☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted April 17, 2016 hello , im new to graftage and have 2 successes under my belt ... i received a broken yowie once and used a fresh stanly knife (cheapo break off blade type) to cut out the damaged section that had cracked.. so as to preserve the flowering tip and the "one piece" speed of no pupping having yet been initiated ... (fast herb chopping type) ...kitchen knife was weapon of choice on a scop that had been the only plant I had cut before (prior to learning that cutting them slows flowering potential down).. which is where I got the experience of actually cutting one myself.. I now have a pachanoi ralph (i name it that so i know where it came from and know not if a ralph clone is already in existance) that needs the same problem rectifying ... but i wondered if there was a better way any of you guys could enlighten me on? I would like to create for myself (and anyone else interested) a nice standard operating procedure on it lol because i used to write them for machinery myself at a pharm way back .. so looking for minerals flavoured of: A. the right tool for the particular job - variations would be girth and height of cut i guess - (4 inch thick pachanoi rootstock > 2.5 inch snapped off tip in this particular instance) ...with the highest success rate and reliability plus ability to be sanitized or made sterile between cuttings/repairings.. and also the right process for that blade to be cleaned along with it. B. any variations or limitations known from other folk's experience that might cause an action to suddenly become dangerous for example ... maybe the snap off stanly blade method had snapped off in someones cactus causing an even bigger problem half way through the procedure ... (but then perhaps a saw might come in handy over certain diameters?) C. the best sanitiser/steriliser for said blades .. so far guessing IPA but would be nice to know if there are any other useful agents that i might be able to procure just in case IPA wasn't available for some reason.. D. ummm,. there isnt a D yet so ... Thank you kindly for your time :3 *Aztec gold from pirates of the caribbean as size ref ;) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berengar Posted April 17, 2016 Rosle chef's knife sharpened with an agate sharpening stone. One decisive slice on a styrofoam block and you have a perfectly flat surface. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted April 17, 2016 Depends on the vascular core for me. If it's a reasonably fleshy cut I use a filleting knife as it's thin and super sharp. If the core is really woody, I use a serrated bread knife. If it's a really hard nut to crack, out comes the cleaver, swing it like a machete. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrDuke Posted April 17, 2016 What Glaukus said breadknives have helped get through many a woody stock and i use a small pearing knife for the smaller grafts i had %100 strike rate this year with one regraft after not enough pressure was applied,if It works for you dont change it:) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Presidente Hillbillios Posted April 17, 2016 i have one of these i really like for cutting cactus, works good even on the ones with really woody cores. Was only a couple of dollars from the cheap shop too 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted April 17, 2016 That should be on their next infomercial hillbilly. It's cuts through a shoe, it even cuts through a cactus! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted April 17, 2016 For C horsey I just the aerosol sanitiser spray called "glen20". It's basically 70% ethonal and is easy to spray onto your knife. And yeh a chef knife is best I find, buy a good sharpener so you can out your own edge on it and t will serve you well! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted April 17, 2016 sharp folding pruning saw for me for woodies. Filletting knife for younger stuff . Might be one of those hillbilly knives if he will let me pay it off it 3 easy installments....lol 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted April 17, 2016 (edited) If yr gonna do a job, do it properly... Edited April 17, 2016 by Halcyon Daze 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
at0m Posted April 17, 2016 Victorinox chef knife + hack saw for cores if necessary Just give them a little wash, throw the hack saw blades out every once in awhile. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted April 17, 2016 (edited) AWESOME thank you so much you guys its good to have your hand/brains of experience to pick and that was very helpful indeed.. i have just the right piece of styro foam i was about to chuck out prior to that ace read ,, also will have a spare hacksaw from the window blinds trimming work ahead of me .. Edited April 17, 2016 by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted April 17, 2016 I don't get the part about the styrofoam sorry?! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berengar Posted April 17, 2016 You place the cactus on a styrofoam block horizontally so that the cut will be as straight as possible. And I like to use styrofoam specifically so that the spines don't get damaged. