Thread: What do you want in a knife handle ?

I hope this is the best place to post this question.
As a knife maker I was wondering what material forum members looked for in a knife handle.
My trade is a signwriter so that's not the normal as far as colour goes .

As hunters , users and outdoors people who love knives do you want lovely natural looking timber with lots of figuring or bright dyed exotics and contrasting liners ?
Crazy Micarta's or linen Micarta's and earthy colours ?

The last few knifes I have made and sold as a Signwriter has made me take note , just looking for feedback on eye appeal, this has nothing to do with blade shape or handle shape / comfort .purely eye candy and appeal.

Viper / Medusa knives

Originally Posted by viper

I hope this is the best place to post this question.
As a knife maker I was wondering what material forum members looked for in a knife handle.
My trade is a signwriter so that's not the normal as far as colour goes .

As hunters , users and outdoors people who love knives do you want lovely natural looking timber with lots of figuring or bright dyed exotics and contrasting liners ?
Crazy Micarta's or linen Micarta's and earthy colours ?

The last few knifes I have made and sold as a Signwriter has made me take note , just looking for feedback on eye appeal, this has nothing to do with blade shape or handle shape / comfort .purely eye candy and appeal.

Viper / Medusa knives

I like Carbon fibre or all Aluminium/metal - something I can properly clean and a handle that is not porous.


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I like all my small pieces of equipment to be brightly coloured. Any things that are neutral, get a bit of pink tracking tape tied to it, including wood handles on knives. A couple of years ago I bought a fixed blade benchmade with a bright orange handle, love it.

my main knife is a buck "zipper" fixed blade, has a nice synthetic handle, the wife gerber similar.
i used a mora for year, beautiful wood handle but gave it away to a young forum member who seems to have disappeared.

i still have some nice handle wood available, some is south american hardwood, some is teak. its about 2" by 3/4" in varying lengths and seems a waste to use as kindling
best of all its free to anyone here but if you want me to send it i have to ask for courier fee. but i can send a fair amount of it for a few bucks so pm me if you want it

I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to knives ....attraction to bling! Love the highly figured hardwood or the linen micatra in dark colours like green or blue and brass pins. Also like the look of carbon fibre. For practicality in hunting knife I want a non slip hard wearing grip.

somone on here a few years ago was layering tartan/plaid wool with synthetic resin and turning the resultant material into knife handles -Ilike the idea -in fact ii contacted em and still have a piece of swannired check in the dshed waiting for me to get off me arse.
Ive got knives of all descriptions but my hunting ones -a big robust handle you can get your paw round .my bird knives -smaller bowie type point for unzippeing parrie /goose swan breasts and working around the bone structure .In a lot of ways im a kea -if I likes it Ill grab it!
Have a trusty military style golok machete arriving this week-Old TF cadre staff who served in Vietnam etc carried em reckoned good shit for brush clearing.Ive had other machetes but none felt right or coped with my efforts in the scrub!!
My prize knife is a genuine US camillus pilots survival knife(1st design) from early vietnam era .that travelled with me right through my TF career -now had it for over 40yrs and it is a sharp very scary wee bit of kit!Its also built like a brick shit house!

Originally Posted by mimms2

I might take you up on the teak. need some pistol grips.

just let me know how many pieces you want, and if its an RD or not

Originally Posted by Dama dama

I like all my small pieces of equipment to be brightly coloured. Any things that are neutral, get a bit of pink tracking tape tied to it, including wood handles on knives. A couple of years ago I bought a fixed blade benchmade with a bright orange handle, love it.

this, make it easy to fnd and made from some material resistant to liquid to

Thanks guys, good feedback and everyone seems to have favorites weather it's for the looks or practical purposes.

Are Lanyard holes something else you guys want or not ?

Lanyard holes fill up with gunk which just increases cleaning time. Never seen the need personally.

Why not offer up your knife blades as a bare blade with a choice of handle material to be fitted. If you have material on hand you can show what's available and the cost for the purchaser to choose from.
One of the most economic handle materials I have found to date is buffalo horn out of India.

Originally Posted by hotbarrels

Lanyard holes fill up with gunk which just increases cleaning time. Never seen the need personally.

Why not offer up your knife blades as a bare blade with a choice of handle material to be fitted. If you have material on hand you can show what's available and the cost for the purchaser to choose from.
One of the most economic handle materials I have found to date is buffalo horn out of India.

I do this already, I am just completing a couple of knifes for someone now and he got to select handle material , liner color , ricasso effect etc.

In a fancey knife,I like the look of black micarta because it contrasts with brass and steel.

On a working knife any surface that's hard wearing and grippy as well as hi-vis would suit me best.

The only time I have used a lanyard hole was on a knife that ended up getting pinched.

As a knife dealer I'll tell you theres no right or wrong answer to this.
Every knife, regardless of style, if its well made with quality materials will have a buyer, somewhere!

Originally Posted by terryf

As a knife dealer I'll tell you theres no right or wrong answer to this.
Every knife, regardless of style, if its well made with quality materials will have a buyer, somewhere!

Yeah 100% this. You look at the top knife makers on the planet and they all have their own distinctive style. Work on stuff you like and trust that their are people who will have the same tastes as you.

I make most of my “field knives” out of g10 liners and micarta scales, occasionally wood also with g10 liners.
My kitchen knives generally are wood with liners.
Wood feels nicer in the hand and the natural variation is pleasing to the eye...but micarta will be grippy when wet and won’t crack or warp with humidity, and has its own beauty too.
So saying I’ll make to whatever a customer asks for.