Cactus juice and stabilizing

T

Tkrocky

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Sep 6, 2013
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I have read through a couple forums where guys say that it isn't worth it to stabilize your own wood, but after researching it a little bit, it seems to me that if you use a good stabilizer such as cactus juice, and a vacuum pump, it isn't too complicated a process. Also do you guys stabilize every wood you use, or just the softer ones? I just got some walnut, California buckeye, spalted maple, and a few others That I am not quite sure about their identity. I will post pictures later so you guys can tell me what they are.
 
Living in Australia, postage from the States is a killer. Lots of guys are getting into stabilizing their own blocks to avoid the cost. Cactus juice is the most common resin being used and with great success. If you can find enough suitably figured timbers to process, I say go for it.
 
I have a new friend who is using the Cactus Juice. I don't know how much is involved but he certainly does a super job of it. I have a few sets of some of the wood he has done. One coloured set of a burl I will use on a folder for my wife. For her collection and also for a couple of liner locks for sale he is doing me some stabilized musk ox horn. WOW ! Frank
 
I stabilize most of the wood scales I use. However, I don't attempt to stabilize large blocks of wood. I leave that to the experts. Cactus juice is very easy to use with good results...on small amounts of wood.
 
I use cactus juice too and it's great for woods that don't require a lot of pressure post vacuum.
 
Yeah that's sort of what I was thinking, small pieces. That way I can also reduce waste by stabilizing just the scales already cut for the knife as well.
 
Also, can anyone tell me what kinds of wood these are? I am pretty sure about the end ones being spalted maple and blood wood, but I don't know about the middle ones. If some of you more wizened wood-mongers could help me out that would be great!
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Maple burl and purple heart. I'd not use the burls in the middle for handles, as the grain orientation is incorrect for maximizing strength...I've seen plenty cut cross grain like that have about zero strength. Just my opinion.
 
Looks like spalted birch, oak burl and purpleheart.
Stabilizing helps with the durability but cross cut pieces can still crack and break.

Some woods are a lot easier to stabilize than others.
If you are going to do it yourself I would stick with the easy ones like maple and ash.
If you stabilize in scale form be prepared for warping and twisting in the curing stage.
 
When curing my scale material I separate the pieces in a roll of aluminum foil like usual but I sandwich the stack between two steel plates and clamp with C clamps so they stay pretty flat as they cure then cool. There will be some minor flattening afterwards on a belt or disc but it keeps the headaches to a minimum.
 
Burl Source said:
Looks like spalted birch, oak burl and purpleheart.
Stabilizing helps with the durability but cross cut pieces can still crack and break.

Some woods are a lot easier to stabilize than others.
If you are going to do it yourself I would stick with the easy ones like maple and ash.
If you stabilize in scale form be prepared for warping and twisting in the curing stage.
Click to expand...

Just curious, what makes maple and ash easier to do than others? Or I guess, what constitutes an easy to stabilize wood?
 
The denser and more oily the wood is, the harder it is for the resin to penetrate. With home setups you are able to get good vacuum, but pressurizing is more challenging, limiting the woods that can be done. Maple is not oily at all, and big leaf maple is not very dense, so its easy to stabilize. Ash is similar. Really dense woods can require thousands of PSI to get the resin to penetrate.
 
Let's for a moment go with the premise that denser more oily woods tend to not need stabilizing and require more pressure to get the resin to penetrate the fibers. Then with the limitations of home set ups wouldn't you get penetration to the extent that the wood needs it? That is to say, less dense woods that need stabilizing will tend to accept deeper and more complete saturation with resin. Conversely, more dense/oily woods require less resin and accept only as much resin as they need. Or do dense/oily woods need total saturation as well?
 
Many of the dense oily woods do not need stabilization for protection, but may need it to prevent shrinking and swelling over time. Teak and Honduras mahogany are quite stable dimensionally, but are not very tough as they are not very dense. Zebrano is dense enough to use without stabilization, but it requires quarter sawn cutting to be dimensionally stable. It is prone to cracking or checking if used in other cuts. The issue with dense or oily wood is that the resin doesn't penetrate very deep into the wood without pressure. Once you shape the handle, you may be through the resin and back to bare wood.
 
Ok, got it. Thanks. I think stabilization is like making your own Micarta. Seems like a good idea and results can be quite good. But when you get serious about your craft, or get to the point where you have paying customers that expect the very best, professionally or commercially prepared product becomes the wisest choice.
 
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I spent about $500.00 on stabilizing equipment, but I have an almost unlimited quantity of rainbow poplar, spalted poplar, and spalted big leaf maple. These all stabilize well with cactus juice. I wouldn't use these pieces on a high end knife though.
 
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