Prickly Pear Cactus for knife handles

[lmbhami]

I was wondering I have seen a few knives with handles made of prickly pear cactus. Has anyone had any expirence with it? Is it a durable material? Or is just for wall hangers and gentlemens knives?
I have not been able to find any info on the web about it


Thanks

 

[HoosierQ]

I believe it has to be infused with resin to be of any use. Otherwise it's quite pulpy. It was kind of a popular medium back in the 1970s because of how it looked. The fact that it is not still popular probably says something. I have not personally had such a knife. With that said, I suspect that if you infused it with the proper resin, it would work well for stick tang knives as it's hollow and would seem to be suited for that. I think the blade and handle were often cast in the resin at the same time.

 

[CWL]

This is an example of dried cactus. It is a pulpy mesh with zero strength and will need to be completely stabilized with resin before you can work with, or use it. If you want to buy ready to use, stabilized cactus, look up "stabilized cholla cactus" for images and sources.

 

[evanPGH]

This is an example of dried cactus. It is a pulpy mesh with zero strength and will need to be completely stabilized with resin before you can work with, or use it. If you want to buy ready to use, stabilized cactus, look up "stabilized cholla cactus" for images and sources.

The end product is pretty wicked. I like.

 

[RevDevil]

There is tons of that stuff all around here. Almost like wormwood, but not. Never thought of using it for knife handles, as it's extremely brittle in some cases (sun baking it day after day).

 

[lmbhami]

Adding a picture as there is a little confusion I am not tallking about the cholla cactus from back in the 70's I am more interested in the following type of cactus
(I beleive it is called prickly pear cactus)

Thanks

 

[CWL]

Same reasoning. You will need to stabilize it by molding it into resin to get something that you can work with. When ask about durability, cactus is just pulp, so it is the resin that gives it the hardness to work as a handle material. Dried cactus does nothing more than to give cosmetic appeal.

Here's a tutorial on how to make your own if you are interested.
http://www.turntex.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=61

 

[lmbhami]

Thanks for the info gonna look into

 

[jkulysses]

Love those handles in the last picture that CWL posted!