Thread: Cholla Cactus added to H. Boker

OK. Be easy on me. This is my first attempt and I have been making a few other things out of this interesting Cholla Cactus, AKA Jumping Cactus AKA The Staghorn variety. Quite tricky as you have to do some wood fill for pins because of the holes. Next try will be to cut a slab from some thicker stock. This is a curved branch split with slight sanding.
Until I found out that some guys like to leave the blades unsanded I thought everyone polished away all of the history. This blade has had only semi chrome. It is King Cutter etched on the blade but I did not capture that well. The holder is what the dead branches look like when found on ground.

Wow. That's something you don't see every day.

Good on you for thinking outside of the box.

Great Job!
Just a thought, but on some knives i have seen the cactus used and it has been filled with clear expoxy resin. You can see all the texture but it has a smooth waterproof finish. Might be a good idea in a wet environment such as a shaving area. Trade off is you would lose the rustic look a little as it usually seems to be a gloss finish.
Love the way yours looks - just an idea.
Respectfully,

Originally Posted by Adam G.

Great Job!
Just a thought, but on some knives i have seen the cactus used and it has been filled with clear expoxy resin. You can see all the texture but it has a smooth waterproof finish. Might be a good idea in a wet environment such as a shaving area. Trade off is you would lose the rustic look a little as it usually seems to be a gloss finish.
Love the way yours looks - just an idea.
Respectfully,

There is a knife maker from the Ft. Worth, TX area that does that. This is where I got the idea to find some of this material. Got a pickup load right here in town and have been making all sorts of things. My scales have 3 coats of spar varnish.

Good job! It's interesting to see designs that aren't traditional, it proves there are still places to go in razor making.

Looks great, but I don't think it will be a pleasure to use, no space for your fingers.

It does look cool. Is it real thick, though? I'd like to see a picture from the top down that illustrates the thickness compared to the spine.

Originally Posted by rickboone

It does look cool. Is it real thick, though? I'd like to see a picture from the top down that illustrates the thickness compared to the spine.

Yes it is thick. This was my first project with something just a little different. Perhaps it will not handle right for a shaver but for Bad Bad LeRoy Brown it may work( for those too young that is a .32 for fun and a razor in his shoe). Thanks for looking. I will try with some thinner stock with my next attempt

I respect what you've done with it, having never constructed a pair of scales successfully myself; however I think that material would be better suited for knife handles. For me and most others, balance is a very important quality of scales and it seems the scales are rather thick to achieve this with, though I understand that this was a necessity due to the natural gaps in the cactus. You've shown that you possess the requisite skills to craft scales, and therefore I'd recommend that you get some hardwood for the job.

I wonder if you could cut it ultra thin and adhere it to some ebony? I bet it would lok pretty cool.