12" Siru Pics [56K be warned]

T

tychoseven

Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
317
siru_all.jpg

Here's the 12" Sirupati I sharked on 10/25. It's my first piece by Kumar, and the first thing I noticed when I drew the khuk was the amazingly comfortable handle. I'd heard that Kumar did some sweet handles, but now I understand what all the fuss is about. Here's the handle. I tried to get pictures of the grain in the horn, but none came out well. It's still purty and fits my hand almost perfectly. Somebody with larger hands would find it too small, however.
siru_handle.jpg



After I got over the handle I noticed the exquisite scrollwork on the sword of Shiva. The scrolls make the sword feel more forceful than those on my WWII and FF, if that makes sense. Here's a detail shot of the sword.
siru_sword.jpg


This khuk is really friendly to me...it wants to ride on my hip everywhere. I'd wear it to work if that was OK (which it isn't). I have to settle for wearing it around on my days off. The blade is small, but it's still got some chop thanks to the khukri geometry :D I wouldn't want to fell a tree with it, but for cutting off fish heads or general camp work it's quite nice. The Pen Knife no doubt surpasses it there, but I dig the narrow profile of the Siru. Here's another full-length shot, because I don't think the first one showed the blade geometry well. There was a foreshortening effect that made it look squat.

siru_all2.jpg


My only complaint is the sharpness of the blade...or lack therof. It was dull as a butter knife when it came, and my poor sharpening skills and crappy silicon-carbide stones can't get anywhere near shaving. But that's not the blade's fault, it's mine. I'm sure you all know how frustrating it is when you've got a knife that wants to be a razor, but you can't find that razor...and don't want to pay somebody else too much to find it for you :rolleyes:

Thanks for looking!

-Tycho-
 
Great looking blade, Tycho:thumbup:
You pretty much are spot on about Kumar's work. Beautifully formed, comfortable handles, butterknife dull:rolleyes: . You'll get the sharpening thing down. Don't worry. It just takes time. The 12" Siru is one of the must underappreciated khuks out there. It doesn't chop a lot, but it can do some work. It's a bent Ka-bar.

Jake
 
Now I gotta look through the drawer for a Kumar and check the handle:D
And yes, I am also a big fan of the "little" sirupatis. They only look little next to the other HIs. Anywhere else and they're dang big knives.
 
Tyco?

Trust me. If you keep working at it, you will learn to sharpen the edge. I don't know about razor sharp, but you will have an excellent edge one day, and from then on, you will always be able to produce it. It just happens, somehow.

Lovely images.
 
That's what I hear, to keep working at it. I can use my thumb to keep a mostly-consistent angle, but even on a straight blade it's never as sharp as I want. I mean, I can put the full weight of my hand on the blade and draw-cut without it making more than a superficial cut, not even enough to draw blood. I just don't have the patience...what's the point of carrying a dull knife? I'm thinking about getting a Lansky or Gatco rod system until my freehand is good enough. That way at least I'll have usable knives.

A question: can I use 1000 or finer grit sandpaper to give the blade a satin finish like a village model? I like the satin finish much better, but I don't want to ruin the blade. I'd try it on another knife but I don't have any I want to chance.

Thanks!

-Tycho-
 
Sweet. I wanted a 15", but the 12" showed up and it said "take me home, please." So I did, and I love it.

-Tycho-
 
tycho, nice camera work. Pretty little knife.

One of the triangular diamond sharpeners like the ones Ragnar sells was one of my better investments. I've had some khuks that have actually had flat spots on the edge when I held it up to the light. The diamond sharpener put a pretty quick, sharp edge on those.

Not that I'm very good at sharpening, mind you, but I can get by.

BTW, Murphy's Oil Soap and an old toothbrush will get that red rouge out of the rings. Splatters a bit, so watch your clothes and surroundings.
 
Back in the day before my dealings with the Convex Mafia, I used to sharpen my khuks by doing the big work with a file and cleaning up with a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I was best at doing the 25" Kobra; using only the file and the chakmak I could make it shave very roughly.

I pretty much sucked at sharpening back then - ignorance, as well as inexperience. We've all been there at one time or another. It just takes practice.

Tycho, I'd recommend the Sharpmaker. It's relatively inexpensive and it's very effective, although it's not as good on bigger blades. It actually got me over the freehanding fence, so to speak - once I realized that my successes on the Sharpmaker were me, and not the Sharpmaker (which just holds two rods in one place, nothing more) I knew that I could sharpen freehand. On the advice of another I threw that plastic base away and never looked back.

