Ultem Handle Material

[knivesandbooks]

That's the handle material Chris Reeve used on the Sikayo. If you need a reference picture. I like the look but idk about the feel (haven't touched it)

[sal]

Hi Beau,

We've been playing around with clear materials for scales for some time. Mostly to show the "innards" of some locks. the problem has been, as LB mentioned, was brittleness. We're still testing.

sal

[tactikool]

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Karbadize ... em--142269

Ultem Shaman scales are coming out soon. They look interesting.

[JD Spydo]

Speaking of exotic handle materials whatever was the final judgment about "Nishijin"? I never got to check one of those out when they were available. Nishijin was sort of popular some time back around 10 years ago. And how did it compare to Ultem and other obscure handle materials?

[Buddafucco]

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Karbadize ... em--142269

Ultem Shaman scales are coming out soon. They look interesting.

I may bite on these. There is a side of me that is thinking I should get some Ultem before Ultem becomes a thing! Then there is the other side telling me it's just plastic (somewhere Rick is shaking his head). Funny how this hobby sparks interests we didn't even know we had!

[standy99]

Well working on a Mule as we speak




Rough sanded ( bit too much light in these pictures as it’s more Amber than yellow )

Still got a bit more to do but will update when finished

[standy99]

That's the handle material Chris Reeve used on the Sikayo. If you need a reference picture. I like the look but idk about the feel (haven't touched it)

Feels good and the weird thing is when it’s super smooth it’s grippy and even better when it gets wet

Solid and able to withstand Autoclaves. I have chosen to epoxy it with high heat epoxy that can also withstand a Autoclave

Picked Magnacut


Others have mentioned about G10. This is twice as hard to sand as G10 and probably less flexible than G10 in the same thickness. So I would say a lot stronger then G10, Micarta and Resin

Have the rod also (had to order 5”) so at .250 of a inch it is going to make a great pair of chopsticks

[Mushroom]

I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and Ultem reminds me so much of the fossilized amber with the mosquito inside from the movie.

I want to laser engrave a mosquito on a knife then use some Ultem scales with a high polish to make it look like a mosquito in fossilized amber. Just to satisfy my Jurassic Park nostalgia.

Disclaimer: this idea is hereby trademarked by me. (Unofficially)

[bjz]

My favorite guitar (well, mandolin) picks are made of “ultem”. Both in the amber yellow color as well as some others like brown, sort of a dark clay and even a very dark blue ala manix frcp. Dunlop brand if anyone wants to look around…they are the ultex as well as “prime tone” brands.

The material is durable and long lasting against certain levels of abrasion. I don’t make a habit of bending my picks so I cannot personally comment on strength. The material certainly develops “character”, so that’s kind of interesting.

[standy99]

I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and Ultem reminds me so much of the fossilized amber with the mosquito inside from the movie.

I want to laser engrave a mosquito on a knife then use some Ultem scales with a high polish to make it look like a mosquito in fossilized amber. Just to satisfy my Jurassic Park nostalgia.

Disclaimer: this idea is hereby trademarked by me. (Unofficially)

You could just epoxy a mosquito in one of the holes in the mule.

[Cheddarnut]

I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and Ultem reminds me so much of the fossilized amber with the mosquito inside from the movie.

I want to laser engrave a mosquito on a knife then use some Ultem scales with a high polish to make it look like a mosquito in fossilized amber. Just to satisfy my Jurassic Park nostalgia.

Disclaimer: this idea is hereby trademarked by me. (Unofficially)

Heres your platform

https://knifenews.com/spydercollector-c ... rco-knife/

[Mushroom]

I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and Ultem reminds me so much of the fossilized amber with the mosquito inside from the movie.

I want to laser engrave a mosquito on a knife then use some Ultem scales with a high polish to make it look like a mosquito in fossilized amber. Just to satisfy my Jurassic Park nostalgia.

Disclaimer: this idea is hereby trademarked by me. (Unofficially)

You could just epoxy a mosquito in one of the holes in the mule.

Love that idea! It would be that much more “authentic.”

Heres your platform

https://knifenews.com/spydercollector-c ... rco-knife/

hehe! I thought of that too but I’m one of those weirdos that prefers that the mosquito only exists as one of Spydercos holiest grails!

[standy99]

Love that idea! It would be that much more “authentic.”

Would be visible if you had one big enough.

