Cross sectioned micarta knife scales

[squarepants33889]

Hi guys.
I have a question for y'all.
I have recently decided to rehandle a knife for my daughter.
I think I would like to use a homemade micarta.
While doing research on how some of the really neat pattern welded steels are made for knife blades, I was made aware of how the layers are often cross sectioned, welded together and re-worked.
I have also seen that most micarta patterns use a few layers to make sheets that are nearly the correct thickness for knife scales.
My question is: Have you ever seen a handle that was made out of an obscenely thick block of micarta that was ripped into handle thickness so the cross section of the layers was the primary feature?
I hope the question makes sense.
I imagine the look would be similar to the edges of micarta handles that have been rounded off, but I would sure like to see some pictures if anyone here has seen anything like it.
Thanks again.

 

[JShirley]

I've seen blocks ripped open to demonstrate the force required (immense, if the block assembly was done well).

 

[squarepants33889]

Sorry, I should have been clearer.
When I said "ripped", I meant as cut in a tablesaw, through its thickness

 

[rcmodel]

It would do nothing.

The grain pattern is flat inside a block
If you rip a block into two scales, it is still flat inside the scales.

The 'grain' only becomes apparent when the handle is rounded during shaping.

This is Dyamond wood, which is basically wood based Micarta.



Note the flat grain, or layers are only strikingly visible where the handle has been shaped, cutting through multiple flat layers.

rc

 

[bannockburn]

squarepants33889

Is this what you're looking for? I think this is linen Micarta on a Morseth Boot Knife.

 

[bikerdoc]

RCis right. Pick a nice piece and start grinding. I have done it with various grained woods with good effect.
I only worked with micarta once and it came out great.
Also consider bone and horn.

 

[mole]

I've see a few times on the net where when people where making their own micarta, they would put ball bearings, beans, or other rounded things into the press to compress some layers more than others. This led to different patterns in the micarta. Of course, the micarta wouldn't have level surfaces straight out of the press.

 

[rcmodel]

I am not convinced the average person can make Micarta.

It is produced under ideal conditions, using Phenolic resin, under vacuum, in an autoclave oven to cure the laminate.

The best we can do at home is make an inferior epoxy laminate using Fiberglas cloth, old jeans, burlap, or stained underwear.

Try as you might, you can't make Micarta in the garage unless you have the the equipment to duplicate the process.

And hardly anyone does have the equipment in the garage.

rc

 

[squarepants33889]

Ha!
Stated nicely.
I really like that Dyamond wood. I would love to try halving it so the layers looked kind of like a straight oak grain from a quarter sawn piece.
Do you think you need the autoclave for curing in heat? Would you need it if you had it vacuum sealed in a bag?
I'm a 2nd Class Power Engineer in the Boilerhouse of a large refinery.
We have a boat load of resources at our availability and plenty of unsupervised night-shifts to get creative.
The electrician's shop has the resin, the mechanic's shop has a 50 ton press, I have steam ejector vacuum pumps and a non-stop supply of 600# steam.
I could use a number of heat sources to bake it, but it would compromise the bag system.
I could vacuum, and I can heat, but I don't think both are an option at the same time.
All that said, a simple fiberglass blue jean handle would probably suffice, but I want to at least attempt to do it properly.
I found a pic of a couple slabs to represent what I desire to create.



That linen micarta handle sure looks awesome with the compound angles that are visible.

I also have a couple old pairs of underwear that would probably impart a nice "marbling" pattern!

 

[rcmodel]

The picture you posted is of Damascus steel.

It it heated and folded and welded to itself from two types of steel, too many times to count, then acid etched to get it to look like that.

You really can't do that with epoxy and cloth, because cloth layers can't be forged into each layer to create patterns like molten steel can.

I don't know how to explane the difference to you.
But if it could be done with Micarta laminate, they would already be doing it.

On the otherhand?
Maybe you are the next in enter to make a fortune with a new laminating process nobody has invented yet in the last 150 years??

rc

 

[squarepants33889]

No need to explain. I understand its damascus. I was trying to show a picture to help describe my lacking explanation.

What if...
Pre-rolling epoxied strips into rolls similar to rolled dollar bills, then letting cure.
Later, go about the normal process of laminating sheets, but lay a few of the "bill rolls" across some of the random layers.
Make the layers about three inches thick, vacuum in a poly bag, squeeze in a hydraulic press, then cure.
Then, saw slabs off the lcured block, about a half inch thick, perpendicular to their laminated flat layers, leaving lines similar to wood grain with circular inclusions.
These would be the starting scales for the handle and I'm curious if they may look something like the picture of damascus I posted previously.

But then, maybe I've just given away my million dollar idea to all the readers of this forum.
Oh well, just a musing.
Seriously though, just trying to scout for info from a very informed audience. There's a lot more experience available here than you can pool from many other resources.
If you aren't fond of the idea, no need to be disparaging.
I'm not looking to make money from some "invention", just trying to make something for my daughter that has some heart put in it.

 

[rcmodel]

I have no idea.

They are doing some really neat stuff with laminates now.

But it's way over my pay scale to know how they do it.
If they told me, they would have to kill me.

C-Tec for instance.

http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=40_466&osCsid=9bp10goe38t111nvlp5gosjrc5

PS: But now that you have given away your idea?
I'm calling my patent attorney first thing tomorrow morning!!!

rc

 

[hso]

squarepants,

You could get your visuals, but I expect your strength would be compromised because you wouldn't have fabric throughout in those regions you'd only have resin instead of composite. OTOH, you may have resins that would provide sufficient strength to make handle slabs that would hold up. Make rolls, bundle them together, wrap the whole thing in more fabric/resin and give it a shot.

Give it a try, see what the result are, post them here.

 

[Piraticalbob]

"Stained underwear?"

 

[Sam1911]

You might like Damagrip which is pretty much a professionally made micarta type product designed to show a lot of figure in grips and such items.

It can have many different looks, depending on what the base fabrics are.





Get it at Knife Kits.com http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=40_310



Oh, and I'll suggest that ripping (rip-cutting) micarta is brutal work and gonna be mighty hard on whatever tools you're using.