Thread: G10, what the hell is it...

G10 is pretty much fiber class sheets glued with epoxy at high pressures.

I guess I should come clean and be more specific with my question. The knife you see in the scans below is a linerless slip joint with a very strong back spring by todays standards. The scales are G10 but there are no brass or nickle silver liners to give support while opening and closing this knife. It is a very neat knife to say the least and I wish to make it my every day carry but my concern is that the pivot pin and or the middle spring pin will eventually push through the G10 scales due to the pressure of the back spring. I am almost certain that wood or bone scales without liners would not survive the pressure of the backspring but I know next to nothing about G10.

Will someone advise me?

Okay, well, I can't say for sure, as I can't actually feel the back spring on it, but G10 is a somewhat flexible polymer, so pressure that would slowly crack then break wood or bone will only cause G10 to bend (almost imperceptibly) with the pressure... If the spring isn't too strong for you to operate, it shouldn't be too strong for the G10...

Hell, my G10 handles have been through a LOT of abuse. My dog -Who has chewed the leg off of a chair. Beaver'y bastard- couldn't damage a G10 handle... Not for lack of trying

Good luck
Jeremy

I would not worry about the pin, G10 is very tough material that is also pretty wear resistant. I was cutting a set of scales with a coping saw yesterday, and the blade was completely dulled by the time I was done(which is not a lot of work at all)

I was wondering what G10 was too. Is it the same thing as fiberglass micarta?

Originally Posted by Pete_S

I was wondering what G10 was too. Is it the same thing as fiberglass micarta?

G10 is a glass-reinforced resin material. Micarta on the other hand is a resin material reinforced with layers of 'fiber', most often paper, linen or canvas.

Originally Posted by Maximilian

G10 is a glass-reinforced resin material. Micarta on the other hand is a resin material reinforced with layers of 'fiber', most often paper, linen or canvas.

Thanks for the answer. I understand micarta, but I don't understand how G10 is different from micarta. Judging from the descriptions in this thread they look pretty similar, epoxy with different materials reinforcing it, kinda sorta like a high tech paper mache.

It looks like G10 could be considered micarta, if you see what I'm saying. Kinda like "all G10 is micarta, but not all micarta is G10"--not that I'm saying thats actually the case.

I don't know squat about the stuff however I used to have a benchmade Automatic Knife I used to use as a duty knife and it had G-10 scales and they were pretty much indestructible.

Mark that knife will be fine. Max gave you all the information you need. G10 is much stronger than brass and lots of metals. You don't need any liner at all on that knife as the G10 would be supporting the liners rather than vice versa. There is no way that the back spring in that knife will ever 'push through' the G10 scales. The spring mechanism (even though I can't see the insides of that knife) is most likely spring tempered if it is steel which means it is flexible. If that is the case then chances are the G10 is stronger material. I'm guessing the spring will wear out before the scales.

As for G10 versus carbon fiber? I prefer carbon fiber for scales on a razor. I really think it is the ideal scale material. As to which is stronger, etc. it depends on the specific use- tensile strength, etc. In terms of probably 99% of knives, it really doesn't matter- neither material will ever give out and you'd never test either to its breaking point. Are you going to use the knife in the middle of an atomic explosion? I doubt it.

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