FRN Strength / Durability

[Airlsee]

...I always chuckle, when I read someone write that frn is cheap and not durable. It reveals that they have little to no experience with it...

All I read was, CHUCK JAMES...you have been identified...LOL!

[Airlsee]

I say we nominate Chuck to destroy an FRN Golden Spydie.

[Wartstein]

Incredibly tough stuff...most likely you'll snap the blade, bend the stainless liners, or twist the pivot before you will crack frn. I always chuckle, when I read someone write that frn is cheap and not durable. It reveals that they have little to no experience with it. I just love the frn that Spyderco uses on their Seki models. It's so refined, well-designed, and provides so much utility.

This.

Even if FRN was a lot more expensive than it is for the customer, it would still be the very best handle material to me.
And given that FRN knives are usually less expensive than they would be in G10 or other handle materials, makes their cost to performance ratio even better.

Let me add that FRN Spydies are also comparably light(er), most times have better ergos due to the usual chamfering (whicn is easierto do with FRN molds,) and are for me both more grippy and still less pocket destroying (due to the smooth logo spot where the clip lands) - hard not to like the material...

[Wartstein]

I haven't, but all my Para 3 LWs give me a feeling that they bend at the middle during hard use. But it's just a feeling, haven't broken any FRN-handled knives so far (both Seki and Golden), and I LOVE Para 3 LWs (going on 8-9 copies).

If they bend indeed, this might be the other side of the "thoughness coin"... perhaps (just a guess), generally FRN "bends/flexes/dents" when other materials would "crack/chip/break", but this could also mean FRN has a bit more flex in use?

If so, in theory I could see this become a problem at some point with linerlocks or even comp.locks, not so with backlocks.
But practically speaking I am certain there is way to little flex to cause any problems at all.

[cabfrank]

I believe that anything short of intentional (and anything CAN be broken), or I guess running it over accidentally, will not break a FRN Spyderco handle. I wouldn't even think twice about it. It is good stuff.

[DeadForests]

Has anyone ever broken an FRN handle? I've been using my Para 3 LW and it has been a really solid user. I was curious to the strength of FRN because the material seems to take everything I throw at it. Also, I have yet to really see a FRN handle broken. More commonly, I have seen the blade break before the handle does.

Welcome to the forum!

No, just like Vivi I don´t baby my FRN knives at all (and I almost exclusively have FRN/FRCP Spydies these days), and never even came close to breaking one - and that´s true for handles without liners too.

In a way FRN is even stronger than G10 (though I am not sure "stronger" is technically the right term)- see these posts by Michael Janich viewtopic.php?t=89908&start=80#p1532174 ; viewtopic.php?t=89908&start=80#p1532157

I believe that with a really hard impact FRN is more likely to just "dent" a bit, but not "chip".

Anyway: I think FRN (but also G10) the way Spyderco does it, is multiple times stronger than it would necessarily have to be for the use in a folder handle

Interesting, I feel like when people think G10 and FRN they automatically think that G10 is going to be stronger, but the more I dive into this topic the more I feel like the true answer is unknown. Depending on what you mean by stronger that is, as in what is the G10 going through, what is the FRN going through etc.

[DeadForests]

Over and over (and over), I find myself thinking, "This knife would be even better in FRN. Preferably linerless." Preferably a Salt steel, too, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.

Wouldn't that be the Salt 2?

[DeadForests]

Been loving the responses. I have seen a lot of times in "torture test" videos on YouTube and whatnot, usually they have an FRN model. Most likely because it's price point for the application. The blade does seem to fail before the FRN handles do. In fact I don't recall seeing a torture test in which the FRN handles are destroyed.

[StuntZombie]

Over and over (and over), I find myself thinking, "This knife would be even better in FRN. Preferably linerless." Preferably a Salt steel, too, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.

I say that all the time, for just about everything now.

[StuntZombie]

Over and over (and over), I find myself thinking, "This knife would be even better in FRN. Preferably linerless." Preferably a Salt steel, too, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.

I say that all the time, for just about everything now.

If I did it over again, I wouldn't even bother buying knives with metal or G-10 handles. FRN all the way.

[R100]

I can imagine breaking titanium or aluminium handles well before frn. In fact it is pretty funny the way people praise the strength of expensive "overbuilt" titanium framelocks. Imagine building a linered frn knife that weighed the same and was the same size as a Hinderer for example. That would be a whole other level of "hard use" knife.

Dan

[Coastal]

Over and over (and over), I find myself thinking, "This knife would be even better in FRN. Preferably linerless." Preferably a Salt steel, too, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.

Wouldn't that be the Salt 2?

Hi DeadForests, what I meant was, when I consider the PM2, for example, which isn't available in FRN, I wish it was. And since it's also unavailable in a Salt steel, I wish it was.

[VooDooChild]

Been loving the responses. I have seen a lot of times in "torture test" videos on YouTube and whatnot, usually they have an FRN model. Most likely because it's price point for the application. The blade does seem to fail before the FRN handles do. In fact I don't recall seeing a torture test in which the FRN handles are destroyed.

In the spirit of full disclosure, some frn handles have steel liners and some dont.

