Micarta Temp Extremes

idahoskunk

idahoskunk

Joined
Mar 10, 2002
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Does anybody know the temp extremes for micarta? Like how cold before it would shatter or how hot before warping or meltdown? is it about the toughest of handles or is anything other than metal tougher? thanks
 
Mr. Skunk,

Jerry posted this last year regarding Micarta, thought it might be of interest here

"Micarta was developed by Westinghouse earlier in the last century. It has a higher tensile strength than steel, it is impervious to changes in temperature and it will not swell, warp, or crack, even under adverse conditions, once it is on the knife.

There are three types of micarta and several grades of these three types. They all consist of layers of either paper, linen, or canvas. Paper is the most decorative of the three. I have seen paper micarta handles that are 20-30 years old that continue to look great and perform like the day the were made. Linen micarta is the middle grade when it comes to toughness and durability. I used linen exclusively throughout the 80's and very early 90's. It is very attractive when smoothed out and very strong. Canvas is the toughest of the three grades. It surpasses linen micarta by a large margin for strength and durability. Canvas also offers the best overall texture for slip resistance. It is probably the least attractive looking of the three grades unless you suffer from Busse Combat Nuclear Syndrome. In that case you can only find "beauty in the performance". Cosmetics be damned!

It would be difficult to go wrong with any of these three grades."

I hope this helps :D:D

I believe Cliff Stamp has made some comparisons to other materials as well, I'll see if I can find it.
 
There's some info by Cliff in this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201412&highlight=micarta

And here's a quote from Cliff Stamp from another thread regarding Micarta and G10
"Durability - Both the Micarta that Busse Combat uses and the G10/11 that McClung uses are very durable. They can withstand extreme impacts (beat on them with a hammer), they are very difficult to burn (can take exposure to direct flame), and they don't readily absorb solvents so even if you soak them in gas and light it, they burn out readily. They are very resistant to cuts, punctures and general abrasion and have a high insulative value."
 
think it would withstand 325 degrees in a oven for an hour? i want to air brush a knife with a scene and bake the teflon epoxy for an hour.
 
Idaho,

Send it in. . .I'll take 'em off. . . and put 'em back on when you're finished. I think they might handle it. . . but you're getting awfuly close to the critical temp.

Jerry
 
hey that would be cool jerry! and what are you doing here? i figured you would still be reading the list of names for your new knife or chained to a grinder getting ready for blade. :D
 
Eric Isaacson said:
There's some info by Cliff in this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201412&highlight=micarta

And here's a quote from Cliff Stamp from another thread regarding Micarta and G10
"Durability - Both the Micarta that Busse Combat uses and the G10/11 that McClung uses are very durable. They can withstand extreme impacts (beat on them with a hammer), they are very difficult to burn (can take exposure to direct flame), and they don't readily absorb solvents so even if you soak them in gas and light it, they burn out readily. They are very resistant to cuts, punctures and general abrasion and have a high insulative value."
Click to expand...

This is good to know, pretty cool.

Skunk, don't leave us hanging. What happened?
 
Skunk! Did you melt the Mircarta!? :eek:
...show us some pics man! :D ... If you even still have any (old post)
 
no, it didn't melt but i got air gaps under the handle between the rivits, they did lay back flat after it cooled. this happened at 300 degrees while curing some kg guncoat doing a camo job.
 
Paper micarta was developed by Westinghouse as insulation material for electrical equipment. It can be run at 105 degrees C continuously in power transformers (110 deg C in some designs). I used to do load bonus calcaulations on transformers and run some of them to 115 degrees C for two hours, and have taken transformers in good shape to 125 deg C for short durations in emergencies. Above this temp, you risk the possibility of immediate insulation failure. However, this involves a very thin sheet of paper micarta immersed in oil and subjected to high voltage electrical stress, and the failure mode is dielectric breakdown, not burning. A thick piece of micarta such as found on a knife handle should go a lot higher without damage. It is very tough stuff.
 
When and Where is the Blade SHOW!!!!!!!

We really need a sticky thread thats lest us folks know where BUSSE is gunna be!!!!!
 
muz911 said:
When and Where is the Blade SHOW!!!!!!!

We really need a sticky thread thats lest us folks know where BUSSE is gunna be!!!!!
Click to expand...
they're talking about the 2002 Blade show. Check the date on this thread.:D
 
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