20" HI Sirupati and 18+" AK (plus handle repair advice)

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The blessed mail lady brought me TWO toys today! The long-awaited AK and Sirupati arrived. Four days from when Bill sent them out, pretty good for the USPS (They've already lost 2 Knives from Uncle to me, and a check from me to him!) I just picked up a load of wood last night, so this was the prime time to get a new knife. The massive profile of the AK is certainly impressive! I took it to the wood, and it performed very well. Except for a few REALY hard stump-logs 18+" in diameter, it split anything and everything that I threw at it. It performs much better than my 20" General Utility Villager. I haven't tried the Sirupati yet, but I know from using the Villager Sirupati, that it will do well. It is a little heavier than the Villager, probably 4-5 ounces. This still seems like it will be plenty light for long brush-clearing outings.

Will:

you mentioned that your 20+" AK handle split on its first outing. Mine also did the same. When I took it out of the box, I noticed a slight imperfection in the handle, but it appeared as though it might be part of the grain. Apparently it was a hairline crack, for after I was done splitting wood, it was split almost from top to bottom. What type of epoxy do you use to repair your handles? I want to make sure that this one is done right!

Rusty:

You mention in your post about Sing's horn handles that you use superglue for hairline cracks. You then indicate, I believe, that you cover the entire handle with liquid superglue, let it dry, then remove the 'non absorbed' glue from the handle with remover, and buff the horn. Did I understand this correctly? The Sirupati appears to have a few really thin cracks in its horn, and I want to 'nip them in the bud'.

It seems as though lately, handles have been a sore spot. All input on the BEST way to ensure no more problems with these is much appreciated.


Rob

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'He's losin' it... (Words spoken about me by a visitor seeing me with my Khuk!)
Lucky for them I'm not...
 
Some info about the horn handles -- BirGorkha ran completely out of horn a couple of months back. We have to depend on horn suppliers and they were giving us what they had available and the horn was not properly aged. Like wood, if the horn isn't aged for some time and allowed to stabilize it is going to crack.

Gelbu made a special trip to Calcutta to try to find a supplier of decent horn. Hopefully, he can get what we need from Calcutta and this splitting and cracking will be a thing of the past. This handle material is one of my projects while I am in Nepal. I know there is a way and I'll find it.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Bill,

I am glad you figured out a possible source of the problem and possibly a remedy. Last night I went through all the horn handle khukuris with MD2020. Well... all the recent horn handle purchases have cracks or are developing them. We couldn't figure out what was going on because a couple of these have yet to see usage. My 15 AK and another horn handle from over a year ago are still fine.

I am confident you and Pala will work this through with a better supplier. Have a safe and productive trip.

sing

AKTI #A000356

[This message has been edited by sing (edited 01-29-2000).]
 
We will find the horn or else we will start using wood only. I can't stand these handle problems -- probably hate them more than the customers who suffer from them.

Worst case is to buy a BIG load of horn and age it ourselves and keep the supply end full for aging.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Bill's right, and Yvsa too. Of course.

OK, here's the way I've found.

Take the liquid ( not the gel ) super glue.

Get some superglue remover on small piece of cloth.

Let the superglue run into the obvious cracks, take cloth with remover, wipe. Do to small area. Move on to next.

Let me caution that the times I've done this, I used it and haven't put the ones done this way back to duty. I don't know how it would hold up on a working khuk.

Another thing: remember how I had lung trouble right around the time I was doing this? Maybe it was the elk antler, maybe it was cyanide poisoning from the superglue.
When I was working the elk antler, I used a drill to clean out the porous inside. If I saw cracks on the exterior, I'd stick the tube in and let it run into the crack area on the inside. It would not only run into the crack without going thru to the outside, it would harden what was left of the porous inside in that area.

Yvsa observed that superglue partially melts the himalayan epoxy and then solidifies. Hmm...



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Ma'am, I DID NOT call you an unfit mother.
The judge did that in this court order.
 
Hey guys! the handle on the AK is wood, it's the Sirupati that has the cracks in the horn. Does anyone have a favorite epoxy for repairing wood handles?
Thanks


Rob

------------------
'He's losin' it... (Words spoken about me by a visitor seeing me with my Khuk!)
Lucky for them I'm not...
 
Rob,

The crack in the handle of my 22" AK was pretty substantial. I could squeeze it shut.

