What's the verdict on vulcanized liner materials?

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
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A long time ago I purchased some of the vulcanized fiber material because I really like the way it looks with some handle materials. After I purchased it, I started occasionally reading reports of it causing problems, so now I'm leery of it and always balk when I do want to use it.

So, what say you? Is it OK? OK w/ some materials, but not others? CA glue, but not epoxy (or vice versa)? Should I pitch it or use it up?

I plan to get some thin micarta and/or G10 in the future to use, but I'm not sure that's a perfect substitute for the look of vulcanized fiber liners anyway.
 
PJ,

The biggest complaint for vulcanized liner material is how it bunches up along its edge while grinding, the tendency to round over when it is finished as part of a handle. It is almost impossible to get it perfectly smooth when being finished.
Go with G-10 it machines well , very clean, it finishes extremely well with no dips or rolls. The colors have more luster than vlm. I had a pretty good cache of vlm and tossed it all after I finished my first piece of G-10.

Fred
 
I got tired of the vulcanized stuff moving, especially swelling. I also had issues with it adhering very well to the scales and steel, even with different types of adhesive.

Also, not water resistant in the least.

If I'm going to use liners now, it's g-10 from Alpha.
 
I've had problems with shrinking. Could be dependent on climate.
I make my own micarta liners these days. No need to use vulcanized liners when you can get superior material like g10 and micarta
 
I've personally noted the issues Fred mentioned in my limited use of it, but it was the shrinking/swelling/moving problems I occasionally read about and was really concerned with. I guess I'll go ahead and toss it, unless there's something else I can use it for?
 
G-10 liner material from Alpha all the way! None of the expansion, moisture, uneven finish problems associated with vulcanized material, and Chuck and Jessica have tons of it in stock in lots of colors. The only drawback I've found is with the red G-10. It simply doesn't finish very bright. All of the other colors really pop, but red G-10 in liner thicknesses tends to suffer due to the color being very subdued. I still use it, but talk to my customers before hand and explain that it's not as bright as the vulcanized.
 
I am glad you posted about this Paul. I was just about to put a red vulcanized spacer on a stainless knife meant for the seashore environment thinking that this stuff was as bulletproof as the G10 of the handle. :(
 
I have some Vulcanized spacer material laying around, it sat on the shelf for a year in the heat (100F) and all curled up so I never used it. I got a bunch of G10 from McMaster Carr and some colored stuff from Alpha, I will use the G10 just due to the fact it is much easier to work with!
 
I tried vulcanized liner material in the past, and it was a disaster. It swelled severely, and would not properly bond with either steel or G10.

I switched to G10, and vastly prefer it.
 
Sounds like a good alternative.
Here is my question.
How does it bond to wood and what glue should I use?
In a dove tail on a full tang knife you do not want it to come out.
It is more expensive so who supplies it for a price comparison?
Thanks
 
Wendy Just told me not to go with the price comparison Because on a $250 chef knife what is $2 more to get a Better product.
She Is Right.
 
For all the same reasons the other fellows mentioned, I'd rather go without liners than use vulcanized fiber. I wasted lot of time with that junk.
 
With thin G10 available in various colors now, I'll not likely ever use any of the vulcanized spacer material again.
 
Question from a noob: I know it's somewhat dependent on the proportions of the scales, but what thickness G10 are you using for liners? Somewhere in the .020 - .030" range?
 
Vulcanized fiber never stops moving. Shrinking, or swelling. It was the vast majority of my warranty repairs. Since I've stopped using it, I rarely get warranty work. I like micarta and g-10 best nowadays.

As to thicknesses, thats the fun part. You get to be creative with it. Mix it up.
 
I glued a piece of VLM onto a scrap piece of G10 last summer and drew a line around the borderof it. Some days it would cover the line, other days it would be 1/32'" +/- inside the line.
lazlo said:
Question from a noob: I know it's somewhat dependent on the proportions of the scales, but what thickness G10 are you using for liners? Somewhere in the .020 - .030" range?
Click to expand...

It really does depend on the amount of "WOW!" you want out of your liners. I bought some 1/16" sheets and it looks really good when used with 3/8" handle material. If you have relatively thin handle scales (1/4") then 1/16" liners will pop more.
 
Seems like it ought to be stable, huh Patrice. Now I'm glad I've barely used the stuff (2 knives total I think, and one of them I know has had no issues in a couple of years.)

Thanks guys!
 
I moved from vf to surface grinding kydex or micarta down for spacers (talk about a royal PITA!) because of all the issues, but then found out my friends at AKS were selling G10 in super thin thicknesses and that's all I will use now.

I have found that for hidden tang G10 spacers, the easiest way to cut the tang slot is to drill a small hole and then cut it out with a jeweler's saw. It's very fast, easy, and you can cut right to your line.
 
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