1/2 inch thick brass buttcap. Pix. What do you think?

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

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Mar 5, 1999
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The picture is fuzzy because I blew it up but here is a buttcap I like. It is one half inch thick and is made of good hard brass. The bolster is also solid brass and was fashioned using a Bridgeport mill. The handle is made from some nice hardwood but I can't remember exactly what. The keeper is welded to the tang. This handle was made for keeps by old Uncle Bill himself maybe 8 years back. The knife has been going heavy duty every since. No problems.

This was a buttcap you could do serious hammering with and I liked it a lot. It may be too much for some. What is your opinion? It may be wishful thinking but if we could get half inch thick brass I'd be very tempted to use it. Is it overkill?

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Bill,

I think 1/2" may be overkill and may change the balance on some khukuris. I think 1/8" or 1/4" max, depending on the size of the khuk, would be more than sufficient. I don't normally hammer with the khuk but if were to do that, I would use the spine of say an AK or equivilent.

Just my thoughts. Thanks for asking.

sing

AKTI #A000356

 
1/8 is adequate for flat. 3/16 is probably as thick as you'd want to pound into shape. If you want to carve/engrave/coin/scroll etc., the sides, go 1/4 or 3/8.

======================

Unless you want to carve the thing Sherpa style, holding it on by drilling and pinning it on the side through the tang.

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' ... and on the 8th day God said, " You take over, Murphy..." '.




[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 21 November 1999).]
 
Well I for one like the thick butt plate. I have a flat plate khukuri and the only thing I would wish on it is a much thicker plate. Right now, when you hammer the butt, you're essentially hammering the horn handle. The thin plat protects the horn from damage. A thicker butt plate would be very welcome.

I doubt you'll change the point of balance that much. Even if it did, it could be easily countered with a slight modification of the blade. I think it was Yvsa that had a multi-plate butt he fasioned himself? Let's see what he says about it.

The solid bolster I like as well. I think they're currently hallow filled with epoxy? I've never heard anyone with problems with the bolster. But solid would be preferable.
 
I agree with the previous comments. On my 21" Skinnybeast, either 3/16th or 1/4" would be fine. The only roles I can think of for 1/2" might be a 20" Ang Khola to counterbalance the blade weight or one of Bura's big superdecorated brass-grip pieces.

Bill, let's ask a different question: the brass piece between the grip and blade could maybe benefit from being made out of a single 1/2 piece? It would be shorter than current versions but it would be stable as hell and might even help stabilize the critical blade-to-tang junction?

Jim
 
Hi Bill,

1/2 inch brass buttcap... Hmm, what models would it be on. I like the idea. Would complete the perfect field/ camp khukuri for me. A real heavy duty khukuri thats for sure.

But, as always each to their own... And I'd love to own one.
Damian T
 
I agree with sing, 1/4" should be the maximum. But at any rate, it would be nice to see something a bit more substantial than the present butt caps.
 
Once again, the dreaded buttcap debate...
wink.gif


At first glance, a 1/2" thick buttcap might seem a bit excessive, so I was naturally enough apprehensive as I awaited the arrival of the Yvsa special.

Silly me! Yvsa did a damn good job on his sandwiched buttcap which measures just about 1/2" thick at its thickest. Even on a light extra skinny 21" sirupati, balance is pretty much unaffected and it _looks great_. One of the prettiest knives I have ever seen.

Granted, I have not yet tried hammering with the buttcap as the knife is now just too pretty for unnecesary abuse. I believe it was stated in an earlier thread that hammering is generally done with spine of the khukuri anyway.

Correct me if I am wrong Uncle Bill, but I believe it has also been stated that village khukuris generally have little to no buttcap depending on what (if any) likely materials the kami had on hand that day.

Perhaps a cheap and functional village khukuri can get away with a cheap and functional buttcap, but if you're going to go to the time and effort of shipping these things across the Pacific, you might as well make them with the best materials you can.

If someone doesn't like the extra weight, removal is always an option thanks to the high tech reheatable himalayan epoxy, and it also seems to me that a thick buttcap could allow for all kinds of decorations by kamis and personalization by eventual owners.

To me, an extra-thick buttcap says "Quality," and I say that is what HI is all about.

Perhaps HI should go to a little extra effort to distinguish itself from its _G_ood and _H_onorable competitors...

-Dave

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Look at my best friend's beer page!
(not for profit)
Bierland.com


 
:
I was about to get really long winded on this subject and decided it wasn't needed.Perhaps it's just because I haven't been able to get here as frequently the last week or so.
smile.gif


Most everyone here has a valid reason for what they're saying about the thicknesses of the buttcaps.

Even a 1/2" butt cap like Uncle put on this big Khukuri wouldn't put off the balance so anyone except perhaps the most discriminating could tell,if even then.
The one I fixed that Dave has is 7/16" thick and I loved the balance that 20" Sirupati has.

My personal preference would be for a division in sizes for lengths.
I would like 1/8" on all the small ones up to say 13".Then I would like
1/4" to about 17" and 3/8" from there on.

