What is Micarta?

[alex1951]

Who can tell me what and where does Micarta come from.

 

[Ron Andersen]

Hi Alex,

Here's a great description for Micarta for you from Triple Aught Design:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">MICARTA: the most common form is linen micarta. Similar construction as G-10. The layers of linen cloths are soaked in a phenolic resin. The end product is a material that is lightweight, strong, as well as having a touch of class (thus dressier than G-10). Micarta has no surface texture, it is extremely smooth to the touch. It is a material that requires hand labor, which translates into a higher priced knife. Micarta is a relatively soft material that can be scratched if not treated properly.</font>

Other well-written knife-related definitions are found on their web-site: http://www.tripleaughtdesign.com/glossary.htm

"Micarta" is a Westinghouse trademark.




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Ron Andersen
Consumer Services Manager
SOG Specialty Knives, Inc.

Website: www.sogknives.com
Email: ron@sogknives.com

 

[Paul Davidson]

That is a pretty good description. It does leave out some of the other types besides linen, although linen is probably the most common. There is also paper, canvas, and rag micarta. They are basically the same, but with the different materials replacing the linen. It seems like I used to see more rag micarta on survival/combat knives a few years ago, but it's pretty uncommon now. It looks like a bunch of random fibers in phenolic resin. I think it had a tendency to chip out more easily.

A.G. Russell uses a product that is just like micarta, but he calls it rucarta. I think it's like the difference between Stellite and Talonite, different in name more than anything else.

Paul