Knife handle materials

[kenb]

Of all the 100's knives I have most are bone which I am partial to, some wood and of course the dreaded celluloid, which i have been victim of. I don't own any kirinite, or corelon knives. My question is, how stable are these other materials. Have they been around long enough to know. I'm not into bling knives but I do like the way some of them look. I have a few older knives with synthetic which is probably some form of resin/delrins which are just fine (so far). Just really want to know if they are a safe purchase for long time ownership, even though I'll probably be long gone before they would be going downhill. Ken

[terryl308]

Ken, I too am partial to bone or stag, but when I make a "using" knife for a customer, I try to get them into one of the three Micarta's (canvas, linen, and paper based). As far as I know it stands up great against water, heat, and time. I have never had any returns for shrinkage or movement of any kind from the scales or pins. I have about 18 years of doing this and have made over 600 knives. I don't make folders however, just fixed blades. I do collect old pocket knives and try to stay away from celluloids because of their reputations. I have never seen any problems with delrin handled pocket knives. Hope that helps you a little. Terry

[jerryd6818]

I walk across the street to avoid Celluloid. The problem is, in some applications, I like the current Acrylic. It's stabile and it looks good BUT I have a difficult (if not impossible) time telling it apart from Celluloid. So unless the handles are advertised as Acrylic, I shy away from them.

Terry mentioned Micarta and this is a hot button with me so I try to never miss an opportunity to educate on the subject:
"Micarta is a brand name for composites of linen, canvas, paper, fiberglass, carbon fiber or other fabric in a thermosetting plastic. It was originally used in electrical and decorative applications. Micarta was developed by George Westinghouse at least as early as 1910 using phenolic resins invented by Leo Baekeland. These resins were used to impregnate paper and cotton fabric which were cured under pressure and high temperature to produce laminates. In later years this manufacturing method included the use of fiberglass fabric and other resin types were also used. Today Micarta high pressure industrial laminates are produced with a wide variety of resins and fibers. The term has been used generically for most resin impregnated fibre compounds. Common uses of modern high pressure laminates are as electrical insulators, printed circuit board substrates, and knife handles."

If you have any questions about the stability of Micarta™ (or it's sister product Formica™) just consider they have been right under your noise since before you were born. Have you ever seen yours or your mothers counter top shrink or degrade in any way other than daily wear?

Krinite™ and Corelon™ are both considered very stable. Corelon™ is usually a Polyurea and/or Urethane Elastomer. They are both trade names so they can be different mixtures depending on the use they are sold for.

Bottom line, Celluloid is the only one you need to avoid. IMHO

[Edgewise]

Thanks Jerry, I was wondering about some of those materials too.
I lost a candy stripe Boker stockman to rust before I found out about celluloid and I still can't understand why it's still around.
I also get nervous when I see knife handles advertised as 'synthetic'.
As you suggest, A. G. Russell made his own generic fiber resin material and called it Rucarta. Good stuff!
I also have an old knife with handles In that hard black stuff they don't use any more, but I forget the name. It's still better than celluloid though.

[Mumbleypeg]

I can attest to the reliability of Micarta. Micarta is a favored handle material of custom makers for decades and has withstood the test of hard use and time. I have a couple of probably 50 years old fixed blades by G.W. Stone, one of them carried and used, with linen Micarta handles. The handles still look new.

G10 is another resin impregnated fiberglass Handle material, basically the same as Micarta, currently in popular use for knife handles.

Ken

[jerryd6818]

G10 is another resin impregnated fiberglass Handle material, basically the same as Micarta, currently in popular use for knife handles.

Ken

G10 is a grade of laminate made by Micarta and other manufacturers of laminate.


https://currentcomposites.com/industria ... es/grades/

[royal0014]

G10 is a grade of laminate made by Micarta and other manufacturers of laminate.

Ease up there, Biscuit .. ... ..
Not everyone got the memo; me included.

[jerryd6818]

G10 is a grade of laminate made by Micarta and other manufacturers of laminate.

Ease up there, Biscuit .. ... ..
Not everyone got the memo; me included.

Hmm. I've posted something on that order about it at least 4 or 5 times in different threads. I've discovered there are any number of folks who just flat don't read. I'm guessing they skip to the last post and start typing. That's just a guess but the evidence indicates it.

It's okay, Chris. I know you're from Alabama.

[royal0014]

'Ya know, I've probably seen that here.
Don't mean the cobwebs in my gourd caught it .....

[jerryd6818]

So am I still your favorite biscuit?

[royal0014]

Sorry, but no.
My logger-headed son still holds that spot . . .

BUT .... you still rank as top grumpy ol' Marine !

[jerryd6818]

Guess I'll have to be satisfied with what ever I can get.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Anyone know what this material is? The knife is a Boker made Henckels with a set of badly warped and shrinking handles. Is this possibly celluloid? I took it for some kind of acrylic when I bought it a year ago, but it should not be doing the things it is doing if it is acrylic. If it is celluloid I will rehandle immediately.

[Mumbleypeg]

G10 is a grade of laminate made by Micarta and other manufacturers of laminate.

Ease up there, Biscuit .. ... ..
Not everyone got the memo; me included.

Hmm. I've posted something on that order about it at least 4 or 5 times in different threads. I've discovered there are any number of folks who just flat don't read. I'm guessing they skip to the last post and start typing. That's just a guess but the evidence indicates it.

Golly Jerry, I confess. I'm remiss in not reading all of your posts. But I'll try to do better in the future!

Ken

[jerryd6818]

Wipe your mouth off Ken. You have a little sarcasm dripping off the corner there.

Okay, I wasn't talking about my posts in particular, well yes I was but I was also talking about the entire forum in general. I see it frequently throughout AAPK. Someone posts something and two posts later (and sometimes the very next post) there's a reply that makes it obvious the post in question had not been read (or maybe it was ignored). Maybe it's just that my expectations of my fellow man are just too great. It's been known to happen.

[FRJ]

I read them, my problem is I forget them.

[Mumbleypeg]

Jerry I did read your previous post and thought I was supporting it with testimonial about Micarta. I didnt see mention of G10 specifically, so since I happen to like it also I threw that in.

Ken.

[kenb]

Well, thanks fellas. I got my question answered. I'm probably going to get a few of those kirinite and corelon case knives that appeal to me. I didn't think about micarta in my original post. I have at least one and maybe two fixed blades with micarta handles that look and feel extremely good in the hand, but never did venture out into the wild with them. Ken