Stable wood

[bluerain]

Hi
I have not used stable wood before and was wondering if the texture of stabilized wood is good for
wet conditions.I guess it maybe the same as micarta? I like using good ol walnut. Ty

 

[TheOTBalisong]

Although stabilized wood will fare better in high-moisture or high-heat better than Natural wooden scales, it still must be properly taken care of in order for the wood to stay in good condition.

As for the micarta, Wood can probably fare just as well as micarta can considering their both natural materials, but IMO Stabilized wood can preform better if properly taken care of.

 

[DCL Knives]

I don't think Micarta is a natural materiel? But I think Micarta left at a low grit or bead blasted is very grippy, probably more so then wood.

 

[Mahoney]

Micarta is a composite material made from sheets of fabric or paper saturated and glued together with resin. Although the paper or fabric may be made from natural fibers like cotton, the overall performance of micarta is that of a reinforced plastic. For example, micarta is more water resistant than the vast majority of unstablized wood species. Stabilized wood is water resistant, but if finished to a high gloss can be slippery when wet. However, surface texture like checkering, or bead blasting can be applied to the handle, and due to the increased hardness of the stabilized wood it will probably "wear" longer than an equivalent handle made from unstabilized wood of the same species before being rubbed smooth again. All this said, natural wood has been used for knife handles for centuries. Use the material that works best for you and your methods of work

 

[Patrickknives]

Stabilized wood can be sanded to any finish you wish, If you sand to 220 it will be a bit more grippy then 600. Canvas micarta will always have a texture which is much better in wet conditions, it more a property of the material where the edges of the fabric are exposed even if sanded to a fine grit. If I were to plan stabilized wood for wet conditions I would do some type of checkering to provide a good grip surface.

 

[phillipsted]

Actually, the trademarked Norplex Micarta is made from cotton cloth or paper combined with a phenolic resin made from Soybeans and cured under high heat and pressure.

The backyard micarta made by artisans is normally based on an automotive or marine epoxy - this makes it more akin to a "cotton G-10" than micarta...

TedP