Let's talk Handles

[JD Spydo]

With Spyderco already having a great array of handle styles and handle materials I would like some input on what the horizon might bring. And on what some of you might think would be great for use on new Spyders coming down the pipeline.

As great as G-10 is I wonder if there might be other polymer type handle material to be considered. I've even wondered if Polycarbonate might be a possibility?

Spyderco's Micarta variations are second to no other production knife company I'm aware of and I would like to see more done with Micarta. Like maybe a Micarta with a rough grippy, G-10 type surface. Also as great as that material is I'm wondering if there might be some compatible coatings that might enhance it's performance.

Titanium has been one of my personal long time favorite handles and I'm wondering what else could be done with it. Although I have heard that the Ti ATR had many production problems. I would like see possibly an anodized Ti handle on some new models.

FRN is truly the Rodney Dangerfield of Spyder handles. AS good as it is for certain applications it still gets very little respect. After just aquiring my recent dream of a User Matriarch I have discovered by playing with it for hours that FRN ain't so bad afterall and I'm sure having second thoughts about it. And I'm just as guilty as anyone here for maligning this handle material. Up till now I had not given it a fair trial. I wouldn't want it on every knife but on select models the Matriarch, Catcherman, TASMAN, MERLIN and my dearly beloved Spyderhawk it does just fine and I think it certainly has it's place in the knife kingdom.

And how about some suggestions what some of you all would ideally like to see Spyderco use for handle materials. Like possible materials they are not using now that you feel could be implemented in production knives. I get the feeling that there is a lot to discuss in this area and I would like to hear what you all have to say about handles and handle materials. OK WHO'S First? JD :spyder: O

[fellyjr]

This probably isn't going to be a very popular choice for many, but I would like to see some exotic wood scales being introduced. Purple Heart being one of them. I think that stuff is awesome looking!

[JD Spydo]

This probably isn't going to be a very popular choice for many, but I would like to see some exotic wood scales being introduced. Purple Heart being one of them. I think that stuff is awesome looking!

Hey Felly I think Exotic woods is a great idea. However to keep Spyderco in their vein of uniqueness I would almost insist on using the most exotic of wood like African Bubinga or Zebra Wood. Maybe even that Chinese Wax wood might even have some possibilities on some blades.

I don't want to see wood that has been used over and over by other companies. I would like to see stuff that's never been on a knife handle before hopefully. I bet even Desert Ironwood could have great potential. :cool:

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I don't care about appearances all that much, is it secure and stable in the hand yet fast out of the pocke?. So far to me g-10 is tops but the new e4/d4 bi-directional FRM is also quite excellent. :spyder:

[fellyjr]

Have you ever heard of Lacewood? This would IMO make for an awesome looking handle material.

[Michael Cook]

Have you ever heard of Lacewood? This would IMO make for an awesome looking handle material.

:spyder: Is that textured or high gloss/slippery polished? :spyder:

[fellyjr]

:spyder: Is that textured or high gloss/slippery polished? :spyder:

That's the natural raw look of it after being cut. Isn't the grain cool looking?

[CL01]

I'd like to see some type of wood/laminate that would be more scratch resistent than wood is.

I agree that FRN is underrated, but I really like G-10 handled knives. I've seen some knives that have a different look than regular ole G-10.

Micarta's another good one, because of the different colors & designs you can do.

Polycarbonate sounds interesting (I might not of spelled it correctly). My favorite police baton was a polycarbonite one. What was nice about it was that it was pretty good at scratch & heat resistance. I'm pretty sure you can do all kinds of colors & I believe the color is imbedded into the material.

[MAT888]

I'm not a fan of FRN for it looks but sure am for it qualities.
At the moment for a compromize between esthetics (looks) and grip and weather endurance i think mircata is the best.

I like wood handles too but i think al these excotic tropical hardwoods take more time stabelizin handlin in the factory and logistic costs will too turn up the price and i don't see sal puttin esthetics above performance also costwize.

Carbonfibre is also nice in my humble opinion but hard to handle health risks involved grindin polishing like g10.

We need another allweather proof health friendly molding possible better lookin stronger version of FRN

[bh49]

This probably isn't going to be a very popular choice for many, but I would like to see some exotic wood scales being introduced. Purple Heart being one of them. I think that stuff is awesome looking!

Felly, I am with you on wood. Love it. :p :p :p
IMHO this is one of the best choices for gents folders. I am not sure how well will be sold production run with wood handles, but something like sprint run of 1200 may be will be OK. I can be wrong, but I think, that wood handles more associate with traditional folders and most of the :spyder: crowd is not traditional. Guys (girls) will have to problem to pay $100+ for G10 or $150+ for CF or Ti, but would not care much for the beauty of the wood.
Also, I love jig bone, various natural materials, and micarta (polished, not grippy). Sorry, I am guilty. I love good-looking knives. G10 is great for users. SS and Al with cuts (like R2, ATR, S, Adventura) can be OK for me.
Absolutely do not care about FRN, CF and Ti.

