Micarta texture

[Seedy Lot]

I like linen in general then burlap just because of the finished look. I’ve been looking for ways to get better grip but still a decent finish and haven’t been happy with the looks of anything under 400 grit yet but I’m still experimenting. I want to try sandblasting at some point. Several makers on another forum said they sandblasted canvas micarta on some of their outdoor/hard use knives to get a grippy texture (specifically similar to spydercos “crucarta” knives) but I can’t speak for their results. They claim it takes the resin but leaves the fabric in tact so it gives the texture the op seemed to be talking about in his first post. It seems like it might work with the right blasting media. Certainly some of what he describes can be achieved by sanding at different grits with different backing material. I’ve been messing with different leather and rubber backers on some of my sanding blocks and that has an effect on the finish as well. Just have to watch that your pins don’t get proud before you’re done.

I am more about function over looks, my micarta stays at 120 grit finish. Most of the people who actually use their knives prefer it, at least my clientele.

 

[bladegrinder]

One thing spooks me about these laminates with rubber layers, degradation. Most everything I’ve seen that has rubber in it and is old it starts to kind of rot or something. Not all rubbers of course but I have to wonder how those types of handles will hold up after 20 years. And twenty years go’s fast..for you young’uns.

 

[Taz]

Current has laminated G10 and rubber for over 20+ years as a cushioning and insulating materials They use it with PickleBall paddles, too and I haven't heard of any issues holding up long term.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I have it on my schedule of things to try to put Sure-touch or, Ameragrip on some throwing axe handles as well as on a camp axe/camp knife set. I'll take a look at Currents products.

 

[Taz]

I ordered some of the DL Hawk blanks from Pops a month or so ago. Going to HT them soon and use Ameragrip for the handles on them! Should give good grip and some cushioning to the hand, too!

Current doesn't have AmeraGrip listed on their website. Call them and ask for Ari. She has all sorts of cool stuff! Lots of Pops, Jantz and Masecraft Supply's Micarta and G10 is from Current. If you used the Python/Snakeskin Micarta, Current makes it.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Great minds think alike.
I got some hatchet blanks from Pop's, too. Those are what I was going to handle in the Sure Touch. I just ordered several sheets of Ameragrip.

The hawks were sold out, but I am on the waiting list. I'm interested in seeing how they throw. They would be good fun axes for people who can't throw a competition weight axe.

 

[Taz]

Yeah, I bought the last 4 DL Hawks in 8670 Sorry! I want to get some of the hatchets, too, but gotta make and grind the hawks first.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Trick - To get that look on the cheap use Canvas Micarta, shape as normal to whatever grit you need to then sand with as low as a grit as you can without leaving too many deep gouges... I like 36 grit and do all on the grinder to keep the scratches going horizontally as they blend in that way... finish with a sanding pad at 220 grit to knock down sharp edges. Don't work your way up, just 36 then knock down perimeter with 220. I really only do this on screw on or removable scales. That's it. This is really hard to get right, shape however you want but keep that final finish 100% horizontal. This is an unusual procedure I developed and use a wooden jig to hold the scales in place doing two at a time and keeping lines really straight.

Even better is to sand to 220-600 or so as normal then sandblast. Garnet works great. This is the way is is normally done. Linen micarta works too and gives a much finer less deep pattern.

 

[JustinGreen]

Trick - To get that look on the cheap use Canvas Micarta, shape as normal to whatever grit you need to then sand with as low as a grit as you can without leaving too many deep gouges... I like 36 grit and do all on the grinder to keep the scratches going horizontally as they blend in that way... finish with a sanding pad at 220 grit to knock down sharp edges. That's it. This is really hard to get right, shape however you want but keep that final finish 100% horizontal. This is an unusual procedure I developed and use a wooden jig to hold the scales in place doing two at a time and keeping lines really straight.

Even better is to sand to 220-600 or so as normal then sandblast. Garnet works great. This is the way is is normally done. Linen micarta works too and gives a much finer less deep pattern.

Thank you! I have a soft spot for micarta handles and scales, and I never would have thought these were sand blasted. But it makes sense for large productions. So, for my first knife, I order up a variety of "micarta" and they all are slicker than owl.... well, you know the rest. I sanded over the edges to round them over with 220, and that is still really smooth to the touch. Maybe need to go lower.

 

[JustinGreen]

So I broke out the magnifying glass, and took a snapshot of a couple of the micarta knives I have. Custom scales on a bugout and a Civivi. the Civivi is smoother. The Bugout scales look like some sort of machined process, but not a blasting.
Anyways, sorry for being so anal about this. Just very curious.

 

[JustinGreen]

I heard back from the custom scales maker and they said it is sand blasting. That's pretty impressive.

 

[ScarFoot]

I heard back from the custom scales maker and they said it is sand blasting. That's pretty impressive.

It seems a little more apparent that they were blasted when you zoom in above the pivot on the bottom picture.
Don’t worry about being curious about stuff like this. Look at all the little tricks and tidbits of info that have been shared since you posed your initial question. A lot can be taken away from a discussion started by a seemingly simple question. That’s why we’re on here. It’s certainly been informative for me.

