Maintenance questions (cleaning sweat from micarta scales and tang)

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FixieFanatic

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I sweat a lot, and I mean a lot. Especially from my hands. I also recently purchased a couple of stainless steel knives with micarta handle scales, neither of which seem to have liners. However, I’ve been a bit hesitant to use them regularly. I know micarta is a porous scale material and will likely retain excessive sweat from my hands. I’m currently doing a dry cloth to wipe any sweat off of the blade and scales during the day and then, using 91% isopropyl to wipe the blade and handle scales clean when I get home. So I have a few questions, and any advice is appreciated. First off, I’ve seen some people say taking off the handle scales is unnecessary however, would this not allow moisture from my hands to then make its way in between the tang and scales? Second, if I should be removing the scales for cleaning how often? I’m not against regularly maintaining my knives, I already do regular maintenance on my high carbon folders, so adding more to my routine isn’t much of an issue. Lastly, is my current cleaning method of wiping dry when out and wiping the whole knife with isopropyl when home enough, or should I take off the handle scales and address the tang regularly?
 
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It would take a very long time for moisture under the handles to rust enough to do structural damage.
Micarta is not particularly porous, BTW. Instead of wiping with alcohol, a wipe with WD 40 would be more beneficial.
If the handles on your knife are removable, it's a good idea to clean under them (again, with WD 40 or oil.)
 
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Daniel said:
WD-40 or mineral oil and not alcohol for Micarta.
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Bill DeShivs said:
It would take a very long time for moisture under the handles to rust enough to do structural damage.
Micarta is not particularly porous, BTW. Instead of wiping with alcohol, a wipe with WD 40 would be more beneficial.
If the handles on your knife are removable, it's a good idea to clan under them (again, with WD 40 or oil.
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Awesome, so in that case taking off the scales and applying mineral oil would be better for corrosion protection? I have mineral oil on hand pretty much all the time, so I’d likely use that. If I ever needed to clean them is soap and water while they’re off with a toothbrush or cloth gonna work? I like the idea of the micarta having a patina, so wouldn’t likely clean it regularly, but I’m just curious.
 
FixieFanatic said:
Awesome, so in that case taking off the scales and applying mineral oil would be better for corrosion protection? I have mineral oil on hand pretty much all the time, so I’d likely use that. If I ever needed to clean them is soap and water while they’re off with a toothbrush or cloth gonna work? I like the idea of the micarta having a patina, so wouldn’t likely clean it regularly, but I’m just curious.
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Taking off the scales is not necessary unless they are loose. Just treat the scales if they get dried out and “hairy”.
 
Daniel said:
Taking off the scales is not necessary unless they are loose. Just treat the scales if they get dried out and “hairy”.
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I get pools of sweat in my hands regularly, largely doing minor tasks and sometime even doing nothing. I have palmer hyperhidrosis and it can get damp quickly, so say If i was to leave the scales on and only treat them with oil when dried out/hairy, would that be sufficient to prevent corrosion to the tang?
 
I believe a lot of new micarta is way more porous than is optimal for a knife handle. This is especially true of the micarta made from more coarse materials like canvas. If it absorbs enough moisture to turn several shades darker after an hour of yard work, that is too porous, to my lights.

But the stuff is beautiful and durable and it feels great, so I seal it with any of a number of DIY solutions, and at least I will sleep a little better. Waxes or oil-wax solutions offer quite a bit of protection. Thinned Varathane or shellac makes a big differrence, especially the off-the-shelf Varathane thinned down to1:5 or so. It gets fuzzy micarta shedding water and sweat like it was G-10! I found a cutting board oil-wax treatment (Thirteen Chefs Natural Wood Wax) that makes water bead up on raw wood or other sketchy surfaces, and it is a quick-and-dirty way to seal up a surface of which you are unsure. CA glue will give an excellent seal, although I don't like the feel of CA, it changes the warm, friendly nature of micarta.

If you put a coat of wax or nuetral shoe polish on the mating surfaces before you bolt on your scales, it should prevent any moisture from wicking in there after you tighten the bolts.
 
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Khromo said:
I believe a lot of new micarta is way more porous than is optimal for a knife handle. This is especially true of the micarta made from more coarse materials like canvas. If it absorbs enough moisture to turn several shades darker after an hour of yard work, that is too porous, to my lights.

But the stuff is beautiful and durable and it feels great, so I seal it with any of a number of DIY solutions, and at least I will sleep a little better. Waxes or oil-wax solutions offer quite a bit of protection. Thinned Varathane or shellac makes a big differrence, especially the off-the-shelf Varathanethinned down to1:5 or so. It gets fuzzy micarta shedding water and sweat like it was G-10! I found a cutting board oil-wax treatment (Thirteen Chefs Natural Wood Wax) that makes water bead up on raw wood or other sketchy surfaces, and it is a quick-and-dirty way to seal up a surface of which you are unsure. CA glue will give an excellent seal, although I don't like the feel of CA, it changes the warm, friendly nature of micarta.

If you put a coat of wax or nuetral shoe polish on the mating surfaces before you bolt on your scales, it should prevent any moisture from wicking in there after you tighten the bolts
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I've already used both knives, would it be a good idea to remove the scales and clean with soap and water before applying something to create a seal?
 
FixieFanatic said:
I've already used both knives, would it be a good idea to remove the scales and clean with soap and water before applying something to create a seal?
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It wouldn't hurt. Dish soap might help to dissolve and float away any oily funk that the scales have picked up. I would scrub them with a stiff bristle brush as well. Dry them overnight.

