Restoring an Atlanta Cutlery Longleaf Khukuri Blade.

Bookie, I had forgotten about poured work. Won't stabilize the wood as much but much easier.
If you pin it (and I would-I didn't get to see any sword demos when I lived in Japan because somebody hadn't checked their mekugi, and nailed somebody's kid to the bleachers :( )-pin it at the very tip of the tang, and due respect to Karda I wouldn't use hardened steel-it's a safeguard, not your first line of attachment, and I think it should be pretty ductile. Just there if the adhesive fails. That being said, I wouldn't hit anything above 1" or so-and that with a sharp edge and good technique.
 
Think I'll stick to the copper pipe bolster and not weld the tang, if it's going to hold as well regardless then it's not really worth welding up a historical piece, I was a bit reluctant to do it anyways. On the bright side I secured the pin in my m43 with a tiny drift and a ball pein hammer, and have the handle soaking up some min. oil. to hopefully prevent that scale from moving. Have a section of maple cut to about 5" that I'm going to square off tomorrow. Might not hear much from me because it's typical of the power not to return after a day or three after it goes out.
 
J W Bensinger said:
pin it at the very tip of the tang, and due respect to Karda I wouldn't use hardened steel-it's a safeguard, not your first line of attachment, and I think it should be pretty ductile. Just there if the adhesive fails.
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I would, or I wouldn't have recommended it. Nothing short of actual Laha is going to keep that blade in the handle forever. Modern epoxies fall far short of it's tenacity, IMHO. Everytime I have had to deal with laha it's been a real treat. I have a 20" AK that I positively can't get the handle to budge on, no matter how hot I boil it or how hard I hammer on it. The only way that handle is likely coming off is in pieces.

Myself I would skip the metal bolster all together and overlap the handle onto the blade itself to just a tad behind the cho.
Then, I would use a small hardened pin in front of the tang and one in the middle of the tang to keep rotational forces inside the handle from breaking out. I'd also use a handle material like hardrock maple or black walnut to prevent gouging. It's really the only way that handle will stay on for any hard use. As I said, these were fighting knives and not intended for anything else. Making them into something theyre not can be done, but it's almost an exercise in futility.
 
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Rock maple is exactly what I'm using (it's the only thing that grows here in the swamp besides alders), never pinned anything before there's a first time for everything! I only wish we had the plant life to make Laha up here in Maine! I think I understand what you're saying about the pins, one on one side of the tang, one on the other (not drilled INTO the tang) to keep it from rotating too much? Why skip the metal bolster if I might ask?

The easiest solution is going to be not pin it and use it as it was meant to be! I might use some thicker nails as pins, soften it up cut it and peen it if i DO choose to go that route.
 
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DarthTaco123 said:
Rock maple is exactly what I'm using (it's the only thing that grows here in the swamp besides alders), never pinned anything before there's a first time for everything! I only wish we had the plant life to make Laha up here in Maine! I think I understand what you're saying about the pins, one on one side of the tang, one on the other (not drilled INTO the tang) to keep it from rotating too much? Why skip the metal bolster if I might ask?
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I'm saying drilled thru and pinned in two places. preferably where there is the most metal to hold them.
I'd skip the bolster, because, unless the handle is fitted inside it as the kamis do it, it does really nothing for the integrity of the handle and is just more work to make look nice.

This is what I mean:

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I think I'll avoid pinning it, I'd hate to drill it, pin it, and not like the results, i plan on recreating a long leaf in my forge based off this so I may try it on a non historical piece. Thanks for the advice, you're like a well of knowledge on this, I wonder why lol.

I'll probably do the bolster for looks, I have plenty of khukuri to use and this one is going to sit retired on the wall, or displayed in my gun cabinet.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
Thanks for the advice, you're like a well of knowledge on this, I wonder why lol.
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Well Thank ya!.....
I do warranty work and return repair for Auntie sometimes, when I can. I do them for myself also on any brand of Khuk.. I like to tinker.
Lets just say I've repaired a few handles.
 
First, apologies to Darth for an earlier post (in a different thread) in which I questioned why you would want to rehandle a vintage khukuri. I didn't realize that you were buying a blade with no handle.

I agree with Karda about the two pins for added strength against the rotational forces on the tang inside the wood handle. However, that doesn't fully solve the problem that wood tends to split at the ends, so I think a bolster is still a good idea.

I'm not a metalworker but I found it easy to make a bolster from a short length of thickwalled copper tubing. I chose a piece that was a close fit, then squeezed it in a clamp to get the desired oval profile to match the handle cross-section. After a little filing of the wood the bolster went on good and tight but I used epoxy as well to get a permanent bond.

I also agree with Karda that these vintage khukuris were primarily weapons and not built for heavy chopping. I'm sure that in the right circumstances the Ghurkas would do some wood cutting, but probably camping-type chores, rather than chopping trees and thick logs that some people do nowadays with heavy HI blades.

I think you're wise to make this a historical display piece rather than a user, and in that case maybe the two pins aren't necessary. However, I would use at least one pin in the wide part of the tang, just in case. You never know when some youngster might take that blade off the wall and do a few fun swings with it, and if the epoxy fails (perhaps due to changes in temperature and humidity) and the blade flies free, suddenly you have a not so fun trip to the emergency room.
 
