How Tough is G10 ?

[CRS]

I was just curious as to how much abuse the G10 knife handle (such as on my para milly) can take. It seems that invariably, most of us at one time or another turn the knife around and proceed to bang on something :cool: Usually with a fixed blade mind you, but just how tough is G10 on a spydey?

Signed
Curious

[Fred Sanford]

I have heard of it chipping when dropped on concrete but not very much. I have dropped my Paramilitary on concrete and it didn't chip at all. Just a little scuff. I dropped it on accident in my driveway from my pocket.

I would bet that it's pretty tough. I think that FRN is really tough though too. I'm not sure which would be stronger. I hate to say this but my guess would go to FRN. :)

[smcfalls13]

My Morpho has been dropped on: concrete, hardwood floors, ceramic tile, linoleum tile, various countertops(stainless, formica) and rocks. The G-10 shows nothing more than slight discoloration at impact points. If my camera could take close ups without being fuzzy, I'd show you.

G-10 will outlast the blade when it comes to hitting things. FRN and Micarta are just as strong. I really can't see a noticeable difference between the three.

[xdrewsiferx]

So I have had great luck with G10. It will chip a little bit much like wood if it falls onto the concrete. But I have accidentally hit a G10 handle before with a rubber mallet at full swing and did not have an issue at all.

[JD Spydo]

I have personally had great luck with G-10 Polymer handles. I like Micarta about equally as well. With all the new high tech materials coming down the pipeline I'm sure we'll see more materials like it soon.

The properties that make G-10 highly desirable are mainly those of non corrosive specialties and the stuff can take a lot of punishment. I have a G-10 handled Harpy which has been my main Hawkbill for the last 6 months. IT handles so much better than several other handle materials.

You can't go wrong with G-10

[Spydiman]

G-10's great, but even though I KNOW that it can handle drops, and the like, I'm soooooooo scared to drop it. I feel like it's gonna crack, or something. That's why I love FRN, I don't care what happens to it, all I'll do whatever I have to do.

FRN is the uBeR pwNaGe maChine.

[KSDbass]

The G10 on my Yojimbo feels like I could throw it against a wall and it would ask for more, and but FRN feels like it breaks easily to me...

[yablanowitz]

Bad new buddy, the G-10 will break on impact before the FRN will. The FRN is more flexible, so it will resist impact better than the stiffer G-10. But then, either one will withstand impact better than the steel blade, so I don't think it really matters. I have used both FRN and G-10 handled knives as hammers more than once, and the only damage I have done to either was gouges in the FRN from hitting something sharp.

[The Deacon]

I was just curious as to how much abuse the G10 knife handle (such as on my para milly) can take. It seems that invariably, most of us at one time or another turn the knife around and proceed to bang on something :cool: Usually with a fixed blade mind you, but just how tough is G10 on a spydey?

Signed
Curious

I am sure Spyderco's G-10 is as tough, or tougher than the G-10 used by any other maker. On the other hand, ANYTHING can be damaged by someone with an abundance of strength and a dearth of common sense.

[KaliGman]

As Deacon stated, any handle material can be ruined by enough abuse. That said, the average policeman or special agent can break an anvil with a glass hammer, and G-10 and FRN has, from my observation, really stood up to some serious abuse without problems or breakage. G-10 is pretty much my favorite handle material for a folder.

[flyguy]

What about scratch resistance? Which is the best at handling this?

[druid]

I once dropped a Wagner full-size spyderco on the corner of a dumbbell this is a heavy six once spyderco the impact produced a small white Mark in the g-10, which I filed out it ran down about a millimeter. if you stuck in open spyderco a vice you might break the blade before you broke the handle. For and on the other hand would definitely deform first. my don't member why but I once forced a small frn type knife to destruction and the pivot and actually ripped out of the frm

I have actually had surprisingly good results witw micarta being scratch resistant units relatively smooth surface, given the rugged nature of most g-10 knives a slight scratching would hardly be noticeable

another tough material is titanium when used as a handle but it blemishes and scratches fairly easily, its impact resistance and resilience are supposed to be pretty extreme. It also has a nice warm feeling the hand.

Incidentally in terms of micarta their are three main forms the weakest and most lustrous of these is paper micarta, followed by Lenin, and canvas supposedly the most resilient and most grippy.

[CRS]

Thanks all!!

CRS

[smcfalls13]

What about scratch resistance? Which is the best at handling this?

In my experience, FRN, G-10, and Micarta are all very scratch resistant when it comes to normal wear and tear scratching. Now of course highly polished G-10 or Micarta are going to show scratches easily, but if you put a high polish on anything, it'll show scratches easily, so I'll leave that little factor out of the equation.

Here's my breakdown, given my own experience(your results may vary)

FRN is extremely flexible(well...Spyderco FRN is, the rest is crap) so you have to really try to break it. However, it's relatively soft, and it can be gouged or cut. If you hammer rough concrete with FRN, it will deform, but never break.

G-10 is much harder, but also less flexible. It will break before it deforms. You can hammer rough concrete and it'll chip, but good luck trying to get it to deform.

Micarta is firmly in the middle on both traits.

If these three materials were knife steels, I'd give them RC values as values.

FRN: 55
Micarta: 58
G-10: 60

Think of the qualities of steel at those RC values, and it'll give you some indication of the properties of those materials.

Remember, this is in my own experience, and others may have wildly differing opinions.

[dialex]

I remember the Spyderco guys put some Paramillies under a working crane to test their resistance :eek: The knives were retrieved fuly functional and without noticeable damage. :cool:

[jaislandboy]

God forbid, if the world is destroyed by a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left besides cockroaches will be G-10 and FRN Clipits ....

[severedthumbs]

this tough http://www.badlandsforums.com/faq/HowDu ... ndTi.shtml

[JD Spydo]

[quote="jaislandboy"]God forbid, if the world is destroyed by a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left besides cockroaches will be G-10 and FRN Clipits .... ]

jaislandboy as much as we are usually on the same page and as much as we agree the majority of the time I have to sort of take issue with what you just said about cockroaches being the only survivor in the event of an all out nuclear blitz.

About 10 years ago I saw a special on the Discovery Channel about what would result in the horrific event of a nuclear strike. On that show there were 2 scientists that did say that cockroaches would survive>> yes you are right about that. But they also said that the Coyote would also make it through a nuclear strike as well.

You were half right JIB :D Don't forget the ever tenacious coyote :eek: . The old roadrunner cartoon doesn't do him justice at all :D

The G-10 and FRN will make it too however they will both be glowing in the dark :rolleyes:

[huugh]

The G-10 and FRN will make it too however they will both be glowing in the dark :rolleyes:

I wouldn't be that much sure. Absorption of UV light (UV radiation) leads to chain degradation of (most, if not all) polymers.

[CRS]

Again, thanks to all of you for your input. Great information and some good laughs too :)

Be safe out there :spyder:

CRS