Spyderco Forums

PBWilson wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:46 am

Cool use of a very cool plastic!

It's my favorite material for guitar picks. It doesn't wear like nearly all other materials I've tried (nylon, celluloid, delrin) and has a hardness that allows for thinner picks without the flex.

I'd bet it would take some checkering or texture really nicely, but I think I'm going to like the looks of it when smoothed and shaped. Nice!

Picture borrowed from Google

That's what I'm talkin' about! Very cool material.

Update….glued up and shaped a little bit

Terrible photographs…..it looks a lot better than photos. Too much light

Lookin good!
Which grade did you go with? I started doing a little googling and got overwhelmed when I saw there was 132 different variations.

Buddafucco wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 29, 2022 10:00 am

Lookin good!
Which grade did you go with? I started doing a little googling and got overwhelmed when I saw there was 132 different variations.

ULTEM® 1000, AMBER, UNFILLED POLYMER

Now there is a big difference from who you buy it from. Buy by the sheet of 12” x12”
I buy from the As it is a lot better than the cheap stuff and harder to work with but a lot better.



The China made stuff is more a burnt opaque colour. Though cheaper by a big margin



Two points I will make
One - it wasn’t the easiest to buy without a few emails and a US address.
Two - you better love sanding as this is a **** of a lot of sanding to get smooth ( for a bead it comes of the CNC machine looking pretty but a flat surface it looks rough without going through the sandpaper)

Also It is supper grippy when wet which is the best thing about it

PM me if you want the company I use…

Got a bit further… so it’s all shaped to tang…now the contouring begins….

That going to look awesome. Thanks for the update.

Nearly finished, a few more grits to go.

Very very nice

Looks great! Love the translucent amber hue.
Great grip when wet is a huge plus.

Thanks for the update. I wonder if Ultem can be flame polished like some other materials?

JRinFL wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:43 am

Thanks for the update. I wonder if Ultem can be flame polished like some other materials?

Probably a not that ideal due to the heat resistant properties of said material...but unshore.
Is a great material that can sustain repeated autoclave cycles and continued operation at 340F so probably not one for flame polishing

standy99 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:40 pm

JRinFL wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:43 am

Thanks for the update. I wonder if Ultem can be flame polished like some other materials?

Probably a not that ideal due to the heat resistant properties of said material...but unshore.
Is a great material that can sustain repeated autoclave cycles and continued operation at 340F so probably not one for flame polishing

Apply enough heat and anything can be flame polished! Err, no.

Wow…very impressive work !!!

Nice end result standy!!
I dont know if I like this material yet. But it looks peetty cool on the Mule .

My first REX76 handle is still in the end of shaping phase. Has been for months because of work and other projects (my own fixed blades and recently folder scales). You are getting ahead in number of mules "handled" this year !

That's a good looking Mule!

JRinFL wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:43 am

Thanks for the update. I wonder if Ultem can be flame polished like some other materials?

It's been a while since I looked it up but, it looked like vapor polishing was the way to go with Ultem. Gives it a nice glassy finish. However, the chemical to use is no longer available for consumer purchase in the US (or possibly banned completely).
That is me regurgitating info from the Internet though.

Nice little primer on vapor polishing. https://www.arrowcryogenics.com/finishi ... polishing/

Apologies for the thread hijack.

JRinFL wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 06, 2023 1:51 pm

Nice little primer on vapor polishing. https://www.arrowcryogenics.com/finishi ... polishing/

Apologies for the thread hijack.

Good read, looks and sounds expensive…..

I just sand, sand, and then sand again….probably why it’s taken so long

Seems like you need a sanding apprentice.