Has anyone used cast pinecone or cactus handle material?

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Most of us have seen the scales made from pine cone or prickly pear cactus in casting resin.
I am curious what those of you who have used this material thought of it.
It is not an overly complicated process to make them and I was thinking about doing a little experimenting this summer.

But....if you have used this type of material and liked it / didn't like it, that would help me decide if I want to mess around with casting resins.

I look forward to hearing what those who have used this type handle materials have to say.
 
I like the look, never tried it.

I think a more natural colour combo is more attractive.

browns, russet reds, that sort of variation.
 
There's a guy from Bama named lacy smith that uses it..... The look is awesome. He does corn and pine cones. The corn looks like a snake rattle and the pine cones look like fish scales. Look him up on fb, he's posted his work up on there.
 
Tried a set of corn cob scales cast by a fellow up north, and they didn't make past drilling. The stress from being drilled at the lowest setting my press has, was enough to make them useless.
 
carbonsteel928 said:
Tried a set of corn cob scales cast by a fellow up north, and they didn't make past drilling. The stress from being drilled at the lowest setting my press has, was enough to make them useless.
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Sound liek someone might have just set them in resin vs the whole vacum process.
 
cbr900son said:
Sound liek someone might have just set them in resin vs the whole vacum process.
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You're probably right, but the corn kernels fell off pretty easily regardless of what they did. I'd give them another try if they were from a reputable source.
 
Backwoods immediately comes to mind as someone to ask. Bill has made and sold several pine cone handle knives here on BF and I always wish I had the money to grab one.
 
I've made one knife with cast pine cone scales. I did the casting myself and would advise you to use the vacuum/pressure setup if you decide to do it. I didn't use it on the one I made and had several tries that came out useless. The one successful one was a pretty solid pine cone and still had to do some filling with super glue.
 
I believe that Big Chris just listed one on the Exchange in a Spruce Cone. As someone else has already mentioned, check out Bill Akers past knives (aka Backwoods Knives). Lacy Smith is at Alabama Damascus and answers emails quickly if you'd want to ask him about his pine cone and corn cob handles.
 
I have been thinking about using Cholla Cactus, but I would probably want it stabilized. Don't know if it can be stabilized or if it needs to be. Does anyone know?
Tim
 
Tim, I know Tai Goo has used cholla for handles and pretty sure he does.t stabilize them.

Did not realize Lacy worked for AD.
 
Mark I saw some a couple of weeks ago in Janesville WI that was fantastic. It was
pine cones and different dyes in the resin. I believe the guy is woodlab from somewhere
in WI.
Ken.
 
Will Leavitt said:
Did not realize Lacy worked for AD.
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I don't remember how long ago it was that Lacy Smith joined Alabama damascus, but to most folks now Lacy and Brad are Alabama damascus.

I remember meeting Brad ten or so years ago when he put a load of his big billets in the back of his truck and took them to a show. He was worried that no one would buy them. He had to drive home the first night and get some more.
If you have never seen the size of their equipment, it is a truly awe inspiring operation. I have a link to a shop visit by another fellow that shows some of their stuff:
http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57235

Sorry to digress.
 
Stacy... even though they're only 2 hours from me I've never visited them and to be honest I don't keep up with a lot of that type of stuff. Lacy posts in a group I'm in and I noticed he used Alabama Damascus in everything. I just assumed it was because he was nearby, course there are some other great makers in that area; Tom Militano, Robert Dark and some others I can't remember.

I remember reading that thread but still failed to put 2 and 2 together.

I have reason to believe that Lacy and his crew may be getting ready to produce that material, he showcased a lot of it and there was significant interest amongst the group.
 
I just bought a set from Masecraft,but haven't used it yet.I like the look.You should take a shot at it Mark!
 
I have used it on one knife so far. I have another knife in progress with it. My first impressions were the resin is very soft. I was expecting it to work a lot like a stabilized wood but that is not what I got at all. I would guess that it was produced under a vacuum because there are no voids that I found. I would be willing to use this product again but would really prefer it being created with a harder resin. The smell of pine was still very prevalent while working which I liked. I finished it with some danish oil which really brought out the pearl in the resin and was also soaked up by the cone so maybe another option would be to stabilize the cone and then cast it in resin if possible. I would be interested to see what you come up with and hear some other people's thoughts.
 
Will,
You owe it to yourself to make a visit one day. I have seen lots of photos that Brad has sent me, but those who have been there in person say it is too much to capture truthfully in a photo.
Both guys are great folks, too.

I think Lacy has brought the expanded line of finished blades and handle materials to the table, and that has been a real plus for AD.

To digress for a moment again about the type of guys they are:
In 2003, the same year Brad got AD going, we had hurricane Isabelle come through Virginia. My home was not affected too much, but the area around me was so destroyed, we couldn't leave my street for several days, and power was out for two weeks. Many others had extreme damage, and some knifemakers along the storm's path had flooded shops. Brad called me up out of the blue and offered to put a generator in the back of his truck, drive to VA from AL, and leave the generator as long as I needed it. He said he would stay and help cut up the down trees for a day or two if I needed help. Fortunately, I have generators, and we had power for all our major needs. The point is that he was willing, without being asked, to go 700 miles out of his way to help a person who had only spent a few days around him, and had some phone chats.
 
Mike,
Looks like your thread got hijacked - back to your original question. Casting resin is a polyester resin with some additives to keep it from shrinking as much as laminating resin. It is relatively soft, will, over time, absorb water, and is degraded by UV.
Why don't you have some pine cones and corn cobs stabilized? They could be sanded and shaped and should make very interesting scales. While you are at it, have some cholla cactus stabilized - with the holes filled with red coral or turquoise dust, they would make beautiful scales. Check out www.bgartforms.com.
Tim
 
Years ago, one of the annual knife magazines had an article about using the skeleton of a cactus branch as a knife handle. IIRC, epoxy was used to fill in the spaces created by the decay of the fleshy parts of the cactus. B&W pictures.
 
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