Are micarta scales kind of gross?

[Taz]

These arent gross!

 

[Danke42]

Oh they're hideous!

 

[navman]

No.

 

[David Mary]

Materials that come into contact with other materials and I then have to touch with my bare hand? Are you insane?

 

[HwangJino]

For outdoor knives, id consider micarta. Never for my pocket knives though. I've never needed that much grip for opening boxes.

 

[norcalAF]

For outdoor knives, id consider micarta. Never for my pocket knives though. I've never needed that much grip for opening boxes.

Perhaps you're not opening the right boxes

 

[HwangJino]

Perhaps you're not opening the right boxes

Are you opening amazon boxes for king kongs new food dish?

 

[norcalAF]

Are you opening amazon boxes for king kongs new food dish?

King Kong is the name of the cat, so yes just kidding. Personally I enjoy Micarta grips on most knives, no reason to not have a grippy handle!

 

[HwangJino]

King Kong is the name of the cat, so yes just kidding. Personally I enjoy Micarta grips on most knives, no reason to not have a grippy handle!

Haha nice!

My busse has paper scales? Forget the actual material, but it is plenty grippy and doesn't not absorb any fluids/oils.

As long as my pocket knife scales aren't shiny/slippery, I'm good. Never said to myself 'if only if this pocket knife had better grip'. But most of my scales are CF, Ti, or Ti/wood (crk).

 

[nettle]

I use to like G10 because people said it was tougher and more hygienic.
Thing is, to me G10 feels plasticy and lifeless. Micarta barely absorbs much and when it does, it can be cleaned up.
Someone proved how little it absorbs on here I believe, by soaking it in gasoline and trying to light it.

Micarta is grippier, more comfy, more lifelike and more interesting imo.

Micarta>G10

I recently bought a couple of my first G10 knives. G10 isn't bad but Micarta is much better.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I had no idea my love for G10 was all that is keeping me alive. Thanks, Spyderco.

 

[CVamberbonehead]

Well you could always..ya know…clean it? lol

Seriously though, to actually help you out and not just roast you because it’s funny, not all micarta is created equal OP. I like more polished micarta, which is fairly well sealed. But I have 1 knife with a really rough and kind of porous burlap micarta that you can see tiny voids in. I have gutted deer with that knife though and it was fine. It cleaned up just like any other, no trouble.

The rougher micarta like on that spyderco is rougher because it has exposed fibers from rough sanding. So it will absorb a little. It isn’t a big deal though, unless you are holding it by the blade and cutting your food with the handle? Then you have bigger concerns anyway. lol Rough micarta can be a little gross, it does absorb and catch grime but it cleans up easily just like other materials do. People say g10 is better because it doesn’t absorb but most g10 is rough as sandpaper so it gets filthy pretty easily just like how sandpaper holds onto material. Don’t worry about it, just clean the knife when it gets dirty instead of being gross like some of these bacteria crust “patina” folks (kidding, kind of) lol

It will patina and changeover time, which is kind of cool.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Ahhh yes...micarta....the durable material that tells a story as it goes through a lifetime of use.

I just put a set of natural micarta Flytanium scales on my Spyderco PM2. Within the first few minutes, I nicked my finger through some already forgotten bonehead manuever.

And....there it is. a dark spot on the micarta. An invitation for all who see it to ask the question....and then tell the tale...of how I was a dummy. I cleaned the area with alcohol, but that stain ain't going away until I sand it out and uglify my new scales.

 

[Calier]

I decided YOLO and crossed over to the dark & icky side! I’m actually really liking the micarta!

 

[ShaiHulud]

So after cutting some produce, I washed the micarta knife under water with some soap, it is now discolored, kind of sticky, both hard and soft and a bit weird looking. I nearly fainted.
Sans hankerchief

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Modern rag Micarta seems pretty great, too....

Model: Food Truck

 

[AntDog]

Ahhh yes...micarta....the durable material that tells a story as it goes through a lifetime of use.

I just put a set of natural micarta Flytanium scales on my Spyderco PM2. Within the first few minutes, I nicked my finger through some already forgotten bonehead manuever.

And....there it is. a dark spot on the micarta. An invitation for all who see it to ask the question....and then tell the tale...of how I was a dummy. I cleaned the area with alcohol, but that stain ain't going away until I sand it out and uglify my new scales.

Or just wash it with dish soap. That works too bro.

I’ve had plenty of micarta handles completely saturated in blood (not mine), and Dawn takes it right out. Hand oils too. A good scrub with Dawn and a blue 3M pad and it’s literally back to square one.

You can use a green pad too, but only if you wanna sand it (they’re abrasive, but the blue is non-scratch).

 

[Mick Boardman]

I bought the military 2 crucarta for the scales, my 15v had g10 and i quickly fixed that. Often it’s a deal breaker if the knife has g10/richlite scales. I’m paying the money, I want Micarta or I usually keep shopping. I like burlap the best for what is readily available, too bad ECAM was not on some menus out there.

 

[RIBob]

If the micarta grips/handles have a sort of "open", unfinished outer surface, perhaps try this:

Use some 91% alcohol and a used toothbrush to clean them first, and to dislodge any little specks of Micarta.

Then, spray the cleaned surface with some Clear SPAR polyurethane spray. The "SPAR" version is much more resistant to water/sun than standard version. You can search for desired SPAR finish: Matte/Satin/Gloss.

This may make them a little less "grippy", depending on the aggressiveness of the checkering, but it will seal the sprayed external surfaces.

For knives often exposed to water and/or hand sweat, consider removing the grips altogether and applying (2X) good quality automotive wax to the metal tang of the knife. This will retard corrosion of the tang. Consider using appropriate stainless-steel fasteners, if available/appropriate; standard metal grip fasteners have been known to rust together over a long time.

 

[Taz]

Tung oil or another drying oil tends to work well with Micarta handles that have the bead blasted/rough looking texture to them. The oil will harden and usually lasts pretty well, but you want to wash and clean them first like RIBob said!

The oil will also darken up the scales so they don't look as light/dusty looking.