The epoxy I used is Lepages 30 minute expoxy which takes 3 days to fully cure. I gave it a few extra days just in case. This stuff comes in a double syringe which meters out the proportions.

First I mixed the stuff as directions say. Then, I sucked it into a syringe with the biggest needle I could find. I used the syringe to force the epoxy into the crack. A needle can also be used to work the epoxy into the crack. Once I cannot get any more epoxy in I used 3 C-clamps with paper under the jaws to sqeeze the crack shut. After at least 3 (I can't remmeber exactly how many days) days the c-clamps can be removed and the knife is ready for use.

Bill has suggested hose clamps which should work well. Even pressure is applied around the handle with hose clamps. Just don't bond the clamp to the handle.

The handle is likely stronger than when it was new. The main reason the repair worked well is because the wood was clean and oil free. The epoxy could bond extremely well to the wood. This handle is likely stronger than it was new, at least where it was repaired.

Since then I have JB Quick weld. I think it sticks to wood and horn even better. The down side is that it is 5 minute epoxy and faily viscous. I doubt that can be forced into a crack with a syringe. On the up side it does not seem to stick to fingers so applying it should go faster.

Will
 
:
Visegrip® came out several years ago with a chain type
wrench that will go around almost any shape. I have found it invaluable for several repairs and not just for khukuris.

You just have to be careful with them because of the extreme amount of force you can apply with them. They can literally destroy any knife handle,even Micarta®.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

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

Khukuri FAQ


 
Yvsa,

Good tip!
smile.gif


sing

AKTI #A000356
 
I used an epoxy called Epoxy-Patch that I had laying around for quite awhile (this stuff will "bond" anything) on my 2nd repair try. After mixing the epoxy I just forced it into the cracks, tightened the small padded vise very carefully, and wiped off all the epoxy that wasn't in the cracks. I let it sit for a couple of days and it seems to have done the trick.
When I get the chance I'll get some of the compound recommeded in an earlier thread and "buff" the handle.
NOTE - the repairs were done on "user" khukuris and although it appears that the knives will end up looking good I probably would have taken more time and effort on a "collector's" khukuri.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Will, Mine is also a substantial crack. Actually, this morning when I was examining the handle, I pryed a little bit with my fingers to see how deep the crack was, and the whole piece broke off in my hand! I'm thinking that I might try the JB Weld, as I have some on hand. I have the non-quick setting, which has a much longer pot life than the quick, and is even stronger. Any suggestions as to the best way to re-mate the two pieces so that I don't have any gaps? I was not able to do this prior to the piece breaking off. This is a user, so it doesn't have to be perfect, but I'd like it to look nice. Thanks


Rob


------------------
'He's losin' it... (Words spoken about me by a visitor seeing me with my Khuk!)
Lucky for them I'm not...
 
Rob,

I would suggest using a bit excess near the edges of the crack. When you clamp the piece back together the excess will be squeezed out. Clean off the excess and the fit should be perfect.

I am not sure the normal JB weld is good on wood. It probably is good on wood. The literature did not say it was but does say the quick stuff bonds to wood.

Some of my using khukuri's are pretty ugly too. I tried different epoxies on them with the wrong color. Sometimes I use too much and do not clean off the excess. But after using epoxy the handles have not failed.


Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 01-30-2000).]
 
Hey Guys,
I dove in last night. I scraped out as much of the Himalyan Epoxy as necessary to get a good fit, then filled up the voids and cracks with 100% solids epoxy that I have for a concrete repair business that I sometimes run on the side... Several clamps later, the handle was secured, and in decent shape. This morning, I took the clamps off, and it looks decent. It isn't perfect, but after the epoxy is fully cured, I can work it so that it looks a little nicer. There is one section where the wood is really thin, a little flap of it didn't seat properly into the groove that it came out of. I'll try to replace this somehow, or maybe just sand and fill the area. Any suggestions?

Thanks,


Rob

------------------
'He's losin' it... (Words spoken about me by a visitor seeing me with my Khuk!)
Lucky for them I'm not...
 
Uncle Bill, I like how the horn looks but if for any reason you decide to go with wood it's not a problem with me.

Good luck on your trip. I hope things haven't changed too much from the last time you were there. I lived in Bogota, Colombia for a couple years when I was little. It was a very scenic and beautiful place. I visited a few years ago again. It's grown a lot and is really run down and congested and made me a little sad. Oh well. Take care.
 
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