Anyone with experience working with acrylic handles?

[podcat]

Me and a friend are going to try out an acrylic material for a new knife for something different:



Previously I'v only worked with micarta, wood and horn and would be awesome if anyone has any tips etc before we start? Is it easy to get a glossy finish? (this knife will be for decoration and flashiness only, no hard use), how soft is it overall compared to micarta? I assume the dust will be pretty nasty so we'll use proper protection for that.

(I tried some searching but didnt find anything, so if this has come up before I apologize for my site newbishness)

[Ray Rogers]

Acrylic is very common in knife handles. As you seem to guess, it isn't really durable but it is often used because it is so inexpensive.

Friction is the big problem with acrylic, so when cutting or grinding you must use fresh sharp belts and grind as slowly as possible, otherwise it will melt very easily. Other than that, it works much like anything else ....