If you have any plans to dye or otherwise change the color, do it before you seal the scales. Be aware that all the sealants I've used have darkened the scales, from a hair of a tint to close to opaque, depending on the color and texture of the scales and the sealant you using. A cheap and easy way to light up some plain natural micarta.

I like to warm up the scales and the sealer in the sun before lathering them up, as I think they get a little more penetration when both are warm. Let the sealant soak in both sides of each scale until it starts to feel sticky and then buff it off except for that last shiny thin film on the surface that you couldn't rub off anyway. Let it dry overnight. Once will really help repel the moisture, twice and you should be done. Even I don't give it three coats, but if I lived right on salt water, or got wet for extended periods, or carried non-stainless blades I might go for three cooats, on both sides of each scale, and then a coat of wax on the hidden part of the tang and the underside of scales before re-assembly!
 
Khromo said:
It wouldn't hurt. Dish soap might help to dissolve and float away any oily funk that the scales have picked up. I would scrub them with a stiff bristle brush as well. Dry them overnight.

If you have any plans to dye or otherwise change the color, do it before you seal the scales. Be aware that all the sealants I've used have darkened the scales, from a hair of a tint to close to opaque, depending on the color and texture of the scales and the sealant you using. A cheap and easy way to light up some plain natural micarta.

I like to warm up the scales and the sealer in the sun before lathering them up, as I think they get a little more penetration when both are warm. Let the sealant soak in both sides of each scale until it starts to feel sticky and then buff it off except for that last shiny thin film on the surface that you couldn't rub off anyway. Let it dry overnight. Once will really help repel the moisture, twice and you should be done. Even I don't give it three coats, but if I lived right on salt water, or got wet for extended periods, or carried non-stainless blades I might go for three cooats, on both sides of each scale, and then a coat of wax on the hidden part of the tang and the underside of scales before re-assembly!
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I'm probably gonna give this a try, couple of questions though. Does the added layer of sealant mess with how the knife will sit in its kydex sheath and, should I also apply sealant to the tang given my sweat issues or just to the scales after a wash?
 
If you wipe off all the excess after it starts to get gummy, the film you leave behind is very, very thin and it shouldn't affect the fit in the sheath.

None of the sealants I've used will adhere to metal for longer than a day or two, under use. I would use wax on the part of the tang under the scales, and maybe try a coat of wax on the exposed part as well. It won't last long, but it might help on long hot days. I wouldn't keep putting any sealants on more than a couple of times.
 
In my experience, Micarta is not porous at all. Maybe academically speaking compared to - say - G10, but it doesn't matter in practice: do an experiment: oil the scales, (use Ballistol or something similar), and wash with dish soap the next day. In my experience, they will be back to like they were before.

Moisture does get sucked between scales and tang (capillary effect). What I usually do is put frog lube in between. It dries and holds forever.
 
Instead of going through all of that, consider switching to a Spyderco Salt knife. They are designed to sit in salt water without corrosion. Your sweat has got nothing on the ocean.
 
ferider said:
In my experience, Micarta is not porous at all. Maybe academically speaking compared to - say - G10, but it doesn't matter in practice: do an experiment: oil the scales, (use Ballistol or something similar), and wash with dish soap the next day. In my experience, they will be back to like they were before...
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I have to disagree. All that experiment shows is that the Ballistol didn't leave any color behind. Try that with gunstock oil or amber shellac and you can watch the material soak into the micarta before it stains the micarta down a few shades. If you try that experiment with dye (alcohol or water based) you will see that the canvas and burlap micartas will absorb a lot of material. If you cut or sand the micarta, you can easily see how deep some materials will penetrate some of these modern micarta products.

The paper and linen micarta I used to buy was not porous as far as I could tell, but I haven't bought any in a long time so I don't know how those varieties are doing. The modern types with the fuzzy surface that feels so good will absorb sweat or water or oil to a degree where they get stains that penetrate well beneath the surface.

The Becker in front came out of the box with natural micarta scales, very light tan in color. Brown alcohol-based dye and a couple coats of shellac sealed them up, and I've used them hard for years since. If the material wasn't porous, if the dye didn't penetrate, the color would have worn off years ago!

6W5sEmd.jpg
 
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SharpBits said:
Instead of going through all of that, consider switching to a Spyderco Salt knife. They are designed to sit in salt water without corrosion. Your sweat has got nothing on the ocean.
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The OP's problem might not be the salt in his sweat, but the acid. I don't think the ocean has too much acid in it!
 
Khromo said:
I have to disagree. All that experiment shows is that the Ballistol didn't leave any color behind. Try that with gunstock oil or amber shellac and you can watch the material soak into the micarta before it stains the micarta down a few shades. If you try that experiment with dye (alcohol or water based) you will see that the canvas and burlap micartas will absorb a lot of material. If you cut or sand the micarta, you can easily see how deep some materials will penetrate some of these modern micarta products.

The paper and linen micarta I used to buy was not porous as far as I could tell, but I haven't bought any in a long time so I don't know how those varieties are doing. The modern types with the fuzzy surface that feels so good will absorb sweat or water or oil to a degree where they get stains that penetrate well beneath the surface.

The Becker in front came out of the box with natural micarta scales, very light tan in color. Brown alcohol-based dye and a couple coats of shellac sealed them up, and I've used them hard for years since. If the material wasn't porous, if the dye didn't penetrate, the color would have worn off years ago!

6W5sEmd.jpg
Click to expand...

I guess Micarta is not equal Micarta. Most of my experience with it comes from CPK knives, which - per Nathan - are highly resin saturated, in particular the vintage ones.
 
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