Micarta ?

P

Pelallito

Well-Known Member
Hello,
I have a piece of Micarta that I recently found in the bottom of a tool box drawer in the shop. I thought that it was either a brown or red micarta and decided to use it on a knife that I was in a hurry to make.
When I started machining it and grinding and sanding the exterior finish started to disappear and I started to see a lighter almost blond color emerge. I went back to my original piece and examined the fresh cut side that I took my scales from.
I could see that the dark finish on both sides was very thin and the entire center is this yellow/blond color.
I really like the color and my scale has a tiny amount of the red/brown on the top, bottom and sides with the rest that cream/blond color.
Does any body have any idea of what I have?:eek: I probably bought it over twenty years ago and it got eaten by my tool box until this weekend.
Thanks for the help.
Regards,
Fred
 
There is typically no UV protection in most micarta and it will change color over time due to light exposure. It's fairly normal. When I first heard about this I was skeptical and put some out in the full sun for a couple days. It darkened up after only a few days of full sunlight.
 
Tracy,
Thanks for the reply. How do we protect micarta from these changes?
I am also a little confused about the color change, in that it was in a drawer that is in my shop that has been opened very few times and for very short amount of time over the last 20+ years. I mostly have fluorescent lights in the garage.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Fred
 
It'll probably turn back to that darker color after its on the knife for a while. I've got some that the block is brown, it finishes out a nice olive drab and over time starts taking on a brown color again. Still looks nice though.
 
Cliff,
Thanks for the reply. I sanded to 800 and then buffed it with white compound. Is there anything else you recommend? I am curious about how it will eventually look like.
Regards,
Fred
 
I used some brown micarta once and when finishing it it turned to a light blond color and then almost like a sunburst color. I have only used the brown once so I wasnt sure if it was normal or not.
 
Pelallito said:
Cliff,
Thanks for the reply. I sanded to 800 and then buffed it with white compound. Is there anything else you recommend? I am curious about how it will eventually look like.
Regards,
Fred
Click to expand...
That's about it. I'm not aware of anything that will keep it from changing colors. Some of it does that especially the older stuff. Like Tracy said, my guess is the resin that was used was not UV resistant.
 
Guys, Thanks for all of the replies and help. It might be the old linen micarta. It was available about 20 years ago. No photo of it yet, because I have not finished the blade polishing and sharpening it. Right now the blade is covered with blue masking tape because it already bit me once, even though it is not sharpened completely.:(
I will take and post photos as soon as I can of the knife and the piece of micarta.
Regards,
Fred.
 
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