Get a Grip

Handle Materials:

We live in a golden age of knives. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a couple of knife makers these days. That’s a good thing -- the more makers we have, the more each maker has to push our skills and innovation to keep up. Not an easy thing to do with one of the oldest human tools. Thankfully, capitalism jumps right in and there are a multitude of manufacturers eagerly providing us with all manner of scale materials. From the tried-and-true Micarta to exotic stabilized woods to all crazy manner of epoxy-based creations containing everything from circuit boards to fine mesh screen. Here are descriptions of the more common scale materials and why I do or do not use the materials.

Micarta: Developed as an electrical insulator over a hundred years ago, Micarta is one of the most versatile materials. I love Micarta for its incredible durability with a “better as you use it” grip especially with canvas and burlap Micartas as the strands of natural fibers are exposed as the Micarta wears, making for a smooth but grippy feel. Micarta is easy to shape and can easily be roughed up with course sandpaper to improve grip. Micarta will change color over time from UV light and the oils from hands but is easy to clean or freshen up with fine sandpaper.

Stabilized Wood: Wood of course is organic, looks beautiful and usually provides for excellent grip. The problem is expansion and contraction which will eventually cause either the tang or the scale to stand proud. Nothing worse than dragging your fingernail over the join of the scales and tang and have your nail hang up. Stabilized wood all but eliminates this and makes for a great handle scale. The cons are that wood can crack and chip from impacts.

G10: Like Micarta, G10 is indestructible and easy to shape. It comes in numerous colors and is a great knife scale. To me the feel of G10 is very much that of plastic. Although durable, it doesn’t get that tacky feel that Micarta does. Other than that, G10 is a great choice for a durable knife scale.