[jaislandboy]

good thread JD...
I also like exotic wood handles, but I tend to favor the higher density/specific gravity woods like rosewoods, african blackwood, bocote, cocobolo, desertironwood for instance.... esp. on "gent's folders".... bubinga sounds good too...
But FRN esp. as rendered 3 dimensionally on the E4/D4, D'allara, and Native3 handles will always be my fave for a harduse working knife.... I even prefer these 3D FRN handles to the G-10 used on clipits....
Burgundy/Ivory micarta handles on "gent's knives" also look appealing to me....

[Fred Sanford]

More Micarta. Canvas or linen micarta .....don't matter to me.

Aluminum handles. We need some. I miss the good old feel of an aluminum handled Spydie. Benchmade does nice aluminum handles on their Auto's and they have a real nice grippy finish on them. I like it. I'm thinking even like the Bm 940 and BM 520. We need aluminum!

How about some sort of wood plastic stuff. The kind of alternate stuff that is environmentally friendly like what you can make a deck out of instead of using wood.

DuPont Corian! How about some of that? Some of the best feeling stuff in my hand have been sample blocks of Corian that were 1.5" x 1.5" square. They were relaxing to just rub with your thumb. My daughter has some domino's made out of this stuff. I love it.

FRN! FRN is awesome. It's so under-rated and durable. I will take an FRN Spydie any day over an SS model, unless it's a Lava. Imagine a Lava with Micarta handles like the Mini Persian has. :eek: Awesome.

I'm not too big on wood or stag handles. I'm not real big on stone inlays either. If I wanted a knife with those handles I would buy a Buck 110, or a good old Queen or Case slipjoint.

That's it for my suggestions.

Great thread JD!

[A.P.F.]

For use, I like pretty much all of the materials mentioned, with the exception of stainless steel, which I find too slippery. FRN is terribly underrated, as it is tough, dimensionally stable and IMO, looks nice too. That said, desert ironwood would make a really nice scale material.

[Lostification]

sandpaper handles would work best... not to mention multi-use :eek:

OMGLOLBBQ!

On a more serious note, howabout this? FR-4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FR-4

[Domanfp]

rubber wood actually finishes quite nice and I think it would look really nice as an inlay of a CF scale.

[Lostification]

Wait now, are we talking about inlays or handle materials???

[MAT888]

More Micarta. Canvas or linen micarta .....don't matter to me.

Aluminum handles. We need some. I miss the good old feel of an aluminum handled Spydie. Benchmade does nice aluminum handles on their Auto's and they have a real nice grippy finish on them. I like it. I'm thinking even like the Bm 940 and BM 520. We need aluminum!

How about some sort of wood plastic stuff. The kind of alternate stuff that is environmentally friendly like what you can make a deck out of instead of using wood.

DuPont Corian! How about some of that? Some of the best feeling stuff in my hand have been sample blocks of Corian that were 1.5" x 1.5" square. They were relaxing to just rub with your thumb. My daughter has some domino's made out of this stuff. I love it.

FRN! FRN is awesome. It's so under-rated and durable. I will take an FRN Spydie any day over an SS model, unless it's a Lava. Imagine a Lava with Micarta handles like the Mini Persian has. :eek: Awesome.

I'm not too big on wood or stag handles. I'm not real big on stone inlays either. If I wanted a knife with those handles I would buy a Buck 110, or a good old Queen or Case slipjoint.

That's it for my suggestions.

Great thread JD!

What's that Dupont Corian stuff they are somewhat mistical about it . It looks nice but hard for working kind of construction like trespla??

I'm with you on the micarta it comes in al kind of colours and gives a lot of grip without grindin out your pockets LOL. :D

[Slick]

This probably isn't going to be a very popular choice for many, but I would like to see some exotic wood scales being introduced. Purple Heart being one of them. I think that stuff is awesome looking!

This idea bleeds into the realm of custom finshed knives. Makers can add this kind of feature to your knife if you wish. A release of any like this would be a cost killer for Spyderco.

Especially cool scales belong to the Kiwis.

Is there a market for bigger knives with exotic scales?

A clear coated super polished depleted uranion scale would be my choice for exotic handle. Depleated uranium. Cool.

Weird late night thought.

[spydutch]

Just plain black G10 for me please

Sorry JD :o

[ozspyder]

Great thread !

More micarta please :p As a handle material it is much underrated. I love the micarta on the Persians as well as the Kopa. Classic black micarta, it can be sandblasted, polished etc...for different looks and feel. Hard wearing and stable. Add to that some colourful micarta available, it opens up a plethora of possibilities. And yes, Spyderco does wonderful micarta handles.

Having said that... :D I am also a Kopa freak. So what is my fence sitting position ? I love woodena dns stone inlays as well ! For the right knife different handle scaling solutions. Gentlemen's folders almost ....ALMOST always demand a slightly more upmarket and exotic material. That is not to say it cannot be done with good old everyday FRN.

I can't say for certain that CF has got me all wet and slippery ! Give me a few more months to get used to the CF on my Military and I'll get back to you on that one.

Corian is an interesting proposition as posted earlier. For me it would be too slippery unless finished in a slight sandblast. I believe it may also be a bit too brittle. Used a bit on kitchen benchtops as an alternative to marble/ granite.

One thing I've noticed is no full wooden scales in the Spyderco lineup. A Sprint run of a new gentlemans folder with lovely wooden scales....bolstered or not would be excellent ! If the Kopa line is anything to go by I would certainly risk hiding some more from my wife :p

Cheers
Dan