@Ksimo13 No idea :) I just stack it until it looks thick enough. About 5/8" thick will get you 1/4" or so scales with this patterning method. I've done tons of different patterns though. You can just play with it randomly and come up with cool designs. Any of the incised damascus patterns you can do with this micarta as well as twists. Have fun with it man.
@ArtistBlade1972 thank you, i have had it in the press for about 14 or 15 hours, but i don't think i got enough hardner or i did not get it mixed enough. i'm going to go and pull it out of the press and see what it looks like.
@evcrawfish Sounds like you may have got some bad hardener man. It happened to me a while ago, you could almost add the whole tube of hardener and it would still stay gummy. When I bought new stuff it worked great.
@chibraxial Yeah, I've used silk before and it makes a very nice material. It's takes a shit load of pieces to build even a marginal thickness though...
@mporba you're welcome. The possibilities for patterning micarta using simple methods like this are endless. Not sure if you've ever done a twisted pattern, but you can twist then press it in the ladder jig and it makes a really nice pattern.
@blinddogroofer I'll put something together for ya then, but be advised, 5160 is far less than ideal for a stone cutting tool. The carbon content at .06% does not allow for a proper hardness for such an implement. If you can find an old motor grader blade or a thick plow point you'll be a lot better off. Grader blades and plow points are in the 1090-1095 range. Harrow discs are almost 100% of the time 1080. 5160 is great for knives though.
I really liked the cable damascus knife series. I've a homemade brake drum forge-bituminous coal fired, with a vacuum cleaner blower I'm trying to fine tune, it can get steel sparking hot, although I know that's not desireable. I made some chisels and spear heads out of automotive coil springs and would like to know more about heat treating, especially coal-based techniques.
@blinddogroofer I can do a video on it if you would like....Proper heat treating is actually a complex process, and varies in attributes per the function of the tool you are heat treating and the steel type you're using. What you use to heat the steel with is pretty much not a factor though as long as correct temperatures are achieved and maintained appropriately...It's much harder to heat treat with a coal forge than with a gas forge or a torch...
That's very cool. I haven't worked with micarta before, but I've heard good things about it. I might have to give this a try. If you make your billet nice and thick, it ought to work just fine for a hidden tang knife, right?
@Makermook Oh you should definitely give it a try man. You'll love it. Yeah you could make a thick billet for a hidden tang knife, but my preference when doing hidden tangs is to assemble everything...guard and pommel then tape em up and wrap strips of different colored cloth around the tang until I build up a good excess. Then sand it down to shape and you're left with a nice random effect.
@MrBrowningGti Well, the absorption rates of different textiles do vary with certain liquids, but with polyester resin all I have tried seen to soak it up equally. Not true with epoxy resin though. Thanks for the compliment man.
@tlingetrich Thanks bro, yeah there is a bowie in my last vid with this type of handle. It's made with darker fabric though so it's a little harder to see.
woah this looks nice
AxisTheHunter 6 days ago
@AxisTheHunter Thanks.
ArtistBlade1972 6 days ago
Very cool pattern man. How many fabric layers do you think you used?
Ksimo13 1 week ago
@Ksimo13 No idea :) I just stack it until it looks thick enough. About 5/8" thick will get you 1/4" or so scales with this patterning method. I've done tons of different patterns though. You can just play with it randomly and come up with cool designs. Any of the incised damascus patterns you can do with this micarta as well as twists. Have fun with it man.
ArtistBlade1972 1 week ago
Nice!!!!
nitrojunkie11 1 month ago
@nitrojunkie11 Thanks man.
ArtistBlade1972 1 month ago
i just made my first homemade micarta stack, how long should i leave it sitting in the press before i take it out and try to work it?
thank you
evcrawfish 1 month ago
@evcrawfish Depends on how much hardener you put in it, but a couple of hrs should be fine.
ArtistBlade1972 1 month ago
@ArtistBlade1972 thank you, i have had it in the press for about 14 or 15 hours, but i don't think i got enough hardner or i did not get it mixed enough. i'm going to go and pull it out of the press and see what it looks like.
thank you for the assistance
evcrawfish 1 month ago
@evcrawfish No problem man. Any hardener at all will make it harden, it's just a question of how long it'll take.
ArtistBlade1972 1 month ago
@evcrawfish Sounds like you may have got some bad hardener man. It happened to me a while ago, you could almost add the whole tube of hardener and it would still stay gummy. When I bought new stuff it worked great.
nitrojunkie11 1 month ago
Thanks for the quick response. I guess I better get to work.
jonindenver 2 months ago
How do you finish a micarta handle to bring out the colors after its shaped?
jonindenver 2 months ago
@jonindenver Progressively finer sanding...
