Thread: Thunderstorm Kevlar (aramid)

When I first saw this, I thought it would be about its potential as strop material. As scale mat'l - yes, its a saw blade & any other cutting tool killer. 'Given the properties of kevlar in a laminate, I don't see the benefit. It resists getting fully wet by the resin, and then tends to delaminate. If cracked, it propagates the crack. The fibers absorb water. Nothing in a scale needs its tensile strength unless you've finally had it w/ a big sheffield chopper scaled in this and want to use extreme predjudice to put it out of its misery.
I should have used kevlar instead of leather when I learned to strop

OTOH - there's also nothing wrong w/ trying whatever gives you an itch. Go with it. If I were going that way, I would rather experiment w/ Spectra - which doesn't absorb water, stronger, lighter. If you research the stuff, you'll find alot of use by those into making kayaks & canoes.

Now you have done it...what is Spectra?

I've used both Spectra and lots of other "Kevlar" fibers for climbing.
Tool killer, why?
Under load they cut like butter, tensile strength is tremendous but shearing strength not so.

under normal straight conditions I dont see how it would develop a crack; you could bend it and eventually snap it but most other scales will do that (excluding some metals). Laminated kevlar has very low water absorbtion and can be finished so that it absorbes no water.

But besides that it just looks great IMHO