Micarta - When is it appropriate for use?

Kevin Jones said:
I like the green Micarta on the Bona as it adds to it's high tech style. Have always liked that one.
However IMO, the fighters would look SOOOOO much better in stag, ironwood ivory.
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Friend of mine has a Big Bear in walrus ivory. Seems to be the only one in existence and was made for him, special.

It's a nice piece for sure, and worth a lot more than a micarta version....but....if it were mine, I would have gotten it in black linen micarta...why, you ask?

Because the black is not the norm, beautiful to look at AND it is stable. Stablity in handle material on a knife that may be worth $40,000 is important to me, how about you, Kevin?

BTW, I have a Lovett chute knife with ironwood, and got it engraved by Dusty Moulton. Remind me to show it to you sometime.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Friend of mine has a Big Bear in walrus ivory. Seems to be the only one in existence and was made for him, special.

It's a nice piece for sure, and worth a lot more than a micarta version....but....if it were mine, I would have gotten it in black linen micarta...why, you ask?

Because the black is not the norm, beautiful to look at AND it is stable. Stablity in handle material on a knife that may be worth $40,000 is important to me, how about you, Kevin?
BTW, I have a Lovett chute knife with ironwood, and got it engraved by Dusty Moulton. Remind me to show it to you sometime.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Yep, STeven very important and on a $40,000 knife it had better be stable.......
 
Has anyone seen or handled any of the types of micarta listed on this page?

norplex-micarta

If any of them would work for knife handles, it seems like they might be exotic enough to be appropriate for a high end custom (albeit a fairly tech one).

I would think the kevlar micarta might be an interesting color and texture.
 
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Kevin Jones said:
I like the green Micarta on the Bona as it adds to it's high tech style. Have always liked that one.
However IMO, the fighters would look SOOOOO much better in stag, ironwood ivory.
Click to expand...

To me, this kinda goes full circle back to my original thoughts in that micarta is great for hard use knives. And adds modern, state of the art appeal to tactical and high tech knives.
But IMO, it's just not for expensive high end customs for both aesthetic and financial reasons.
 
I am not a big fan of micarta for my customs, preferring ivory, MOP, stag, etc.

However, I was on a trip to Africa and spent a few weeks in an area in which everything that I owned made of natural fibers rotted off, almost literally before my eyes. Leather sheaths as well, and a couple of wood handles, one of which was supposed to be stabilised. Thank goodness for polyester underwear, nylon clothing, kydex sheaths, and micarta, which were not affected at all. (I obviously did not bring any high-end ivory, pearl, or stag handled knives to that place.)

If I ever go back there (hopefully not) it'll be micarta all the way.
 
Thanks for posting that Bona, Mike. It's appeal is magnified with the usage of the green canvas micarta--an otherwise ugly duckling that has grown on me and countless others. You would know this firsthand.

Sounds like if someone stumbled upon a cache of OLD Westinghouse Ivory Micarta, it would be more valuable than the modern synthetic counterpart.

In Custom knives, rarity has value.... :thumbup:

The old stuff turns yellow with age, eh?? Speaking of such... Now here's another from my Kumbaya stash.... ;)

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Photos (and knife deal) courtesy of Mr. RogerP.

Coop
 
shaldag said:
I am not a big fan of micarta for my customs, preferring ivory, MOP, stag, etc.

However, I was on a trip to Africa and spent a few weeks in an area in which everything that I owned made of natural fibers rotted off, almost literally before my eyes. Leather sheaths as well, and a couple of wood handles, one of which was supposed to be stabilised. Thank goodness for polyester underwear, nylon clothing, kydex sheaths, and micarta, which were not affected at all. (I obviously did not bring any high-end ivory, pearl, or stag handled knives to that place.)

If I ever go back there (hopefully not) it'll be micarta all the way.
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No doubt about it. If I were in severe conditions where I really had to count on my knife, I would perfer micarta.
 
I once spent some time in the knife industry :) and was trying to come up with a knife for a team of folks whowould spend extended time in the jungles of SA.

They demanded hard synthetic handles and Kydex. I asked why no nylon? Apparently when Nylon gets soiled with blood, grease or whatever the native bugs would eat holes right through it. They laughed at the idea of leather.
They actually preferred carbon to stainless as they could sharpen them easier in the field. I referred them to Mad Dog knives, no joke.
 
I was reading through this thread (very interesting, very informative) and it made me think of another angle to the debate.

Perhaps this is only a question that a Less Knowledgeable Member would ask :p, but would it be fair to say that micarta is the only synthetic material that would be considered for high-end, custom knives?
 
ThreeWorlds said:
Perhaps this is only a question that a Less Knowledgeable Member would ask :p, but would it be fair to say that micarta is the only synthetic material that would be considered for high-end, custom knives?
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Well...

Do you mean in the traditional fixed blade patterns? And how high end?

Does stabilized wood counts as synthetic? The impregnating material surely isn't natural.

I've seen Corian used to nice effect, although more as an accent on stabilized wood rather than as the entire handle material.

What about full steel (no handle material) pieces? That's not really natural either...

-j
 
ThreeWorlds said:
...would it be fair to say that micarta is the only synthetic material that would be considered for high-end, custom knives?
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No - why should it be? :confused: I have seen (pictures of) knives by Jurgen Steinau with inlays of countless materials, including many synthetic. I have also seen knives using bakelite, carbon fiber, or even glass...
 
Kevin,
Great thread. :thumbup:

Before reading this,when I thought about micarta,first things I thought of were Loveless/Lovett and the military.

I really like it polished.
And it's bombproof.

Doug
 
so then what say you about these 2 knives. im not a big name or a real collectible but for what its worth have a look .
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butcher_block said:
so then what say you about these 2 knives. im not a big name or a real collectible but for what its worth have a look .
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Look like quality users to me, and maybe collectible for a beginner...nice work. I prefer bolsters/guard, fwiw.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
working on one with bolsters but well soldering SS to SS is less then fun

your reply as given me drive in setting up the bolsters first attempt failed but im not one to stop at a problem
 
butcher_block said:
working on one with bolsters but well soldering SS to SS is less then fun

your reply as given me drive in setting up the bolsters first attempt failed but im not one to stop at a problem
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I think that knifemaker Phillip Patton is the one that recently wrote about using JB Weld instead of silver solder for the bolsters.

A search should provide the answer.

Also recommend that you work on crisping up those grind lines a bit. Washy grind lines are the sign of a beginner OR someone who does not care about top quality presentation...of course, there is always flat grinding.:D

Your hook bevels look superb.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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