FRN

[rufus]

How durable is the frn handle material ? Does knifes with this handle material have a steel liner behind them ?

[sal]

Hi Rufus,

FRN is very durable. Some models ave liners, some do not.

sal

[mongo1958]

Yes, What Sal said!!!!
I like the FRN as much as the G10 but my experience with either one is limited.

[TheGiant80]

Strong, durable, and light weight. Recommended!

[Ramonade]

I have a FRN knife with no liners that is something like 15 years old, has been used (and abused) for most of his lifetime and the handle is still in very good condition. I had to regrind the blade since it was used as a screwdriver by the previous owner.

The blade marks easier than the handle

[Bennett]

How durable is the frn handle material ? Does knifes with this handle material have a steel liner behind them ?

I’ve been really enjoying Native 5 lightweights for a smaller carry. Not having liners, the FRN seems harder then say a Stretch 2 in K390 (wish there were more no hump Stretch 2 models) which has liners. I really like the feel and look of the mold injected patterns done on all Spyderco. I have an Endura from the 90s, handles never cracked.



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[tonijedi]

It's my favorite handle material.

[Evil D]

Durable enough that you can break the blade before you break the handle.

Some people do think they can feel flimsy, some models can be squeezed and you'll feel some flex but it has never effected strength in my experience.

I once destroyed a Manix 2 Lightweight (FRCP, slightly different than FRN but similar enough for comparison) and it took a lot of very deliberate effort to break it apart.

IMO the new version of linerless FRN with molded 3D underside that aids in rigidity are nothing short of "future knives". If you went back in time to the '60s with a MagnaCut Native 5 it would seem like space magic.

[sal]

Hi Bennett,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[Mr_Whiskerz]

It's fine. Spyderco has been using it for decades. Any kinks were doubtless worked out ages upon ages ago.

[Manixguy@1994]

Highly recommend FRN , I have never had any issues with the material. MG2

[Xformer]

It's so solid that Spyderco started to remove the liners entirely on some models : Native 5 lightweight and Para 3 lightweight.

[Vamais]

I prefer FRN to G10, hands down. The bi-directional FRN handles have better grip, and textured G10 wears smooth over time.

To understand the difference between them, you need to know a little bit about composites.

Both G10 and FRN are composites of plastic and fiberglass. FRN stands for "fiberglass reinforced nylon", or "fiber reinforced nylon". Basically it's nylon (a thermoplastic) with short fiberglass fibers mixed it. It can be injection molded if the fibers aren't too long, which makes it possible to make shaped handles for not very much money.

G10, I believe, is sheets of fiberglass cloth impregnated/glued together with epoxy (a thermoset plastic). Because the fibers are continuous, you can get more strength/stiffness out of G10 FOR A GIVEN GEOMETRY. However, the epoxy is not super tough, and if you impact the edge of a G10 slab hard enough, you can get delamination of the fiberglass layers (It happened to me when I dropped a manix 2 xl on concrete). The nylon thermoplasic in FRN is much tougher, just not as stiff. It is more likely to deform than crack. The difference in stiffness doesn't make too much difference if the knife has steel liners.

About the texture on G10:

The texture you see on G10 scales is from something called "peel-ply". When the layers of fiberglass are glued together, they are put on a flat surface (such as a sheet of glass or metal) and compressed to remove as much air/voids as possible (voids in the matrix--the epoxy in this case--make the composite weaker). To keep the G10 from being glued to the flat surface, a layer of fabric called peel-ply is used as a barrier. The epoxy doesn't really stick to the peel ply. The texture of the peel-ply weave gets pressed into the epoxy on the surface, and that's where you get the texture from. Use a peel-ply with a different weave, and you will get a different texture.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Very durable…I dropped my H1 Dfly out of my pocket once from like 50/60 ft while in a tree and it landed on some rocks cause that’s basically the only thing underneath me as we were on the side of a mountain and were doing some vista pruning and it bounced and ricocheted off a whole bunch of stuff…none the worse for wear and still in my pocket everyday…the hardware coating has partially worn off but that’s like patina to me

[araneae]

I've seen exactly one FRN handle broken in my time on this forum and it was run over by a bobcat while stuck into the ground blade first. It's plenty tough, even with no liners.

[Bemo]

I've seen exactly one FRN handle broken in my time on this forum and it was run over by a bobcat while stuck into the ground blade first. It's plenty tough, even with no liners.

That's a great story. Thanks

[James Y]

It's so solid that Spyderco started to remove the liners entirely on some models : Native 5 lightweight and Para 3 lightweight.

Spyderco's FRN back locks originally had no liners at all, just like the FRN Salts. They started incorporating liners on FRN back locks with the Delica 4/Endura 4.

FRN with liners is fine, but I actually prefer no liners. It's still plenty strong, but linerless has fewer places for moisture to become trapped.

Jim

[spydergoat]

It's very durable. You aren't gonna break it, maybe you can get little dents in it from dropping your knife but that's about it.

[Bennett]

Hi Bennett,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

Thank you very much Mr. Glesser.

[DavidNM]

The first knife that I had with FRN handles was more flexible than I liked. That was over 20 years ago so it is not a recent observation but a couple of days ago I received a new Delica with liners and it is a much improved handle. I am looking forward to see how this handle does but it looks and feels very solid.