Working Micarta and Dymondwood

[me2]

I was tinkering with the notion of using some Dymond Wood or Micarta for a home made knife handle, instead of the wood I've been using. Any advice on working with it? I know Micarta can be toxic if heated during grinding. Also, I'm finally ready (I think) to break into that slab of PolyPearl from TKS. Any tips on that as well? One side is already finished it looks like, the other is rough. Which side would be best to turn out (or in depending on how you look at it) for a full tang handle?

 

[Robert_Phelps]

Dymondwood is bad to breathe in while sanding on it. Its dust has formaldihyde in it, so make sure to use a respirator rated for it. I've made a dymondwood handle look pretty good with an assortment of sandpapers, then by going over it with a very fine steel wool. ..A buffer would probably be nicer, though.

 

[CDH]

I have put on almost a dozen slabs of micarta and still have trouble power grinding it without burning. New (sharp) belts help reduce the heat buildup, as does moderate pressure and keep it moving! It stinks when burned. I am now hand filing and sanding it for at least the last 1/8" of stock removal. The dust is fine, and like all fine dusts you don't want to breathe it.

It is dang tough, though. If it can survive my wife beating it in the kitchen for a year and a half without showing a single mark, it is really tough!

 

[joe9knives]

I use micarta now but have done some dymondwood in the past. They are usually treated the same. I sand it to 800 grit and then polish with white rouge on a buffer. you can make it very shiny and slippery if you want. On the micarta, you can also sand or bead blast it to make it "grippy".

 

[me2]

Can either be sanded effectivley by hand? FWIW, I have left dymond wood in water long enough that it swelled and cracked. However, it took much longer than the wood I'm using now.