Corian

U

unky_gumbi

Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
7,951
Some times I amaze myself:confused: I have been living in the same house for 7 years now and the year I moved in here I closed in one of the heaters and put a Corian top on it that I picked up at the refit store. The piece was bigger then I needed so some was cut off and set aside. Well I just realized that I could use it as handle material so here I am with a 7"X21"X1/2" piece after the edges are cut off. How hard is this stuff to shape into handles and what tools are best for the shaping? I remember that id cut easy with a circular saw with no melting. I would guess that you would call the color coral with some gray flecks in it, should make some nice scales for some ladies:thumbup:
 
What I've used shapes VERY easily, too fast actually. And if you're not careful it'll crack and break, since there isn't anything in it holding it together like g10 or micarta. I've done three knives with corian, one successfully. The other two both ended up breaking one side of the handle in half while shaping
 
Corian makes good scales but no peening. Also bolsters both at the front and back are necessary to protect the ends in my opinion. Otherwise, it is really hygienic and good looking for kitchen knives...
Emre
 
I just made a knife with corian scales today. It shapes really easily with regular belts. Be careful trying to flatten it though. I put my scales on an old belt and it got to hot and it warped a bit. I just put it in a clamp in the sun and it was alright. It seems tough enough I didn't have a problem yet. I cut my scales really thin they are about 1/8-3//16" thick I had a piece kinda like yours and I cut it in half the hard way across the thickness of it with a jigsaw- the jigsaw was a disaster it cut straight on the top, but not the bottom. I imagine a band saw would be amazing for this.
 
Not to put a damper on your enthusiasm for Corian, but in moves. My son use to install it for years. Gave me tons of scraps. I made several knives and used it for handles.A lot of kitchen type knives. I had a few crack and I could not keep the scales flush to the tang of the knife. Really began to P..... me off. Told my son of the problems I was having and thats when he told me that Corian moves. If you are going to use it for scale material do not use epoxy but rather a silicon adhesive that does not get total hard. If you use decorative pins, over size the hole just a little. Hope this saves you guys some headaches.

Michael
 
I've never used corian, but it sounds to me that you need to use some sort of screws instead of pins. Oversize the holes in the tang to allow for movement.
 
no epoxy huh well oops. although I didnt pin it at all maybe that will help.
I guess the "moving" buissnes would explain why I was having trouble with warping while grinding. the deal is I have allot, my parents put it in the kitchen so there is extra plus lots of sample size peices of loads of different colors/paterns.
 
Last edited:
OK then looks like its not the best material for handles. I think I will still cut it up to scale sized pieces and stash it away some where. At least I can come back to it at any time and the smaller pieces will be a little easier to store.

Thanks for all the input everyone.
 
Corian is acrylic plastic and is very similar to a material used to stabilize wood. I believe it is crosslinked acrylic, so it should have better properties than regular acrylic, though glue won't stick quite as well.

It polishes well, but scratches easy. It isn't particularly robust compared to micarta, and it has a much higher coefficient of thermal expansion. Micarta has a similar coefficient as aluminum (in the neighborhood of 12 millionths per inch per deg F, roughly double steel) acrylic is probably 5 times that, depending on filler.

Its movement is temperature related, not moisture, though it does absorb moisture, but not enough to worry about.
 
I have a Keith Willis skinner with Corian scales and I like it. Handle shape is extra important, because it gets kinda slick when wet.

I too have thought about kitchen knives with Corian handles. The info about proper adhesive, watching out for heat and allowing a little "wiggle room" when pinning etc is much appreciated. Definitely not a candidate for the dishwasher, I'm sure (not that any decent knife should be put in a dishwasher).
 
i put some corian on a knife once and liked it until it came time to clean it off. i let a friend use the knife to cut up some chicken. when she was done i put some soap on one hand and started to wash the blade first which i did with no problem. when i switched to wash the handle the corian was like it had grease all over it. the next day i removed the corian and put neoprene slabs on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top