Carbon Fiber - Knife Handle Material

Carbon Fiber Info

Description

Carbon Fiber refers to Carbon Fiber Laminate when used to describe knife handle materials. Like Micarta, it is an resin laminate formed by compressing layers of material soaked in epoxy or phenolic resins, in this case, Carbon Fiber cloth. Carbon Fiber comes in many different colors, though black is the most common.

Carbon Fiber is considered a "high-tech" material, partly due to its ultra-light weight properties, and partly due to it's futuristic looks. Though some production companies have used this material in their high end knives, it is mostly used in custom knifemaking and is one of the most popular materials used in custom tactical folding knives.

Like Micarta and G-10, Carbon Fiber can be machined quite easily and is a very tough material for knife handles and bolsters. Carbon Fiber is lighter than both G10 and Micarta.

In recent years, companies like Shade Tree Composites have developed unique ways to create Carbon Fiber composites and other types of composites. Instead of simply laying the Carbon Fiber flat, they have created random patterns by compressing the cloth in various ways. This has allowed knifemakers to get really creative with their products.

Special Types of Carbon Fiber

Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber - Originally developed for aerospace applications for dealing with lightning strikes on aircraft, it has now become popular as a material for knife handles and looks pretty badass to boot.

Carbon Fiber Examples