Anyone making micarta?
- Thread starter Kev
- Start date
Larry Cooper
Member
micarta is a name brand that basically no one can replicate. However I've had great luck making homemade "micarta" using fiberglass resin. Do a you tube search and you'll find TONS of info.
My most popular knife scale is home made blue jean "micarta" I have also made knife scales from a deceased persons favorite shirt and made it in "micarta". I've personally made kitchen knives that are used daily in my home that shows no sign of wear! Do a search of youtube and you'll get tons of results.
My most popular knife scale is home made blue jean "micarta" I have also made knife scales from a deceased persons favorite shirt and made it in "micarta". I've personally made kitchen knives that are used daily in my home that shows no sign of wear! Do a search of youtube and you'll get tons of results.
Last edited:
Dennis Morland
KNIFE MAKER
luciousx5 made some a while back. Orange in color.
I didn’t realize it was a brand name, my bad.
I have made some before, with various degrees of success. Honestly I was hoping someone who has made lots of it with lots of success would step in. I just don’t want to mess it up. I’ll only get one shot at it.
I used a homemade press and fiber glass resin. Pretty basic setup.
Bill Hubbell
KNIFE MAKER
I see this is an old thread, but it caught my eye this morning.
Kev- I hope you found someone to help you out with the nostalgic 'micarta' so you could complete that special knife (did you?).
On a similar note, even with all of the drawbacks associated with mystery metals, I often cross that line to utilize something that has a special meaning when incorporated into a knife. Such as: a spike knife for my middle son who is with Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad...and a horseshoe knife for my son-in-law who has a cowboy side...a 'file knife' with stag handle from the first deer my oldest shot while we hunted together in '96 (first knife I made), a large Tanto for my youngest son, with 'micarta' handles made with burlap from a construction job-site (he does concrete).
And, now I'm working on a knife for my brother-in-law, that started as apiece of coil spring from his and his son's race car. He had a very special dog (Daisy) that passed away a few years ago. When I 'threw it out there' that we could possibly do micarta scales if he had anything nostalgic, such as a special article of clothing or something from someone special, or something like that, he came up with a leash and collar from Daisy. So, you guessed it- I now have two slabs of 'micarta' from Daisy's old leash and collar. Need to get the knife finished one of these days and get it to him...
I guess that's why this thread drew my attention.
I would love to see pics of that knife you were working on if you were able to get it done- and if you haven't, I would encourage you to get back to the vision you had if possible!
Nostalgia and sentiment can be a good thing in moderation!
Bill
Kev- I hope you found someone to help you out with the nostalgic 'micarta' so you could complete that special knife (did you?).
On a similar note, even with all of the drawbacks associated with mystery metals, I often cross that line to utilize something that has a special meaning when incorporated into a knife. Such as: a spike knife for my middle son who is with Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad...and a horseshoe knife for my son-in-law who has a cowboy side...a 'file knife' with stag handle from the first deer my oldest shot while we hunted together in '96 (first knife I made), a large Tanto for my youngest son, with 'micarta' handles made with burlap from a construction job-site (he does concrete).
And, now I'm working on a knife for my brother-in-law, that started as apiece of coil spring from his and his son's race car. He had a very special dog (Daisy) that passed away a few years ago. When I 'threw it out there' that we could possibly do micarta scales if he had anything nostalgic, such as a special article of clothing or something from someone special, or something like that, he came up with a leash and collar from Daisy. So, you guessed it- I now have two slabs of 'micarta' from Daisy's old leash and collar. Need to get the knife finished one of these days and get it to him...
I guess that's why this thread drew my attention.
I would love to see pics of that knife you were working on if you were able to get it done- and if you haven't, I would encourage you to get back to the vision you had if possible!
Nostalgia and sentiment can be a good thing in moderation!
Bill
I have not finished it yet. However I plan to soon. I couldn’t locate anyone that was willing to take in the project, so I set out to do it myself. So far, so good. I’ve done a series of layups with different materials, and some similar to the goal material. I plan on doing it soon and I’ll be sure to post pictures.
Abbott
Well-Known Member
What technique and resin do you prefer BossDog?
ekperaphael
New Member
The materials you can make micarta with includes colored paper, fabrics, old pair of blue jeans or any permeable materials with cool looking colors. You can even make a custom handle for your knife using certain natural dried materials found in nature in your neck of the woods.
Randy Lucius
Well-Known Member
Watch a couple of YouTube videos and you’ll be good to go. This was made from hunter orange safety vests that I got on clearance at Walmart. Came out solid without any voids or pin holes.
REK Knives
Well-Known Member
Yeah I'm curious on this too... Any good videos are appreciated! I'll see what I can find. So far as I can see there are 2 ways to do this... A press and a vacuum (or both)?
Randy Lucius
Well-Known Member
From what I’ve seen presses are used for micarta and vacuum is done for cast resins.
You can use thick metal plates/wood pieces and c clamps to make up homemade micarta if you are just doing straight stacked layers. Tricky part is getting it even an controlling the squeeze out mess. I use MarineGuard 8000 epoxy ($80 for 1.5 gallon kit, much less than West System or MAS Epoxy).
If doing a camo type pattern (chopped up pieces of fabric), you may want to do some sort of press using a jack screw or bottle jack to force the fabric into a solid block so it doesn't have pockets of just epoxy.
Some of the stuff I have made over the years
If doing a camo type pattern (chopped up pieces of fabric), you may want to do some sort of press using a jack screw or bottle jack to force the fabric into a solid block so it doesn't have pockets of just epoxy.
Some of the stuff I have made over the years
Bill Hubbell
KNIFE MAKER
Wow, Taz- You've produced a lot of beautiful results! Fun, isn't it?