Copper, Brass or Titanium

[Corwyn]

So... I'm saving up to get a SpyderInox Drifter... now I'm not sure about the scales material to pick:

Copper - pretty, shiny, cheapest but should be softest, succesptible to sctaches
Brass - nice, shiny, bit more expensive but stronger than copper, still soft, not as poignant as copper
Titanium - very pretty, light, strong, can be anodinised in many ways but expensive as smurf.... would double the cost of a copper mod

Other Options:
Carbon Fiber - gorgeous, exotic but slippy and really expensive
G10 - grippy but meh... getting a bit sick of it, especially on something as tiny as a Vic.

I'lll not be making a poll, just want to hear your suggestions.. never had knives in any of these materials (except G10). How do they act in practice. How to keep them scratch-free? What would you get?

[Syph007]

I'll throw down my opinions for you...


Copper - Not approprate for scale material unless isolated from the tools.  Otherwise it will galvanicly corrode.

Brass - I love brass.  Durable, and takes a good shine. 

Titanium - Strongest and lightest metal option, but you don't really notice the weight on a small SAK.  On larger ones its the only option as brass weighs a ton.

Carbon Fiber - Plastic, with carbon fiber cloth inside. Most people don't use it correctly and don't seal the ends.  Unsealed CF will wick in water and delaminate.  Toxic dust to work on as well.  I dont like it.  Most sheets of CF sold for knife making arent even properly formed, Id call them decorate CF impregnated plastic.  Anyone who has actually built structural CF will understand that the goal is to have the MINIMUM amount of resin, that is not how this decorative stuff is made.  If you make a CF bike frame for example, it will not look like this knife material.

G10 -  Pros, are lots of colors.  Cons are I hate plastic.  Its the most durable of the composites though if you want to go that way.  It wont wick in moisture.  Its plastic with glass fibers inside.  Toxic dust to work on as well.


Granted Im pretty opinionated having worked with mostly metals, but I did say I was giving my opinion.    I tried a bit of CF and G10 and knew right away it wasn't for me as my goal is to make customs with no plastic.

Cheers 

[Corwyn]

Thanks for the suggestions mate.

Would you consider something like this isolated from tools or not? It does have G10 liners, but... 



PS: Ever done one of these? Feeling like trying your hand? 

[Syph007]

Thanks for the suggestions mate.

Would you consider something like this isolated from tools or not? It does have G10 liners, but... 

(Image removed from quote.)

PS: Ever done one of these? Feeling like trying your hand? 

Ya if there is a liner between the copper steel it would help.  Ideally it should be Ti though nice and inert.  There is a pretty strong galvanic reaction between Al and Cu