If there could only be one size then 5/16" would be my choice.I would prefer heavier to 3/8" rather than dropping to 1/4".

The only suggestion I would have on the bolsters is to make the beveled part and,maybe 3/16" more,solid and then solder a flange around it.
That hollow bolster saves the Kamis a ton of work.

(
wink.gif
wink) Now ya gotta remember that Uncle Bill is an Engineer.Uncle has spent some time in the shop and knows what is what,but that dayum-ed engineer bug still has to surface from time to time.The flat butt cap is the best idea to come along.Remember what Pala said about the workin' Khukuri's in Nepal seldom having a butt cap.

I wonder what the Kamis would say about the bolsters?
It may be an interesting question to ask.
If the Kamis had access to any material they wanted to build themselves a Khukuri and wanted to build it so there would never be a problem with the butt cap,bolster or handle then how would they build thier Khukuri?

Looks like Dave was thinkin the same thoughts.
smile.gif

The scrolled ones are very pretty,but if you have to remove a pointy part of it to make the Khukuri usable,then it is liable to ruin the cap.
My 18" AK came with the flat cap and I filed it off to a more comfortable fit.I then took my file and carefully went around the bottom edge at about a 45* angle fileing both the cap and the brass.This leaves a nice groove
that takes care of the shrinkage the horn has sometimes.I think it makes for a more "finished" looking edge to.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

If you mix milk of magnesia with vodka and orange juice do you get a phillips screwdriver?

Khukuri FAQ




[This message has been edited by Yvsa (edited 21 November 1999).]
 
I have an idea.

What do you guys think about an aluminium butt plate? It's lighter and probably just as strong. Makes a nice contrast against the brass bolster too. Randall Knives and Marble both make butts out of it.

As I recall some khukuris are made with alumium handles. So it should not be a difficult item to acquire.
 
I would think aluminum would be highly annoying because it'll "load up" the abrasives? That's always been my experience...the guys have a hard enough time getting grinding disk, files and the like.

They seem to know how to deal with brass just fine and it looks a lot more historically accurate, classy and generally "good".

Jim
 
I would like a very thick buttcap like that very much. It seems inline with the functionality of the rest of the khukuri. It also looks more appealing, but only because it is more functional which just looks better to me.

-Cliff
 
I like the idea. Although I don't know about using it as a hammer. It seems that the spine would be easier in use. How about a small production test run with the prototypes going to your most dedicated of testers? After a roundtable like discussion you could decide if it would be feasible to add them to the lineup.
Always a pleasure Bill,
Sutcliffe
 
Bill,

How thick was the buttcap on the old Sherpa models? Do we have any feedback from the users of those knives?


------------------
Howard Wallace
Khukuri FAQ

 
Bill,
As the Kamis would say, "Thick is good, thick is strong."
Dan
ps. Since my arm got buggered up, I've been using my 20"AK more instead of an axe, not as fast, but it works. I wish it had a 1/2inch butt cap on it.
 
Sutcliffe,

On some knives hammering the spine is okay. In my opinon, khukuris are not particuliarly good at this. Khukuris have a soft spine and the last time I tried it, it was ding pretty bad. I mashed the spine into concrete once, and the concrete took a bite out of the spine.
 
The solid bolster is out. I had to use a Bridgeport mill to make that bolster. It would take the kamis forever to do it with the tools they have available to them. They might be able to do it with a decent drill press but all we have right now are hand drills. That is down the priority list.

Before we could use the half inch we have to find it and I just don't know if it is available in Nepal. They had to search far and wide to come up with the 1/8 to 3/16 that they now use.

It does look like we have some interest in it. I think there is a picture of Yandgu holding the completed blade on our website. Might be under Village Khukuris. I don't even know myself.

Let's kick this around some more. The more ideas I get the better off we will all be.

Sometimes I fell a bit sorry for the kamis. Yvsa knows from experience what grief a runaway renegade engineer can cause the shop people.

PS: I forgot. I hate aluminum. Too many years in the airplane business. I remember at Boeing somebody spilled some mercury aboard -- maybe from a battery. That B-52 was grounded for weeks while workers searched for every last drop of mercury.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ



[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 22 November 1999).]
 
Uncle Bill,

Come to think of it, DON'T make the thick plates. I would feel compeled to buy one. Aaaahhhh there's no cure for the khukuri blues!
 
Pakcik Bill.
  1. 9" & 12" OAL Models - 1/8" thick buttcap.
  2. 15" & 18" OAL Models - 1/4" thick buttcap.
  3. 20" & 25" OAL Models - 3/8" thick buttcap.
  4. 30" & above OAL Models - 1/2" thick buttcap.[/list=a]I think the thickness of the buttcap have to be in sync with OAL of the Khukuri. I guess it is just not OK to have 1/2" buttcap with CBKC model (9" OAL) - overkill! ... but ... I guess that 1/2" buttcap will be look beautiful when it is mounted on a 30 incher or a Janawar Katne (38" OAL)!

    BTW - the side of those buttcaps (1/4" an above only) should have scroll work (fauna & flora motif) just like the one from shop #1 - it adds the touch of quality to the Khukuri.
 
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