The first knife I have made

phelanpain · Oct 24, 2006

HI, I could not access the knife maker forum so I thought I would post this here.
I made this similar to a Shrade Sharpfinger but larger. The blade is made from a tractor cutting edge and the handle is Cholla cactus. I have only made a cleaver prior to this so it may not be the best but I think it came out ok. I annealed the steal then hardened and tempered it.

gixxer · Oct 24, 2006

Nice knife you have there! That handle material is very unique, it stands out. Is it stabilized?

phelanpain · Oct 24, 2006

Well it was laying dead as a doornail in a field all dried out so I guess so. I guess time will tell though, I already gave it away so I may never know. I never keep anything I make, except the junk.

rocketmann · Oct 24, 2006

I like it, very organic looking(not to be confused with orgasmic!!)

phelanpain · Oct 24, 2006

Thanks a lot for the compliment, I appreciate it.

GibsonFan · Oct 25, 2006

That cactus handle looks great Did you use sealer or poly or anything on it?

waredbear · Oct 25, 2006

I always thought that cactus would make a wonderful looking handle if treated right. But alas....we don't have any here in Washington.

Nice knife, thanks for sharing your work.

In His Service,
Reid Allen

phelanpain · Oct 25, 2006

GibsonFan said:
That cactus handle looks great Did you use sealer or poly or anything on it?

I first soaked it in bleach for about a minute to get the old dead grey look off of it, then I mounted it to the handle. Cholla is full of holes so I filled them with a plastic wood filler and then sealed it all with clear Krylon. I want to make another but I think I will use clear epoxy to mount it and leave all the whole empty just for an even more natural look.

phelanpain · Oct 25, 2006

waredbear said:
I always thought that cactus would make a wonderful looking handle if treated right. But alas....we don't have any here in Washington.

Nice knife, thanks for sharing your work.

In His Service,
Reid Allen

I would be happy to send you some if you tell me the diameter and length you want.

CanDo · Oct 25, 2006

phelanpain said:
I first soaked it in bleach for about a minute to get the old dead grey look off of it, then I mounted it to the handle. Cholla is full of holes so I filled them with a plastic wood filler and then sealed it all with clear Krylon. I want to make another but I think I will use clear epoxy to mount it and leave all the whole empty just for an even more natural look.

You could also try completely sealing it with clear epoxy

phelanpain · Oct 25, 2006

CanDo said:
You could also try completely sealing it with clear epoxy

Yeah I think I will try that next time, I did not have any clear epoxy at the time.

waredbear · Oct 26, 2006

phelanpain said:
I would be happy to send you some if you tell me the diameter and length you want.

We drove from NC to CO several years ago. We found a nice large piece of dried cactus and brought it home tied to the top of the van. People looked at us

...it looked like a HUGE elk atler. I think the dog ended up breaking it.

I would be interested in some but I don't have any idea how big or long. I would guess maybe 1" to 1 1/2" by 8" long

PM me and I will send you my address.

Thanks
In His Service,
Reid Allen