Microtech rubberized inlays - material?

T

ThrawnX

Joined
May 16, 2005
Messages
38
Is the material of the rubberized inlays (e.g. current Socom) complete made of "rubber" / Kraton or is the basic material the usual skateboard tape?

If skateboard tape: Does it wear of over time so that the basic material is visible?
 
ThrawnX said:
Is the material of the rubberized inlays (e.g. current Socom) complete made of "rubber" / Kraton or is the basic material the usual skateboard tape?

If skateboard tape: Does it wear of over time so that the basic material is visible?
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The current Socom Elites use a rubber textured tape material cut to fit the inlay areas. The older models used skateboard tape, which was decidedly more grippy at the expense of abrading everything it touched.

I haven't ever had one wear off or even begin to come off, but it's possible that the tape might peel off eventually if you destroy the adhesive. You could always just use spray adhesive and stick it back on.
 
I can't seem to find anything more than just a general description of the SOCOM Elite handle material.
I don't see anything listing specifically what it is.
I've carried mine made 2019 and it seems to be durable and grippy.
Definitely some kind of rubber material and doesn't abrade things it comes in contact with.
It'd be cool to go back with some other kind of material if they ever fell off.
 
Thank you for the feedback!
So, more like the old kraton inserts and not the skateboard tape = no worry about durability
 
My Mini SOCOM is 20 years old, and while it hasn't been carried all that time, it has been carried and used quite a bit, and the rubber is holding up fine. Still has texture, hasn't peeled, and hasn't gone soft and gummy/sticky like rubber can. I still hate the stuff and wish it had better inserts, but I can't complain about it not holding up.20200629_144554_edited.jpg
 
WValtakis said:
I thought so;)The grip tape inlays were thrashed, and I had a bunch of old piano keys laying around:cool:

20200721_155129-jpg.1391058
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That's just nifty!

I've thought about commissioning carbon fibre inlays for my Microtech, but I'd still hate the knife for its other attributes, so it'd just be a waste.

Korean Hog said:
Nice! I was thinking about maybe one day buying some ray skin to go in place of the rubber inlays like they do on the super expensive Marfione Customs
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I don't know about doing that. I've had a couple stingray wallets, and the denticles aren't particularly durable; the tops of the bumps break off and you're left with something that doesn't look nearly as nice. Granted, the wallet was also in the same pocket with keys and other stuff on the keys and a SAK, but I would still have to wonder about a knife, especially the clip side, going in and out of the pocket and whatnot. I'm guessing those Marfione customs don't get used much by the people that own them.
 
The first generation models like some of the other early models of the UDT series had krayton rubber inserts and they still held up this long. The current models are more like skate tape but not as abrasive. Over the years they have made some with other material inserts like carbon fiber. Between myself and my Son (who I gave this 1999 model Socom) this knife has seen a rough life it has been a heavy user for 21 years and the kraton inserts are still hanging in there.
1999 model Socom
1999SocomA-XL.jpg


1999SocomC-XL.jpg

2019 model Socom with Socom Alpha
20200426_112649%20%281%29-XL.jpg
 
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Planterz said:
That's just nifty!

I've thought about commissioning carbon fibre inlays for my Microtech, but I'd still hate the knife for its other attributes, so it'd just be a waste.



I don't know about doing that. I've had a couple stingray wallets, and the denticles aren't particularly durable; the tops of the bumps break off and you're left with something that doesn't look nearly as nice. Granted, the wallet was also in the same pocket with keys and other stuff on the keys and a SAK, but I would still have to wonder about a knife, especially the clip side, going in and out of the pocket and whatnot. I'm guessing those Marfione customs don't get used much by the people that own them.
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IF I did it, I figured I'd put some kind of light, clear coating over it, I'm thinking a high quality epoxy like the West System kit.
This is just an idea I'm toying with at this point, projects like this won't come back up again until the weather cools off.
HVAC Techs. from the deep south USA are quite busy this time of year.
The ray skin on my Tendick Oregonto is holding up but they're most likely coated in epoxy the same time the handle wrap is being soaked, and then they are, of course, under the handle wrap.
You brought up a really good point though about durability and I'll keep that in mind and find a way to coat the ray skin if I ever do decide to give a project like that "a go".
 
The Aflac Duck said:
You’ll need a dremel to shape it, a blade just won’t cut it. So basically you’ll be grinding a dead fish with a dremel. I’ll warn you now, it smells really bad :eek:
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I've ground on ray-skin before, and YES, I remember it smelling like burning hair mixed with some sort of pungent metallic, fishy smell.
It's a very distinct smell, I remember the first few whiffs hitting my nose like an ammonia stick. :D
 
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