Micarta - When is it appropriate for use?

Michael Lovett said:
Those are wonderful Kevin. You know. I have a lot of collector customers yet probably 95 Percent of the orders on my books are for Micarta. So there are apparently more opinions out there in the collector world than just those expressed here. I carry a 1911, and a small fighter edc. For me, micarta fills the ticket. Sorry Coop! I'll take mine in Green or Black canvas. I love the stuff.
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Well Mike, they need to speak up here ;) :D

What % would you say will be user's? I would assume not that many.
 
Either of those would have been great pieces Kevin. You know, I have a lot of collector customers, yet my books contain probably 95 percent of the orders in Micarta. So apparently there are more opinions out there than just here. Sorry Coop! I'll take mine in Green or Black Mic. I love the stuff. This is what I carry most days. Mike
ChuteBaer-TRS1.jpg
 
Very few Kevin. Use to be Lovetts saw a lot of use. Seems that they are mostly becoming safe queens lately. Don't know why. The demand has just gone through the roof. What is really strange is that most of my customers can afford anything they want. And they still want the Micarta. Stag a close second, followed by Ivory, desert Iron wood, and Amboyna Burl.
 
i think micarta can look good on users or high end knives.....i do think there is nothing like the look and feel of burled wood or a nice piece of ivory.....i have only had one knife with ivory....a full tang neck knife.....when it started to separate the maker gladly redid it.....it looks a little crappy if you ask me but it hasn't separated again.......i do think though some people are missing kevin's point......everybody's talking about fisk's and loveless' and such.....i would have to be a moron to get a damascus fisk with micarta......c'mon.....like somebody is worried about using it or losing it in the woods......that thing is gonna get locked up in fort knox.....these are not users by any means......on a side not....a question for mr hanson......i can't believe you wait that long for your ivory to "dry"....hasn't it been sitting around for like a thousand years....i am sure i am missing something.....do you have a high percentage of ivory being stored that gets cracked or is not useable over time.....just wondering what kind of success rate you have with your ivory.....ryan
 
Kevin Jones said:
OK, I have to admit here are two examples where ivory micarta handles are absolutely beautiful.

Tharcis Holtzer Fighter. Photo borrowed from another thread.

Tharcis_HoltzerFighter.jpg
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I agree on this Holtzer fighter. This is the nicest micarta I have seen.
I generally like the fine grain linen micartas on certain knives but this color is near impossible to find. Came across a few blocks four or five years ago and haven't seen any since. Stunning knife.
 
ryan9977 said:
....a question for mr hanson......i can't believe you wait that long for your ivory to "dry"....hasn't it been sitting around for like a thousand years....i am sure i am missing something.....do you have a high percentage of ivory being stored that gets cracked or is not useable over time.....just wondering what kind of success rate you have with your ivory.....ryan
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Ryan, The thing you are missing, is fossil ivory has been soaking wet for thousands of years :)

Fossil ivory comes out of the ground in Alaska and Siberia, usually found in frozen mud and water, some comes from the North Sea and off the coast of Alaska. It is collected in the summer and sold shortly after. For it to be stable enough for knife handles, it needs to dry out and being a very dense material, it takes a while to dry. One year is probably long enough but two or three is better.

As I stated in an earlier post, my success rate with ivory is very high. I rarely have ivory crack while I'm storing it but it does curly, or bow and shrink. It can usually be ground flat after it's dry.

I guess I need to use more micarta ;) :)
 
Don Hanson III said:
Ryan, The thing you are missing, is fossil ivory has been soaking wet for thousands of years :)

Fossil ivory comes out of the ground in Alaska and Siberia, usually found in frozen mud and water, some comes from the North Sea and off the coast of Alaska. It is collected in the summer and sold shortly after. For it to be stable enough for knife handles, it needs to dry out and being a very dense material, it takes a while to dry. One year is probably long enough but two or three is better.

As I stated in an earlier post, my success rate with ivory is very high. I rarely have ivory crack while I'm storing it but it does curly, or bow and shrink. It can usually be ground flat after it's dry.

I guess I need to use more micarta ;) :)
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Don, you had me rolling on the floor with that one ;) :D :D
 
don....thanks for an explanation on the ivory....makes sense to me now.....i'm sure alot of people don't wait two or three years to use their ivory.....maybe you should use more micarta....i can see it now.....a fighter with a wicked hamon....maybe a 8 inch blade....and black micarta slabs.....i'd be glad to test it out for you at no charge:D ....in all seriousness...thanks for the info.....i don't post that much but i read alot of posts and always find it great that makers respond to topics.....ryan
 
You're quite welcome Ryan. ''Use more micarta"? It is possible, ya never know :) You should post more.

Kevin :D

Now, back on track. Let's talk about Micarta.
 
Don can be seen hunting micarta on nice days. Unfortunately he cannot find any that is as blue as the ivory growing in his shop.

Anyway, this is a JWS folder I carry all the time. It has nice maroon micarta scales which show nice texture but are very smooth. The knife its self is way to much fun to snap open and closed.

jws2.jpg
 
JWS knife: A fine example of tasteful micarta usage. I love the grain. Good one Jon. :thumbup:

Coop
 
Kevin Jones said:
OK, I have to admit here are two examples where ivory micarta handles are absolutely beautiful. I was actually seriously considering the Loveless for purchase about a year ago, however lost it as I was bogged down deciding if I could live with a micarta handle. My loss. :( someone else’s gain.

LovelessEngravedBoot.jpg


Tharcis Holtzer Fighter. Photo borrowed from another thread.

Tharcis_HoltzerFighter.jpg
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This is probably a really dumb question, but where do you find ivory Micarta as shown above? It looks really nice on both of these knives. However, when I look on the web at sites selling ivory Micarta, it always looks very pale, almost white.

On more question - what is the difference between linen and paper Micarta? (I am familiar with the canvas type)

Thanks,
Thor

(finally back from being out of the loop on this forum for several months)
 
I thought those two are Antique Ivory Micarta, which was only available from Westinghouse direct, and quite out of production for many years now.

Which is a shame, as they're so attractive.

-j
 
Personally, I like Micarta. You can get depth and texture unlike solid plastics that are homogenous. From a work standpoint, Micarta beats its progenitors (wood or bone) in terms of dimensional stability, density and porosity. From an appearance standpoint, it becomes purely a matter of personal taste.

I prefer Micarta but then I purchase knives to use not look at or invest in. I changed my 1911 grips from wood to Micarta too.
 
Thor I am said:
This is probably a really dumb question, but where do you find ivory Micarta as shown above? It looks really nice on both of these knives. However, when I look on the web at sites selling ivory Micarta, it always looks very pale, almost white.

On more question - what is the difference between linen and paper Micarta? (I am familiar with the canvas type)

Thanks,
Thor
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Welcome back, Thor.

1. The antique white ivory micarta was only a little off white when freshly worked, but yellows with time, exposure to light and air. It is some of the nicest synthetic material out there, but is very, very hard to find.

2. Linen micarta is made from a fabric with fine threads and a dense weave, and paper is made from just that. If you go to Busse Knives, they explain the difference on their website.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Not sure if I like micarta anymore now than 96 posts ago, however am learning a bit about it. ;) :D

By the way, how does G10 differ form micarta, or does it?
 
Kevin Jones said:
Oh, an insulator.
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My understanding is that it was developed as a "board" material for electronics that might be subject to knocks or strong accelerations (e.g., in missiles). Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

JD
 
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