safe to breath. Sand can cause cancer and emphysema after enough exposure and I'm sure a synthetic material will be worse. Always wear a respirator if you value your health.

I have a disease that I will have for life and will probably cut it short. It was from exposure to chemicals.

Even super man can fall off his horse.
 
For you super handy types, you can make your own 'micarta' scales pretty easily using polyester resin (or fiberglass resin) and paper or fabric. It's on the web, do a search. Here's an example a pal did using Fender-amplifier tweed.

2870155990033885154S600x600Q85.jpg


You can see another micarta blank underneath it. It's layer upon layer of soaked tweed, not just one layer on a brick of resin.

That glass twill makes a great looking laminate! The poly and vinyl ester resins are nasty to work with...they are inexpensive and the right working conditions are very necessary. (eg, respirators along with excellent ventilation)

Of course, not everyone are do it your selfers. There are guys who will do it for those who do not want to do it themselves ;)

No dust is safe to breath. Sand can cause cancer and emphysema after enough exposure and I'm sure a synthetic material will be worse. Always wear a respirator if you value your health.

I have a disease that I will have for life and will probably cut it short. It was from exposure to chemicals.

Even super man can fall off his horse.

Excellent points and advice!:thumbup:

We cannot be too safe when working with this stuff.

Remember: if you can smell it, you are breathing it!
 
I personally would go with G10. I love micarta but I don't like the fact that it absorbs liquids. Let's look at it this way, I would prefer G10 on my hunting and bushcraft knives, so blood and guts from game wouldn't get soaked up in my handle, and I would prefer micarta on my folding knives just for the plain looks.
 
Semi on topic: I was looking for info on Tero Tuff because of this thread when I remembered (vaguely) a post on BFC about someone using a polymer cutting board as a handle scale material.

I can see how some of the cheap colored plastic cutting boards might make interesting scales for Spyderco mules and kit knives. I'll bet it would be hard to get many adhesives to adhere---might want to use machanical fasteners as well.

Didn't find much on Tero Tuff, but I did find Columbia Industrial Products, which was listed as the maker.
 
I like G10 and micarta both but I would rather go with micarta considering how cool it is.
 
I own several blades with G10 and a few with Micarta Scales I would say both are about par with each other I had a accident a while back with a 710 benchmade, it slid across pavement and picked it up and could not tell it had been dropped, I now wont buy blades unless they have G10 or Micarta as handles...
 
micarta will bend and stay bent g10 will bend and snap back
G10 is tougher than micarta ie; will not dent or tear out
 
Love’ em both. That's like choosing between my kids. I guess the most durable would be a handle wrapped in 550 cord because it is replaceable in the field. Although for larger knives I personally prefer the micarta. In the end though the deciding factor for me would be grip style, function and the feel. Can't go wrong with either one.
 
neither g10 nor any of the Micartas tm I have tried would stop a bullet, haven't tried cf cuz' it's so expensive, but since cf laminates are usually bidirectional, halving strength, and have poor impact resistance, and mediocre compression strength, and shear strength only approximating the matrix material, I'd guess it won't work for that either.

Ah, but what sells? What ruins my drill bits? What is easy to finish?

cf has no abrasion resistance... linen and canvas hide their scratches... g10 always looks cheap...
 
I have a part machined from colored G10.

Where the G10 has been machined, the there is a whitish powdery texture and the color is faded.

When immersed in water, the color returns, and when handled, skin oil and sweat tend to make the color return.

Im not concerned about getting sanded polish to the part - the matt texture is just fine, but I want to ensure the color comes out.

Anyone have any recommendations on a long lasting treatment on the machined surfaces of G10 that will allow the color to come out. Something that can be painted or wiped on would be great.

I tried using a car polish/wax but that didnt work.

I cant just wipe them down with sweat :)
 
It depends on what kind of toughness you are speaking of. Scratch and ding resistance would have to go to none of the above although I do recall reading that G10 has a higher compressive strength than Micarta. And G10 is more rigid than Micarta. Its probably the epoxy and glass that do this. Micarta will bend vs break though when compared to G10 which will snap once it gets to that point where something has to give. Carbon fiber? Forget it. Its light and strong but tough? Not even. It doesn't hold threads as well as either of the others mentioned either. CF is actually somewhat brittle at times and its much fussier about being done right, stored properly when being made up and so on. There are some batches of CF out there that are just no good. Homemade micarta is hit or miss. With the guys that know what they are doing that do it right it can actually be stronger than some of the store bought stuff. With others its not anywhere near as good and contains numerous air bubbles and flaws within that you very rarely see in the stuff from knife suppliers.

If you ask me which I like better I'd say Micarta. In fact the natural hues Micarta can be found in are more appealing to me than the trendy colors you often see with G10. If Micarta could be found in textured patterns like we can find in G10 well, its all I'd use at that point. The only reason I buy G10 at all anymore is to get the textured grip. J. Caswell gave me a sweet deal on a new EDC a while back with some of his textured green canvas scales on it as I requested when I ordered it and I wish to god I could get that stuff for my folders. Love it! I mean love it. Its the best textured material this maker has ever seen. I'd take that hands down over G10, CF or anything else you can name any day of the week.

