Ivory micarta from Culina

[CraigC]

I have always wanted a set of oversized target stocks in ivory micarta for my Mundenized 629MG. After getting two sets of N-frame grips and one for K's from Culina Grips, I decided to see if John would be interested in trying with micarta. Long story short, I ordered a 15x12 slab and had it delivered to his shop. They came this morning and I could not be more tickled with them!

 

[rcmodel]

Where did you get the slab?

That's a lot better looking stuff then anyone was making when I stopped working on knives 10 years ago.

That looks more like the old Westinghouse Ivory micarta they quit make 25 years ago.

rc

 

[Ron James]

RC, do you mean , by referring to Westinghouse, that micarta was not created for the use of the gun and knife people, that it may have been originally used as a insulation for high voltage wires?? BTW I believe that the micarta shown ( those are really nice grips ) is or was called Linen Micarta.

 

[rcmodel]

Exactly.
Westinghouse developed it during or right after WWII for use in circuit boards, high voltage insulators, bearing blocks, etc.
And they owned the name Micarta Trademark for years.

We used it a lot at work years ago as bearing blocks on sliding machine parts.

Not sure where the different colors came to be.

The original stuff was reddish brown.

This is Westinghouse Ivory paper.



The last block I bought in the 80's was made by somebody somewhere, with Fiberglas instead of cloth.
And it ate up carbide tools & saw blades faster then you could replace them!

rc

 

[Twiki357]

Beautiful. A pair of those would look great on my model 66. How are they for texture? I put a set of smooth bonded ivory grips on my model 29 and they are too smooth and the gun rotates up in my hand with every shot.

 

[CraigC]

It's "antique linear paper" from Sheffield Knifemaker's Supply. It's the closest thing I've found to the old Westinghouse micarta. This slab is a wee bit darker than the ones I got a few years ago.

I put a set of smooth bonded ivory grips on my model 29 and they are too smooth and the gun rotates up in my hand with every shot.

They are smooth with just a polished finish but not slippery like most ivory polymers.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Wow, those are great looking grips.

A set of Bisley Vaquero grips made of that Ivory Micarta would look great on my revolver with the grips peaking out over the Graveyard Jack's Custom Grips it rides in! lol

 

[Piper106]

Westinghouse developed it during or right after WWII for use in circuit boards, high voltage insulators, bearing blocks, etc. And they owned the name Micarta Trademark for years.

Agree that Micarta is a Westinghouse trademark,, but it goes back a lot further than WWII. I have a 1926 vintage Westinghouse marine apparatus catalog, and it mentions Micarta for electrical insulation many times.

 

[bannockburn]

CraigC

Sweet looking grips on your 629 Mountain Gun!

 

[rcmodel]

Agree that Micarta is a Westinghouse trademark,, but it goes back a lot further than WWII

I agree.
I knew I was wrong about five minutes after I posted it after thinking about it longer.

Pre-WWII invention for sure, sure.

Looks like 1910 according to this.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micarta

The Leo Baekeland mentioned was the inventor of Bakelite, which is closely related to Micarta.
Just not nearly as strong & indestructible.

rc

 

[CraigC]

A set of Bisley Vaquero grips made of that Ivory Micarta would look great on my revolver with the grips peaking out over the Graveyard Jack's Custom holster it rides in!

It would! (fixed it)

I've got one Bisley Vaquero that I know I want to have a set made for. It has the old drab micarta that has no grain, just one solid color and they are too thin anyway. It might find its way onto another Bisley that has beat up holly grips on it. I've got a total of four sets made from it and I might have John make two more pairs for S&W's. I love the stuff! I think it looks particularly good on a DA because the design shows off more of the grain.

 

[CajunBass]

Now those are some fine looking grips.

The original stuff was reddish brown.

I used to work in a chemical textile plant. We had Micarta rollers that were reddish brown. I can still hear that yarn rumbling over those things.

 

[1KPerDay]

Very nice. FYI JP grips uses Ivory Micarta also... I had him make a set for my Ruger. IIRC he offers either 'antique' or not.

Hopefully this link works...
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0

Here's a pic of mine





The "grain" is much less pronounced on mine and I prefer that look.

 

[CraigC]

Yep! I ordered two sets from JP before he even offered them for the 22/45 and reshaped them with a file. One set beveled for the Ruger and one set cut for a magwell for the Springfield.

 

[1KPerDay]

Awesome. LOL I'd forgotten, but it was your pic of your .22/45 that I lusted after and inspired me to go that route in the first place.

 

[CraigC]

Nice!