[Netherend]

I managed to chip g10 by dropping it on concrete . I have yet to damage any of my FRN and I’ve dropped them in the same spot from the same height

[Ramonade]

I don't think we can really tell the difference in durability or strength between G-10 and FRN in our usage.
However, there's the "feel" we get from it. We see so many people saying FRN is cheap compared to G-10, but you can buy a lot of G-10 for low prices, if you don't mind where it'll come from.

There's lock stress tests on Youtube made by some dealer(s), (ok, they are pretty stupid) you can see that the blade will break before anything happens to the handle, be it FRN or G-10.

[wrdwrght]

Even with that said I would never be deterred from buying a model I really loved if it has an FRN handle. I just like G-10 better myself.

I, too, prefer G10. I think that’s simply because its slabs are in keeping with spare design aesthetics that I so much admire.

But, I also think that FRN is the more evolved, not only in strength and durability, but also, not insignificantly, in reducing production costs (once the molds have amortized) such that Spydies can still reach the ordinary guy.

I sure don’t regret the 15 or so Spydies in my pile that have FRN handles. Indeed I go to them often.

I hasten to add that the lightness of FRN, even when lined, is not what attracts me. I’m not that sensitive to a few ounces.

What attracts me is the pattern in the FRN that offers grippiness but only on demand. All I have to do is press the fat of my fingers and palm into the voids and the knife won’t move, even in my wet hands.

This pattern is, of course, something that makes FRN even more evolved than G10, especially the bI-directional pattern, not just because of chemical compounds but because of Glesser intelligence.

[JSumm]

Even with that said I would never be deterred from buying a model I really loved if it has an FRN handle. I just like G-10 better myself.

I, too, prefer G10. I think that’s simply because its slabs are in keeping with spare design aesthetics that I so much admire.

But, I also think that FRN is the more evolved, not only in strength and durability, but also, not insignificantly, in reducing production costs (once the molds have amortized) such that Spydies can still reach the ordinary guy.

I sure don’t regret the 15 or so Spydies in my pile that have FRN handles. Indeed I go to them often.

I hasten to add that the lightness of FRN, even when lined, is not what attracts me. I’m not that sensitive to a few ounces.

What attracts me is the pattern in the FRN that offers grippiness but only on demand. All I have to do is press the fat of my fingers and palm into the voids and the knife won’t move, even in my wet hands.

This pattern is, of course, something that makes FRN even more evolved than G10, especially the bI-directional pattern, not just because of chemical compounds but because of Glesser intelligence.

This is a great way to say it. I like a lot of different scales for different reasons. The FRN is my preference for a real user outdoor pocket knife. I like how it easily goes in and out of the pocket, but offers great grip when needed.

[RevMike]

I'll start by saying I'm not someone who swaps scales often on knifes. Of all my Spyderco knives only one has aftermarket scales on it and I did it to replace a set of damaged FRN scales on a Delica 4.

I will say that it was an extreme case and would have ruined pretty much any non-metal scales. It was left sitting on a steel angle that had just been torch-cut. As you may imagine the scales melted. It was definitely a large user error and certainty not the fault of the FRN. Other than that one occurrence it's held up to all I've ever put it through with nothing more than a couple scratches and a lot of dirt stuffed in tiny places. Spyderco's FRN is great.

Just slapped on a new set from HonestBuilds on Etsy. Picked high-vis yellow to make it a different color not already in the collection. Took the opportunity to sharpen the blade out of the knife and put it all back together.

That Delica was out of service for a couple of months but it's back in service now.

[prndltech]

Before it magically disappeared, I had a brown delica 4 FFG that I kept on top of my toolbox in the open position for years with the intention to see what abuse it could take, solely out of curiousity. It lived on top of my box in a uncontrolled, non A/C environment in the shop relegated only to greasy hand use, it was used as a utility blade for all sorts of stupid things in an automotive shop. I only sharpened it with a smith retacable diamond rod and I did things with it that I wouldn’t try with any of my other knives, without deliberately trying to snap it of course and it survived it all without any failure. That experience/experiment taught me something about pocket knives, steel (vg10) and FRN. The combination proved itself to me over several years and thinking about it now, it makes me want to sell all my other pocket knives and just carry the Delica and one of those smiths diamond retractable rods in my pocket. But hey, I’m a knife nut so that’s crazy talk.

[40mm]

That doesn't sound like crazy talk to me. It sounds like an amazing idea! I suggest buying that brown Delica and putting everything else away for a while. You may find that you're knife nut/knife minimalist at the same time. :) Great story by the way.

Before it magically disappeared, I had a brown delica 4 FFG that I kept on top of my toolbox in the open position for years with the intention to see what abuse it could take, solely out of curiousity. It lived on top of my box in a uncontrolled, non A/C environment in the shop relegated only to greasy hand use, it was used as a utility blade for all sorts of stupid things in an automotive shop. I only sharpened it with a smith retacable diamond rod and I did things with it that I wouldn’t try with any of my other knives, without deliberately trying to snap it of course and it survived it all without any failure. That experience/experiment taught me something about pocket knives, steel (vg10) and FRN. The combination proved itself to me over several years and thinking about it now, it makes me want to sell all my other pocket knives and just carry the Delica and one of those smiths diamond retractable rods in my pocket. But hey, I’m a knife nut so that’s crazy talk.