FRCP vs. FRN

[mattman]

I prefer FRN. Mainly because, regardless of whether it's true or not, FRCP feels brittle to me so I have more confidence in FRN. In addition, I think transparent handles make a knife look like a toy and do not find that a desirable trait.

I can certainly see your point here, but I would say that, in my opinion, it just takes away the "weapony" looks... Not necessarily bringing it all the way to "toy" territory. (But, I *certainly* acknowledge that this is entirely subjective!)

[mb1]

So back to this subject...I recently picked up a Native 5 LW in Maxamet. I really like my Seki FRN knives. I dislike FRCP handles enough that I probably won't ever buy another one. So the Native caught me off-guard with this Golden FRN that feels like FRCP. I really like the knife. It just diminishes my enthusiasm, and I'll probably end up doing a blade swap (maybe like Darby's fluted CF swap).

That said, I was wondering about the new Police 4 LW. I would assume with VG-10, it will have that nice Seki FRN. But what about the future K390 version? Would you expect that to get this confusing Golden FRN that feels like FRCP??

[Ez556]

I'll preface this by saying I do not have any Golden made FRN knives (yet... Native LW is coming in a month or two), so my comparison will be between my orange Dragonfly and blue Manix LW. I'll also say the Manix LW is my all time favorite knife currently. If I had one wish it would probably be some subtle contouring at the edges, especially around where your fingers wrap around the front, but I really like the FRCP itself. I love the translucent look (please Spyderco, more translucent!) because as mattman said, it makes the knife less intimidating without making it look toyish. Chalk it up to opinion, but I love it. I will conceed that the harder, stiffer FRCP can be misconstrued as "cheap" because of the initial feel and sound it makes, however in use its anything but. By comparison I like the "softer" feel of the FRN on my Dragonfly initially, but in use it ends up feeling flexy and not particularly confidence inspiring. I look forward to using FRN from Golden to see if the same is true. The FRN on my dads Cara Cara 2 feels really cheap compared to the FRN on my Dragonfly, so I think the origin of the FRN makes a difference. I think any 'plastic' knife could be considered "cheap" to someone who doesn't understand the material and its quality though. I would like to see FRCP used in more of Spydercos models, a translucent orange Lil' Native Lightweight or a translucent gray PM2 Lightweight would be awesome. Translucent yellow Manix LW Salt? A boy can dream.

[Ez556]

One thing I have noticed though is that around two of the rivets on the back of my Manix, there is what seems to be cloudy stress marks inside the FRCP. Almost like when you bend plastic and it turns white, but running through the inside near the rivet. I'm not particularly worried about it, but it is a little odd.

[spyderwolf]

FRN,all the way.More soft and warm.

[JuPaul]

I can't speak for the fundamental properties of the materials themselves. All I know is that like a lot of other folks, I much prefer the feel and grippyness of the frn on a delica to the frcp on a native lw or manix lw.

[Notsurewhy]

Some folks have mentioned FRCP as being used in the native 5. This was confusing to me, since the Spyderco site as well as every online retailer I've seen lists it as FRN. I did a little googling and found a Bladeforums thread from 2013 in which Sal stated that the then-upcoming native 5 would use FRCP because they like how it turned out with the Manix LW (it was tougher, stronger and had more color capability while not being significantly more expensive than FRN). So it seems like they changed from FRCP to FRN on the Native 5 late in the design/prototype process. Either that or the Spyderco website has had an error on it for years. I wonder if customer feedback about preferring the "feel" of FRN changed their minds?

[steelcity16]

Some folks have mentioned FRCP as being used in the native 5. This was confusing to me, since the Spyderco site as well as every online retailer I've seen lists it as FRN. I did a little googling and found a Bladeforums thread from 2013 in which Sal stated that the then-upcoming native 5 would use FRCP because they like how it turned out with the Manix LW (it was tougher, stronger and had more color capability while not being significantly more expensive than FRN). So it seems like they changed from FRCP to FRN on the Native 5 late in the design/prototype process. Either that or the Spyderco website has had an error on it for years. I wonder if customer feedback about preferring the "feel" of FRN changed their minds?

This has been a huge mystery for me. Is the Native LW FRCP as Sal stated in that thread long ago or is it FRN as indicated in the catalog??? If it is FRN, does it feel different that Seki FRN because the texturing of the molds in the Native are smooth, or is it a different formula of FRN, or both??

And when are we going to see some new translucent FRCP colors?? A smoke grey would be awesome paired with a CRUWEAR Manix LW!

[JuPaul]

Some folks have mentioned FRCP as being used in the native 5. This was confusing to me, since the Spyderco site as well as every online retailer I've seen lists it as FRN. I did a little googling and found a Bladeforums thread from 2013 in which Sal stated that the then-upcoming native 5 would use FRCP because they like how it turned out with the Manix LW (it was tougher, stronger and had more color capability while not being significantly more expensive than FRN). So it seems like they changed from FRCP to FRN on the Native 5 late in the design/prototype process. Either that or the Spyderco website has had an error on it for years. I wonder if customer feedback about preferring the "feel" of FRN changed their minds?

Huh. I'll admit I just assumed the native was frcp because it feels just like the frcp on the manix lw and they're both golden products. But maybe this is what Vivi mentioned early in the thread - that frcp and frn can be made to look/feel identically depending on the molds used, etc. I'd be curious to know the answer, too. I'd also be curious to know why golden doesn't give the native lw the seki frn feel, if it is in fact frn. And why not use frn for everything if golden can and does use it in the native?

[mb1]

Yeah, I'll be watching the Police 4 LW closely to see if it keeps the "good" FRN if/when it comes out in K390.

[anycal]

I took a Dremel and sand paper to one of my LW Natives. With the rounded scales and somewhat of a rough (non-polished) texture, the plastic feels just like the FRN Delica.

[T_MAC686]

I took a Dremel and sand paper to one of my LW Natives. With the rounded scales and somewhat of a rough (non-polished) texture, the plastic feels just like the FRN Delica.

Can you post some pictures of how this turned out? I would interested in seeing the finished product

[mb1]

I took a Dremel and sand paper to one of my LW Natives. With the rounded scales and somewhat of a rough (non-polished) texture, the plastic feels just like the FRN Delica.

I’d like to see your results too, but I’m inspired to try that just from reading your post.

[JuPaul]

I took a Dremel and sand paper to one of my LW Natives. With the rounded scales and somewhat of a rough (non-polished) texture, the plastic feels just like the FRN Delica.

Yes, pics please!

[mb1]

While we’re waiting on Anycal, I got these 2 examples out for a little more detailed comparison.

I already knew about the rounded edge difference. But looking at and feeing the texture bumps, the Native (gray one here) is distinctly sharper feeling. I think you can tell in the pics, but you can absolutely feel it. The Native bumps even appear to have a steeper angle, making the edges of the bumps stick up more than the Stretch. Pretty sure that’s another difference in the moulds besides purely texture.