Micarta Cover Coloring (Straighten Me Out) FINAL PICTURES

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Modoc ED said:
John. You oughta know me by now. There are some knives I have that I just like to mess with. I use em hard and for dirty tasks. Just the way it goes. They usually clean up real nice and except for some minor marks, pitting, etc. they come out fine and are ready for more. I don't happen to like this knife so I thought I'd set it outside for awhile to see what happens. I find it interesting that the micarta covers are fading so fast. I think it has steel liners so we'll see how they weather also.

Just experimenting.
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More power to you, Ed. I have purchased knives before with the explicit purpose of experimenting with patina, or received a knife I didn't like the color of and then experimented with bone dyeing. So, kindred spirits in that sense.

I kind of like how the Micarta is aging, and if it were a stainless knife I wouldn't cringe. But it's gonna rust up pretty bad out there if it rains much.

You plan to flip it over and let the other side get some seasoning to it as well, or going for the "before/after" look in the same knife?
 
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jc57 said:
More power to you, Ed. I have purchased knives before with the explicit purpose of experimenting with patina, or received a knife I didn't like the color of and then experimented with bone dyeing. So, kindred spirits in that sense.

I kind of like how the Micarta is aging, and if it were a stainless knife I wouldn't cringe. But it's gonna rust up pretty bad out there if it rains much.

You plan to flip it over and let the other side get some seasoning to it as well, or going for the "before/after" look in the same knife?
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No John. I didn't even pick it up to look at the pile side yesterday. I'm curious to see how the micarta will do on the galvanized tin roof. Will that galvanization add to the corrosion of the micarta and then there is all the stuff that will run down the slightly inclined roof and under and around the knife to consider. We'll just have to wait to see.

EDITED TO ADD: It's snowing this morning - just started (he, he) and were suppose to get between 6" to 8" of the stuff.đź‘Ť Ain't life grand?

EDITED TO ADD: Today. Now they're saying we may get a foot of snow.

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knarfeng said:
The most common resins to use for Micarta are epoxy or phenolic. It is possible to dye plastics based on epoxy and phenolic. But it is more likely that colorants were added to the resin prior to processing it into Micarta.

Re: fading.
Neither epoxy nor phenolic has good resistance to UV. UV attacks the surface and causes the resin to break down.

Whether they added color before or after making the micarta, most red colorants are not very resistant to UV either.
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This is it precisely.

I'd add that in my experience the fabrics are typically lightly died to color before being processed, not saturated so that when the fibers are broken either in shaping the scales or from wear they tend to show their base color (usually a brown, or grey). Its unusual to see dye added to the phenolic or epoxy on handle scale slabs, typically that makes it more opaque and harder to see the cloth underneath. UV tolerant epoxies are pricey and can be a pain to use, wouldn't make sense to bother on a knife.

Its also possible that when the scales were buffed they were oiled first giving them a consistent color, and thats just dried out. The same thing will happen if you give micarta scales a good scrubbing with alcohol or soft scrub. A bit of oil will probably darken them back up a bit.
 
Modoc ED said:
No John. I didn't even pick it up to look at the pile side yesterday. I'm curious to see how the micarta will do on the galvanized tin roof. Will that galvanization add to the corrosion of the micarta and then there is all the stuff that will run down the slightly inclined roof and under and around the knife to consider. We'll just have to wait to see.

EDITED TO ADD: It's snowing this morning - just started (he, he) and were suppose to get between 6" to 8" of the stuff.:thumbup: Ain't life grand?

EDITED TO ADD: Today. Now they're saying we may get a foot of snow.

lRYcfWf.jpg
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So much for UV Fading!
 
Yep, and then when the snow melts it'll be covered with a heavy frost every morning and then I've got to take into account bird droppings but it's interesting so we'll see what happens.:rolleyes:
 
Let me see if I have this straight. ED has a perfectly good knife sitting on the roof of his shed so he can see the effects of exposure to weather on the various knife components. He is also chortling gleefully and snapping pics of a snowstorm expected to dump 12 inches of snow on him and his. ED, I admire your adventurous spirit, but I think you and I have different worldviews! :D Did you have a career as a mad scientist???

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Let me see if I have this straight. ED has a perfectly good knife sitting on the roof of his shed so he can see the effects of exposure to weather on the various knife components. He is also chortling gleefully and snapping pics of a snowstorm expected to dump 12 inches of snow on him and his. ED, I admire your adventurous spirit, but I think you and I have different worldviews! :D Did you have a career as a mad scientist???

- GT
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The only downside to this whole thing is that I have to shovel the walkways and plow the driveways.:) It's still all good though.:thumbup:
 
Another thing to consider in this case is how lightfast the color of the dye is. Red coloring of all types will fade quicker than any other color. I'd bet good money the other side of that knife will be much darker. I'd also wager that a knife with different color micarta would have different results.
 
The down side (pile side) against the tin roof may well be darker when removed but I'll bet it won't be near as dark as it started out. That's also the side that will get the runoff so ............................?
 
Sure is an expensive way to test a chunk of plastic.:eek:
 
knarfeng said:
Sure is an expensive way to test a chunk of plastic.:eek:
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You have a point Frank but the point is to see how that piece of plastic attached to a knife reacts. Will the shape of the cover distort, is there a possibility that the layers of linen in the micarta delaminate, etc. and besides it's fun for me and the dang thing is paid for and not a money issue to me. Actually, I'm a little nutty:rolleyes: so anything is possible.

rma100 said:
I wonder how Stag would hold up Ed? :D
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Send me one of your Stag covered knives Bob and we'ii find out.:D You didn't really think I'd fall for that did you Bob?:)
 
when/if you decide to get rid of your shed knife let me know Ed-been lookin' for one along time to go with a roof knife i found. jk. interesting experiment-you should consider doing spring summer and fall-you'd have a set;) thanks, Neal
 
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Strangely enough, it is snowing today and will add to what is already there. I think we might get 4" or a bit more. I'm thinking of taking the knife off the roof Christmas Day - maybe a day or so later.
 
I don't know how I managed to miss the beginning of this experiment but I sure won't miss the finale!

It's already a given that the handles will be faded and the metal will be rusty but I'm interested to see if there's much separation between the components of the knife or if the scales will be warped in some weird manner.
 
Modoc ED said:
Strangely enough, it is snowing today and will add to what is already there. I think we might get 4" or a bit more. I'm thinking of taking the knife off the roof Christmas Day - maybe a day or so later.
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If there are kids in the house you may want to warn them before you walk and dig around on the roof on Christmas...
 
macchina said:
if there are kids in the house you may want to warn them before you walk and dig around on the roof on christmas...
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lol!! :D:D

- GT

(Infected by the dreaded "lower case gremlin" - fixed some but not all instances)
 
Us "Mad Scientists" prefer "Abstract Scientists" these days, but hey, to each his own.

I like this experiment, thread, and look forward to the conclusion. I had no idea about some of the facts involving Micarta.
 
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