Micarta - how long has it been used for knife handles?

HeathH

HeathH

Joined
Dec 3, 2013
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I've been wondering about this for a while... Micarta is probably my favorite handle material - it's so tough, good looking, easy to work, light, strong, etc. But, how long has it been used in knifemaking? I have a Buck 501 from the 70s that is done in Micarta, but I'm sure there are older examples. Wikipedia says Micarta dates back to at least 1910, so I'm thinking the odds are good that somebody started using it before Buck. Does anyone have any solid info? I'd like to have something seriously old to fit in with my ever-growing Micarta obsession.

Here are just a couple pics, because threads without pics are boring ;)



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Heath, nice knives and I too like Micarta. I've heard that Westinghouse used Micarta for electrical purposes in the 1890's. I don't have a direct link to articles about this but I picked up that info somewhere along the line.

Now when they were first used as knife handles, that I don't know:)
 
paulhilborn said:
Heath, nice knives and I too like Micarta. I've heard that Westinghouse used Micarta for electrical purposes in the 1890's. I don't have a direct link to articles about this but I picked up that info somewhere along the line.
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That's very interesting. I wonder, is micarta insulatinf to electric shock? Even more interesting g10 was apparently used in microchip boards before being used as a handle material.
 
I know it was also used in manufacturing pullies and gaskets. It's really neat stuff, I've made a wallet and ring out of it, can't believe how reslliant it is, and how well it endures abuse :)

I pressure tested it once by pinning a messed up blade between two 1/8" slabs as a mock pivot. The blade snapped with no damage to the handles or pivot. Im a believer, if you couldn't tell... I've thought about jigging some on the next shadow pattern I put together, just to see how that looks. Another pic for good measure ;)

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Are the Imperial and Schrade your own work? If so, nicely done! I like micarta too for the same reasons you listed above, sorry I can't help answer your question...
 
paulhilborn said:
Heath, nice knives and I too like Micarta. I've heard that Westinghouse used Micarta for electrical purposes in the 1890's. I don't have a direct link to articles about this but I picked up that info somewhere along the line.

Now when they were first used as knife handles, that I don't know:)
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Westinghouse bought the patents for a material called "Micarta"; and he formed a company to produce it in 1905, but that original "Micarta" material consisted of flakes of Mica bonded to paper using shellac. It was used as insulation for an electrical equipment, but was not the robust material which we now consider "Micarta". 1910 is the date I see most frequently for the development of the Micarta we know today. Bakelite phenolic resin was developed in 1907. That makes the 1910 date sound reasonable, because it was the use of phenolic resin which first gave robustness to Micarta.

But, I don't know when it was first used as a knife handle, either.
 
Thanks Frank, I knew it's been around awhile, I used to have big sheets of the stuff from work, we took it outta the giant capacitors after we drained the oil before we scrapped 'em. Wish I still had them, I still have a few sheets of the Westinghouse maroon micarta somewhere.
 
It’s tough when trade names start being applied.

I know “fiber” washers were common on hidden tang knives in the Scagel style. I’ve often wondered how far back the use of phenolic spacers go.
 
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I just bought a custom B&T from Daado on the knifemakers sub forum. It has antique Westinghouse Micarta scales. I'm very pleased with the look.--KV
 
I worked for a company that produced woven Fiberglas for the circuit board industry, nasty stuff to work with. Makes me itch just talking about it.
 
I can't supply an answer, but it's a fascinating question, that and how/why somebody thought micarta might be a good knife handle?

Good it certainly is in terms of durability and aesthetics too. Somebody must have decided to experiment with this unlikely material by chance I suppose ? Given it resists electricity, does it also not conduct heat? Somebody might've wanted to make a tool or knife whose handles do not heat up yet resist warping and damp, or an electrician's knife maybe? It certainly offers good possibilities for kitchen knives where water and needing to keep a good grip are required, likewise fishing.

Some pics to illustrate the aesthetics part, :cool: yet these are tough as they come handles. Thanks to GEC for responding to the call for M :D

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Some awesome info in the thread here, thanks to everybody who is contributing! I especially like the piece about Mica and Shellac - I googled it, beautiful material but I don't imagine it'd hold up well. I've read about Buck using it back into the mid-60s, and it seems like I've read Bob Loveless used a lot of Micarta, possibly around that same time period
 
knarfeng said:
That would be "G10", not Micarta. The name derives from a NEMA specification for circuit board materials.
Off topic, but here is a post I made some years ago about the details of G10.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/is-all-g-10-of-same-quality.528745/#post-5275649
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It was G-10. We made a few million yards of the stuff over the years. We were specialists in industrial fabrics. The synthetic canvas version of micarta was still being used as a more durable product for some specialty parts for the textile business after the 70’s. I’m not sure how long transformer companies used it as an insulation. I don’t recall it going to Westinghouse or Sangamo when I was there.
 
I'd have to do some research to be sure, but l'm fairly certain that it was none other than Robert Waldorf Lovess who first used micarta for knife handles - at least as a standard offering. Probably in the mid 1960's. He had a lot of "first's" for modern custom knives like stock removal construction,using stainless steel, tapering tangs, using epoxy, hollow grinding, mirror polishing, etching his trademark, pouch style sheaths, etc. Gotta agree, micarta makes a great practical knife handle!
Ben
 
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T. Erdelyi said:
Thanks Frank, I knew it's been around awhile, I used to have big sheets of the stuff from work, we took it outta the giant capacitors after we drained the oil before we scrapped 'em. Wish I still had them, I still have a few sheets of the Westinghouse maroon micarta somewhere.
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Does it look anything like this? I know this 3/8" slab has some age on it but just not sure how old. Been trying to decide what I might want to use it for. The stuff truly is tough as nails. I had to use the flash to bring out the grain.
 
Lostball said:
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Does it look anything like this? I know this 3/8" slab has some age on it but just not sure how old. Been trying to decide what I might want to use it for. The stuff truly is tough as nails. I had to use the flash to bring out the grain.
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Yup, exactly like that and IIRC, it's .375" which is 3/8" if my memory serves. :) I had given a sheet to Bud Nealy a few years back and I think I have a piece patching a hole in a trailer floor.
 
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