Scale Materials-Your thoughts Sal?

[SF Native]

Todd, if you can get some cut offs, I would mind some for make scales on a mule. Maybe if it turned out ok, we could do a pass around and let people check it out.

That is a really cool idea. So as far as scales go.. What is a good starting size piece (LxWxH)?? I can probably have these precut.

2 pieces. 2" wide min. 4 3/4" long min.
Thickness can be whatever we want.
Want flat? 1/8"
More contoured scale would be 1/4".
More pieces or longer would always be welcome in case I mess up or want to experiment with it.
Then I can try to polish or leave it rough.
Just warning you, I'm not a professional. I just make these in my backyard for fun. I will send you a pm with my info.

[mrtodd777]

I'm not Sal, but I am very intrigued with these materials (especially the Contaval and Torlon). Would make some neat scales, no doubt.

Once I am able to round up some drop pieces from around the shop I will assess how much I have and might be able to send out a few samples to a few different folks here. Shoot, maybe someone will even make me some scales.. :cool: It will definitely be interesting to see what some of you pro's can do with this stuff.

That would be awesome! I would be certainly very willing to make you some scales. :) If you have any scraps in .125" thickness, that would work perfectly for most folders. (Note: I don't have a mill yet, so doing models with recessed liners would be a bit tricky. I have found an alternative way to recess liners in G-10 and Micarta, but it's a bit risky ).

I just went to the back and talked to our materials guy. He informed we only carry 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm thicknesses. the 6mm comes out to be .236"
Since you dont have a mill I am sure I can have one of my machinists face it down to .125".

That sounds good! .125" would be perfect. Do you have a certain model in mind that you would want scales for?

I am not sure yet.. I would need to go through the collection to see what does and does not have recessed liners. I know both GB's do not, but I love the Cf scales as is.

[SpyderNut]

I'm not Sal, but I am very intrigued with these materials (especially the Contaval and Torlon). Would make some neat scales, no doubt.

Once I am able to round up some drop pieces from around the shop I will assess how much I have and might be able to send out a few samples to a few different folks here. Shoot, maybe someone will even make me some scales.. :cool: It will definitely be interesting to see what some of you pro's can do with this stuff.

That would be awesome! I would be certainly very willing to make you some scales. :) If you have any scraps in .125" thickness, that would work perfectly for most folders. (Note: I don't have a mill yet, so doing models with recessed liners would be a bit tricky. I have found an alternative way to recess liners in G-10 and Micarta, but it's a bit risky ).

I just went to the back and talked to our materials guy. He informed we only carry 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm thicknesses. the 6mm comes out to be .236"
Since you dont have a mill I am sure I can have one of my machinists face it down to .125".

That sounds good! .125" would be perfect. Do you have a certain model in mind that you would want scales for?

I am not sure yet.. I would need to go through the collection to see what does and does not have recessed liners. I know both GB's do not, but I love the Cf scales as is.

Agreed. The CF scales are hard to beat on the GB's. (OTOH, I always thought that canvas Micarta would look devilishly good on a Gayle Bradley).

[mrtodd777]

Sorry for the delay fellas. Sal, your samples are in the mail. So are your's SF Native. I have not had time to face down the material to .125" for you yet Michael, but I will try and get on it tomorrow. Let me know what you think guys.

[SF Native]

Woohoo! Back in mule team production!

[toomzz]

Interesting discussion, just wondering in what colors those 2 newbies are available. This thread reminds me how close Spyderco is to (and with) its ELU's. Cool to see 2 new materials brought up picked by the company as a might-be new handle-material. And now I am part ot that thread too (without adding any relevance...... :p )

[sal]

Thanx MrTodd,

Looking forward to receiving them.

sal

[SpyderNut]

Sounds great, Todd. I'm very much looking forward to that too. (Take your time. I'm in no rush. :))

[SpeedHoles]

That's really neat, cool thread, Todd!
I always enjoy seeing new and alternative materials, and seeing their characteristics.

Are either of those new materials porous, or will they absorb moisture? Maybe they will darken like Micarta?

Anxious to see some more pics of this material, especially on a knife.

[sal]

If we get enough material, we'll make a knife and use it.

sal

[The CoPilot]

Interesting discussion, just wondering in what colors those 2 newbies are available. This thread reminds me how close Spyderco is to (and with) its ELU's. Cool to see 2 new materials brought up picked by the company as a might-be new handle-material. And now I am part ot that thread too (without adding any relevance...... :p )

I could not agree with you more! Love seeing "new" materials like this under consideration for possible future production.

[Stuart Ackerman]

I have handled a piece of Torlon, and it felt a tad slick, but I do not know which type it was...
Solvay make it...

here is a link...
https://www.professionalplastics.com/pr ... _Guide.pdf

[SF Native]

Samples have arrived.
Todd has been nice enough to send over two pieces of Contaval that are large enough to make scales for probably 3 mules.

First impressions. It's pretty hard and dense. Maybe a little denser than micarta. It's a nice charcoal grey color. Sharp edges which show the fabric texture within. Looking up the properties, it's not much different than g10, but has graphite included. Maybe that's where the grey color comes from. It might be stronger than g10. Not sure. So far it's pretty cool and I'm looking forward to working with it.

[sal]

Our pieces have arrived as we'll and we'll make something after SHOT.

thanx much.

sal

[PayneTrain]

We use Torlon where I work as well. It's a pretty strong, wear resistant plastic. Though I've never considered how it would feel on a knife. Everything we make out of Torlon is super smooth, though if it can be made with some texture it could make a very durable handle. I imagine it would take way longer than G10 to wear smooth based on what I've seen.

[SF Native]

Mule scales done

I hope this works. The mule scales are done.

[mrtodd777]

I just received the Mule with the Contaval scales that were made by SF Native. These things feel great. quite a bit of grip. I love that he left them thick. They really fill my hand well. Thanks SF Native for trying out the new material!

Untitled by Todd Crawford, on Flickr

Untitled by Todd Crawford, on Flickr

Untitled by Todd Crawford, on Flickr

[Joris Mo]

Very cool to see these materials tried out. I do some bone carving and have occasionally also tried out things in Micarta and G10, very cool materials to work with as well.

[phillipsted]

The composite materials industry has really exploded over the past 20 years. There are literally thousands of different types of compsites and laminates that could be potentially used by the cutlery industry. We tend to speak a lot about G10, but there are also G5, G7, G9, G11 and dozens of different products using different resins (epoxy, polyester, vinyl, phenolic) and substrates (glass fiber, carbon fiber, kevlar, cotton canvas, linen, paper). It is a HUGE and complex industry, with thousands of different products to fill niche specialty needs of various industries.

If you do some quick googling, you'll see that there are almost a dozen different varieties of Contaval - all of them seem to use glass fiber and epoxy (with PTFE, graphite and other additives). This is basically makes Contaval a brand-name, special-purpose G10-type laminate. I'm not sure it would perform any different than standard cutlery-grade G10, to be honest.

TedP

P.S. - The same discussion can be made about phenolic laminates and the name-branded product, Micarta. There are at least a couple dozen grades and types of phenolic laminate products on the market as well...

[mrtodd777]

SpyderNut, your samples are finally on their way. I was able to face it down to .125-.150. I think there is a little bit of both. I also sent you some Natural (Jade) G10 to mess with. I hope you enjoy it.

Sal, did you ever get a chance to test out the contaval?