The Amateur Crafter: Get A Grip!

Been a bit under the weather lately, most likely from either the recent flu shot or from some of the students showing up sick at school. So, not much shop work going on this week except for just drilling some holes.

But it occurred to me from posting my last article that it might be a good idea to inform readers of the materials, terms, etc. I’m using in my knife making particularly if some of the readers don’t have any experience with knife making or collecting. So I thought that I’d write a basic article on that. 

Micarta. Micarta is actually a brand name that’s now being used as a term to describe layered epoxy resin block. The layering comes from laying materials such as paper, canvas, linen, or even denim in strips with a coating of epoxy resin in between each layer. The material used really isn’t too important, and it can be quite flimsy. 

But what matters is that the material with the epoxy in between is pressed together and allowed to stay like that while the resin is hardening. This creates a very strong but easily worked block suitable for handle (scale) material. Check out some of the photos retrieved from various knife maker supply websites or other knife maker web galleries. 

The following micarta photos were retrieved from canmanstan.com.

 
 
 
 Black Paper Micarta
 
 

 

Black Linen Micarta

Various Canvas Micarta. Retrieved from fowlweathercustomcalls.com.

Denim Micarta. Photo retrieved from fendleyknives.com.

From the photos, one can see the various textures and patterns left from grinding away the micarta. The micarta is what I’ve used so far on my knives, simply because it was provided for me as part of the knife making courses. Micarta can be made at home, but the process is fairly messy and unless one is purchasing materials in bulk, not very cost effective either. It’s simply cheaper and easier to purchase micarta rather than to make it. But I’ve seen a lot of hobbyist/amateur videos online to know that some people just want to make their own, which I can understand. I’ve no plans to try this out, but who knows? Other types of handle material include bone, G10, wood, or plastics such as synthetic shell material. 

G10 is a fiberglass laminate similar in construction to micarta. Each fiberglass layer has a resin layer and the entire material is compressed and baked, thus hardening the material so it can be quite a burden on cutting tools. But like micarta, it is very lightweight and durable. This is usually ideal for more tactical purpose tools and G10 can be “textured” to provide more gripping surfaces. Photo retrieved from usaknifemaker.com.

When working with either G10 or micarta (and maybe carbon fiber as well) it’s important that a dust mask is used to help prevent the dust and fibers from entering the lungs. This can cause serious health risks both short and long term. And the dust filters must be for particulates, not vapors.

Of all of the synthetic handle materials available, one type that will add a bit more appeal to a blade is carbon fiber. It’s made of small strands of carbon weaved tightly together to form a pattern. The main appeal to this material is its ability to reflect light, making the pattern more visible. Making carbon fiber is a labor-intensive process and usually costs more to purchase, adding more costs to a blade. Retrieved from canmanstan.com

Bone handle photo retrieved from knives.net.

Bone can turn nearly any blade into a gentlemen’s knife, an antique-looking skinner, or even a work of art. I’ve not worked with bone before but from what I can tell most types of bone can either polish well or remain in a natural state. 

Wood handled stone inlay knife retrieved from macsindianjewelry.com.

Wood is a readily available source for scale materials but it’s important to make sure that the scales are stabilized. And further embellishment such as this stone inlay can add much more appeal to the knife.

And of course another major appeal to a knife with wooden scales are the burl scales. A burl is a section of a tree where the grain pattern has grown in an irregular shape. This can be caused by an injury earlier in the tree’s life, a virus or fungus, or an insect infestation. The burl is very dense and resistant to splitting. The result is often highly prized by artists, woodworkers, furniture makers, and knife makers. This adds a considerable cost to the knife as acquiring burl material isn’t easy. Burls (large enough to work with) can be difficult to harvest and its uncommon appearance adds more expense to gathering it. 

Photo retrieved from summersknives.com.

And finally a huge “ooohhh” and “aaahhh” effect one can create for a knife would be a bit of scrimshaw. Technically, this is just bone but I listed this as a separate category because it's bone (or ivory) that's been engraved and had the engraving darkened with pigment. In my opinion very little can outshine a good set of scrimshaw scales, except perhaps polished stone. Check out this knife with a bit of scrimshaw on the handle!

Retrieved from katherineplumer.com,



I would very much love to learn how to create knives with burl scales or embellish them with a bit of stone work or scrimshaw. But I'll have to set aside time to learn how to do that. For now, I think that once my first sets of blades return from heat treat that I’ll stick to G10 or micarta. The material is quick and easy and readily available at a good price.