Micarta - the new traditional material?

northingeasting

northingeasting

Joined
May 4, 2011
Messages
142
More of a chuckle than anything else.

Yesterday while burning things on the grill I got into a discussion with a guest about knives. Seems he's semi-interested in a big 'chopper', as he called it, and has been considering buying either a Buck 119 (he sees them every time he goes to Wal-Mart) or a Ka-Bar USMC combat knife.

So I tell him that if he's interested in a reeeeely big blade he's just gotta' see the BK-9. I went to my man-cave and pulled out my Combat Bowie, which still has the Grivory scales, but I also grabbed my BK-7 with micarta scales to give him something to do a comparison with.

He turned both knives over and over in his hands, trying different grips and swinging them gently to get a sense of how well they would chop. After a few minutes of looking both over he proceeds to ask me questions like "Who is Becker?", "What type of steel are they made of?" and "Do they come in any other colors or finishes?"

Finally I had to mention that the micarta grips do not come stock on the knives and that they are an extra cost item. He pipes right up with, "Oh, that's OK. If I was to get one of these I'd go ahead and order the micarta. I really prefer traditional materials on a knife."

So there you have it - micarta is now a 'traditional' material!

Stay sharp!

Brian
 
Stelth said:
If yellow plastic is considered "traditional", why not?
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Aaaah, my other weakness - yellow delrin handled Case folders!

You are right - yellow plastic has been 'traditional' since the 1960's or so. If I remember correctly, yellow delrin was developed as a substitute for ivory - the uber-traditional handle material. So a substitute for a traditional material has become traditional itself.
 
I just hope you've managed to infect another innocent soul with the BK-Virus.

May god have mercy on his check book. :D
 
If I recall right, micarta was developed at the start of the 1900s....so it is old enough to be Traditional.

Good job with the infection...he likely can't resist the allure of the 1095!
 
Kabarcamper said:
So what did he think about the KING ? Is he gonna turn to the dark side.......
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Oh he'll turn, he'll turn. What mortal can resist the King?
Unless he's a vampire or a zombie or somethin'. Then, all bets are off.:D
 
I think we should call the Becker obsession being infected with the BK-1095 Virus. Sounds scary. lol
 
In most "bushcraft" knives, micarta is the norm. Wood being second, and synthetics being third.

Technically, micarta is an organic material, that's been processed to hell and back, so.......

I think traditional is a pretty broad term, but it works in regards to substances like G10 and carbon fiber, per say.


Moose
 
Kabarcamper said:
So what did he think about the KING ? Is he gonna turn to the dark side.......
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We'll see. He really seemed fixated on the Buck 119. As a collector of many things Buck (I know, blasphemy!) I couldn't in good conscious dissuade him, but I did offer sound legal advice* on the merits of the full tang design vs. the stick tang.

(*Full disclosure - I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but I did see a James Sokolove commercial once.)
 
Out of all my beckers, micarta is on probably 90 percent of them,,,,I like the texture and feel of them!!
 
Uncle Malice said:
I think we should call the Becker obsession being infected with the BK-1095 Virus. Sounds scary. lol
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And there's only one thing that can combat the dreaded BK-1095 Virus effectively.....and that is......

Bladite and Guyon's Becker collections!
 
My impression of the micarta scales is it certainly does have an improved grippy texture, and it is certainly rugged, but I LOVE how it perfected the balance of my BK-5.
 
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