And that's another vote for the Sharpmaker: the stones that come with it are very good. I still use mine to touch up my folders. The stones are far too fine to do any serious work but they're excellent for touching up. If something is dinged up too badly for the stones to work I typically skip the diamonds and go straight to the file, but I'm prone to impatience.
 
tychoseven said:
A question: can I use 1000 or finer grit sandpaper to give the blade a satin finish like a village model? I like the satin finish much better, but I don't want to ruin the blade. I'd try it on another knife but I don't have any I want to chance.

Thanks!

-Tycho-
Click to expand...

Tycho,
400 grit will get you close to a satin finish - way finer than a villager. 1000 is half-way to a full mirror finish at about 2500 grit. If you can see your eyes in the reflection, you're almost there. If you can see the color of your eyes, you're there.
 
It's been said, but I've just gotta reiterate, love the traditional style bolsters on the smaller khuks. Habakis may have some utility in keeping the larger, heavier, khuks from rattling around in their scabbards, but I can't help but like the clean lines of the traditional style on the 15" and unders.

Looks like a good one Tycho, my very first "real khukuri" was a horn handled, 12 inch siru, by Kumar. It served me well, and continues to serve it's new owner, who I can only hope is safe tonight, somewhere in this world.

A dull khukuri has something to teach you, you'll profit by paying attention. That said, try to snag yourself a nice villager, their edges don't get rounded off by the mirror polishing, so they hone up hair poppin' sharp in a hurry. Gotta love their satiny, workmanlike, appearance and no-nonsense feel too. :D

Sarge
 
Wonder whether there is a lot of difference between a 12" Sirupati and a 12" AK ?

I have a 12" AK coming my way.
 
Astrodada said:
Wonder whether there is a lot of difference between a 12" Sirupati and a 12" AK ?

I have a 12" AK coming my way.
Click to expand...

Not to worry Astro, you'll like your 12" AK, hard little workers for their size. I'll let you and Tycho in on one of my "personal secrets" regarding the little khuks. The big khukuris have no need to be shaving sharp to chop well, mass times speed equals force, and they produce a lot of it. To get maximum effectiveness out of the "small" khuks, you'll want to pay attention to maintaining a good sharp edge. By all means strive to learn how to convex your edge, but avoid a thick, abrupt, axe-like, edge on your little khukuris. You want a gentle convex, forming a thinner, more knife-like edge, to give your little khuk real "bite".

Folks familiar with the Opinel knives from France know how well they cut. What some folks don't know is that those blades are in fact a convex grind. The convex is so gentle and gradual that you don't notice it at first, but examine one closely and you'll see what I mean.;)

Sarge
 
Sylvrfalcn said:
Not to worry Astro, you'll like your 12" AK, hard little workers for their size. I'll let you and Tycho in on one of my "personal secrets" regarding the little khuks. The big khukuris have no need to be shaving sharp to chop well, mass times speed equals force, and they produce a lot of it. To get maximum effectiveness out of the "small" khuks, you'll want to pay attention to maintaining a good sharp edge. By all means strive to learn how to convex your edge, but avoid a thick, abrupt, axe-like, edge on your little khukuris. You want a gentle convex, forming a thinner, more knife-like edge, to give your little khuk real "bite".

Folks familiar with the Opinel knives from France know how well they cut. What some folks don't know is that those blades are in fact a convex grind. The convex is so gentle and gradual that you don't notice it at first, but examine one closely and you'll see what I mean.;)

Sarge
Click to expand...

Thanks Sarge for the tip. :)

Starting with 300 grit for initial profiling of the edge OK ?

(going sandpaper and mousepad shopping after work)
 
300 grit, or even coarser, ought to work fine starting out Astro. An important thing to remember about sandpaper is to avoid "skipping grits", i.e. don't jump from 220 straight to 600 or 1000 grit. When abrasives cut metal they create grooves, microscopically these look like peaks and valleys. When you "skip grits" by jumping to too fine an abrasive, you're literally polishing the peaks and doing nothing to the valleys. Try to find a good hardware store or autobody shop supplier that will sell you sandpaper by the sheet instead of by the pack, saves a lot of waste. I get mine from a local ACE Hardware.

If you don't have/aren't familiar with strops, start doing your research now.
A good piece of leather loaded with a fine abrasive "polishing" compound is a must to achieving a true "hair popping" edge.

Sarge
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top