What grit would I use to bring back shine to micarta?

[sunandsteel]

I used some 400 grit on my natural micarta but thinking about bringing back the original shine to it again. 1000 grit ok or higher? Also, will this substantially affect the grip?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I'd think 1000+ should work well. You might want to gradually work up to that, from the 400 you've already used. A sequence of 600 -> 800 -> 1000 -> etc. should work pretty well to clean up the coarse 400-grit scratches. Jumping straight to 1000+ from the 400 will likely leave some deeper scratches behind, and they'll really stand out against the rest of the high-polish finish.

You might find a high-polish shine on micarta will be slippery, depending on how you use the knife.


David

 

[foxhunter2]

One of my kitchen knife micarta handel is too slippery, so what should I do
go to 220 grit ??

Thanks
Obsessed with Edges

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

One of my kitchen knife micarta handel is too slippery, so what should I do
go to 220 grit ??

Thanks
Obsessed with Edges

I wouldn't jump too far, too soon. If it were mine, I'd step back gradually with the grit. With a handle that's already polished, sometimes it doesn't take much 'roughing up' of the finish to greatly enhance the grip. Maybe try something like 800 or 600 first; if that's not quite enough, step back to 400, then lower, if need be. Too big of a jump to a much rougher grit might be more than you need, maybe not as attractive as you'd prefer, and more tedious to polish or refine again, if you don't like it.


David

 

[SC_Dave]

It won't last forever but, a light coat of WD40 will give micarta a nice rich look and add a little shine too.
David

 

[sunandsteel]

I think I'll leave the knife alone. I like the grip alot and don't need it to be shiny and the more I look at it, the more I like it. Not sure what I was thinking.