Micarta, G10, Stamina wood , ?

Matt Shade

Matt Shade

Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
4,981
Hey guys I'm thinking about making one of those knife kits that Darrel Ralph designed after all, and giving it to my brother as a late graduation present. I can't decide what to go with on handle material though.
I know I have the stuff to make it micarta, or G10 although the micarta would probably be easier. But I'd kind of like to go with something less plain that will still make it a good user. Koval sells some stuff called stamina wood thats laminated peices of stabilized wood, the rosewood looks nice. Can it be finished without a buffer, or would I have trouble hand sanding it to a high enough finish? Would that keep a finish for very long? He won't use it very hard, but it needs to hold up to being clipped in a pocket alot.
What would you use? Any other ideas?
Thanks

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We got a five dollar fine for whining
We tell you before you come in
So if it ain't on your mind to have a good time
Y'all come back and see us again.- Chris LeDoux
 
Between G-10 and Micarta I like working with G-10 more. Its much easier to use for me, it doesnt load up a belt like Micarta will and final shaping by hand is MUCH easier in my Opinion.. I like hard woods too, MAYBE a good ole fashioned piece of Cocobolo would fit the bill? Also might consider Tex Tuff from Texas Knifemakers its a Burgandy G-10 of sorts and looks pretty good when finished right. Be carefull it will turn yellow like Burgandy Micarta if you get it hot, always use a fairly sharp belt when working either of them...

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
 
Thanks for the replies.
I may end up going with either black linen micarta or G10 since I have just enough of either one to use. And the knife would definitely be a good user then.
I like the jig bone idea, but the colors they sell seem to be a little brighter than my brother would like. how would I go about finishing that if I do get some. Is it stabilized? Or do I need to seal it?
I really like how the rosewood dymondwood looks. But I don't have a buffer to do the final finish on it. Unless it could be buffed out with a dremel.
I have some unstabilized rosewood I could make my own slabs out of, and then I could try and finish it with either extra slow curing epoxy, or Arm R Seal. Which is a urethane and tung oil finish I found to experiment with on some other knives I'm making, its recommended for things like table tops. I'd rather not experiment on this one though, has anyone tried the epoxy finish? how does it hold up?'
Thanks again.

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We got a five dollar fine for whining
We tell you before you come in
So if it ain't on your mind to have a good time
Y'all come back and see us again.- Chris LeDoux
 
I've used the dymond wood, same stuff I think you can get a good finish by sanding to 400 and rubbing with paste wax. You can get a 4 in buffer wheel your drill or drill press for not much money. The stamina wood doesn't need to be sealed. Wear a mask when sanding, its nasty.

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If God did not intend for us to eat animals. Why did he make them out of meat?
 
I tried
dymond wood,it is hard and will burn
I personaly don't care for it but each to his own,it really clogs belts make sure you wear safty glasses it made my eyes burn and make sure,you wear somthing to stop you from breathing the stuff,try that rose wood you have,and sel it wiht some good sealent
you dont even have stain it you can had sand
it down to a 1000 or 1200 grit sand paper and won't have to worry about a buffer,pretty soft and easy to work with,
 
I just ordered it last night. I ordered a set of cocobolo dymondwood scales to put on it. I'll try those and if things don't work out right I can go back to the rosewood,micarta, or G10 that I have already. Thanks for the tips. I'm not to worried about belts because I'm using a 4x36 sander and the belts don't last real long to begin with. I've got a worn 60 grit belt(not to worn, just used) and 40 grit disc on it right now. That I can use for rough shaping, then I can move to a brand new 120 grit belt , and then hand sand after that. I'll avoid heavy grinding on it if I can by cutting them out on my bandsaw or scrollsaw.Thanks again. I'll probably post a picture of how it turns out.

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It'll feel better when it stops hurting.
 
if you can, make a blade table insert for your bandsaw that is tight to the blade (not touching the blade though)so that the dymond wood doesn't chip out as much. you can make one out of wood, so if the blade hits it, it won't be damaged. it clogs belts easy becuase it has the stablant in it also.
 
Thats a good idea. I don't remember if I can change the insert that came with the saw or not, but I've been thinking about making a plywood cover for the table so it doesn't leave gray streaks on light colored woods, and so peices will slide around better when I'm cutting them out. I figured I'd put a coat of finish on it or something to make it nice and smooth. The only problem is it would cover up the groove that the miter gauge sits in so I would have to take it off and on. I'm not real worried about the dymond wood chipping out because the slabs are 3/8" thick stock and I'm putting them on a folder so they'll need to be thinned down alot. But that may become a problem on some of the other knives I'm working on.
I think the belt will be okay because I'm going to use it to grind some steel after I make the slabs, and that should tear all the stabilant out of the grit pretty quickly.
Thanks for the tip on the insert.

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It'll feel better when it stops hurting.
 
i just made one out of a slippery plastic., sold by www.woodcraft.com. works great, but tough to sand(the sanding belt slides right over it, and just heats it up. just make sure you don't make the table insert from anything that will damage the blade.
 
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