Worn sebenza micarta inlays

[Nottynuffknives]

So I just bought my first small sebenza with micarta inlays (second sebenza that I own).
I've only had it for less than a week and the micarta is already all black (which I'm okay with). Granted, I do work in a machine shop that uses oil for coolant so my hands always have some oil on them even if I wipe them with a towel before using my sebbie. All of this has made me curious as to how it could look 2-5 years or more from now.

My questions are : How does the micarta wear over time? Does anyone have a crk with micarta inlays that they've had and carried for years? Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

 

[vwb563]

I’ve owned a couple micarta Sebs and the micarta would get dark looking over time and use. It would get almost black looking but a good scrubbing with Dawn dishwash and rubbing alcohol would bring it back normal looking.

 

[vjb.knife]

If you work in a machine shop You may know that some machines use Micarta as wear plates and with proper lubrication they last a very long time. One of the steel mills I worked in as a the manager of the Maintenance department used micarta in several high load applications. There was tubing reduction machine that had a framework sled made of cast steel and weighed a couple of tons which had feet made of micarta. This sled rode on flat steel runways and was driven back and forth travelling about 3-4 feet on the micarta feet riding on the steel runways. These thing pounded away maybe 30 cycles a minute all day long through two shifts five to seven days a week. When I started there I was amazed that these feet lasted as long as they did. They would run several years before they needed to be changed out; micarta is some tough stuff. I have two Sebenzas with the micarta panels on them and I actually put some oil on mine to give them a darker color, it made a small change.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

It wears fine over time, it’s basically just fabric suspended in epoxy, so pretty darn durable. There are epoxy floors that last years after way more wear than your inlays will see. They will darken up a bit, but it’s not like they are going to look drastically different after a month of wear or 3 years of wear.

I’ve had my 21 for like 7 years (?) and the inlays look pretty much the same as I always remember them looking.

 

[cashville]

They’ll darken over time from a variety of things like the oils from your hand. You can always lighten it back up by just lightly scrubbing the micarta with some soap and water.