How to Make Homemade Micarta

Here is a short video showing how I make my homemade micarta that I use in knife handles quite often. One tip I didn't mention in the video was to use superglue to finsih the micarta. Sand it to 320 grit, rub it really well with a green scotchbrite pad (hot tip- those with dremels, chuck the scotch brite in the dremel for fast polishing). coat the handle with 5-6 coats of thin superglue, sand it at least to 320, use green then white scotchbrite (in the dremel for speed). that should give you a nice finish. attached are some examples of my homemade micarta. First two pics are a girly knife handled with pink and purple denim micarta. Third and fourth is a kitchen knife I made with the micarta in the vid, and the fifth is some with bright orange cloth. sixth is blue jean and pink jean (this was my sisters christmas present) .


List of ingredients -

- the fiberglass resin
-the hardener that will come with the resin
-and the material used to make it


Note -  I want to add that since this video was made, I now use steel plates instead of wood boards. Doesn't break, bend (to an extent) and is much flatter.

Comments

[kctspecialties]

found this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn4pUUa_Cms

[Willemv13]

Vidio don't want to open

[wswinyer]

The video is unavailable!

[Spikey DaPikey]

'This video does not exist' Huh??

[KnifeSlice245]

Does the mixture cause anykind of bad chemical reaction

[mariano.gonzales.9659]

Thanks for your demo..I now know all I need to know about micarta! BTW I noticed a dry cough as part of your narrative while you were working. I hope you are wearing an appropriate respirator when you can! We'd all like to see you make many more instructional videos.

[adamw ROX OUT LOUD]

What kind of flowers are those in the second picture? They're my favorite but I don't know what the name is and I've been trying to figure it out for years now lol

[oldanvilyoungsmith]

I just asked my mom, lol. She said they're Purple Statice

[oldanvilyoungsmith]

I don't know, lol. they were some my Mom had sitting around in a vase a couple years ago when I did this ible.
Sorry, wish I could help.

[Wulf187]

I also make knives and you realy taught me somethin new today.
Thanx man ! Great Idea !

[mkeith54]

A well written 'ible.

Have you thought about using a Vacuum food saver to make a vacuum press? It would provide a lot of clamping force without the need for clamps. The vacuum baggers can be gotten from goodwill/second hand shops very cheaply. Roll bags are available in the box stores as well as wally world.

[curious youth]

hey this is some great stuff ! i do have some questions though i viewed this after looking at your instructable on making a knife. i was wondering when you rolled the pink/purple was it just like wringing out a cloth really tightly before you clamped ?
also did you just brush on the superglue ?

[oldanvilyoungsmith]

Well, I didn't try to wring it out, as I didn't want to lose my resin, I just rolled it up, and then clamped it. As to the superglue, I just wore some latex gloves and wiped it all over.

[curious youth]

ahh ok then. thanks :)

[triumphman]

Love that sheath. It looks rugged. Thick too! Is that leather about 1/4 inch thick. Nice job!

[triumphman]

How did you get the orange color? Is it orange denim ? Please reply. Thanks

[triumphman]

Wow, so you can make a handle any color depending on the cloth color? That is so cool! Do I need to layer about 14 pieces of Orange cloth like you video? I have some camo cloth I want to try. All I need is the resin stuff!

[oldanvilyoungsmith]

It's not denim, just a hunter orange cloth I picked up at the local sewing supply place.

[triumphman]

How did you get the orange color for the orange handled knife ? ?

[Ray from RI]

Wow...! Very Cool and from the look of the handles a very effective use of cloth scraps and color!!! Very nice results!!!

How or where did you come up with this or learn about it...

Thanks for sharing!!!