Homemade G10?

G

GaryPogueCustomKnife

Joined
Oct 8, 2013
Messages
188
Has anyone on here ever made a block of G10? I'm not talking about micarta, I've already made some micarta. Just wondering if its possible to make it homemade :confused:
 
I doubt it.

I doubt it would be cost effective anyway. The materials and equipment would be prohibitively expensive, not to mention that they sell so many combinations of colors and dimensions now, I don't see the need.

Let us know if you heat/squeeze up a batch.
 
The only reason I see to DIY your own G10 is to make something that nobody else has.
 
Kind of hijacking this thread but I noticed some ceramic fiber at my work and wondered if I could make some kind of laminate out of that.
 
Why bother? High quality micarta, G10 and carbon fiber laminates are affordable and easy to find. There's no sense re-inventing the wheel just to have something homemade, and almost surely of lower quality.
 
And if you can't find it, there are a few vendors who make their own High Quality CF and G10. And by high quality I mean custom grade.
 
Making G10 sucks...

Here is a 1/4" thick 2"wide x 12" GITD fiberglass slab I made..

original.jpg



Did this one too starting from Elmer's Fiberglass

o2mo.jpg
 
Since you have made micarta the process is the same except for adding the glow in the dark stuff... if you have a vacuum bag that is the way to go!
 
I doubt any home process could make Micarta, and I pretty sure that G-10 would be nearly as difficult if not more.

These are phenolic resin based products. Things made with epoxy and poly resins may look a bit similar, but are in no way the same thing. They aren't made by mixing up a bowl of resin and pouring it over a stack of cloth.

To be honest, nearly all the home made MyCarta and similar handles I have seen looked pretty poor.
 
bladsmth said:
To be honest, nearly all the home made MyCarta and similar handles I have seen looked pretty poor.
Click to expand...

Same here. I think the problem is that without the right resins and pressure, it just doesn't set up/cure right and has lots of gaps and weak spots. I bought a couple pieces a few years ago and no matter how much I sanded on it, it was fuzzy and would suck up water like a sponge. More recently, another maker sent me some samples to try, and they were so warped and awful-looking that I refused to even mess with them. Why waste 15 minutes and half the material just to get it flat and straight?

I realize some folks have had success with fun stuff like blue-jean and rag "mycarta", but there are so many really nice patterns and colors of professional-grade micarta and G10 available, and they're so inexpensive and easy to work with that it just doesn't make sense to me to spend the time and money trying to make my own. I'd rather grind another blade or two :)
 
I seem to make decent pieces of micarta out of denim and construction paper, i did a test on a knife with my micarta on it and it held up really well, ive done tests that include dropping it off of my 2 story balcony and the only thing damaged was the polyuathane coating on the handle
 
bladsmth said:
I doubt any home process could make Micarta, and I pretty sure that G-10 would be nearly as difficult if not more.

To be honest, nearly all the home made MyCarta and similar handles I have seen looked pretty poor.
Click to expand...

Oh I dont know, We've made some pretty interesting things for the marine and aviation industry, I started out proto typing in my garage. I would agree with you as to the why aspect, its not really cost effective for the simple stuff I use for scales and it can be messy and frustrating.... but what in knife making isn't? I guess I should offer up, I wouldn't bother with it , its to cheep for the little I use on knives.
 
I agree we what the others say.. Do you put a value on your time ? It may sound like a challenge to be able to do something custom or whatever but the time and the mess and an inferior product just seals the deal for me. Plus as James said it doesn't even finish that well. Thumbs down here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top