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted April 17, 2016 styro foam also sounds nice in respect of lining the cutting action up with a flat vertical edge too .. - kinda just clearing the foam block .. - might add a hard surface of plastic too if i find the right piece to recycle , to preserve the foam and to perhaps slice against ... if i feel analytical enough to get that far :3 also have a rehealing cutting board i could use as a base for the styro foam .. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted May 4, 2016 my daughter did this graft for me as her very first graft .. with a little guidance, oversight and responsible procedure :3 .. and together we have further adapted the toothpick/bamboo bbq skewer graft > sawn-off steel bbq swewer grafts so removal at a later date will be possible .. weapon of choice was the fast-herb chopper ready gooed up with IPA gel 'buffer' of choice was a fleece baby blanket for bespoke levelling 'base' used was a rehealing cutting board The remaining 'end caps' got a try at laggy band grafting too just in case it works .. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karl_marx Posted May 5, 2016 I love the skewers. Please post updates on how the plants do when the skewers are removed. Have you thought about putting in a second set, making an X, so that the joint will be stronger against bending in any direction? You could then run cross beams with the elastic bands to stabilize the joint against torsion, too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Presidente Hillbillios Posted May 5, 2016 kick ass skewer idea, ima steal that one! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted May 5, 2016 I love the skewers. Please post updates on how the plants do when the skewers are removed. Have you thought about putting in a second set, making an X, so that the joint will be stronger against bending in any direction? You could then run cross beams with the elastic bands to stabilize the joint against torsion, too. I'm going from what i learned from EG's awesome toothpick grafting for beginners to find easy ... I had thunk the "X -thing" way back when I repaired this yowie but I decided against .. just to minimize damage to the cactus and prevent an even more susceptible "weak spot" by the time it has put out some mileage for us ... also in retrospect , seeing as I used the bamboo skewers [toothpicks couldn't cut it on such a huge pachanoi] ... and they wouldn't come back out once the grafting was complete... -necessitating their : 'having to be trimmed as flush with the mainstem as poss'... I'm thinking thank fk I didn't do the X with the bamboo... However this may no longer be an issue with the steel - I presume (still not got there yet but I imagine they'll come out).. but on the basis of creating weaknesses feeling like over-kill / bad ju ju ... I think I'm gna just trust the 2 in this case ... also I'm assuming by "X" you mean as viewed from above and the second pair of skewers being at a different height up the cactus stem/shaft .. and not 2 skewers in the same section of cactus ... cuz the latter would defo feel like a potential weak spot ... but then again , for all I know the healed damage may be perhaps stronger than that original undamaged stem? , But then again, this could probably also leave liable to further cause "cracking" due to any movement the plants get later on in life when even heavier up top ... due to inconsistencies additional to the ones deemed necessary for the repair.. Maybe if it was a terscheckii or something .. skewers could perhaps act as blades like some sort of "cheese cutting string" under the swaying weight (for example if in winds and outdoor) ... so perhaps some sort of squared skewer or flattened skewer of sorts could be applied ... maybe 4 blunt "display-only" katanas? x] anybody know a blacksmith? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted May 5, 2016 it may pay off to give the "piercings" a little twist in their holes like with ear piercing? i wonder if I should've applied vaseline to the skewers? ... or if it would have just gotten wiped off with cactus flesh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karl_marx Posted May 5, 2016 if you keep tightening the rubber bands you might cut the cactus in two without killing it like those split tongues Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted June 22, 2016 used an ikea paring knife (for being super sharpo) on the colossus repair ... wish me luck sabages :3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BedOSpines Posted June 22, 2016 looks good hos, how's the ralph coming along? putting out new growth yet? one of these days i'm gonna make some kind of scion securer, I often find myself contemplating this. hehe you could get the pencil sharpener out and stick some peres in those skewer holes when your done 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted February 7, 2017 pencil sharpener sounds like a good idea man , I'll bet you could graft bonsai roots like that too update on the Ralpher ... skewers twisted and removed just as planned , same with colossus, no growth on colossus tip for proof of success, but defo had some from the ralph as soon as it was grafted.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