STR
 
I have a part machined from colored G10.

Where the G10 has been machined, the there is a whitish powdery texture and the color is faded.

When immersed in water, the color returns, and when handled, skin oil and sweat tend to make the color return.

Im not concerned about getting sanded polish to the part - the matt texture is just fine, but I want to ensure the color comes out.

Anyone have any recommendations on a long lasting treatment on the machined surfaces of G10 that will allow the color to come out. Something that can be painted or wiped on would be great.

I tried using a car polish/wax but that didnt work.

I cant just wipe them down with sweat :)

You basically answered it in your post. A light oil will take the white away and won't hurt it.
 
too much chemistry, i believe the old time cocobolo, ebony. & rosewood will suffice since i've handled many knives hafted with these materials over 100 yrs. old. beleive the old timers probably worked their knives harder than we ever will.although these might be somewhat more expensive rememder they are replenishble .
 
I'm hoping to get input as to the pros/cons of each material. Thanks.

Here's a really good informative link by knifecenter:

http://www.knifecenter.com/knifehandlematerials.html

I posted the primary details below:

Knife Handle Materials

I. Handle Materials
STAG
derived from naturally shed deer antlers. When exposed to open flame, stag takes on that slightly burnt look. Very elegant material for pocketknives.

BONE
derived from naturally deceased animals. Bone is usually given a surface texture, most commonly in the forms of pickbone and jigged bone. Bone can be dyed to achieve bright colors (e.g. green, blue, and black). This is the most common handle material for pocketknives.

G-10
a fiberglass based laminate. Layers of fiberglass cloth are soaked in resin and are compressed and baked. The resulting material is very hard, lightweight, and strong. Surface texture is added in the form of checkering. G-10 is an ideal material for tactical folders because of its ruggedness and lightweight. It is usually available in black.

MICARTA
the most common form is linen micarta. Similar construction as G-10. The layers of linen cloths are soaked in a phoenolic resin. The end product is a material that is lightweight, strong, as well as having a touch of class (thus dressier than G-10). Micarta has no surface texture, it is extremely smooth to the touch. It is a material that requires hand labor, which translates into a higher priced knife. Micarta is a relatively soft material that can be scratched if not treated properly.

CARBON FIBER
composed of thin strands of carbon, tightly woven in a weave pattern, that are set in resin. It is a highly futuristic looking material with a definite "ahhhh" factor. Of all the lightweight synthetic handle materials, carbon fiber is perhaps the strongest. The main visual attraction of this material is the ability of the carbon strands to reflect light, making the weave pattern highly visible. Carbon fiber is also a labor-intensive material that results in a rather pricey knife.

ZYTEL®
Du Pont developed this thermoplastic material. Of all synthetic materials, ZYTEL® is the least expensive to produce, which explains the abundance of work knives that have this material. It is unbreakable: resists impact and abrasions. ZYTEL® has a slight surface texture, but knife companies using this material will add additional, more aggressive surface texture to augment this slight texture.

TITANIUM
a nonferrous metal alloy, the most common form of titanium is 6AL/4V: 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium, and 90% pure titanium. This is a lightweight metal alloy that offers unsurpassed corrosion resistance of any metal. It has a warm "grip you back" feel and can be finished either by anodizing or bead blasting. Aside from handles, titanium is also used as liner materials for locking liner knives for it is a rather "springy" metal.

ALUMINUM
just like titanium, aluminum is also a nonferrous metal. Commonly used as handles, aluminum gives the knife a solid feel, without the extra weight. The most common form of aluminum is T6-6061, a heat treatable grade. The most common finishing process for aluminum is anodizing.

ANODIZATION
an electrochemical process which adds color to titanium, which is especially conducive to this coloring process. Depending on the voltage used, colors can vary (high voltage = dark color, low voltage = light color).

BEAD BLASTING
a process by which steel, aluminum, and titanium are finished. Bead blasting is commonly found on tactical folders and fixed blades, for it provides a 100% subdued, non-glare finish.

Hope this helps

Jonathan
 
What's the downside to carbon fiber?

It's the most expensive of the three options, usually by quite a bit. Because carbon fiber is nearly always highly polished (in order to highlight the light reflecting properties of the carbon fibers), it shows scratches more than the typically less polished micarta and G10.

Also because of it's usual high polish, carbon fiber is usually less "grippy" than G10 or micarta.

From what I've heard, for a knifemaker, carbon fiber is a bit less pleasant to work with. Dust from it is the most harmful of the group (not that you should be cutting/sanding any of them without a respirator, G10's glass fibers are bad to breath, too), and the particles stick to, and get into, everything. I know of one knifemaker that was using micarta and G10, went to carbon fiber, and has stopped using carbon fiber because it's so unpleasant to work with.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top