Spyderco Forums

I am still a big fan of natural wood scales. Probably not the best for a hard use knife and they tend to be a bit slick. G10 and FRN work better in hand than wood, but wood sure look good.
I am sure there is a place for Ultem, but everyone has their priorities.

found this with my googler...

i'd want some sort of machined texture like this rather than smooth.

Standy made Ultem handles for his Mule. Very nice!

link to Mule thread: viewtopic.php?t=91476

See thru urine plastic as knife scales? It’s a unique taste I’ll give it that

Well, I personally think it looks nice or at least can be made to look nice as far as I can see.
And according to Nick (post in this very thread) there are more color options.

Can't tell how good or not it would hold up as a handle material and I think actually not a Seki knife, but the Chaparral would be the no 1 candidate to test the material (since this is the model meant to be a platform for displaying various handle materials.
That furthermore to me it is one of the best small folders ever does not hurt of course... )

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 8:30 am

Can't tell how good or not it would hold up as a handle material and I think actually not a Seki knife, but the Chaparral would be the no 1 candidate to test the material (since this is the model meant to be a platform for displaying various handle materials.

I had original hoped for a Delica in this material, but I think a Chap is a great idea if the Delica isn't an option. I would love to see Cruwear as the steel for either option if this does actually happen.

I'm a vaper and use high end mechanical mods. Ultem is used a lot in the vaping industry. I'd love to see it used more in the knife industry. A Ultem delica with anything above s30v I'd buy 2 of. I think the knife industry is missing out on a lot of money not making ultem a option more often.

steelcity16 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 7:44 am

dang, not much love for ultem in this group! i think it looks great personally. i love the color. i mean look at these knives!?!

That is a nice collection.

ZrowsN1s wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:23 am

That is a nice collection.

I stole that pic from the interwebs, but yes, it is collection of nice looking knives! I only really like Spyderco folders, so I dont have any ultem knives personally at the moment.

There's a reason you never see a used knife pic with it, including in this thread. It scratches and looks horrible (not what you want for a transparent material), and it cracks easily. For example:




Protected inlays could work. You really don't want full scales with it on a knife that will get used.

^^ That's a bummer. Perhaps that was due to inferior Chinese PEI being used instead of the actual Ultem brand of PEI? I agree that it should definitely be stress tested before being considered for any production folder, because that is pretty concerning.

Maybe the dream was over before it started.

Since I can't get Ultem, how about that Dodo-fly I've been asking for for years?? Or a Cru-carta Delica Wharnie??

phaust wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:25 am

There's a reason you never see a used knife pic with it, including in this thread. It scratches and looks horrible (not what you want for a transparent material), and it cracks easily. For example:




Protected inlays could work. You really don't want full scales with it on a knife that will get used.

I agree with phaust. I've seen other Ultem scales on the internet with similar cracking issues - all at the same location, either a pivot hole or a screw hole. It would seem that Ultem has a tendency to fail at those points.





It would seem that using this material would only lead to many customer complaints down the road.

^^^ That doesn't sounds promising. Maybe best to scrap this idea. I still think it is a great looking material. I like the piss color. It reminds of the translucent brown soles on my late 90s Dr Martens.

zhyla wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 3:50 am

It’s a common material. You can find it all over but here’s a McMaster Carr link.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/ultem-sheets/

Strange. Although it says

"Temperature Range: -20° to 335° F",

it also says

"For Use Outdoors: No".

Hmmmmmm. There must be a big downfall somewhere here. Maybe UV negatively affects it? Doesn't sound good.

nerdlock wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:52 am

phaust wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:25 am

There's a reason you never see a used knife pic with it, including in this thread. It scratches and looks horrible (not what you want for a transparent material), and it cracks easily. For example:




Protected inlays could work. You really don't want full scales with it on a knife that will get used.

I agree with phaust. I've seen other Ultem scales on the internet with similar cracking issues - all at the same location, either a pivot hole or a screw hole. It would seem that Ultem has a tendency to fail at those points.





It would seem that using this material would only lead to many customer complaints down the road.

Thank you, I think we can close this thread now and never bring up Ultem again

steelcity16 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:16 pm

^^^ That doesn't sounds promising. Maybe best to scrap this idea. I still think it is a great looking material. I like the piss color. It reminds of the translucent brown soles on my late 90s Dr Martens.

Well, then... what actually IS with Seki FRCP?

Could / would they do it?
It is Translucent, just like Ultem (or a bit less? Can´t tell) but proved to be a really strong and perfect handle material (in my and certainly 10 000 more Manix LWs... )

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:52 pm

steelcity16 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:16 pm

^^^ That doesn't sounds promising. Maybe best to scrap this idea. I still think it is a great looking material. I like the piss color. It reminds of the translucent brown soles on my late 90s Dr Martens.

Well, then... what actually IS with Seki FRCP?

Could / would they do it?
It is Translucent, just like Ultem (or a bit less? Can´t tell) but proved to be a really strong and perfect handle material (in my and certainly 10 000 more Manix LWs... )

Piss colored FRCP?? Now we are talking! In all seriousness, if they could get some Ultem/PEI samples and color match some translucent FRCP to it, that would work too.

"Piss FRCP Delica Wharnie". Sound like a winner!!

steelcity16 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 1:18 pm

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:52 pm

steelcity16 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 19, 2024 12:16 pm

Piss colored FRCP?? Now we are talking! In all seriousness, if they could get some Ultem/PEI samples and color match some translucent FRCP to it, that would work too.

"Piss FRCP Delica Wharnie". Sound like a winner!!

... I think some feared that the Magnacut Manix LW would feature just that... (but as we know it did not in the end...)

Well, we could make roadside apple juice colored G10

Thanx much for sharing your thoughts. I also got a bunch of info from Brian H. Seems to be pretty controversial. I guess I'll watch the thread.

sal