 

[JustinGreen]

It seems a little more apparent that they were blasted when you zoom in above the pivot on the bottom picture.
Don’t worry about being curious about stuff like this. Look at all the little tricks and tidbits of info that have been shared since you posed your initial question. A lot can be taken away from a discussion started by a seemingly simple question. That’s why we’re on here. It’s certainly been informative for me.

No doubt. I learned a ton from this little thread for sure!

 

[Hengelo_77]

On a full tang I always use blind alignment pins.
That way uou can shape the scales, remove them, do whatever you want to them and have them go back exactly where they were before.
I'd finish to app 600/1000, take them off and use 120/180 with a soft rubber backer.
Make moves spine to belly and 90degrees front to back. Then a soft 1000 to knock off the edges

 

[JustinGreen]

On a full tang I always use blind alignment pins.
That way uou can shape the scales, remove them, do whatever you want to them and have them go back exactly where they were before.
I'd finish to app 600/1000, take them off and use 120/180 with a soft rubber backer.
Make moves spine to belly and 90degrees front to back. Then a soft 1000 to knock off the edges

My buddy sold me on using pins, so I ordered some stainless pin stock. The current knife I'm working on is being held together right now with some ground down folding knife pivot pins and screws, since I had some. I also ordered some Chicago bolts so I don't have to fiddle with the dual threading. I am going to take the scales off and will try that approach, since I don't have a blasting cabinet. Thanks!

 

[Seedy Lot]

Talked one of my knife friends into trying linen Ultrex micarta. He actively uses his knives. He just sent me this message.

"Also the linen is so nice. It’s the perfect balance of grip compared to canvas and tero tuff. All previous linen I’ve messed with seemed almost silky. This reminds me of that silk texture but with way more grip."

 

[JustinGreen]

Talked one of my knife friends into trying linen Ultrex micarta. He actively uses his knives. He just sent me this message.

"Also the linen is so nice. It’s the perfect balance of grip compared to canvas and tero tuff. All previous linen I’ve messed with seemed almost silky. This reminds me of that silk texture but with way more grip."

I don't see how the grip changes with the pattern of the material, if the epoxy fills in all of the cloth texture. I test made some "mycarta" this weekend using several layers of an old dress shirt backed by some blue jean denim. It turned out smooth no matter what.

 

[Taz]

Different epoxies, pressure used, fabrics, etc have different weaves to them. Current told me that the texture depends on their fabric supplier, so one color from one supplier may feel different than the same color from another supplier.

The dress shirt will have a lot less texture to it since they are typically a much finer weave. When mycarta is fresh pressed and not shaped, it will often be smooth on both sides as yours looks. It will be very soft and fluffy dust wise when you work it and the surface like a cotton ball until you get up into the finer grits and then it will start to feel harder. Wet sanding works great on home made micarta as well as sharp belts and light pressure. It will look bad at first, but keep going to 120 and 220 and you will usually see a big improvement!

The epoxy fills in the gaps and flows more than a prepeg will. Think of a sponge submerged in water and then the water frozen; the pores would be filled in. But if you take a sponge and soak it in the water, let the excess out and freeze it, there will be more texture. The prepeg is fabrics with the resins already in the fabric at certain ratios, so there isn't as much excess to squeeze out under pressure and heat to cure to fill in all of the gaps. Some prepeg may have more resin than others. Thicker material may have more, thinner may have less or vice versa!

I think the epoxy resins fill in the voids/texture a lot more than the phenolic resins do? G10 has a lot less "texture" to it than Micarta does even though the weave is more open looking/coarser. G10 often uses epoxy resin, as does carbon fiber IIRC, (and most home made mycarta products) but real micarta uses phenolic resin, which gives a different texture. Micarta made with epoxy resin will be different feeling, too. I believe Current did some micarta with epoxy resin and it was a way different product than with phenolic resins! I think they tried paper with the phenolic resin and some with epoxy resins?

If you sand or bead blasted your handle material, you would probably see/feel more texture since the epoxy w/o fibers in it will be a bit weaker and remove quicker. Or if you used a hard backer to sand the material or soft backer. Think of the fabric fibers as re bar in concrete; it reinforces the material. So if you bead blast burlap, you will probably have a more coarser feeling product than if you bead blasted canvas or linen or duck cloth since the epoxy between the fibers would be weaker and be removed quicker. Take some of the hardened epoxy squeeze out from your material and shape it on the belt sander. Bet it works a LOT different than the fabric material!

 

[Taz]

Our homemade mycarta's usually use a lot of excess epoxy which gets squeezed out, too. I used a 20 ton bottle jack in my press one time and pretty much squeezed the epoxy out of the block. It just crumbled apart after curing...oops! Now I use between a 2 and 6 ton bottle jack Less pressure with burlap and CF blocks than with canvas, too, to keep the epoxy from squeezing out fully seemed to lead to less voids/bubbles to me. I try to use enough pressure so I have a solid block of fabric without having pockets where the fabric bunched up and it was just epoxy in that area. I got some really nice, solid blocks just using a bunch of C clamps on the smaller blocks.

Some of my recent homemade laminates. Layers work better/cleaner than the random camo pattern stuff with less voids/bubbles.

 

[JustinGreen]

Those are all smooth looking.

It you bead blast or sand blast any micarta material, you will get a texture, which is where I think a lot of the pros get their texture.