22 replies to this topic

[Phlux-]

I have always found it preferable to work with fresh cactus, it is always available fresh and i just dont see the benefit of drying it prior to extraction.
Working with the fresh cactus can be tedious and a few little tips can make things so much quicker and easier.
After working with many many many meters of cactus, injuring many thumbs(by getting the skin of the cactus under the nail - usually the thumb nail) the easiest and safest(finger wize) way i have found is as follows.
Requirements

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

First the spines need to be removed, a usefull little tool iv found for this is a little item by victorynox knives.
This makes the job much faster but is by no means neccicary.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

The way i found it quickest to proceed is to first make an incision on the one side of each areole

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Working your way down each rib, rib after rib, until the entire cactus is done - half way.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Once that is complete the spines can be removed by rotating the peice and repeating the proceedure on the uncut side of each areole

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Within 7 minutes(incl taking photos) the peice was clear of spines

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

A little knife can be used and is just as accurate but more time consuming

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

knife used on left areole - victorynox tool used on the right one

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Once the cactus is free of spines its time to strip it into snakes
Take the cactus and cut along each valley between each rib - making sure to cut on the v
If the core is soft - cut to the center, if not cut to the core(the peice in the tek was softish but was still cut to the wood for purposes of demonstration)

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Once the log has been sliced down the ribs, run your thumb down between the ribs to split the sections somewhat - this makes the next step easier.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305061

Using your thumbs, carefully separate the cactus from the wood

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

Work the snakes off the core keeping them in one peice - if they start to split up a bit - use a knife to get them back on track with being removed in one peice.
This should leave u with some cactus snakes and a core

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

If the core was soft and one cut the middle - they can easily be sliced off with a knife.
Any little bits of core left clinging to the snakes can be removed too.
The snakes should now be cut to a size that is easy to work with.

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

using ones nail the skin should be worked off each peice starting on one side - moving slowly from left to right, little by little
This is after moving across once

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

this is after going across twice

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

after repeating this on the other side the skin comes off in one peice

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

This process is rather quick and took only 22 minutes

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

Optionally one can now fillet the cactus to separate the dark green flesh from the inner white flesh
To separate the 2 parts the best way i have found is to cut each snake down its back lengthwize

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

then lay each peice down so it can be filleted

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305145

if done carefully the separation can be quite accurate



i dont usually bother with this as the white flesh contains plenty of actives
what i found best to do is to slice it up like a carrot

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305165

http://mycotopia.net...=1&d=1271305165

then do 2 tea pulls with minimal straining, freeze/thaw then blend for the final 2 tea pulls
Just out of interest the original peice before being prepped weighed - 1888g
After being prepped - 1422g
The cactus in the pic is an almost spineless pedro - it cant hurt u - u can toss it to a friend and they can catch it any way they want without chance of injury.
No thumbs were hurt in the making of this post.

Hope this tek helps someone out.

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Edited by mycobri, 14 April 2010 - 11:28 PM.

[Tripp]

Really good post :) Great pictures too. Very helpful, thanks!

[Shadowlord]

Thanks Phlux.
Another great cactus thread.
:cacti:
Glad to see the Cactus being discussed more again around here.
And good thread for preparing fresh material.
Planning on doing some fresh tea in the near future after having a splendid time w/ some extracts recently. Reminded me of how incredible and fantastic Mescaline is. After that experience one feels the urge to get the full spectrum effect again as there is a big difference in the experience.
Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing Phlux.

[SpiritMolecule]

Thats pretty kick ass. I worked w Bridgesii once, and cut it into star shaped cookie things. Removed the core chunk from the middle and separated that sausage casing with my fingers. I like how you did that, though. Very, ahh, 'culinary'.

[paph]

Nice write up.:thumbup::)

That tool for removing the areoles looks very useful, I trashed my thumbs last time I made tea.

[SpiritMolecule]

We gonna get an update? Are you making tea, or extracting the alkaloids? Cuz I LOVE me some pics of crystal action. hehe

[Phlux-]

haha not quite decided but second pull is in the pipes - going to make purified resin first.
il eat some and see if it needs to be made into nice hcl xtals.
iv never eaten resin - im a bit of a purist :) hehe - like my xtals.

[omentheduck]

awesome write up , thanks for share and great pics to go along with it!!

I have never heard of spineless pedro, I must go searching for it now, Cause OW the other ones hurt,
any one had any exp with the potency compared to the one's with spines

[kocos]

Great pictorial! Thank you for that! :bow:

[Ferretious]

" No thumbs were hurt in the making of this post":lol::lol::lol::lol:.
I love that! It's like a paper cut in the worst place, right under your nail!
Torture!!!!
That specivic tool is awesome as is all this tech!
Cheers Phlux, it's a bad day when you don't learn something new:cacti::cacti::cacti:!

[greenkurma]

Very meticulous dissection you have here. I'd imagine this method takes too long for me. I've found the fastest and most productive method is to snip any spines with strong scissors down to the nub, any small spines can be left on, then make a cut in between each column, then cut the columns into thin slices all at once.. you get a similar end result except with the core attached and the pads still attached but its all going to get cooked anyway..:amazed:

When BBB ships bridgessi it bomes with the spines snipped off ready to chop, the pedro doent even need the spines removed they are so small. Just scrub like you would a vegetable, and chop and boil!

[Phlux-]

well it took 35 minutes from start to finish to prep that peice of cactus incl takin pix.
for me it is not an effort - it is an important part of the entire experience, meditative and i enjoy working with the plant.

[Mr Kush]

very nice:thumbup:,

but what do you sappose I do with this guy? :lol::lol:

http://C:\Users\kyle\Pictures\montrose - Copy.jpg

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[NRA1420]

Very Nice, added it to my bookmarks in FireFox

[TurkeyRanch]

but what do you sappose I do with this guy? :lol::lol:

http://C:\Users\kyle...rose - Copy.jpg

That is one crazy lookin cacti. Is it a bridge? If so, WTF?

[Mr Kush]

That is one crazy lookin cacti. Is it a bridge? If so, WTF?

Tricheocereus peruvianus var, montrose:rasta:
this guy is 3' tall.
there is a thousand or more feet of this cacti a fiew hours driving distant from my foaf house, it is a very beutiful sight to see:D.

[rocketman]

archive material when thread slows

Awesome job thank you!!!:bow:

[rockawayrooms]

archive material when thread slows
Awesome job thank you!!!:bow:

Indeed brother,EXCELLENT job Phlux,:thumbup:
THANK YOU for sharing this with us!!!:bow::bow::bow:

[Shadowlord]

I couldn't agree more.
When I learned about mescaline extraction I didn't know that the art was still being perfected and experimented upon.
Loving the Cactus the way I do, all this new ( to me at least! ) knowledge and technique is sure to give me lots to work with.
Will be a great addition to the Archives for sure.
:cacti:

[Shroomette]

Well, Rocketman and Rockawayrooms beat me to it hehehe definitely archive material. I couldn't agree more. Awesome pictorial and great write up Phlux. I'm sure me and irishlion will be giving this a try. :heart: :bow: :bow: