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

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The G-10 grips on my CS Recon 1 and American Lawman are sufficiently rigid that steel inserts aren't necessary. Amazingly tough stuff tho' the grippy texture of the Lawman ate a hole in my jeans pocket.
 
My preferred handle is formed by a full tang. It is hy I prefer to purchase knives with removable scales. I almost always carry a blade less scales so as to reduce weight and carry profile and do not mind the occasional nicks and gouges on a full tang handle.
 
Wow, a 15 yo thread. Now, that is impressive. :)

That said, my vote goes to G10 for all around toughness in every category.
 
I like all the handles materials if they are of good quality. Each material has its own drawbacks. FRN becomes soft in hot weather, I am afraid to give a side load my Spyderco Native FRN, as I think that the axial rivet will break free from the handle. Some Micarta sucks too much dirt (as ESEE). The best micarta in terms of beauty and grip balance I see on Dozier knives. Bark River too slippery, because of this I cut myself several times. Some homemade knives with G10 grip had a tendency to release glass fibers from themselves, my hands prick and itch. In general, the most durable material for the handle I saw on one homemade knife - one piece 304 stainless steel, with a large notch pattern like on grenade MK2. But it was a very heavy knife!
 
GFN is probably the toughest your gonna get it is very similar to FRN but I've noticed it doesn't feel as plasticy or brittle it actually feels indestructible, but G10 on metal is not going to break easy it's still incredibly tough and strong
 
I haven't read every post so forgive me if this was covered. But when talking about the strength of G10 vs Micarta vs Carbon Fiber vs Zytel/Frn , are we talking about scales made without metal liners? Like some pf Case's new Trappers made from Zytel or the Gerber LST? I have 2 LST's over 30 years old and they are still as solid as they day they were new,
 
Wow, old thread. First post of 2019 is my first post ever, and my vote goes to micarta. I'm ordering a set of scales for my Bugout as soon as they restock on GPK. Killer grip when wet, and my hands are always sweaty here in Florida.
 
Until skimming the last few posts, I never looked at this thread and didn't t realize it is 17 years old. in the interest of keeping this classic alive for a while longer, thought I would chip in.
Having the Lawman, Recon1, and UH from Cold Steel, I realize that steel liners are completely unnecessary added weight for the strength I need in a work knife. And I need a fair amount of strength in my work knifes.
 
have no doubt that the toughest handle material is 420HC.
I have a Gerber that uses this steel as handle material (it is a frame lock)
LORD KNOWS that 420HC makes a lousy blade material, so I am relieved
someone found a use for it..
 
From wikipedia: G-10 is the toughest of the glass fiber resin laminates and therefore the most commonly used.
Micarta industrial laminates are manufactured in dozens of commercial grades.
Grade designations for glass epoxy laminates are: G-10, G-11, FR-4, FR-5 and FR-6.

End wikipedia quote.

G10 and FR-4 are interchangeable, except where 'fire retardant' (FR) is required. Every laminate material is made by layering a filler: carbon fiber, canvas, cotton, cloth, paper or fiberglass between layers of thermoset epoxy or phenolic resin (micarta), and cured under high heat and immense pressure. All were invented for use as electrical insulators and molded parts for various industries. Micarta was first used by Westinghouse in 1912. In WWI it was used to make aircraft propellers.

All laminates used for knife handles have high strength to weight ratios, in tension, compression and flexion. They are dimensionally stable, chemical resistant, do not absorb water (except micarta), resist wear and are suitable for use in any climate.

My experience is they are all suitable for knife scales and handles. I have knives with scales or handles made of nylon (SAK), micarta, G10, leather, wood, metal, phenolic resin (bakelite) and bone. Micarta is manufactured with several different filler materials: canvas, burlap, linen and paper. I just received two Buck 120 Pro 7-3/8" S35VN blade, 12" overall, with micarta handles. It is one of the best handles I've ever gripped. It is grippy; like it's mildly sticky. I tried to pull it out of my hand, and it was difficult. It's very comfortable against the skin. It readily takes on body heat, so it doesn't feel cold. Micarta is a brand name for many similar laminates.

Paper micarta can be highly polished. Linen is strong, and can be made in many different colors and patterns, to produce striking effects after machining. Canvas micarta is is the strongest, and is the form commonly used for hunting knife handles. IMHO, all things considered, G-10 is the toughtest laminate used for knife handles.
 
Having made, and worked with, a lot of different composites in boat construction and repair (I purchase epoxies by the multiple-gallon order, and have made many FRP composites using fiberglass, carbon fiber, paper and a wide variety of fabrics as the fiber reinforcement), I suspect all 3 will have pretty similar properties, at least with respect to their suitability for knife scales. One may be marginally stronger than another, but unless you're using your knife scales to stop bullets or jack up a bulldozer, it's probably a "wash." Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Laminated composites like G-10, Micarta and CF typically fail through delamination of the layers. In other words, the "glue" (resin) that binds the reinforcing fibers together fails. (This happens with FRP boats when they hit something hard, and the way you tell whether and where the composite has delaminated is by banging on it with a screwdriver handle and listening for where the sound changes from a sharp bang to a dull thud.) I think it was the engineers at West System (epoxy formulators) who tried to calculate how long a FRP boat should last in normal service before delaminating. They tried to figure out how many stress-strain cycles a boat hull went through in a typical seaway under typical conditions, then figured out how long it would take for a boat to accumulate enough of those stress-strain cycles for the boat hull to delaminate...I think it came out to something like 100 years of continuous 24/7/365 operation, which is kind of like the theoretical hard drive "80 years continuous use MTBF" figure, since FRP boats have not even existed for 100 years yet...

Long story short, for knife scales, all 3 composites should outlive your grandkids. But if you subject them to forces they weren't designed for (bullets, etc.), all bets are off.
 
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