Micarta - When is it appropriate for use?

That's a good point Joss. When the wood is boring, no matter if it's DI, or walnut, etc., if its grain is plain and it has no character then I vastly prefer micarta.
 
kbaknife said:
Unless that's what the customer wants.
And he has every right to design his knife the way he wants it.
And he is entitled to his opinion just like everyone else.
And his opinion is just as valid.
Click to expand...

Yes, the customer should get what he wants, however its best if the maker informs the buyer of the impact of his/her choice. For example, the knife could be rendered worthless as a result of the customer's choice in design and/or materials.

And too, the maker may not want to honor a choice as he my not want his name or mark to be associated with the finished knife based on a customer's poor choice in design and/or materials.
 
Joss said:
Contrary to some here, I like Micarta a lot, and I think it is actually very elegant. It's not walrus ivory of course, but short of that I think it has some of the nicest appearance if you're looking for a solid color. I think it can be a good alternative to blackwood. I think it can be a great material if you want some major carving on the handle.

I'd take micarta anyday over a boring DI or walnut - not over the really fancy grades, but I have seen many a knife made with oh-hum natural material (anywhere from wood to stag), which would have looked better with a nicely finished micarta handle.
Click to expand...

However, if a maker is going to use oh-hum (anything from wood to stag) what's the chances he's going to do anything decent in macarta?:confused:

It's not like good natural material is unavailable.
 
I'd take it over giraffe bone any day. Lets be serious, we all love to hate Giraffe bone even more. I would not want micarta on a folder I keep on display but I love the micarta on the JWS folder I carry all the time. Im not afraid to drop it and I even like how it looks and feels. I guess I don't have a problem with it as long as its in the user category.. not the presentation end of the collection.

Coop, I love your JWS folder with the white micarta, I can't say Ive really seen others (from what I remember). Good choice.
 
I take Micarta (and CF and other synthetics) over most natural materials. The exceptions are top stag and top wood, as they are beautiful, natural and tough enough.
I absolutely love the looks of walrus ivory, since forever. Never made the step to buy a walrus ivory handled knife though. I had old and dry mamooth crack and shrink on me, now I'm nervous about all ivory. Pitty, as it can be one of the most beautiful materials.
On Loveless style knives, micarta looks best IMO.
On forged bowies, top grade ivory (round, not scales), stag and top grade wood do it for me.
 
Micarta and damascus don't mix.

(or engraving)

Any field grade or user grade knife, regardless of the maker, can make good use of micarta!
 
Micarta is a great material for a working knife. About the only collectable knives that I consider it acceptable on are Loveless style knives, though I still prefer top quality wood, stag or ivory on those knives as well.
 
Anthony Lombardo said:
Micarta and damascus don't mix.
Click to expand...

here's a picture of my only knife with a micarta handle. i have never ever regretted my decision to follow the maker's suggestion to consider micarta as handle material. with the usual high end ivories or woods it would be "just" another very nice knive, but it becomes, at least in my opinion, something rather exceptional (and beautiful) because the maker was able, ready and willing to think out of the box.

natural = good, artificial/man-made = bad my be a valid (aesthetic or whatever) standpoint sometimes but the idea of nothing but damascus-ivory/wood-knives is pretty boring. btw. i think that all the knives with micarta handles shown in this thread are perfect just the way they are.

interesting thread! thanks kevin!

regards,
hans

230226247_b2ec79e0f7.jpg
 
brightred said:
here's a picture of my only knife with a micarta handle. i have never ever regretted my decision to follow the maker's suggestion to consider micarta as handle material. with the usual high end ivories or woods it would be "just" another very nice knive, but it becomes, at least in my opinion, something rather exceptional (and beautiful) because the maker was able, ready and willing to think out of the box.

natural = good, artificial/man-made = bad my be a valid (aesthetic or whatever) standpoint sometimes but the idea of nothing but damascus-ivory/wood-knives is pretty boring. btw. i think that all the knives with micarta handles shown in this thread are perfect just the way they are.

interesting thread! thanks kevin!

regards,
hans
Click to expand...

Hans, that knife would be outstanding with any top grade handle material. Especially with a high grain desert ironwood, cocobolo, olivewood, blackwood or natural colored stag. Without even bringing ivory into the discussion.

And I do agree, as it looks great with micarta. Did I just say that :confused: ;)
 
Personally, I find synthetic layered resins like Micarta and G10 appropriate when the knife is either (a) going to be used or (b) not maintained for long periods of time.

