Is G10 Good for Kitchen Knife Handles?

Jump to

Updated August 2026 · 6 min read · UK Japanese-steel knife specialists

When people shop for a kitchen knife they look almost entirely at the blade and its edge. That is fair enough — it is the part that cuts. But you hold the handle for every second you use the knife, and the handle material decides how safe the knife feels in a wet hand and how well it survives a decade of washing up.

G10 comes up constantly in that conversation, usually with a lot of confident claims attached to it. Some of them are true. One of the most repeated ones is a misunderstanding. Here is what the material actually is, what it is genuinely good at, and how it compares with the handle materials we use on our own knives.

What is G10?

G10 is a laminate composite. Woven glass-fibre cloth is soaked in epoxy resin, stacked in layers, then cured under heat and pressure into a solid sheet. It is sometimes sold under the trade name Garolite. It is glass fibre — not carbon fibre, which is a different and more expensive material with a distinctive woven black appearance.

The material was not invented for knives. It was developed as an electrical insulator, which is why it turns up as the substrate in printed circuit boards: it holds its shape at high temperature, does not conduct electricity, and machines cleanly. Knife makers borrowed it because those same properties — dimensional stability, heat resistance and near-total water resistance — happen to be exactly what a handle needs.

Is G10 a good knife handle material?

For a working kitchen knife, yes. Four things make it genuinely well suited:

It absorbs almost no water

This matters more than anything else. Natural wood takes on moisture, swells, then dries and shrinks. Repeat that cycle a few hundred times and a gap can open between the handle scales and the tang. That gap traps food and water, and it is difficult to clean properly. G10 does not move, so the joint stays sealed.

It is dimensionally stable across temperature

Going from a hot washing-up bowl to a cold worktop does nothing to it. The same is not true of untreated wood.

It grips when wet

G10 is usually textured during machining, and that texture keeps working when your hands are wet or oily. If you use a pinch grip — and if you don't, our guide to how Japanese chefs hold their knives is worth a read — that reliable purchase is a real safety benefit.

It resists dents and scratches

It shrugs off the knocks that mark a wooden handle within months, and it takes colour pigment well, which is why brightly coloured knife handles are so often G10.

The honest downsides

• It feels synthetic. G10 is cool and hard in the hand. Plenty of cooks simply prefer the warmth of wood, and that preference is not irrational — it is a tool you hold every day.
• It cannot be refinished. A scratched wooden handle can be sanded and re-oiled. Damaged G10 stays damaged.
• The dust is hazardous to machine. That is a maker's problem rather than a cook's, but it is one reason small workshops avoid it.
• It adds nothing to balance. G10 is light, which is good on a small knife and less helpful on a large one where a denser handle counterweights the blade.

The "G10 is harder than knife steel" myth

You will often read that G10 has a Rockwell hardness rating of about 110, and that this puts it far above the materials used in kitchen knives. The number is real. The conclusion drawn from it is wrong, and it is worth understanding why.

Rockwell is not one scale, it is a family of them. Composites and plastics are measured on the Rockwell M scale (typically written M110), using a large steel ball indenter and a light load. Knife blades are measured on the Rockwell C scale — the HRC figure you see quoted as 58, 60 or 61 — using a diamond cone and a much heavier load.

The two scales use different indenters, different loads and different units. Comparing M110 with 60 HRC is like comparing a temperature in Celsius with a distance in metres: both are numbers, neither tells you anything about the other. A G10 handle is not "harder" than a 60 HRC blade in any meaningful sense — it is a tough composite doing a completely different job. If you want the detail on what HRC actually measures, we cover it in our guide to the Rockwell hardness scale.

G10 vs Micarta

Micarta is the other composite you'll meet. It is made the same way — layers soaked in resin and cured under pressure — but the layers are linen, canvas, paper or occasionally wood rather than glass cloth, and the binder is usually a phenolic resin rather than epoxy.

	G10	Micarta
Made from	Glass cloth + epoxy resin	Linen, canvas or paper + phenolic resin
Water resistance	Excellent	Very good, slightly more porous
Feel in the hand	Cool, hard, technical	Warmer, closer to wood
Colour	Takes bright pigment easily	More muted, more natural variation
Choose it if you want	Maximum toughness and grip	A more natural look and feel

Neither is a wrong answer. If your priority is a handle that will survive anything, G10 wins. If you want something that develops character and feels less clinical, Micarta is the better pick.

What we use on our knives, and why

Being straight with you: we don't use G10. Our ranges use stabilised burl wood set in resin, abalone inlay, rosewood and finished hardwood. That's a deliberate choice, not an oversight — a stabilised wood-and-resin handle gets you most of G10's moisture resistance while keeping the warmth and the grain that people actually want to hold. If G10's technical properties are your priority, you should buy a G10-handled knife; we'd rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.

Here's what we do make, and what each handle is like to live with.

Whatever handle you end up with, the care rules are the same: hand wash, dry immediately, and never leave a knife soaking. Our complete knife care guide covers the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is G10 good for kitchen knife handles?

Yes. G10 absorbs almost no water, holds its shape across temperature changes, resists dents and scratches, and grips well in a wet hand. Its weaknesses are that it feels cold and synthetic compared with wood, it cannot be sanded and refinished if damaged, and it is light, so it adds little counterweight on a large blade.

What is G10 made of?

Woven glass-fibre cloth soaked in epoxy resin, stacked in layers and cured under heat and pressure into a solid sheet. It is a glass-fibre composite, not carbon fibre, and it is sometimes sold under the trade name Garolite.

Is G10 harder than knife steel?

No, and the comparison does not work. G10 is measured on the Rockwell M scale for plastics and composites, usually quoted around M110. Knife blades are measured on the Rockwell C scale, the HRC figure quoted as 58 to 61. The two scales use different indenters and loads, so the numbers cannot be compared.

Which is better, G10 or Micarta?

It depends what you want. G10 is tougher, more water resistant and takes bright colour better, so it is the choice for maximum durability. Micarta is made from linen, canvas or paper rather than glass cloth and feels warmer and closer to wood, so it is the choice if you prefer a more natural handle.

Is G10 dishwasher safe?

The handle material itself will survive a dishwasher, but the blade will not. Detergents are corrosive and knives knock against other items, which chips edges. Any quality kitchen knife should be hand washed and dried immediately, whatever the handle is made of.

Do Santoku Knives use G10 handles?

No. Our ranges use stabilised burl wood set in resin, abalone inlay, rosewood and finished hardwood. Stabilised wood-and-resin gives most of G10's resistance to moisture and movement while keeping the warmth and grain of a natural handle.

Related guides