Help convince me that FRN handles are better than they look..

[ugaarguy]

yeah.. thanks all.. Time to buy and try.. Dragonfly, perhaps? or?? I do prefer smaller knives for EDC

Chaparral LW. Thin, barely longer than a D'fly closed, and that thin CTS-XHP blade makes it a great slicer.

[Wartstein]

yeah.. thanks all.. Time to buy and try.. Dragonfly, perhaps? or?? I do prefer smaller knives for EDC

Chaparral LW. Thin, barely longer than a D'fly closed, and that thin CTS-XHP blade makes it a great slicer.

You're a wise man.

[ugaarguy]

yeah.. thanks all.. Time to buy and try.. Dragonfly, perhaps? or?? I do prefer smaller knives for EDC

Chaparral LW. Thin, barely longer than a D'fly closed, and that thin CTS-XHP blade makes it a great slicer.

You're a wise man.

Brilliant minds think alike :)

[Wartstein]

yeah.. thanks all.. Time to buy and try.. Dragonfly, perhaps? or?? I do prefer smaller knives for EDC

Chaparral LW. Thin, barely longer than a D'fly closed, and that thin CTS-XHP blade makes it a great slicer.

You're a wise man.

Brilliant minds think alike :)

:p :p Now that's an English quote I'll have to remember...

[40mm]

FRN knives, and to be more precise FRN SALT knives, have really ruined me from trying other stuff. I like other models, but I start to think about the weight, thickness in pocket or waistband, maintenance etc and I just think, "meh....I'll stick with my Dragonfly." If I were to buy another knife, bigger or smaller, it would be an FRN model and almost certainly a Salt.

[Tucson Tom]

Maybe I should adjust my bad attitude. I have already said that I am convinced that FRN is an entirely satisfactory material engineering-wise. I just have reservations about the appearance. But if you avoid pink, blue, such and go with black or grey, that is actually just fine. And what we really want is some good blade steel. I think it was the blue Manix 2 LW that gave me my first initial bad impression about the looks of FRN.

The big big plus is cost. If the Para 3 is an example we go from $141 to $91 for the S30V model (at one seller anyway) and that is certainly nothing to sneeze at. That is cutting $50 or about 1/3 the price of the knife.

I imagine that Spyderco is closely watching sales on the Para 3 LW model and deciding if this is worthwhile on other Golden Models (like the PM2). I have to think that if the Para 3 LW does well, the PM2 in a LW form could not help but do even better. There is something about getting under that $100 barrier that gets a whole new crowd of people interested.

[ugaarguy]

Maybe I should adjust my bad attitude. I have already said that I am convinced that FRN is an entirely satisfactory material engineering-wise. I just have reservations about the appearance. But if you avoid pink, blue, such and go with black or grey, that is actually just fine. And what we really want is some good blade steel. I think it was the blue Manix 2 LW that gave me my first initial bad impression about the looks of FRN.

The big big plus is cost. If the Para 3 is an example we go from $141 to $91 for the S30V model (at one seller anyway) and that is certainly nothing to sneeze at. That is cutting $50 or about 1/3 the price of the knife.

I imagine that Spyderco is closely watching sales on the Para 3 LW model and deciding if this is worthwhile on other Golden Models (like the PM2). I have to think that if the Para 3 LW does well, the PM2 in a LW form could not help but do even better. There is something about getting under that $100 barrier that gets a whole new crowd of people interested.

Bright, friendly, colors like blue, yellow, green, and even pink are one of the big appeals to me of FRN.

Cost savings is another big factor. Where are you seeing $91 Para 3 LW's in S30V? I wasn't aware of any Para 3 LW besides the BD1N that's been released so far. For comparing the same blade steel, the Chaparral LW is 32.5% less than the G10/CF laminate version. I hope the Sage 5 LW achieves similar cost savings.

[RustyIron]

I think it was the blue Manix 2 LW that gave me my first initial bad impression about the looks of FRN.

Hmmm... I actually like it. I like the color, I like the looks of the pattern, and I like the grippiness of the pattern in my hand. I like the lightness, and so far, the material is durable.

Until Spyderco sends me a complimentary LW and fully lined Manix 2 in G10, and requests I smash rocks with them, I'll never really know which is the more durable.

[SF Native]

I prefer g10. But frn can be any color and formed into better shapes. I’m not as much a fan of the standard bi-directional texture. The urban/ukpk has a more subtle texture that mimics g10. Also, if you can find a super blue clay jr, it has the fish scale pattern which is very nice. Good luck and give em a try.

[ladybug93]

I think it was the blue Manix 2 LW that gave me my first initial bad impression about the looks of FRN.

Hmmm... I actually like it. I like the color, I like the looks of the pattern, and I like the grippiness of the pattern in my hand. I like the lightness, and so far, the material is durable.

Until Spyderco sends me a complimentary LW and fully lined Manix 2 in G10, and requests I smash rocks with them, I'll never really know which is the more durable.

the blue of the s110v manix lw is a far cry better than the ugly “blurple” g10 models. it’s more of a steel blue color.

i actually didn’t care for the brown of the xhp knifecenter manix lw, but i got over it because it cost almost the same amount as the bd1 version, but had better steel than s30v. it was a no brainer of a choice and i’m glad i made it. like i’ve said many times, it’s my favorite knife.

[Wartstein]

[/highlight]

Bright, friendly, colors like blue, yellow, green, and even pink are one of the big appeals to me of FRN.