The natural materials LOOK nice, but I find that they don't always feel as nice as a synthetic (i.e. stabilized wood vs. paper micarta, jigged bone vs. textured G10) and do require some maintenance.

Or at least a little attention to care and feeding.

Your mother putting a new handmade with stabilized wood into a dishwasher = *cringe*

-j
 
I will usually only use micarta with a stainless "user". I have not really sold anything to collectors at this point though. All of the stuff I have sold thus far has been to hunters, farmers, etc. who don't really see the point of owning a carbon steel blade when they could get something with micarta and stainless and leave it in a drawer until they need it.

This thread does beg the question of what to do with custom-made micarta like LR. Harner is making.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=460011&highlight=red
 
I think micarta is appropriate for a user, certainly, but I have to say that I think micarta can look good with damascus, also:

1149-1.JPG


Of course, that's a pretty bad picture, but hopefully you get the idea... :D
 
Paper Micarta can look pretty darn good. That handle of black Paper Micarta looks great with the pattern welded steel. That is a material that would work for me on entry level collectable knives.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
Paper Micarta can look pretty darn good. That handle of black Paper Micarta looks great with the pattern welded steel. That is a material that would work for me on entry level collectable knives.
Click to expand...

I agree, we have seen some examples where micarta looks good on some exceptional damascus and non-damascus knives. However, these knives would have most likely looked even better with any of several natural materials. Does anyone disagree that any of the fine examples which Coop posted would not have looked better with good quality natural or amber colored stag? High quality desert ironwood or other fine wood?

Several have commented they would rather have micarta than some substandard natural materials they have seen on knives. Well IMO, that's probably a whole different discussion as to why would a maker use substandard handle material natural or otherwise?

Even having said the above, my original premise for starting this thread had nothing to do with the aesthetics of micarta, but rather makers utilizing a cheap, man made synthetic material for handles on collector/investment grade knives.

I would put this in the same category as major league baseball using aluminum bats, violins being made of carbon fiber, using vinyl rather than leather seating material in expensive automobiles. This is a very good example as we have vinyl (naugahide) that looks more like leather than actual leather and much more durable, however do you see this used in $40,000+ automobiles and SUVs? No, 95% of the time, if it looks like leather at this price point it is leather.

I don't understand why Loveless, Lovett collectors just don't say "I DON'T WANT MICARTA" period. I have been told that an upgrade from micarta for most Loveless models is under $400. That's a lot of money for some of us, however it's only about 2-5% (or much less for most expensive models) of total knife cost for most Loveless models. The heck with what Mr. Loveless says about stag being hard to find and losing the knife in the woods and squirrels eating the stag handle.
 
It's all good. It has everything to do with personal taste, and absolutely nothing to do with $$$. I say that because, for one quick example, Micarta may actually cost more than the curly maple on a Moran that goes for $10,000. Even the most expensive handle materials (I am excluding diamond inlays, and such) really have nothing to do with a knife's price once it goes over $1,500 or so.

Buy what you like.

John
 
John Frankl said:
It's all good. It has everything to do with personal taste, and absolutely nothing to do with $$$. I say that because, for one quick example, Micarta may actually cost more than the curly maple on a Moran that goes for $10,000. Even the most expensive handle materials (I am excluding diamond inlays, and such) really have nothing to do with a knife's price once it goes over $1,500 or so.

Buy what you like.

John
Click to expand...

I agree John, as it has little to do with cost of handle material
but with personal taste.

Most opinion here has been that micarta should not be utilized on high end collector/investment grade knives but on users.

So my point is why do the majority of Loveless collectors accept micarta on expensive Loveless knives they will never use?
Just say NO to Mr. Loveless at order, and no to buying them when offered from dealers.

Perhaps collectors are starting to say NO, as there are currently about two dozen Loveless knives for sale on just the dealer websites I follow.

As you say, buy what you like. Not what the maker dictates.

And for the record, I don't care for curly maple on $10,000 knives either, however its a given on a Moran. But I would still pick curly maple over micarta on any knife other than a hard user.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Does anyone disagree that any of the fine examples which Coop posted would not have looked better with good quality natural or amber colored stag? High quality desert ironwood or other fine wood?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, Micarta is objectively as beautiful as horn or blackwood (to compare a solid black paper or cloth micarta with some solid black natural materials). In the Coop examples, I actually find the stag handled piece least attractive of all. That's a oh-hum stag scale in my opinion. High quality amber-died stag is different.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top