Paper Micarta (Black) - tips?

D

Don Nguyen

Joined
Oct 4, 2011
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1,043
Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I've been working with black paper micarta from TexasKnife lately. It turns out as a good handle, but it's pretty darn tricky to work with.


  • It heats up absurdly fast, and retains that heat for quite a while - I have to really be careful with grinding it and even drilling, or else I'll turn my bits purple quickly. I was running at about 40 SFM for drilling. It also drills under-sized - anyone know how much I have to account for?
  • When grinding/sanding, it burns almost instantly at a moderate speed and turns into a dark green.
  • It's super tough/dense, and even when using a 36 blue zirc at moderate speeds it really takes some work.

Any advice I appreciate. Thanks for your time, Happy Thanksgiving! Sincerely,

-Don Nguyen
 
Black Paper Micarta is very tough to work with! I am a big fan of the way it looks and feels so I keep working with it. I don't think there is an easy way to work it but it can be worked and does look great. I love the feel, the satin black and the ultra light weight.

- use new belts, zirconia belts work pretty well ( 60 and 120 zirconia before hand finishing works well... or 40, 80, 120) after that I like a 220 JFlex belt
- grind slow and lightly, never let heat build up (literally one pass then cool down)
- drill it backed and use light pressure at the end, use newer bits
- hand finish; I like 220, 400, 600 and 1000 for a nice satin black, you can go to a higher grit for a shiny finish and buff lightly with black compound

Like I said I think it is very tough to work with. The main thing is don't let it get crazy hot while doing the initial shaping then switch to a brand new 120 belt to carefully clean up. After that it will take more hand sanding than usual to build it up to 400 but seems to go somewhat nicely afterwards.


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Are all paper micartas similar in nature? Does linen micarta work in the same manner?

I love how it ends up at a medium grit satin, but I was in for a big surprise when I started trying to shape it :o
 
Very sharp belts and SLOW speed. Takes a bit longer but worth it. Linen work very similar not quite to sensitive, and canvas is even less.
 
All paper micarta will be fairly similar. Linen micarta is a little easier to work and canvas micarta is even easier than linen.
I haven't done much with paper but linen and canvas aren't difficult enough to be worth mentioning.
 
I've found you can also carve it fairly easy. It also works well with a dremel danding attachment without much of a heat buildup.
 
Hmm, I gotta try carving it. Sawing it is pretty easy, so I try to remove as much as I can with that.

Initially I was looking for a cheap and tough material as a basic handle option, but it turns out the time put in for these doesn't actually make it cheap. I'm almost leaning towards 1/2" G10 stock at Alpha Knife, which is not nearly as cheap money wise, but G10 just works so much easier than this (and is super tough and light too).
 
if you get to the point you do hand work on it. Use Windex or lamp oil to keep the grit in suspention to get a smooth finish,
 
Not much to add except that my usual routine for shaping it is to work with a fresh belt running slowly to get it close then hand finish after 120 grit. It can be a real bear, and I've gotten a few pieces that had a greenish tinge in areas that seemed to just be part of the material, like it was the resin itself. Nothing I did could get rid of it. I'm not talking about the tinge you get from overheating it, the material looked normal in that regard.

Like Daniel I usually leave it a slight satin, so around 1k grit. I'll go to 1500 just to be sure I'm not missing scratches and to get it all even, then back to 1000 or even 800 wet sanding. If I'm going for a non satin finish I'll go to 2k or even 2500 then buff. I clean it off after buffing with a piece of old denim. I do the same after the satin finish sanding, to help get rid of any loose material. I usually wash it off really well then dry it and give it a gentle rub with the denim.

I default to linen, which I find is much more forgiving without having quite as visible a pattern as the canvas micarta. I like paper as well, but think for a more workman like finish the linen is nicer. If I'm going for a smooth and polished look the paper is great. I also tend to use the paper on kitchen knives when I want BLACK not just really dark grey. I've yet to get linen or canvas micarta to have that deep rich black you can get with the paper. As much as I dislike the dust created I still think the double black G10 is the best option for kitchen knives when you want a deep black synthetic at a reasonable price. There are better materials but they're harder to get and harder to work, the G10's my middle ground between hassle, cost and results.
 
Awesome advice everyone :)

I do really love how the paper micarta turns out, but now that I know how finnicky it is I'll probably use it less (or in smaller sections). G10 is looking more friendly at the moment, or maybe I'll try out some stable woods.
 
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