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Kinfolk knife

Recently pick up a Kinfolk Y330 with yellow (egg yolk ) scales.The upper pc was missing

Does any one know where I could find this material known as bakelite.I would like to redo as origanal

picture to follow

thanks

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 9, 2014 at 9:55

Bruce, short of finding a junker Y330 with the same handles, you won't- Bakelite is a cast phenolic resin invented by Dr. Leo H. Baekland in 1907 and patented in 1909-10 as Bakelite-When the patent expired in 1927, several companies started producing it under their own names and Bakelite became kind of a generic term for the material.The 3 biggest companies producing this material were Bakelite, Catalin Corp. which called their's Catalin and Marblette Corp. who called their's Marblette. Kinfolks used Marblette in their knives-Catalin bought out Bakelite, then in 1956 Marblette bought out Catalin- Marblette Corp. is still in business, but have not produced the Marblette (Bakelite) material since the early 1970's-In short, it just is not made anymore, and hasn't been for 40+ years.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 9, 2014 at 10:09

John, great work on that! Bruce bakelight was e xtremly popular. Tray to find a tray or some thing made out of it that can be cut to size

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 9, 2014 at 11:37

Bruce, great Idea by Jan !- Look for the description yellow Marblette-Each manufacturer of the Bakelite type material had their own colors- More likely to find a color match that way- Also be aware that this material can darken over age, becoming a more butterscotch color- I have seen single kitchen cutlery knives with this material on Ebay for a reasonably low price if the dimensions are right for your replacement needs- That handle material was in the Kinfolks 1939 catalogue and was still used in their 1947 issue-Having not seen your knife, cannot determine its exact color- Here are some examples I took off the Kinfolks site-

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Permalink Reply by Bruce McLain on June 9, 2014 at 13:14

.Thank you both, I have been searching the junk and antique stores locally and will have to exspand my search.

The color matchs the double set tho this is a single knife with its own sheath.. I have bought some yellow and orange

Acrylic and will make some washers to fill the gap and see how that looks until I can find something better

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 10, 2014 at 11:31

Bruce, just for grins here is a copy of a 1936 advertisement for Marblette-

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Permalink Reply by Bruce McLain on June 10, 2014 at 14:03

Thanks John

Do you know if this stuff was a for runner to micarta?

I have cut and formed the acrylic but not fully reassembled yet.The color is very close when done I will post a picture

Being a true Gemini I allways have way to many things going and that "Honey do" list keeps getting in the way .

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 10, 2014 at 14:29

Yes, Bakelite was the forerunner to ALL modern plastics- Micarta actually uses a bakelite material along with linen, etc in its formation- Most sources say Dupont Delrin is probably the closest modern replacement for Bakelite- Remington uses Delrin in their synthetic handled knives- even their bullet knives-Bakelite is actually still made for certain commercial applications such as insulation for wiring etc. Although a beautiful material, bakelite has a tendancy to become brittle with age- That is why it succumbed to more durable modern plastics for most applications today-

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 10, 2014 at 16:43

Just had a thought- IKC featured member Garrett Finney does amazing custom work on Buck and Case knives professionally- He makes up his own colors of acrylic handle material all the time- He could probably advise you on where to get the material, etc if you wanted to try making up your own handle replacement- Here is a brief description of the process he uses- http://www.iknifecollector.com/forum/topics/colorful-plastic-by-any...