Have to epoxy all the holes and work out all the bubbles to make it clear…(don’t ask me how I know that )

[Buddafucco]

Just received a set of Karbadize Ultem Shaman scales from BladeHQ.
Polyetherimide (PEI) is what Ultem is. A "fancy" high performance thermoplastic. That's right, a thermoplastic. Which means it can be melted down and reformed as opposed to a thermoset plastic which will only turn into a charred mess if you try melting it down. It is rigid and lightweight, has high chemical and heat resistance, high strength and is a little transparent. Impact resistance is not it's forte, so i might cry the first time i drop my newly redecorated Shaman. We shall see!
I was wondering how several different plastics companies were using the brand name Ultem so I did a little research and from what I've found, Ultem is a resin produced by Sabic in Mt. Vernon Indiana, and Cartagena Spain (They were expanding to Singapore also, but I'm not sure if that has actually happened). The resin is then sold to plastics companies who then turn it into sheets, rods, blocks, filaments, etc... Some use their own branding but others just call it Ultem, because that's what it is. Not sure anybody needed to know all that but, it just happened. Disclaimer: I am not a scientist... just a dork with Internet access.
I haven't carried it yet but initial thoughts are that it feels like the stock G-10 scales except for the milled texture on the flats. I think they are going to have a slight edge in finger traction category due to the milling. I think they look good and are actually more transparent than I thought they'd be. I don't know if they'll knock the Micarta Shaman off the top Shaman spot for me, but I'm looking forward to taking them for a test drive.

[sal]

Hi Buddafucco,

Thanx for sharing. Looking forward to hearing what you guys think of the the material on a Shaman.

Hey Mushroom, My wife, Gail, has a pair of custom ear rings with bugs in amber.

sal

[Pokey]

Going off on a tangent here, but I was testing some electronics at work last week that will be used in space. The company I work for is developing this gizmo with a company that makes various other gizmos, but this is a new application. As I looked at the gizmo, I noticed parts inside of a dark amber colored box. The parts were sealed in the box with some space age epoxy.

The dark amber material? Ultem.

[Buddafucco]

Going off on a tangent here, but I was testing some electronics at work last week that will be used in space. The company I work for is developing this gizmo with a company that makes various other gizmos, but this is a new application. As I looked at the gizmo, I noticed parts inside of a dark amber colored box. The parts were sealed in the box with some space age epoxy.

The dark amber material? Ultem.

It could be. There is a NASA website with a list of all the "Materials in Space" and Ultem is on the list. I haven't been obsessed enough to try and register for the NASA "Materials And Processes Technical Information System" site, yet. There is also a couple reports from NASA about Ultem testing. Mostly about 3D printed Ultem 9085 though.

[Pokey]

Going off on a tangent here, but I was testing some electronics at work last week that will be used in space. The company I work for is developing this gizmo with a company that makes various other gizmos, but this is a new application. As I looked at the gizmo, I noticed parts inside of a dark amber colored box. The parts were sealed in the box with some space age epoxy.

The dark amber material? Ultem.

It could be. There is a NASA website with a list of all the "Materials in Space" and Ultem is on the list. I haven't been obsessed enough to try and register for the NASA "Materials And Processes Technical Information System" site, yet. There is also a couple reports from NASA about Ultem testing. Mostly about 3D printed Ultem 9085 though.

I was able to look at the BOM, (bill of materials,) and it is Ultem. I forget now which version it is though.

[Chleiti]

Cutlery Shoppe just announced Ultem scales for Shaman skinny, PM2, Para3 skinny, and Smock are going to be available tomorrow- Nov 2, 10am MST



https://www.instagram.com/p/CkcEf8dvp7J/?

https://cutleryshoppe.com/search.php?s ... on=product
Listings are up, two texture pattern options and they're $95 per set

[Cl1ff]

I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park as a kid and Ultem reminds me so much of the fossilized amber with the mosquito inside from the movie.

I want to laser engrave a mosquito on a knife then use some Ultem scales with a high polish to make it look like a mosquito in fossilized amber. Just to satisfy my Jurassic Park nostalgia.

Disclaimer: this idea is hereby trademarked by me. (Unofficially)

Pretty cool idea!
There are a lot of really incredible fossils that have actually preserved in amber, from insects to extinct dinosaurs, and in fact the study of amber is a sort of new frontier in paleontology now.
The resin trapped gasses from the atmosphere, among other things, that have been really enlightening regarding questions about the climate at different times.
Some amber, from a recently discovered site that is currently undergoing study, likely trapped pieces of the bolide impactor which lead to the non-avian dinosaurs’ extinction. The pieces fell out of the atmosphere over western North America as glass droplets minutes after the impact explosion in the Yucatán.

However some sources of the material are quite sketchy and involve pretty serious human ethics violations, but that’s not always the case (It’s a really big conversation in the paleontology world focused on amber coming from Myanmar, but not well known outside of that community).

Anyway, I didn’t mean to get so serious!

I do think it’d be really cool to make a series of knives based on your idea. They can have the Jurassic Park mosquito as well as draw from other real-life amber specimens. Let me know and I can gather some sources if anyone’s interested in learning more about amber!
I’m not an expert on it myself, honestly, but I can help direct to better sources and/or “translate” the science.