Making Micarta [ DIY Micarta Patterns and Ideas ]

Making Micarta is Easy!

Making Micarta is a common practice, especially among knife makers who value it for knife handles.  It's not hard to do.  Mostly you arrange fabrics or other sheet materials, coat them in a resin, and then apply pressure, often with a hydraulic press.

Here's a gorgeous Micarta handle for a knife using Denim as the fabric:

There are various ways to make the material more interesting.  For example, use wooden forms that have waves in them so the fabric is molded into a wavy shape.  Then, once formed and hardened, slice the material into flat layers and you'll see multiple layers peeking through.

Here's a typical video showing the making of micarta to give you an idea:

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What is Micarta?

Micarta is a composite material that consists of layers of material held together by a plastic resin of some kind.

Gallery of DIY Micarta Patterns and Ideas

First guy I saw do this. He's awesome!

Start with a stack of fabric, impregnate with polyester or epoxy resin...

Place between two oiled plates on the press over night. The press gets all the bubbles out and makes the micarta solid as a rock. It comes out looking kinda nasty, eh?

Now work it a bti and you see what's happening. 3 dimension tie dye. A controllable process that produces neat designs for handles and other purposes.

Polishes out pretty nice!

Micarta can be quite dramatic...

Blue Jeans Micarta

Nice series from British Blades forum:

Start with strips from old blue jeans. Impregnate with resin.

Wax paper and clamped boards while it hardens...

Looks blah at first but finishes out beautifully! The ring pattern is because of the layers and how they intersect the curved surface of the knife handle.