All About Pocket Knives

I have a muskrat here . . . and a 6111 1/2 . . . and they both have handles that look a bit, well, plasticky (is that a word?) to me.

How can I tell if they're bone or delrin? Here are some pics . . . of the muskrat, that is . . .




And here are some pics of the 6111 1/2 . . . bone or delrin? Anyone?

Under magnification, it's easy to see the grain and irregularities of the bone. Having handled thousands of knives, I can see those are bone from the pictures. Looking at a lot of knives is the only way to train your eye!!
A simple test for plastic is to lay a very sharp knife on the "bone" (like you were going to cut a salami in half!) and with some light pressure, try to "scrape" the surface sideways. The blade will "skate" over the bone because it's so hard, but it will "bite" the plastic and stick.
Try at your own risk!!

Upnorth is right on. Big surprise there! He has been doing this awhile. His comment about handling a lot of knives is exactly how one learns to tell the difference rather quickly. A GOOD jewelers loop is invaluable for this reason alone. If you look very closely, you can see the specs in the bone that carried blood. Just compare a delrin to the bone under the glass and you say OHHHHHHHH!!!!! now I get it. Pearl of course you rub on your teeth. Real pearl is rough, pearloid or fake is far to smooth. Again, test the two and you will feel the difference. Just a couple of tricks of the trade.

Upnorth, I liked you method for bone too. I tried it and no doubt it works. Thanks

I agree that, lacking the ability to detect the pores that carried the blood in the bone (old eyes , no magnification , poor feeling in the hands ), upnorth's method of a "Sliding Scale"...as it were...is the best I've tried. Thank you for that great bit of information Charlie.

Bill

Thanks Charlie,
I had not heard of the "sliding scale" before. It really works!

Dale

So now I've got everybody hacking away at their knives!!
I'll never get to heaven that way !
Glad I can contribute after all the help I get here!!

upnorth I think you help me at lest one time each mo.

You put a smile on my face.