View Full Version : Are these any good? Carbon fiber knives?
From being a car-nut I must admit I am a carbon fiber junky. I love the material from a weight, strength, beauty combination of points... but I always thought CF was fairly brittle. Sure I have seen the fiberglass knives some manufacturers offer... but they seem more like novelty items where this looks like it is supposed to be a combat blade.
Thoughts?
http://truenorthknives.com/tnk_1mainframe.htm?tnk_gallery-p-WT02639.htm~main
Peregrino
11-16-2005, 14:12
From being a car-nut I must admit I am a carbon fiber junky. I love the material from a weight, strength, beauty combination of points... but I always thought CF was fairly brittle. Sure I have seen the fiberglass knives some manufacturers offer... but they seem more like novelty items where this looks like it is supposed to be a combat blade.
Thoughts?
http://truenorthknives.com/tnk_1mainframe.htm?tnk_gallery-p-WT02639.htm~main
That's because the blade is stainless. CF has been used for handles, sheaths, holsters, etc. for a while. Personally I'm not sure the "cool factor" and the "cost factor" have reached parity yet. My .02 - Peregrino
That's because the blade is stainless. CF has been used for handles, sheaths, holsters, etc. for a while. Personally I'm not sure the "cool factor" and the "cost factor" have reached parity yet. My .02 - Peregrino
Dagnabbit!! Stupid java scripts... I was viewing this knife where the blade is CF, but the link in the url block was from a different knife.
http://truenorthknives.com/tnk_gallery-p-CE7900.htm
I guess my K-Bar (Navy Mk2 with fiberglass sheath) is so "Old School".
I've found that I used that sucker for years to whack chunky stuff, open boxes, force open closed things and clear underbrush. Never felt the need to sink too much money into a tool.
Now leatherman, swiss army knife or any other good steel multi-tool belt knife was always in it's nylon sheath on my pants belt. I had/have both a leatherman and swiss army, depending on what I was up to determined what I carried.
I have both an M7 and an M9 for my M16. The M9 appears to be made out of harder steel than the M7. Looks like it would do a good job in the knock-about of day-to-day activities of active service.
Side note for the younger guys. In the "Big IG" days it was rare for bayonets to come out of the arms room. It was something else that had to be cleaned and accounted for. For the most part everybody carried K-Bars of one kind or another. A few young guys would go out and get those 2 pound "Barbarian mini sword stainless steel looking cool" kinda' blades but after lugging them around for a few times in the field they were quickly retired to a car trunk because of the weight.
Pete
Peregrino
11-16-2005, 14:43
Dagnabbit!! Stupid java scripts... I was viewing this knife where the blade is CF, but the link in the url block was from a different knife.
http://truenorthknives.com/tnk_gallery-p-CE7900.htm
Good Save;) , I'm still not sure about cool vs. cost. I've had various versions of the GRP models for years. They make acceptable letter openers. The only thing they were ever good for was evading metal detectors and nowdays carrying one around is an excuse to do Federal time. I'll stick with steel - a lot more versatile. Besides, Mr. Harsey has a couple proprietary blends that'll do just about anything possible with a blade. Just my opinion - Peregrino
longrange1947
11-16-2005, 14:59
I guess my K-Bar (Navy Mk2 with fiberglass sheath) is so "Old School".
I've found that I used that sucker for years to whack chunky stuff, open boxes, force open closed things and clear underbrush. Never felt the need to sink too much money into a tool.
Now leatherman, swiss army knife or any other good steel multi-tool belt knife was always in it's nylon sheath on my pants belt. I had/have both a leatherman and swiss army, depending on what I was up to determined what I carried.
I have both an M7 and an M9 for my M16. The M9 appears to be made out of harder steel than the M7. Looks like it would do a good job in the knock-about of day-to-day activities of active service.
Side note for the younger guys. In the "Big IG" days it was rare for bayonets to come out of the arms room. It was something else that had to be cleaned and accounted for. For the most part everybody carried K-Bars of one kind or another. A few young guys would go out and get those 2 pound "Barbarian mini sword stainless steel looking cool" kinda' blades but after lugging them around for a few times in the field they were quickly retired to a car trunk because of the weight.
Pete
Dam, the exact samething I carried from the early 70s(about 71) through the mid 80s, along with the Swiss Army knife I aquired in 73 or 74. Could do anything with those two items and not spend a mint.
Good Save;) , I'm still not sure about cool vs. cost. I've had various versions of the GRP models for years. They make acceptable letter openers. The only thing they were ever good for was evading metal detectors and nowdays carrying one around is an excuse to do Federal time. I'll stick with steel - a lot more versatile. Besides, Mr. Harsey has a couple proprietary blends that'll do just about anything possible with a blade. Just my opinion - Peregrino
I've seen ceramics and other substances being used with more frequency... and I know the heat resistant properties of CF make it great for suppressors (my car even has a CF radiator hose)... but I was wondering if there is some benefit to a CF blade (other than weight savings and non-metallic)? This blade pattern is clearly for one thing and I think it would suck to have to use it and hear it snap off inside the bad guy after one thrust. :eek:
Unless there is more to it than meets the eye, it seems like a novelty knife to me. :dunno:
This blade pattern is clearly for one thing and I think it would suck to have to use it and hear it snap off inside the bad guy after one thrust.
I have seen a number of blades snap off. Most of them were in trees. Mostly after somebody was attempting to show off, missed the stick a few times and thought if they threw the knife harder it would work better. Wrong.
Never was one for throwing a knife, too hard to get it back.
Pete
For the most part everybody carried K-Bars of one kind or another. A few young guys would go out and get those 2 pound "Barbarian mini sword stainless steel looking cool" kinda' blades but after lugging them around for a few times in the field they were quickly retired to a car trunk because of the weight.
Pete
I've noticed as I get older my knives get smaller (grams=ounces=pounds) I started with a K-BAR, went to a SOG SEAL, then a Cold Steal SRK, and for a short time I used a Cold Steel Kukri. Recently we just got issued one of these...http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=140 and it sold me. It's small, light weight, but feels good, and can do anything I need it to do. This and a Gerber, is all I ever take to the field (blade wise)
Bill Harsey
11-16-2005, 19:37
The owner of True North Knives is one of the class acts in the knife industry and for the sake of full disclosure, a very important business friend of CRK's and mine. He is one of the best.
I've tried to use CF for handles and have many different types of carbon fiber here in the shop. If I wanted to make knives out of that, you all would have seen them by now.
Peregrino is correct about why they exist.
The K-Bar has done critical duty in many places over a long period of time and ranks right up there with the United States Flag, Mom and apple pie.
You couldn't get me to ever speak against the K-Bar knife.