What is Micarta?

Micarta is commonly used for knife handles, and we use it pretty much exclusively for our Ultimate Hunter knives. But what is it?

It is layers upon layers of material soaked in epoxy resin and then heat treated - somewhat similar to fibreglass for boats. A typical knife handle scale (one side of the handle) can consist of up to 20 layers of cloth. This makes an for an extremely tough product that is almost indestructible. It is extremely stable: impact resistant, split resistant and warp resistant.

The colour of the cloth material shows through when the handle is sanded and in some cases the epoxy may also be coloured. The texture is created from the cloth that is used and typical cloth is canvas, linen and paper. Canvas being the most textured, linen finer, and paper finer still.

The beauty of having textured cloth amongst the resin is that it makes for a product that provides grip. When a wooden handle gets wet it is more difficult to hold, however when a micarta handle gets wet the cloth component adds friction and provides anti-slip properties.

We love micarta!