Finishing Micarta scales

Dannyc

Dannyc

Joined
Feb 20, 1999
Messages
1,284
I just finished shaping a couple of micarta slabs for my kit knife's handles. I would like to ask the pros for suggestions with regards to finishing micarta, like polishing it, etc... What do I need?

I made the mistake of grinding down the micarta to shape, without wearing a mask of some sort. I can still smell the micarta (smells like barbecue), hours after I was done shaping it. I believe I have inhaled a lot of its pink dust, and am having a bit of trouble breathing as I type.
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Dan
 
You said it Blademan!!!
Folks, do not ever grind, sand, or saw micarta or dymondwood without a respirator. Personally, I don't think a dust mask offers you enough protection. Buy a respirator and wear it!!!!!!!!!!! Take care!! Michael

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Hi guys,

Thanks.. I'm okay now (I think). Thanks for the concern though.

Now, onto the micarta.
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I've finished putting on the handle slabs on the knife. I've sanded it down to shape, so what can I use to bring back the color of the scales? It's kinda dull after all that sanding. Any suggestions?

Thanks...

Dan
 
What color of micarta? What type? Got a buffer? If not, 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper and WD-40. I personally prefer a satin finish over polished with micarta. Especially black linen.
 
I do it the same way George does and get a nice satin finish. If I want a higher degree of sheen I follow up with white rouge and then red.

Fox
 
Thanks for the tip, guys..

The color is something like rosewood (reddish?) and I can see the grain lines along. Since this is my first time to see or handle micarta (they dont have those here in my country) I thought it was wood at first.
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George, we don't have those cut and color compounds here. My dad jokingly told me that I should just use floor wax or something, hahahaha...

He has this soap-like bar, which is actually either carnauba or beeswax (not sure) but he uses it to polish metal, and the thing scrapes like candlewax. But I tried it on the micarta, and it gave the handle a deeper sheen, and hmmm.. I'll just post it once I can take a picture of it. Since I don't have a buffer around, I just manually buffed it until it gave me the look I wanted.
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I just dont know if what I placed on the micarta would damage it or something..

Dan

 
Sounds more like dymondwood. Be careful with buffing compounds. They can leave pits in the material, especially black compound on white micarta. As far as putting something on it, you can't hurt it. But, it won't soak in to the material either.
 
Hey Dan, I was just thinking, maybe you should check out the Australasian Knife Club. Since you are in the Philippines, they are kind of in your neighborhood. I don't have a URL for them, but if you run a search you should be able to find them. There are a lot of good materials avaiable from them and the prices are fair. I bought a great knivemakers vise from them for $45US and that included the shipping from AUS to Illinois. It took about 2 weeks to get here, not bad for the other side of the world. and the people were great to deal with. They are a good source for all kinds of handle materials too, including lacewood and beefwood.

Jake


[This message has been edited by Jake Evans (edited 02-26-2000).]
 
I am currently finishing my first knife (razor edge Boot knife from Jantz) with black micarta handles. I finished them to 220, then went to 600 (I dont have anything in between). The scales look greyish, but they look really nice when they are wet. I jsut got a Dremel with the 72 accessories. Can I use one of these things to polish the scale to a nice shiny black instead of a dull, scratchy grey? Also, how do you finish dymondwood handle slabs? the same way, file and sand then polish or do i need a buffing wheel? thanks guys and good luck with your Micarta, DannyC, and you aren't the only guy who doesn't use a respirator with micarta. I just used hand tools, so I didnt bother with one, but I smelled like Micarta the next day....
 
Hi Jake!

I'll try to check that one out, thanks for the heads up.
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I wish this country has some sort of knife club. But as far as I know, there aren't any.. YET.
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I have relatives in Australia and New Zealand. Since they come home frequently, I might just ask them to bring the stuffs home if ever.

Taz,

That was also my problem with the micarta at first. When I was done with all the sanding, I just stared at it, and tried to think about what to use to polish it. Then my dad brought me some sort of wax (I think it's beeswax or carnauba wax) in which I applied a couple of layers, heating each later with my mini-torch (from a far angle) to make it melt a bit, then I started rubbing away using cotton cloth. The finish looks good.
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I tried automotive wax, it doesn't work.
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Since you have a dremel tool kit (been wanting to buy one of those, hehe) you can use that to buff the handles after applying the wax coating. Just don't stay too long on one area, or it'll burn.

I smelled like micarta, and can smell micarta even after I was done. Definitely barbecue smell, hahahaha..
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Don't make the mistake of not using anything to cover your nose while working on it. I just wrapped a t-shirt on my face (looked like a ragged ninja) and put on my goggles afterwards, coz I noticed I had a hard time breathing when I didn't. Take care.

Dan
Dan
 
definetly buy a good, comfortable respirator, you can't put a price on your lungs. anyway, micarta doesn't need to be finished with a wax, or other liquid finish. you can polish it with 0000 grade steel wool, and it will have a flawless satin fnish.
 
Satin finish is okay. I have a couple of those .0000 superfine steel wool (works great with watermarks on the car's windshield too!) which I tried on the scales. And though it looks nice, I figured it would look nicer with a laminated look.
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That was why I used wax. But for general use, I believe even sandpaper would do the trick.
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Dan
 
5,000 grit liquid finish, then 10,000 grt liquid finish. for a mirror finish.

[This message has been edited by magnum .44 (edited 02-27-2000).]
 
Err... what's a "liquid finish" ?
I'm kinda stumped here..
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Oh yeah, question..
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Is it possible to attain a mirror-finish on the blade, without using any power tools or buffers?

Dan
 
Sure, you can hand sand a mirror finish if you want to... I have wet/dry paper up to 2,000 grit that will put a very nice mirror finish on a blade with a lot of work!

Ryan

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Romans 6:23


 
I found a way to finish Micarta and dymondwood. Use sandpaper to about 60 grit, then take an old piece of leather and butt the handles with that. It takes a little time, but the finish is rerally smooth. I did a micarta and dymondwood handle this way ans they came out really nice.
 
Ryan,

Hmmm.. never thought of that.
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I think I'll experiment with that.
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Taz,

Cool! Leather?? I'll try that on my next kit knife.
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I don't think I can do that anymore with the one I have here, coz they are already impregnated with wax (though it doesn't feel waxy).

Thanks for the tip, guys! You're great!

Dan
 
Ummm...i mean 600 grit, not 60...I went 100, 220, 600 then the leather. It didn't get all of the scratches out, but it gave it a nice shine after the 600 grit stuff.
 
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