Handlematerial

[spydutch]

Hi,

I would like to know what the difference is in quality between G10/Micarta/Carbonfiber or FRN as handlematerial. And what is the best.
I have a Calypso with a micarta handle with no extra liners and the knifehandle doesn't appear very durable or sturdy to me but maybe I'm wrong.

[The Deacon]

If someone were to build four identical knives, one with each of the handle materials you mentioned, all milled from sheet stock, all exactly the same thickness, all finished with an identical texture to provide traction, all with a single liner on the clip side - I doubt if there would be any appreciable difference in the strength, weight, or "look and feel" of the four. If asked which was which, most folks would be guessing. Thing is, the materials are not used that way in the real world. Carbon Fiber is the strongest, and therefore allows a thinner slab to be used, reducing both bulk and weight. It also has a certain "mystique" to it, as it is used in race cars and high performance aircraft. On the negative side, many manufacturers, Spyderco included, finish it for "show" and not for "go", so it loses points to G10 and FRN, which are normally finished with a texture, in the traction department. Micarta comes in several types, paper, linen and canvas. They vary in strength, but even the paper version is more than strong enough to be used for the handle of a knife. You would probably damage the blade on you Calypso Jr. before breaking the micarta handle. From personal observation, micarta seems to scratch less easily than CF or G10, and any scratches that do occur seem to be less noticable. FRN is the most flexible, a trait sometimes mistaken for weakness, but there are situations where it would bend while the others would break. Of course, at that extreme of abuse, whether bent or broken the knife would be useless. If a given knife is going to be produced in large enough quantities to justify the cost of the mold, then FRN can keep the cost down, as machining the other materials is a major factor in their higher cost. For limited production knives, where FRN would also be machined, the slight difference in raw material cost makes the other materials more attractive.

[spydutch]

Thank you very much for the info. The calypso I have is a big one. It came in a white box with a little brochure of 1998 in it with former models; very nice.