Mother-of_Pearl - beautiful but practical?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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Personally, I love the mother of pearl. On handles, it looks beautiful.

However, the practical side of me is always pulling me aside and whisper in my ear, "this material may be lovely to look at but it is hardly the kind of handle material that you want to take with you into the field."

What do you guys think?
 
I've been collecting and using MOP's for quite a few years. I've owned and used MOP's dating from the mid 1850's. As a matter of fact there are more excellent plus MOP's from the 1800's then there are bone handled knives. Now admittedly the MOP's were not used as hard but any scale material that can stand up over 100 years has got to be pretty sturdy. The biggest problem for MOP is handling a hard impact directly to the scales, they do have a tendency with a hard blow to crack. That and they are normally comparitively slick to handle. Normal usage they should be fine, hard-core tactical usage probably not.
 
I love my William Henry T12 Spearpoint with MOP scales. I use it everyday and even dropped it a couple of times. (Clumsy fool) I have never had a problem with it. I also carry a Sebenza (off duty) and a Microtech Socom Elite (on duty) for "Tactical applications." for a hard use knife, I like a heavier knife, but I believe that the Mop would stand up if used. That's just my opinion.

Jason
 
This has been my primary EDC for a couple of months now. Burkstar is right in that they might crack if they receive a hard/direct blow and they are a bit on the slippery side as well. I just love the way it looks and I just had to have a knife with MOP. I'm not a hard use guy, so I figured I could risk it. I have never dropped it, but it does stay in the pocket that has my keys in it and I have bumped into things kinda hard with it and it has stayed intact so far. I'm extremely pleased with it.

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Let me add that I too am getting an LCC customized, but with abalone and it will also be a user.
 
MOP looks great and i like it on some knifes, but as General Patton said after he was asked if his Colt 45's had MOP handles, "hell no there Ivory handles, MOP is for New Orleans Pips"! hehe

Just thought that was funny, if you like it go ahead and use it, i just hope you don't run into Patton's ghost. :p LOL

James
 
IMHO, there is nothing that dresses up a little 1 or 2 blade slipjoint
and turns an EDC into a Sunday-Go-To-Meeting folder like some beautifully "rainbowed", deeply patterned MOP.

My experience as a maker is that the only handle material that outsells my collecting grade linerlocked knives with mother of pearl, is a one with dark, mostly blue Woolly Mammoth Ivory.

My little one and two blade slipjoints are almost as popular with MOP as those with the "traditional" jigged bone slabs, even though pearl is more costly than jigged bone.

Pearl is pretty resiliant material. It just doesn't like to be put under stress or hit by a hard object.

One recommendation is to carry it in a slipcase especially if you are carrying other stuff in the same pocket.

Rumor has it that President Bush carries a Case Small Texas Toothpick with a pearl handle....read this somewhere.

Stay Safe,
 
On certain knives I find that Goldlip and Blacklip MOP can be as stunning as any material used for knife handles. Check out this link if you want to see how nice these materials can look.

Shell knife handles

I would not even consider MOP on a hard use knife. As mentioned above, it is too slick when wet and not that tough. It is pretty though, and goes well on Gent's and fancy knives.
 
FYI-
It's a good thing old Blood & Guts didn't run into the following fighting Texans who all carried Colt SAA's with MOP grips:

Tom Threepersons - Border Patrol and more
Frank Hamer (the man that got Bonnie & Clyde - his was carved MOP), John R Hughes, and others - Texas Rangers.

Seems like around the turn of the 19th/20th century a lot of real Texas fighting men used and liked MOP and these guns definitely saw hard use.

Anyway just my two cents worth
Chuck
 
Pearl is one of my favorite handle materials. No, it's not a good idea to subject it to a hard impact or dropping it on the floor. I like pearl, because it is so beautiful and is less likely to shrink like woods, stag or bone.
 
Just curious--I've got a Marbles knife that is supposed to be Alante pearl or something like that (the box just says "White Pearl, Al...").
Does anyone know what it's actually made of? Thanks.

Brad
 
personally, good-quality faux pearl looks so nice and is so readily available and inexpensive...i'm almost hooked...
 
I'll get a gentleman's knife with MOP handles. Of course, there may be some debate if I can ever achieve this status.
:D
 
I have a small folder in damascus and black MOP by Wayne Valachovic. Even the filework has filework. Absolutely stunning knife. Carry it in a slip-case in my left front. Hardest use she's seen is cutting a loose thread or two. Mostly a conversation piece. The only other person I've let even hold it was a collector of exclusively MOP knives.

A beautiful natural material, but it's inherant fragility scares me!
 
Just curious--I've got a Marbles knife that is supposed to be Alante pearl or something like that (the box just says "White Pearl, Al...").
Click to expand...

Faux Pearl is what it is, but it is still pretty on the Marbles knives.

I think MOP handled knives fall into the gentleman’s knife area, meant for formal dress carry, suit and tie, Sunday go to church close etc. I think MOP can be one of the most beautiful materials on a knife there is.
 
I just got one and it's GORGEOUS! :eek:
I too am wondering how it will stand up to use. Not die-hard tactical stuff, but in the office.
Consensus seems to be that it'll be OK, as long as I respect it.
Thanks, I learned something new here (again!). :D
 
Bobby, you won't have any problem with MOP using the knife the way you have planned. My grandfather had a pearl handled pocket knife for fifty years and the MOP never cracked or chipped and he used it alot.
 
The BEST advice I can give a knifeowner owning a mop, be damn careful who you let handle it if showing it.I learned the hard way!
 
I think it depends on the useage.

As a young boy, I had a long, slender knife called a 'banana knife.' The MOP grips remained in good shape (and in good looks) for the entire time I had the knife. I dropped it and bumped it plenty; boys are hard on things.

Then, I had a small automatic pistol in .25 ACP; it was called a Bauer, a copy of a Baby Browning in stainless with MOP grips. Talk about a pimps gun! Why I bought it, who knows! However, that was during those 'tequila days.'

While the MOP was bonded to some fairly thick black plastic, the MOP chipped around the grip screws during the first magazine fired. I sent them back for some thin replacement wood grips. Despite their narrow profile, they never chipped.
 
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