Micarta fact V fiction

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Alpha Knife Supply said:
You are not "ticking off" knifemakers. You are showing your lack of knowledge regarding registered trademarks.

Westinghouse registered the name Micarta®. International Paper bought the trademark from Westinghouse. Norplex bought the trademark from International Paper.

Micarta is a registered trademark. Only the owner, Norplex has the right to define the trademark. They have this privilege because they have paid the U.S. government money for ownership of the trademark.

Phenolic laminate made by Westinghouse, International Paper and Norplex can properly be called Micarta because they own or owned the name. No other manufacturer has the right to use the name Micarta.

We have actively been trying to educate knifemakers and collectors about the difference between Micarta and phenolic laminate. Most people appreciate learning the difference.

IMO, there are too many people claiming to have Westinghouse Micarta. It is very difficult to trace material back several decades. People are claiming to sell "Westinghouse Micarta" with little or no provenance. Buyers are eager to have what they want. They do little or no research because ignorance is bliss and the cycle continues. Advertising a knife with "International Paper Micarta" is not as appealing as "Westinghouse Micarta".

Chuck
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Not sure how anything I have stated shows a lack of knowledge, that's not a fair assessment. I know who trademarked micarta as I quoted in my post along with some of your observations that I already stated as well. As for the rest of your reply you are spot on, makers use the term micarta a little too loosely which was the reason for the post in the first place. Thanks for your input.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Where do you get your linen Westinghouse Micarta? Given the quality issues I've had with Norplex I won't use their material anymore and Westinghouse hasn't made micarta is so long I haven't been able to find a reliable source for it in many years. I wonder where you get real (certifiable) Westinghouse material?
The last time I had a piece with a real Westinghouse label on it I saved it for something special. That was years ago. I'd love to get some more.
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That's a beautiful blade right there.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
When someone says their knife has a Micarta handle, I know what they're talking about.
That's all I need to know.
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I get that but I'm never satisfied with simple descriptions. If I am told a handle is micarta I immediately correct them to a lot of sideways looks but I don't care I know the truth.
 
Alpha Knife Supply said:
"ticking off" knifemakers. You are showing your lack of knowledge regarding registered trademarks
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Thats unjust determination and might get you on the wrong side of the Honor Diversity Crowd.
(But probably not, those ’Tards are busy enough bitching on stuff more trivial than trademark generification. )

Perhaps the guy knows ”correctly” but just chooses to communicate in a vernacular fashion. Many otherwise brilliant people do as an expedient. Who is to judge them as ignorant..??
 
On sort of a slant subject here...

The current owner of the "Micarta" trademark is a company named Norplex. They bought the name though I'm not sure they bought the presses and process. They do make some material in the USA (and I'm sure the material that folks like Chuck buys from them is of the highest quality because in my dealings with Alpha Knife Supply I have only received first rate high quality material) but we buy thousands of pounds of material at a time and don't usually order through knife supply shops like Chuck who can sample and verify a material before releasing it into the wild, we buy full sheets and even small production runs and it is pultruded, pressed, cut and shipped to me sight unseen. And the material I've received from Norplex is the cause of probably 90% of our scrap and rejects. This has reached the point where I'm discontinuing the maroon linen micarta we use for our scales production. Shrinkage, warping, under dyed and poorly dyed material, it reached the point where it isn't worth fooling with and I'm not using it anymore. I'm reaching that point with their OD green canvas material, I'm tired of the rejects and waste. As a manufacturer I go with the highest quality material I can find because the actual cost of the raw material is a rounding error once you figure in all of the CNC machining hours producing a run of scales. As a raw material micarta is relatively cheap. And from a manufacturing point of view, cheap micarta is expensive. It's wise to use the best you can find and in my experience "Micarta" is not the best micarta. Personally, I have about given up on Norplex. But they're the people who own the "Micarta" name. So the "micarta" I use is Acculam. Is that a 100% perfectly worded statement? Probably not. But I'm going to offer my customers micarta scales and I'm going the use the best material available that I can find for that application, and if the semantics are off a little I'm super sorry about that. *shrug*
 
Alpha Knife Supply said:
Do you correct people when you do not know what company made the phenolic laminate?

Chuck
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I just call it phenolic doesn't matter who currently made it to be truthful. If they know then they can impart that information along with the substrate then I could say "whatever" phenolic by "whomever" Not sure any of this really matters though because in my opinion phenolic is a far better all encompassing reference as opposed to micarta which makers only wish to limit the reference to few materials and are incorrect. Anyway it's likely a moot point, makers are too set on this to change. When I buy the name I will correct this problem, LOL right!
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
On sort of a slant subject here...

The current owner of the "Micarta" trademark is a company named Norplex. They bought the name though I'm not sure they bought the presses and process. They do make some material in the USA (and I'm sure the material that folks like Chuck buys from them is of the highest quality because in my dealings with Alpha Knife Supply I have only received first rate high quality material) but we buy thousands of pounds of material at a time and don't usually order through knife supply shops like Chuck who can sample and verify a material before releasing it into the wild, we buy full sheets and even small production runs and it is pultruded, pressed, cut and shipped to me sight unseen. And the material I've received from Norplex is the cause of probably 90% of our scrap and rejects. This has reached the point where I'm discontinuing the maroon linen micarta we use for our scales production. Shrinkage, warping, under dyed and poorly dyed material, it reached the point where it isn't worth fooling with and I'm not using it anymore. I'm reaching that point with their OD green canvas material, I'm tired of the rejects and waste. As a manufacturer I go with the highest quality material I can find because the actual cost of the raw material is a rounding error once you figure in all of the CNC machining hours producing a run of scales. As a raw material micarta is relatively cheap. And from a manufacturing point of view, cheap micarta is expensive. It's wise to use the best you can find and in my experience "Micarta" is not the best micarta. Personally, I have about given up on Norplex. But they're the people who own the "Micarta" name. So the "micarta" I use is Acculam. Is that a 100% perfectly worded statement? Probably not. But I'm going to offer my customers micarta scales and I'm going the use the best material available that I can find for that application, and if the semantics are off a little I'm super sorry about that. *shrug*
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It is a shame to hear of the less than stellar materials. I know about waste and scrap from having some handles rough cut on cnc. I was lucky to get mine done without much waste and it was norplex. Good luck out there with your work.
 
For some reason, reading this thread made this picture come to mind LOL
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Nathan the Machinist said:
Where do you get your linen Westinghouse Micarta? Given the quality issues I've had with Norplex I won't use their material anymore and Westinghouse hasn't made micarta is so long I haven't been able to find a reliable source for it in many years. I wonder where you get real (certifiable) Westinghouse material?
Nathan, Perhaps my supply of Micarta is not made by Westinghouse. It is listed by my supplier as a registered trademark "Micarta" and is advertised as made in the USA. I bought quite a bit of it about 10 years ago from Jantz Knife Supply. Their catalog still shows a little "R" with a circle around it behind the Micarta name and shows it as made in the USA. This is what I tell my customers that the material is. This material has worked well for me . Larry
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The last time I had a piece with a real Westinghouse label on it I saved it for something special. That was years ago. I'd love to get some more.
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AVigil said:
You should do a rant on Scotch Brite, post it notes, super glue, xerox, velcro, Bowie Knife as well as Oreos ripped off Hydrox
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That's just silly. One travesty at a time. Misuse of a trademark is actually a serious business. I'd love to see norplex file suit to cease and desist use of micarta as a generic term for phenolic, it could happen. Pigs could fly too.
 
Jeez, I wish we could finally settle a properly serious issue, like the debate about the use of damascus vs pattern welded steel. :D
 
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