repairing burned micarta

C

Cliff Stamp

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If micarta is burned enough so that there is visible blistering, is it likely that there is significant depth of penetration weakening the strength of the handle. Is the pattern visible going to be destroyed, or will it return once the damage material has been ground away.

-Cliff
 
Haven't done micarta yet, but it's built the same way as G-10.
I occasionally burned a spot on the G-10, it burns the glue, and the 'hairs' of fiber are frayed there. With Micarta the same would be true, except micarta has more of a pattern usually.
It depends on the burn. Why not sand a little and see? Is it a special piece? Depending on the intensity of the burn and how thick the piece is, it could be 'unglued' all the way through, or just a spot. Give us a few more details.

Ahh...rereading your post, I guess this is a hidden tang knife?
how did it happen? Grinding I assume. Well I can see hesitation in re-doing it. If it's for a customer I'd just grind it until it either looks good, or will have to be redone, and fix it.

Hope this helps, Kinda feel silly though, giving advice without having ever touched the material :rolleyes:
~Brian
 
cliff,
Before you grind away, remember what made it burn the first time. Dont want to keep burning the micarta. My guess is a dull sanding belt was used.
Let us know what happens.
 
Cliff, hand sand the entire handle so it stays even. If you just sand the burnt area, you'll end up with uneveness. More then likely only 1 or 2 layers were affected. Micarta is pretty durable material. Resanding it will bring back the original pattern since micarta is layered. Hand sanding will take longer but will lessen the chance of reburning it. I'd say start with 80 grit and work up to 600 grit. If you put it to a buffer, be careful that can burn it all over again.
Scott
 
it depends on how deep it went too
it may be better to replace it , if it gets out of the shape you wanted in the first place. use sharp belts. :)

BTW
Cliff did you say you sent that blade out to me?? no show yet??
 
blgoode said:
cliff,
Before you grind away, remember what made it burn the first time. Dont want to keep burning the micarta. My guess is a dull sanding belt was used.
Let us know what happens.
Click to expand...
Thanks Brian, I thought of that too after I submitted but as always you're on the ball! :D
 
Cliff,
What I would do is tape off the harware really good and go to town with 60 grit, the go up to 400 grit blending it in to the non damaged areas. Maybe do the same on the otherside to keep that side the same shape.
 
It may be in your best interest to send it back to Randall for repair.
Scott
 
I believe Micarta was developed by White Westinghouse as a replacement for Bakalite. It is used as an insulating material in North seas off-shore oil drilling platforms. Belt scorching in construction is usually very shallow; but if it got hot enough to blister the heat treat on the blade might be suspect and the damage to the Micarta might be fairly deep...Take Care...Ed
 
Razorback - Knives said:
It may be in your best interest to send it back to Randall for repair.
Click to expand...
I don't have it, the owner had already contacted Randall. He bought it on the secondary market.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
I don't have it, the owner had already contacted Randall. He bought it on the secondary market.

-Cliff
Click to expand...
Was it abuse or normal use? :D
Scott
 
Cliff, was this one of your tests?

.....I held the knife horizontally or as horizontally as I could using a laser level finder for reference over the camp fire. This was a normal camp fire comprised of mainly hard woods including oak and ash that has been allowed to come to complete conflaguration. Holding the knife by the blade and the micarta handle approximately 14" over the hottest part of the flame, it was my goal to see if the makers claims of rugged Micarta handle could be proved or disproved in a stressfull camping situation. I held the knife as long as my hand would allow as to what could reasonably approximately a drunken tumble into a camp fire after several beers and s'mores. The Micarta (TM) handle showed noticeable delamination to a depth of approximately 1/8". I will not be able to verify the actual depth of the delamination until my hand has completely healed and the bandages have been removed....

Kidding Cliff. A little humor Sunday morning.
I'd guess the pattern will be fine after sanding 1/16" past the delamination. The bubbles on that knife look to be deep and removing them is going to really mess up the handle. I'm not sure sanding past them is going to work with out really messing up the contours, lines and feel of the handle.
 
Tracy........................I love camp fires
BTW ,,was the laser level solar powered? :confused: :D

Cliff I got the knife yesterday
I will say. that's not a bad re-grind at all,,
I'll post more when I get a chance to look at it closer if I can find the thread again...
but it looks like a reg hollow grind on a big wheel,, just ground thin :confused:
..I want to check the radius to see what diameter wheel was used :)
 
tmickley said:
Cliff, was this one of your tests?
Click to expand...
I actually lit a micarta grip on fire before. McCLung claimed G10 was superior to Micarta because it would absorb solvents and G10 would not, thus it was more of a fire hazard.

I took a Micarta grip, put gas on it and lit it on fire, the gas just burned off. Then I soaked it in gas for an extended period of time and lit it on fire, the gas again just burned off.

Dan, the edge itself you will notice is uneven, that is because of the hack job I did on it before it was hollow ground.

-Cliff
 
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