ArtistBlade1972 2 months ago
Silk micarta ? For your luxury needs!
Is that even possible?
chibraxial 3 months ago
@chibraxial Yeah, I've used silk before and it makes a very nice material. It's takes a shit load of pieces to build even a marginal thickness though...
ArtistBlade1972 3 months ago
@ArtistBlade1972
Awesome !
chibraxial 3 months ago
WOW!! that's gorgeous! You just helped me out alot!! Thanx!
7689568 5 months ago
@7689568 No problem. Glad ya liked the vid.
ArtistBlade1972 5 months ago
really cool man very different looking almost like a tree
wolfcookieo9 6 months ago
@wolfcookieo9 Thanks man
ArtistBlade1972 6 months ago
I've just started doin some micarta making myself . Thanks for showing the ladder jig thing. I would never have thought of that.
mporba 7 months ago
@mporba you're welcome. The possibilities for patterning micarta using simple methods like this are endless. Not sure if you've ever done a twisted pattern, but you can twist then press it in the ladder jig and it makes a really nice pattern.
ArtistBlade1972 7 months ago
I'm mostly interested in knives and stone cutting chisels, that's mostly what I'll be trying to make. I use spring steel salvaged from automobiles.
blinddogroofer 7 months ago
@blinddogroofer I'll put something together for ya then, but be advised, 5160 is far less than ideal for a stone cutting tool. The carbon content at .06% does not allow for a proper hardness for such an implement. If you can find an old motor grader blade or a thick plow point you'll be a lot better off. Grader blades and plow points are in the 1090-1095 range. Harrow discs are almost 100% of the time 1080. 5160 is great for knives though.
ArtistBlade1972 7 months ago
I really liked the cable damascus knife series. I've a homemade brake drum forge-bituminous coal fired, with a vacuum cleaner blower I'm trying to fine tune, it can get steel sparking hot, although I know that's not desireable. I made some chisels and spear heads out of automotive coil springs and would like to know more about heat treating, especially coal-based techniques.
blinddogroofer 7 months ago
@blinddogroofer I can do a video on it if you would like....Proper heat treating is actually a complex process, and varies in attributes per the function of the tool you are heat treating and the steel type you're using. What you use to heat the steel with is pretty much not a factor though as long as correct temperatures are achieved and maintained appropriately...It's much harder to heat treat with a coal forge than with a gas forge or a torch...
ArtistBlade1972 7 months ago
could you do a three color pattern?
SanGlyn 9 months ago
@SanGlyn Easily. You can have as many colors as you want...
ArtistBlade1972 9 months ago
That's very cool. I haven't worked with micarta before, but I've heard good things about it. I might have to give this a try. If you make your billet nice and thick, it ought to work just fine for a hidden tang knife, right?
Makermook 10 months ago
@Makermook Oh you should definitely give it a try man. You'll love it. Yeah you could make a thick billet for a hidden tang knife, but my preference when doing hidden tangs is to assemble everything...guard and pommel then tape em up and wrap strips of different colored cloth around the tang until I build up a good excess. Then sand it down to shape and you're left with a nice random effect.
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago
Thanks a bunch!
Have you had any experience with certain textiles that've produced a "fluffy" finish or will it bond/penetrate and harden regardless?
Great vid!
MrBrowningGti 10 months ago
@MrBrowningGti Well, the absorption rates of different textiles do vary with certain liquids, but with polyester resin all I have tried seen to soak it up equally. Not true with epoxy resin though. Thanks for the compliment man.
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago
Wow looks great. Thats a pretty unique method I never wouldve thought of that!
TheBombBros 10 months ago
@TheBombBros I like unique :)
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago
pretty cool.
twg6669 10 months ago
@twg6669 Thanks man
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago
Thank you , great vid, this is the best I seen on doing this yet, do you have any knives with that handle on it?
tlingetrich 10 months ago
@tlingetrich Thanks bro, yeah there is a bowie in my last vid with this type of handle. It's made with darker fabric though so it's a little harder to see.
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago
Thanks. Nice instructive video. This is the first I've seen with about ladder patterned homemade "micarta". Thanks again. Dave
DLeRoyKing 10 months ago
@DLeRoyKing Thanks Dave. like I say in the video, the patterns you can achieve are endless...
ArtistBlade1972 10 months ago