Water resistant / non slip handle materials

I'm looking at getting a Deba rehandled, and I'm after suggestions for a water resistant material that would also be non slip.
I'd probably prefer something synthetic.
All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Huw , lots of handle makers prefer buffing or finishing on high grits to leave very glossy look , I think a hardwood that's finished little less shiny should also do the trick or maybe stag antler before you look for artificial material

Isn't this why plain old ho-wood is so favoured?

Micarta, raffir and corrian should all works fine.

Asteger said:

Isn't this why plain old ho-wood is so favoured?

Click to expand...

I think ho-wood is favored only because it's cheap. IMO burned chestnut both looks and feels much better the ho-wood.

I would go with the "D.T. ITK" style, unfinished cocobola with micarta ferrule. Cocobola has so much natural oil that water won't faze it, but also has a pretty open grain that will give you a good grip.

Be well,
Mikey

icanhaschzbrgr said:

Micarta, raffir and corrian should all works fine.


I think ho-wood is favored only because it's cheap. IMO burned chestnut both looks and feels much better the ho-wood.

Click to expand...

Left unoiled, when Ho gets wet the grain raises improving grip.

In my experience corian etc are much more slippery when wet unless you texture them, but the texturing acts as a crud trap.

Asteger said:

Isn't this why plain old ho-wood is so favoured?

Click to expand...

icanhaschzbrgr said:

I think ho-wood is favored only because it's cheap. IMO burned chestnut both looks and feels much better the ho-wood.

Click to expand...

TB_London said:

Left unoiled, when Ho gets wet the grain raises improving grip.

Click to expand...

Haha, yes. Don't doubt the wisdom of the elders! They must use it for a reason. ... Chestnut is fine for me too, and they do have those grains, but I've still thought ho is less slippery and not necessarily worse-looking, depending of course. I've also noticed how the unoiled handles are gripy-er. Thanks for the explanation.

Or you can go crocodile leather in wrapped in wood and stabilised if you want go full Crocodile Dundee

Micarta would work well, but I'm not sure how it would look for the whole handle. When wet the exposed fibers raise similar to wood grain, and it is water proof. you can finish it to your desired level of grip without issue. Different colors available as well to customize.

Grippiest that I can think of is G10 (like micarta, but with fiberglass instead of linen or canvas). Not the most fun to work with, though (again, glass fiber).

FRN or G10 I would say. But structured FRN would look really strange on a gyuto me thinks (just out some spyderco knives to see how it looks)

EDIT: For a natural wood burned chestnut handle is hard to beat on the grip. Just give it a coat of board butter here and then.

My personal favorite is linen micarta.

Hate to say it but the least slippery handles I have are the Forschner fibrox--followed by burnt chestnut.

Don't forget to factor in the weight difference between some thing like ho or kuri and micarta or other FRPs. And as others have said, glass fiber is not pleasant to work with.

Huw, my all time favorite wood has to be lignum vitae. Due to the oiliness of the wood it provides great grip when wet, almost a tacky like feeling.

stag horn, sheep horn have nice texture. Takeshi Saji had some artisan crafted bamboo handles that were funky. Some micarta handles feel slippery when dry, but surprisingly grippy when wet, go figure.