Are micarta scales kind of gross?

Micarta is beautiful. I think there’s a Micarta thread here somewhere.

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😂 this thread made me chuckle. The thing is, all materials get dirty even if they look clean. That’s why it’s recommended to wash your hands often especially before eating. Microbial organisms viruses and bacteria are everywhere and frequent cleaning and sanitation is necessary not only for health reasons but it also helps to preserve the materials including micarta for long term use and enjoyment. Maybe something like copper that has anti microbial characteristics would help but then you have the natural oxidation that turns it green not to mention the weight.

Regular cleaning and maintenance is a part of life with most everything and frequent wipe down while using your knife will help to keep it clean and looking nice and more sanitary. Like others have said some alcohol wipe down is good for micarta and doesn’t harm it any.
 
HAHAHA I love all the responses! That last PM2 pic does gross me out a bit, half of the scale looks like a moist sponge. Yuk! 😂
 
That's why I don't care for bead blasted micarta; tons of areas for moisture and stuff to get into. Using a hardening oil should darken the scales to be closer to their wet color and help seal it.
 
Calier said:
HAHAHA I love all the responses! That last PM2 pic does gross me out a bit, half of the scale looks like a moist sponge. Yuk! 😂
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Unless you're out in the rain with cold hands. Then you're pretty happy.

The nice thing about the PM2 is there are a lot of scale options. If you don't like one there will be a bunch of other choices.
 
Kinda a funny story that most in this thread will appreciate.

For a while there was a guy up here in the mountains that was making some really nice mycarta. We did some trading and he was making me some pretty nice mycarta out of some of my old Wranglers. We called it Wranglercarta. He called me one day and said hey don't use that last batch, I used the wrong resin. So I've got another batch for you. This was the day before Thanksgiving years ago. So my brother and his fam were up for Tday. The girls were bustling about in the kitchen and so my brother and I went out to the ranch and shot up this bad batch of Wranglercarta just for laughs. So we discovered that mycarta is not quite as bullet proof as many feel:

YsvKQKv.jpg


YlHIw4Q.jpg


jhjLV4c.jpg


Interestingly a 3/8"s thick slab would stop the #8s from the 12 gauge and also from a .22. 1/4" slabs wouldn't stop anything. So pretty much shot up that whole batch. So what's funny about this story? The guy calls me the next day and says never mind I got the batches mixed up you do have the good batch. Not any more!

The guy passed away years ago but I still have some unique mycartas that he made and I occasionally use them. Here is a Woolcarta handled Gordo I made recently.

TrzkPKH.jpg


mECfTo1.jpg


A Sonoran Belt Knife also with the Woolcarta:

br03ISh.jpg


SgLC5cI.jpg


And Silkcarta on a Vaquero:

EiBBVIQ.jpg


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Seems pretty sanitary to me.
 
Horsewright said:
Kinda a funny story that most in this thread will appreciate.

For a while there was a guy up here in the mountains that was making some really nice mycarta. We did some trading and he was making me some pretty nice mycarta out of some of my old Wranglers. We called it Wranglercarta. He called me one day and said hey don't use that last batch, I used the wrong resin. So I've got another batch for you. This was the day before Thanksgiving years ago. So my brother and his fam were up for Tday. The girls were bustling about in the kitchen and so my brother and I went out to the ranch and shot up this bad batch of Wranglercarta just for laughs. So we discovered that mycarta is not quite as bullet proof as many feel:

YsvKQKv.jpg


YlHIw4Q.jpg


jhjLV4c.jpg


Interestingly a 3/8"s thick slab would stop the #8s from the 12 gauge and also from a .22. 1/4" slabs wouldn't stop anything. So pretty much shot up that whole batch. So what's funny about this story? The guy calls me the next day and says never mind I got the batches mixed up you do have the good batch. Not any more!

The guy passed away years ago but I still have some unique mycartas that he made and I occasionally use them. Here is a Woolcarta handled Gordo I made recently.

TrzkPKH.jpg


mECfTo1.jpg


A Sonoran Belt Knife also with the Woolcarta:

br03ISh.jpg


SgLC5cI.jpg


And Silkcarta on a Vaquero:

EiBBVIQ.jpg


2Zjy1mJ.jpg


Seems pretty sanitary to me.
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Too good looking. For GERMS to bother......👍
 
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I'm doing the spring break thing in Gatlinburg with some hiking on the agenda, and we stopped in at SMKW on the way in. I need another thick slab of 1095 like I need another hole in my head, but I was inspired to pick up something I hadn't tried before.

I figured this ESEE 5 would handle whatever the little Para 3 can't. I really like Micarta paired with a simple carbon steel. I can't wait to see what this looks like after some adventures.
 
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