I have been thinking on the idea of FRN vs G10 on handles.

I have been thinking on the idea of FRN vs G10 on handles. The FRN looks cheap and it is not as strong like G10. I do not know wich of my “plastic” handles knives are g10 or frn for seeing the differences.
Wich of these knives are FRN and wich g10?. I tought that all that lnives were g10 but i do not know if some are FRN.

Enlan el01,el03,el08
Srm 605
Ganzo g704, 710, 712
Inron my803

If all these were g10, wich is an example of frn in a budget chinese world knives? Well, i know the srm t21 is frn and not g10…
How can i distingish the frn and the g10?

G10 is heavier, often matte, generally offers better traction has a “rubbery” quality to it’s surface, FRN looks like molded plastic…because it is molded plastic (nylon) often has intricate texturing made possible by the molding process while G10 being machined is less likely to have intricate patterns.

All of the knives you listed have G10 scales.

The moulding of FRN requires more production investment than just machining G10 so companies are reluctant to jump into it as a first move.

Sanrenmu have done it with the ZB681, and Navy have done it with the K633, which is basically an FRN version of the 631.

But seeing it with the eyes still i do not know how to distingish the frn and the g10.
I do not have the navy k633 or the srm t21 for compare with my g10 knives.
I see the photos of both but i do not see anything different to the g10 handles really.

It doesn’t really matter. Both are good handle materials (I might even prefer FRN).

G10 is a layered composite, like fibreglass or micarta, and machined like wood. FRN is a moulded plastic which generally doesn’t require machining.

When you look at something like the Bear Gryll’s folder, you can see that the handle has been moulded. All those patterns would be a pain to machine.

If you handle the Navy K633 you’ll see that the handle is dimpled all over (like a golf ball) and that again is an effect easier to get with a mould than a mill.

If both grips are flat you just look at the sides. The FRN should be in one piece, the G10 should look like a laminate (because it is).

One of the reasons that I don’t like Spyderco knives is that a lot of their them have FRN handles, they feel very cheap and plastic but are really very expensive and plastic. There are a lot of their knives in the £30-£100 range that would be better (my opinion) with G10 scales.
G10 and Micarta are my favourites, I don’t even like Carbon Fibre very much, unidirectional is O.K. if machined to give a topographic look.
Guess I just don’t like plastic feeling knives.
As for seeing a difference-
Spyderco Endura IV FRN Spyderco Manix II

Yes, i think i understand it now, thank you for responses.
And yes, i think all my “plastic” handles are g10.

I like the steels handles too, it is not grippy but i like the good looking of the folder, like srm 710,733 or 723 for example, aluminion handle do not like equal and i have some. I only have one micarta handle, the enlan el04, very beautiful handle, but soft and not very grippy like the g10 and a lot thicker.

I like the thicker handle of the EI-04MCT, the Micarta is quite slick but the extra width gives the knife a real “big knife” feel.

Some of my Stainless Steel knives, Kershaw Chive for example, I have CA glued some Wet/Dry paper to the scales to give extra grip with the Chive’s Speedsafe opening it gives extra confidence gripping between finger and thumb and using the flipper with another finger. The same can be done with some skateboard griptape, that comes in colours as well.

Yes, i like the thick of the el04 too. That is a reason of i like the harnds viper handle, a bit thick and rounded.
My inron my803 is so slim that it is unpleasent when you get.

I like both, so here’s a photo with a couple of both. The center two are G10. The two Spydies are FRN, and I forget what they call the material for the 681 on top.

681 uses Zytel I think. FastTech=Handgrip is made from aluminium alloy with clip. erm, no.

It’s important to note that while FRN isn’t as strong as G10, it isn’t as heavy either. I doubt the handle on my Delica will ever fail, and it’s a whole lot of knife for 2.3 ounces. It’s exactly as strong as it needs to be for what it is. If the strength of the handle is an issue for the task I’m performing, then I’m probably using a fixed blade at that point—or a saw.

And yeah, I believe it is Zytel—basically rubberized plastic.

The quality of G10 often accounts for the level of traction. I will boldly state that all other things being equal, given a particular price point, the FRN knife will provide much more traction.

Case in point. Spyderco Delica (FRN) verses the Tenacious (G10). The former is high traction and the latter is low traction at best.

To really see the difference in traction between the various G10s, put a Tenacious in one hand and a Manix in the other. If you didn’t say, “Wow!”, take the gloves off and try again.

The Dragonfly/Delica/Endura all have so-called bi-directional texturing which you can see in my photo above, which gives this series a very nice grip. So it’s not just the material itself, but the way they implement it. Also note in the photo above that the Skyline has a very finely textured G10 where the GB-763 has much more aggressive texturing in its G10.

If i would have to say may most aggressive texturing on a knife i own, it’s cleary the ganzo g710. Almost it could hurt the hand on a task. For example the inron my803 and ganzo g704 have a poor grip, the texture is very soft. Well in the case of the ganzo g704 it can be a soft texture but the handle is perfect for the hand.

on stock G10 scales you can easily make some toxic pattern

and it`s not possible to get same good result with FRN :slight_smile: