Any tips for moding Bravo 1's slippery handle ??

P

P3NTTI

Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
48
Hey there fellow knife freaks!

Just got my first Bark River knife. Thanks for the people who recommended the Bravo 1 for me! It seems an awesome blade and I think it'll serve me well.
There's just one mod I'd like to do straight away. And that is to make the micarta scales less slippery. So if anyone knows any good and simple methods (Something that has been done before, and really works.), please let me know.
I'd rather get some good advice than just start experimenting with my Dremel... ;)

Cheers!
 
Step 1:

Wash the handle thoroughly in something like Dawn dish washing soap. Rinse, dry. You should find it less slippery and more grippy. Bark River polishes their knives on a waxed buffing wheel. Washing the handle with detergent removes the wax and makes the handle less slippery. This works best on the fabric based micartas.

Step 2:

If that's not grippy enough, gets some very fine sandpaper (check an auto parts store for 600-2000 finishing sandpaper). "Polish" the handle with the sandpaper, starting with the finest (opposite of how you'd sharpen the blade). Rinse the dust off, dry and test for grippiness. Stop when you get to a level that you like.

That's it!
 
Before you take a Dremel to it, buff the scales with some 320 grit emory paper, or 220 if you think it's still too slippery (600-2000 are too fine). That should add some "grip" to your scales. If you ever want to take it back to original, use some 600 grit polishing paper on it.
 
Nice!

I washed the wax off with some soapy steel wool. Then I went all the way down to 120 grit sandpaper. I sanded down real carefully not to scratch the polished spine. After that I washed the handle with soapy steel wool again.

Maaan! It feels good now. It grips even better when wet! The color is a bit lighter now, but it looks cool!

Thanks for the tips fellas! Have a nice autumn!
 
Ancient thread update!: Taped the blade, coarse steel wool + dish soap + intermittent hot water rinsing for 10 minutes work well. It went from polished and chocolate brown to matte and gray (both have a touch of green), restoring that characteristic micarta tackiness when wet, which was mostly absent before. See before (top) and after (both dry) photos below. The color is still close to the brown when wet.IMG_9141.jpeg
View attachment 2242777
 
In a post here someone had a great solution for another knife. He had put a kind of flexible material used to prevent tennis rackets from slipping into the handle of the blade.
 
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