Fundermax (phenolic resin) handle scales

K

Kaizenator

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Jan 20, 2015
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At my workplace we've been recently using Fundermax to make ventilated facades, I picked up a broken off piece and seemed familiar, making a little research I found out the Fundermax board is a high pressure laminate of phenolic resin with cellulose aggregate with a melamine cover, which sounds an awful lot like paper micarta.

Am I mistaken? Has anyone by chance used this laminate to make handle scales? I procured about 6 pieces of 3x6x1/4 which I'm planning on using to make a test handle for my stripped down Schrade SCHF37 whose TPE textured scales and aggresive jimping dig badly in my 2xl sized hand.

I'll post pictures later today
 
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That's the material, I plan on sanding/peeling off the melamine and then epoxying together two slats on each side, for shaping I'll file off the bulk and the material and then use a sander and dremel to finish shaping it. Overall width should be around 1 1/4 inch including the tang. It's gonna look poop brown but I don't mind as long as it feels comfortable
 
















Well this is the finished product, I promise I'm not a handicapped caveman I just didn't use the right tools.

What I learned:
1. The material is extremely weatherproof but somewhat brittle
2. It's very easy to tool with drill and saw, it burns if you try to cut it with any speed tool like a dremel.
3. A jigsaw would have been a better cutting tool, but I was to lazy to be bothered by the fact that I didn't have the right tool for the job
4. The fumes are noxious, I tried working in my shop but I was getting hazy even with a breather and fans
5. Sanding/grinding has to be done at very low speeds, it took well a 60 grit pad but a flap sander disk probably would have worked better
6. Grinding is a pain, better cut as much as the excess material with the hacksaw and leave grinding as just a finishing process, not a shaping one
7. Using a brass wire brush creates a pretty sheen without sratching the face (not shown in the pics)
8. Material is warm to the touch and slick once you remove the awful melamine cover
9. With the 60 grit I managed to leave enough texture to overcome the smoothness without chewing your hand
10. Next time I won't complain for having to spend 20 bucks for pre-made micarta scales
 
From a knife maker website

"Micarta(tm) is a Trademark of Norplex-Micarta. The term Micarta is often incorrectly used as a common reference to what should be referred to as phenolic laminate. Micarta is a specific product from Norplex-Micarta."

So it sounds close.
 
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