not a fan of frn....

[Spydie-50]

Untill now..
I wasn't to fond of frn untill recently. I would only buy g10 scales or carbon fiber if I could afford it.

I just picked up a frn stretch 2 with zdp and came away very impressed with the knife over all. Also just got 2 enduras (grey and blue), for the price can't go wrong. Also waiting on a brown one.

I never liked the weight and feel of frn since I last handled it many years back, but these newer knives are a big improvement and I'm glad I gave them another look.

take care and
stay sharp all

[2cha]

I didn't like FRN either until I got a few delica 4. It has really grown on me. Still don't like the unlined knives e.g. Native, Salts.

[CanisMajor]

FRN is really great stuff, IMO it is an under-rated material.

Canis

[gull wing]

Yes, the lined FRN knives are quite good, no more reason to dislike them.
I was only iffie with them till the FRN Stretch, it actually feels better than my Carbon Fiber Stretch. :)

[npueppke]

I didn't like FRN until I tried it.

[white cloud]

i have a number of g10 knives. they are fine but i stand in awe of frn. for me frn knives are the bomb. i ran over my endura trainer. the knife was between broken asphalt and the front tire of a 4wd truck. the knife suffered a crushed clip and some scratches in the frn. i replaced the clip and i was back in business. sorry i don't need exotic materials. give me frn please.

[araneae]

FRN is my handle material of choice. Nothing better for a working knife handle IMO. Takes a beating, cleans up easy, and is practically indestructible.

[Leatherneck]

Good stuff for sure. Don't know about yester-year, but the Delica 4 I have has excellent gripping.

[MCM]

Have a few, but still much prefer CF, Micarta & G-10.
In that order.

[Seanski]

I was kind of the opposite probably because I couldn't afford G-10 but I'd always liked
FRN. My first Spyderco was a Delica 1 and really fell in love with FRN from that point
on. :)

[hiredgun]

I actually prefer a good lined FRN knife over a G-10 scaled knife. Some of the G-10 is so sandpaper-like it is a little annoying to deploy from a pocket, not to mention it wears your pants out faster. I can deploy an FRN knife more easily and yet it is generally "grippy" enough for me. Different strokes for different folks I guess. :cool:

Might as well take the time to mention I am so doggone pleased with the new colors in the FFG & FRN Delicas and Enduras. I have green and purple Delicas and Enduras and just love them and I don't care that someone at work called my purple Delica a "Barney" knife. :p

[Spydie-50]

Have a few, but still much prefer CF, Micarta & G-10.
In that order.

I feel the same as u MCM I think it's also that I prefer liner or compression locks over back locks.

[Spydie-50]

Might as well take the time to mention I am so doggone pleased with the new colors in the FFG & FRN Delicas and Enduras. I have green and purple Delicas and Enduras and just love them and I don't care that someone at work called my purple Delica a "Barney" knife. :p

I'll bet if "barney" had fangs or claws as sharp as your purp delica they wouldn't let him near any kids.=)
I'll bet that the same person who clowned your knife will one day ask to borrow it(don't they always), have them sing the barney song before u do, if u do that is.

[hiredgun]

I'll bet if "barney" had fangs or claws as sharp as your purp delica they wouldn't let him near any kids.=)
I'll bet that the same person who clowned your knife will one day ask to borrow it(don't they always), have them sing the barney song before u do, if u do that is.

Excellent point and a great idea. Yes, it is only a matter of time before he wants to borrow my knife. This guy is always asking me for something. :D

[LostOutThere]

FRN can have a relatively low perceived quality, but its true merits are revealed with use. My D4 and Tasman find their way into my pocket more often than anything else, because I know that as tools they're every bit as good as most of my more expensive blades with more exotic handle materials, but at the same time I'm less worried about loss or damage.

[Pneumothorax]

I respect FRN, but prefer G10 or CF.

[Dr. Snubnose]

I love FRN and I'll tell you why. I have two knives from Spyderco a Blue Delica SE and a Red Ladybug...both were my father's knives and both are over twenty years old. Both knives have seen extensive pocket time and the Red Ladybug is still in my EDC to this day. Both knife FRN handles look as good as they did the day I got them and took them out of the boxes (my father never used them) My father built ships and nuclear subs for the navy,an electrical engineer in the marine industry and designer by trade. He treated each and every knife like a tool. Better to say the way he handled all the knives I bought him, would make you cringe, I'm talking paint cans, epoxy mixer, screwdriver you name it. Lets just call him the destroyer of knives. My mother bought him these spydercos as a birthday present one year and I always remember him saying, those knives are too good to use (LOL) he meant destroy...LOL...so I got them on his passing and used them everyday for many years. Back to FRN, those handles have held up over the years and are in beautiful condition...the knives cept for some blade scratches look brand new...See if you can say the same for CF or Stainless steel with that many miles on it for over twenty years That convinced me that FRN was a superior handle material......Doc :D

[MANIXWORLD]

my brother accidently dropped his delica4 serrated from a 3 storey high tower onto concrete.the frn barely showed a couple of minor scratches. now howz that for tough stuff.

[StangBang]

While most of my knives are g10 I still do like FRN. I too was unsure if I would like it from the start but my buddy convinced me to get one and try it out. I got a tasman and I reallly liked the lightweight FRN as a handle material and found it is very strong as well :)

FRN is pretty underrated IMO.

[JD Spydo]

Doc Snubnose said a lot of things about FRN that I agree with. I didn't use to like FRN much until I started using a few FRN Spyders for hard work and hard use. I've since totally changed my mind about Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon handles on knives. For instance my Spyderco PE Tasman that I just used today is truly a brute when it comes to hard use.

My ZDP-189 Burgundy Caly Jr I still consider sacred. It was the first ZDP-189 Spyder I ever owned and I've turned down some pretty big trade offers for that knife.

Now I do put FRN handled Spyders in the "HARD USE" category and don't collect many of the FRN handled Spyders because I really think that they are truly geared for the most brutal of knife usage. Not to mention that FRN is completely corrosion and chemical resistant. After my own personal jury convened FRN is much more impressive that I first thought. There's nothing cheap or fake or imitation about FRN. It's not one of my favorite handle materials like G-10, Micarta or Titanium but it's great handle material for sure.