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The Sheath/Holster Makers Forum This is the place to discuss all forms of sheath and holster making.

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Old 04-21-2011, 11:34 AM
Brett Schaller's Avatar
Brett Schaller Brett Schaller is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Posts: 176
White spots from sheath?

For the last year or two, I've had a problem with white spots showing up on my handle material (both Micarta and natural woods) after the knife has been left in the sheath for a day or so. It seems as though the leather is wicking out some of the oils in the handle. Rubbing the spots with my thumb seems to make them go away - probably because of the natural oils in the skin.

The problem seems to have started about the time I started using pre-dyed leather from Wickett and Craig. I'm not sure their particular leather is the cause of the problem, but I'd hate to switch, because it's such nice leather.

I've tried several fixes, including:

Taking the Micarta to 1200 grit using mineral oil as a sanding fluid before buffing
Using a coat of wax on the handle
Lining the inside of the sheath with a thin piece of finished leather
Using Snow Seal wax finish on the inside of the sheath (tried this before I started lining the sheaths)
Cursing and threatening the Micarta with a 40 grit belt if it didn't stop doing that

All these (except the last one, probably) have reduced but not eliminated the problem.

Anyone else suffer from this? Any ideas?

Thanks!



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Old 04-21-2011, 10:38 PM
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TexasJack TexasJack is offline
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Micarta is epoxy, so I would expect it to behave differently than wood. Is the wood stabilized? Acrylic resins are used for that. Both epoxy and acrylics can be attacked by certain solvents and acids. You may just be getting a little issue on the surface. Leather is like a sponge and you can have chemicals in it. In fact, you may be getting some solvents from the Sno Seal, which is about 35% mineral spirits.


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Old 04-22-2011, 10:14 PM
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Brett Schaller Brett Schaller is offline
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I usually rub a little mineral oil into the micarta when finishing. My best guess is that the leather is wicking out the oil in places.


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