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No worries, probably should have better worded it myself. Transposing thoughts to text is a bit of a pitfall for me. I don't have anything wide enough to simply bend and throw over it, so I'll have to do some cutting and bending around a drift followed by some soldering, but I've got the stuff for it so im not worried. Dot plan on drilling it because it's not seeing heavy work like my m43, more light stuff not exceeding an inch or two.
 
DarthTaco123 said:
Can only imagine how many you've repaired, scares me a bit.
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On HI.... not all that many total replacements. But I have repaired a fair share of cracking and shrinkage. It happens because of the temperature and humidity difference between Nepal and Nevada.
On non-HI.... just about every one I've bought I've had to do repair or replacement on at some point. And when they go, theyre broken but good.
HI usually uses the Laha liberally, so even though cracked the handles stay on. Some of these other khukuri I've worked on you'd think Laha was gold because they used it so sparingly. It's why when I want to chop wood the only thing i'll risk my safety with is an HI khukuri.
Believe me I well researched all the companies before I even came here and I remain here because of HI's dedication to excellence in product and customer service.
 
Yep, I bought a khukuri from an antique store, it was sold as one from another company that sells a lot of khukuri (something with a house to do with it hint hint) and it was their model they sell as their best chopper with quite a few chirra, not only did the handle crack then literally chip off, the HT failed on clean pine in the middle of summer. Think the blade is sitting somewhere on my work bench long forgotten.
 
JW, I agree with you. My methodology to end up with more security and stabilization is to pour a bolster after the tang has had grooves ground or filed into it and the tang fits the hole in the handle as snug as feasible. Then a few small holes are drilled at various off angles to the tang hole. The tang is then warmed, but not so hot as to draw the temper further, but enough to allow the molten metal to fill the tang hole, it's off-shoots to prevent the tang turning in a round hole, and the grooves in the tang. I have occasionally drilled two holes through the handle that fill with metal. Then when the knife is cleaned up, it appears that the blade was also pinned in place. Faux chirrua, if you will.
 
Bookie said:
JW, I agree with you. My methodology to end up with more security and stabilization is to pour a bolster after the tang has had grooves ground or filed into it and the tang fits the hole in the handle as snug as feasible. Then a few small holes are drilled at various off angles to the tang hole. The tang is then warmed, but not so hot as to draw the temper further, but enough to allow the molten metal to fill the tang hole, it's off-shoots to prevent the tang turning in a round hole, and the grooves in the tang. I have occasionally drilled two holes through the handle that fill with metal. Then when the knife is cleaned up, it appears that the blade was also pinned in place. Faux chirrua, if you will.
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Oh, I like that. Going to have to try that on a trade knife next one I make. What do you use for mold material?
(I've been meaning to sandcast hilts ala some of the Filipino style ones but it's too bloody cold for casting-a sandcast khuk hilt molded from an originalwould be pretty neat. Muahahaha
 
JW, I usually just use stiff paper like construction paper or post card stock. If I need the bolster to be flat on the end without buggering up the blade coloring from files, a potato gets sliced in half, the blade stuck into it as far as required, and then a paper & masking tape dam built up with the pour opening off to the side. I have also used Brownell's heat sink compound successfully, too. It cracks when high heat gets to it, but attention to detail and files take care of the issues. Have poured metal into walnut and maple around inlaid bone and sterling silver previously inlet into a piece of iron wood for a most unusual, but beautiful, gargoyle (if you can call Gargoyles beautiful) on the wrist of an early Germanic American long rifle transitional piece. Had to use much of the same techniques to secure the delicate work in order not to use common sterling nails. The gold & opal eyeballs were inlaid later and the gold/sterling wire inlay surrounding it really set it off. Exotic, but worth every penny of the extra 500 simoleans the fellow eagerly paid! Do truly wish I could make knives like you. Yours have class, lad.:thumbup:
 
The blade is arriving tomorrow according to UPS but with the way this storm is hitting I'm not sure if work will extend past cleaning the blade off, might cut the maple to length for a handle.
 
She's here, she's here! Think it may be a bhojpure, not a longleaf. Runs at about 17" unless I'm measuring it wrong. Might bring it up to them, might not. This monster is 1/2" thick with a 3" belly though so I'm not complaining. The tang runs just long enough for me to squeak a nearly full tang handle and it came with not one, but TWO sets of negari script, not sure if that's normal or not. The blade came in good shape since I didn't hand select, the spine has contact marks and the edge is dull but it's to be expected. Anyways I'll just shut up.

CE2D6CD8-0D5D-4230-86BA-B018BD7D4F97.jpg


This script is near where the blade drops:
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And this is near the tang.
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Sweet! I think bhojpure too, doesn't look like a long leaf to me but I certainly ain't no expert.

I'd sure not complain about it and love it forever although don't the bhojpure's sell for a few bucks less than the long leaf's? Don't remember now. No worries, still wicked cool.

Now get to work and put a beautiful handle on that beautiful blade.
 
That's the spirit, don't worry be happy.

You up to your neck in snow at your place. Really got it back that way. Heard not as bad as they expected but still pretty bad.

We ain't seen no snow yet and I'm so happy. Sure be weird to go all winter with none but I'd still be happy.
 
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