Right! For one I personally really like SOME (not all) of the bright FRN colors, especially the "Endura-blue" and the HAP 40 burnt orange
Plus it really helps with people that are scared of knives (and quite large, a bit shabby and unshaved guys who carry knives... :D ) - while scared of a black or camo - knife, a sky-blue one is cute... :confused:

[Wartstein]

yeah.. thanks all.. Time to buy and try.. Dragonfly, perhaps? or?? I do prefer smaller knives for EDC

Don't want to get annoying, cause it's not exactly the first time I strongly suggest: Smaller EDC? FRN? Go Chaparral lightweight. Closed not much longer than a DFly, but way more actual edge. And CTS HXP steel plus Spydercos maybe best backlock is a great deal for the money you pay.

Just quickly two comparison pics for you that I happened to have already, so you can estimate how small the Chap lw really is. Don´t have a DFly, but you probably know the Delica, here you can see the Chap compared to it and to the Stretch 1.

(As for the DFly / Chap comparison: Closed length: DFly: 3.33 ", Chap:3.60; Edge: DFly :1.88" ,Chap: 2.35. You can see: You get a lot more edge in the Chap than just the amount of which it is longer when carried (closed) compared to the DFly)

[spyderwolf]

I used to be like you,and then i bought a D4,grey frn.Now frn is my favorie handle material,by far.It's warm,grippy without being abrasive,and the bi-directional texture is simply great.I don't like the frcp quite so much,though...

[Tucson Tom]

Where are you seeing $91 Para 3 LW's in S30V? I wasn't aware of any Para 3 LW besides the BD1N that's been released so far.

My screw up. I was WRONG. It was the CTS-BD1N knife I was looking at for $91.

Sorry.

[steelcity16]

I've owned probably close to 100 models now at one point or another, with a lot of G10 and a handful of Carbon Fiber in there. I'm going through another cull at the moment and of the 9 remaining Spydies all are FRN aside from one G10 Native. Also, pretty much every model on my wish list is FRN, save for the Cruwear/Micarta Shaman. FRN is amazing stuff. Lightweight, grippy, nearly indestructible. Love the stuff. Can't wait until Friday so I can order one or two FRN M390 Delicas!

[Tucson Tom]

I've owned probably close to 100 models now at one point or another, with a lot of G10 and a handful of Carbon Fiber in there. I'm going through another cull at the moment and of the 9 remaining Spydies all are FRN aside from one G10 Native. Also, pretty much every model on my wish list is FRN, save for the Cruwear/Micarta Shaman. FRN is amazing stuff. Lightweight, grippy, nearly indestructible. Love the stuff. Can't wait until Friday so I can order one or two FRN M390 Delicas!

Well, that puts another light on things. I am taking note of your opinion based on considerable experience.
I trust you people not to steer me wrong.

[steelcity16]

I've owned probably close to 100 models now at one point or another, with a lot of G10 and a handful of Carbon Fiber in there. I'm going through another cull at the moment and of the 9 remaining Spydies all are FRN aside from one G10 Native. Also, pretty much every model on my wish list is FRN, save for the Cruwear/Micarta Shaman. FRN is amazing stuff. Lightweight, grippy, nearly indestructible. Love the stuff. Can't wait until Friday so I can order one or two FRN M390 Delicas!

Well, that puts another light on things. I am taking note of your opinion based on considerable experience.
I trust you people not to steer me wrong.

I wouldn't do such a thing! :) I like G10 well enough, but I wear lightweight shorts a lot and the G10 knives feel too heavy swinging around. The FRN knives feel like nothing is there. And I don't feel like I am giving anything up with FRN. I've also chipped and gouged a few G10 handles where the FRN is pretty immune to damage. I am also one who likes a lot of texture, and the FRN grips provide that in spades.

[lonerider1013]

This is the reason my first Spyderco had steel handles (byrd caracara), I thought the frn was like the cheap plastic on junk knives (one of which I had break years ago). This biased me towards other materials. But it was heavy and slick. Tried frn and... However I can say the frn is not only plenty sturdy, it is also very well textured. While I like g10 and carbon, truth is a lot of times I carry an frn handle knife (Native5, delica, etc.). The only time it will fell flimsy is if the screws are loose. Properly tightened etc. it is solid, lightweight, and well textured.
The aesthetics may or may not grow on you, but the functionality is a pretty good bet.
In short, despite not liking plastic handles, I love frn. Maybe you would too.

Lonerider

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Some replies from me on this:

1 I am glad you started this thread.topic. Thank you, it was very much needed.

2 Wartstein my friend once again comes up with one of the best posts with pictures of FRN-handled knives. Thank you!

3 From my own personal knife experience FRN is a winning material. I have tried the fiberglass nylon mixtures of knife handles from various companies, and along with the Zytel (TM) by Dupont used on some other companies' knives, Spyderco has the winning FRN formula, at least in my opinion.

4 I forget the person's name but there is someone on this forum who was doing lineman work and he dropped a FRN handled Spyderco Native, and it fell down and landed on solid cement, if memory serves correctly, and the handle scales were undamaged.

[Brotherscinc0]

I think FRN actually looks pretty good in person. It may even be more resistant to dings and chips than g10, or it may just be that G10 knives tend to be heavier so they hit harder when they fall. Not sure which, but I will say that I prefer textured g10 in the end.