Micarta pivot bushing

David Kramp

David Kramp

Joined
Nov 8, 2019
Messages
163
Just a curiosity question. The 3/16x3/32 aluminum bronze pivot bushings sold online are Hard to come by and pricey. SS seems to be a good option. I’m wondering about the use of strong micarta as a pivot bushing for an ultralight slippy. Is this a viable option? Concern Would be cracking if knife is over peened. .002 oversized pivot hole in bushing seems like it would take up the squish when peening? I know micarta is some seriously tough material used as machine gears, pulleys, bearings etc and all kinds of other stuff. Thoughts and comments. Thanks.
 
I haven’t done it yet, but I have a knife I’m working on right now that I am planning to do this very thing. I’m no expert, just a guy messing around in my garage, so take it for what it’s worth.

My though was that I’ve done several shadow patterns in micarta with the pivot pin peened in the micarta that seem to be fine. On this one I’m planning to drill a 1/4 inch hole in the micarta scale for the pivot and glue in a piece of 1/4 inch micarta rod. Then I’ll drill out a 3/32 hole for my pin in the middle of the micarta rod. It seems pretty straightforward and doesn’t seem like it should be any different that just drilling through the micarta for a shadow pattern. We’ll see how it goes.
 
I've had a few moderns with synthetic bushings, but unsure of the actual material. But definitely had a woven texture. There's also nylon and teflon washers.
 
David Kramp said:
Just a curiosity question. The 3/16x3/32 aluminum bronze pivot bushings sold online are Hard to come by and pricey. SS seems to be a good option. I’m wondering about the use of strong micarta as a pivot bushing for an ultralight slippy. Is this a viable option? Concern Would be cracking if knife is over peened. .002 oversized pivot hole in bushing seems like it would take up the squish when peening? I know micarta is some seriously tough material used as machine gears, pulleys, bearings etc and all kinds of other stuff. Thoughts and comments. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'm not an expert but in my opinion, no it would not work. Washers are an excellent alternative to bushings. In my opinion if micarta made for a decent bushing it would have been used already.
 
David Kramp said:
Just a curiosity question. The 3/16x3/32 aluminum bronze pivot bushings sold online are Hard to come by and pricey. SS seems to be a good option. I’m wondering about the use of strong micarta as a pivot bushing for an ultralight slippy. Is this a viable option? Concern Would be cracking if knife is over peened. .002 oversized pivot hole in bushing seems like it would take up the squish when peening? I know micarta is some seriously tough material used as machine gears, pulleys, bearings etc and all kinds of other stuff. Thoughts and comments. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I guess I misunderstood, also. I thought you were talking about a bushing for a Birdseye pivot. After re-reading it looks like you’re talking about a bushing in the blade tang. In that case, disregard what I said above and go with the advise from Signalprick Signalprick
 
I’m no expert either. Phenolics have been used in heavy industry for decades. They’ve been used as bushings. My experience has been mainly in the vintage auto industry. As for use in a slipjoint, I’ve not heard of it being used. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been tried. Hopefully, someone has given it a shot and can offer up some insight.

Just for shits and giggles I may try it out one day.
 
Cracking was what I was thinking in my initial post. Longevity and reliability was my other concern. I believe it would work but I’m sure it’s not the best choice for a tang pivot bushing. I bet there is some crazy aerospace Phenolic shit out there that could.
 
There must be a reason why established MFG's use bronze or stainless bushings, maybe because they did research and found out that they work and have a long life and smooth operation? If you can obtain the better bushings why would you want to use a weaker material? And how much weight would be saved? Probably in the tenths of a gram?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top