Refinishing Polished Micarta? Help

Cobalt

Cobalt

Platinum Member
Joined
Dec 23, 1998
Messages
17,952
I have a knife with a smooth paper micarta handle that is really to slick for me. I want to give it the nice texture look without ruining the the Micarta. The handle cannot be removed. What might be the best way to go about this.
 
I saw an interesting surface treatment at the Canadian Knifemakers Guild show April 10 and 11.. Jose Debraga had taken a dremmel tool with a ball end bit and removed all of the handle mateial to a depth of about 1/16" inside a patterened area on the sides of the handle and produced a very interesting texture, not unlike leather tooling, in the finger grip area of the handle while leaving a smooth upper surface where the palm of the hand rests. The final finish was crreated by simply tooching the ball to the surface, raising it, and touching it again next to the previous mark.

george tichbourne

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george
 
The textured surface you seek is accomplised, I believe, by bead blasting. When I was a kid, many, many, many years ago, I took a shop course in high school where we sanblasted metal parts. Of course, the areas we did not want blasted were masked with tape to protect them. I am sure beadblasting is done in a similar way, but I don't know where a consumer would go to have it done. However, I have an interest because, bead blasted blades can become unsightly with use and it would be nice to be able to freshen them up from time-to-time. If I learn anything new, I will post it.

[This message has been edited by Willie Boy (edited 24 April 1999).]
 
A lot of auto body shops have bead blasting cabinets. Most will do "lunchtime" side-work for a couple bucks per item. I got a sample of camoflage G-10 from Kit Carson and it was bead-blasted. It had a shimmering quality that was quite odd, and the texture wasn't real deep, but better than the original. It looked and felt really cool!
 
So sanding won't do. The micarta has to be bead blasted in order to get the rough nice finish?
 
Cobalt I have put grooves in the handles of the knives that I built with a small chain saw file and a round needle file. I am going to get a checkering file and try this out as well, hope this helps.
Chris, www.toptexknives.com

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Thanks guys, I just don't want to ruin the micarta, so I want to do it right the first time out. I was wanting to sand it to give it the textured look, but no one seems to have ever done that before.
 
Cobalt I will send you some micarta so you can sand it and see if you like it.
Chris, toptexknives.com

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If you want a sort of pitted texture, then you'll want to bead blast the stuff. It is a subtle, pebbly texture that is common to many knives with G-10 scales. Basically checkering, but random instead of in a pattern. Otherwise, if all you want to do is sand it, then that is also possible. I have a knife with linen Micarta handles that I finished to 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, then buffed with red Dremel compound to clean it up a bit. Guves a nice matte finish that is much more grippy than polished Micarta, but it is still smooth. You could always go to 400, too, although I would suspect that 320 would be too rough and scratchy. Maybe not.
If you want to see this knife I am talking about, pictures are <a href = "http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/cetan.html"> here</a>.
Hope this is helpful!
Steve
 
Thanks, sanding and buffing is all I'm willing to do, since any more would require tools I don't have and more talent than I have, that's for sure.
 
Just a word of warning about using a checkering file. I bought one in order to give texture & grip (they are quite costly).
I thought just how hard can it be?? Well, it's harder to do than it looks, in order to do a nice job that is. Especially on a curved surface like a knife handle. So, to anyone who is thinking of using one for the first time, practice lots first!! Happy knifemaking.

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Cobalt, Marti will mail it in the morning. It is black paper micarta, about 3in. long and 1 1/2in. wide . I polished one side and one edge the other side is the way it comes from the factory. Let us know if you find a surface finish that is to your liking.
Chris, www.toptexknives.com

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BKC thanks for the info, I will do that before I try it on a knife.
Chris, Top of Texas Knives
www.toptexknives.com

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Ok, I'll try it out and see how it does with sanding. Thanks for the help.
 
Cobalt it went out this morning, let us know how it works out.
Chris, www.toptexknives.com

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Thanks Chris, I'll try it out. And I'll let you know. I'm going to try a few different things to see what works best.
 
Chris, I tried the sanding and it improved the feel, but did not look to good. So I then used the Dremmel tool to tap sand it and this gave it a much better finish that looked more like a working finish that could take abuse and not get messed up. Still, the looks are not great. Maybe Bead blasting is the only way to get the textured look and keep it looking nice. I'm going to try some other stuff on it and see what happens.
 
Sounds like you are busy. And maybe having some fun. I have used a needle file to put ridges on a handle. It might give you enough purchase on the handle. If you need some more to play with, give me a holler.
Chris, Top of Texas Knives
www.toptexknives.com

[This message has been edited by ToTKnives (edited 07 May 1999).]
 
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