Is canvas micarta waterproof?

[blade1981]

i coated the canvas micarta scales of my bk-11 with polyurethane to enhance the look,but in my experience with micarta it is pretty much unaffected by anything ive thrown at it.ive had blood,mud,water,gasoline,sweat,motor oil,and various other liquids on the handle of my rc3,and all it did was get dirty.dish soap cleaned it right up.

 

[nativecajun57]

Your post was quite interesting. Would have been more enjoyable to read if you would not have started it like you were Jacks ASS. No one talked about sealent before my post. They only exclaimed that it soaked to the first layer and then dried with no problem.

If you kept your nose a little lower, you would see what they actually wrote. Nothing about sealent.

You started your post like we were betting our house on wheather this stufff needs sealent or not.

Quote: "Micarta doesn;t really need a wax or sealant. Other posters to this thread have already said, and I agree" Un-Quote

Then you proceeded to show off to every one. No one asked about your knives.

Micarta doesn;t really need a wax or sealant. Other posters to this thread have already said, and I agree. I recently took a detour from wood and began scaling knives with Micarta. Here's why it needs no sealer:

Micarta is layer upon layer of paper, linen, canvas, burlap, etc,. Each layer is soaked in an epoxy or other fiberglass resin (epoxy, for all intents and purposes) before being aligned and pressed to dry. As someone said earlier, if you sand Micarta and leave the first layer (or layers if sanded at an angle, as in knife scales) exposed, it still has the epoxy resin imbedded in it. If you feel the linen, for example, of that exposed layer, you're only feeling the very surface. Just thousandths of an inch down, you'll hit epoxy.

If a guy wants smooth, unexposed Micarta, he can sand the scales to shape with finer and finer grits of sandpaper (I stop at 280). Then, using a charged buffing wheel, buff the scales. When finished, they'll look and feel varnished or wax-coated, though they're not.

The reason I say don;t put it in the dishwasher is because it can free the epoxy bond between Micarta and knife blade. I doubt seriously if it would affect the epoxy embedded in the Micarta, though obviously I haven;t the experience of testing this. Maybe if you put some Micarta in boiling water, over a period of time it might break down. A theory based on my limited knowledge of Micarta and logic is all that is.

Here is a Micarta-scaled knife that has been sanded to 80 grit.... just getting started on it. But...if you look at the end of the scales, up front where scales meets blade, you can see where I've sanded and polished the Micarta before glue-up. I do that because it's the area of the scale that really can't be reached after glue-up, so it must be done before. The actual knife is completed now, but I don;t have pictures yet. The point is, only sanding and buffing is required to produce a smooth, shiny surface.

Here is a picture as the Micarta arrives from the dealer. It's surface has been sanded and buffed. I don;t believe there is any type of finish on it other than maybe leftover buffing compound embedded in the pores...maybe.

I have shellaced and waxed Micarta before. I made an Enzo knife (kit) with green canvas Micarta. I didn;t know much about working with Micarta at the time, so I figured I'd better "seal" it. So shellac and wax I did. Now I realize that was completely unnecessary.

 

[HardTripper]

Easy cajun were all on the same team

 

[SpookyDriver]

I agree. I thought Stretch's reply was polite and informative. Not sure what Cajun upset about since I certainly don't see any hostility or condescension in Stretch's post.

 

[CWL]

I think he was just startled that other people actually know what they're talking about.

 

[RDA]

Your post was quite interesting. Would have been more enjoyable to read if you would not have started it like you were Jacks ASS.

Not sure what all the animosity is about but I for one appreciated StretchNM's post and didn't take exception to anything he said.

Regards,

Rich

 

[Bill1170]

The smooth glassy surface on a new slab of canvas micarta is not the result of any sort of buffing or polishing. It is a result of the manufacturing process where the layers of cloth are saturated with resin and pressed between polished steel platens to cure under heat. The platens impart their smoothness to the outer faces of the slab.

 

[sodak]

I can attest that Stretch is one of the good guys, his post was informative, and we all love looking at pictures, so I really don't see what the problem here is. I think you owe Stretch an apology, big time.

 

[statmonster]

In my experience canvas micarta will absorb moisture in the outer layer. It will stain from the impurities in water or the chemicals in sweat. It will not get slick from the moisture, in fact, your grip on the handle may improve with a little moisture in the canvas micarta.

That's been my experience,but as always YMMV.

 

[hardheart]

No one talked about sealent before my post. They only exclaimed that it soaked to the first layer and then dried with no problem.

If you kept your nose a little lower, you would see what they actually wrote. Nothing about sealent.

You started your post like we were betting our house on wheather this stufff needs sealent or not.

Maybe it's because you quoted him when you asked about sealant, so he was responding to your post.

 

[StretchNM]

..........
Quote: "Micarta doesn;t really need a wax or sealant. Other posters to this thread have already said, and I agree" Un-Quote........

Actually, the correct term is "end quote". For example, quote "[insert a quotation here]" end quote. I know, I know. Everybody says "un quote", I do it too sometimes, but it really is incorrect. To "un quote" something would mean to go back to the beginning (where the "quote" is), and remove it.....undo it, maybe.

Now some might say "close quote" can be used, and I can;t swear that's not correct, but I believe that pertains to parenthesis.

All kidding aside, NativeCajun, I really meant no offense and the post wasn't directed at you, per se, but rather to the OP, I suppose, or anyone really who suffers my blathering. I really don;t know a whole lot about Micarta, I was just imparting what limited experience I have with it.

(D))