Phenolics are the mainstay for the custom knife manmade or synthetic handle material industry. Micarta is a phenolic thermoset plastic originally developed
as an electrical insulator. It is a great material, and is often called by knife makers the Cadillac of Plastics. Phenolics are moderately hard, though metals and
abrasive compounds will scratch them. They are very tough (resistant to breakage). They do not bend easily. They can be injected into many fibrous materials,
like woods, linen, fiberglass cloth, canvas, paper and just about any fiber and I imagine that you could make a phenolic with dead bugs as a substrate if you
wanted (hey, neat marketing idea!). The fibers reinforce the phenolic, making it even tougher and more resistant to breakage, though in knife handles,
particularly if supported by the metal tang of the knife handle, this is probably overkill. So the fibers, arrangement, and color are chosen mostly for two
other reasons: appearance and texture.

I've read frequently here on the internet that Micarta phenolics scratch easily. Evidently this misconception, once posted, was simply copied and pasted
over and over until people actually started to believe it. Micarta phenolic is relatively hard and scratch resistant. It is harder than most woods, and is
absolutely harder than ivory, bone, horn or antler. When doing a scratch test, you will find that the corner of a penny will not scratch Micarta, but a
hardened steel pin, steel bolt, or steel knife blade will scratch it. The same hardened steel blade will also scratch G10 and Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Polymers. When you see the phrase that Micarta easily scratches, this is a misconception and error. By the way, how often does a knife handle contact
hardened steel edges and why? Another Internet fallacy.