20 inch AK vs CAK

[Bladite]

a triangular box just showed up... ordered on the 14th, arrived on the 18th, 4 days from reno

containing:
Blem #1-- 20 inch 41 ounce Ang Khola by Sher. Good blade.
Slight shrinkage of horn handle missing scabbard and Krada chakma.
Project Knife at bargain price $68 delivered.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=434868

on the far right:

came complete with a nice cardboard scabbard :> good packing. what. what? what a beast.

the handle is good and long, just like we like them, and has a very good finnish to it, with real life ergonomics. supposedly there is horn shrinkage. mmm, well, yah, i can see it i suppose. it'll want a deep mineral oil bath for a few days shortly (it'll visit a show first)... there's a bit of gray hoaryness (surfrace crazing), but i've seen that tons on lots of horn.

brass fittings seem to be very well done, and robust. good fit, solid, no slop - just the slight apparently gap around the edges where the horn meets metal. no biggy. hell, if i didn't tell someone they'd never think of it. there's a tiny rattle inside though - probably a particle of loose/dried laha. i could try the boiling thing after i do the mineral oil bath - that often hydrates the stuff and so on.

the blade. well well well. shiny, good. very deeply marked devangali at the bend point above the sword of shiva. at the habaki bolster, there is a plain S.B. and a sher half sun circle with ray that is apparently sitting on the bolster, round portion pointing towards the tip - very unusual. there is no "HI" logo or other marking - all this on the RIGHT side of the blade (side shown in picture; towards your right as holding blade). except for the sword of shiva, there are no markings at all on the left side. i am assuming this is older stock.

swing test - yup - it works. i'll have to go find a redwood. this is a BIG blade yah. it's match nicely and exactly with my other 20/41 sher creation...



side by side, there's obvious differences. same weight, one is AK, one is CAK. blades are not exactly the same length, nor have the same bend. indeed, the CAK is 19.95 inches, the AK is 20.55 inches. hah. oddly, the CAK feels* more solid, heavier, more menacing and leafier. the AK is pointier, less leafy, and has more cho creep. bizzaahh.

ETA #1: the CAK is better balanced for "waving around", feels very fast - there's weight in the handle pulling the front heavy to a more "better for some" balance. the AK is VERY front heavy. mmm. if i line up the chos... let me say that again, with cho's aligned on both... interesting. the bend points are the same - is there a magic relation to bend point and cho? MMMM. the habaki are now out of line by about *1* inch. MMMM. the CAK has about 1ish more CM swell to the sweet spot - the larger drop/leaf shape. this is more apparently when lined up this way.

i'm sure i'll be gandering the differences for a while and find more

now, to see about finding me some kydex and rivets and ...

bladite

 

[cybrok]

Mineral oil bath?

Can I know what is the purpose of this?

 

[Bladite]

Mineral oil bath?
Can I know what is the purpose of this?

there are folx that like to treat their blades and handles ... dark magic...

there's various things to DO to metal. an old timey one i learned is soak a tool in boiled linseed oil for a day, then let it drip drip (suspended over the soaking bucket). leaves a coating on the blade, in theory protects.

various wood treatments as well. boiled linseed oil, tung oil, danish oil, ballistol, and stuff.

some of the above even works on horn, esp the ballistol, but also mineral oil, hooflex, and so on. i even tried once putting tung oil on a horn handle to seal it after mineral oiling. horn can crack, and shrink, thus moisturizing and stuff.

lots of folx will sand and trim and fill, and do mods to the handles before all this... personal preference and fit and ... perhaps you want to polish it, and remove the "factory finish" rouge and expose the grain better, for all the work you're going to do. now's the time.

the mineral oil thing - usually done with oil, if at all: bill a container, like a soda bottle, or a tall can with every day mineral oil (cheap, drug store); put the handle in completely. forget it for a few days. then hang the knife handle down, to drip into the bucket for a few days. wipe clean. let dry for a while... days?

after all that, some folx might ALSO seal it. i've tried tung oil, it's lighter... i imagine one could use boiled linseed or even danish oil.

after all that, i've been finding that steel wool in fine grades (00, 000, 0000) is fabulous for getting a hand rub appearance on the handle. the stuff also does fantastic things to clean metal sinks :> some people don't like the mirror finish they get, and prefer "satin"; you can 'clean' your blade over time and use a scotch brite. eventually you'll get that satin look.

the steelwool also will help buff out any little scratches and stuff and give a more different satin look. just be aware that one you start using, and cleaning except in the most gentle way, the mirror look fades. you'll even get an odd patina on HI products, remember, it's 5160 tool steel - it WILL rust. eventually even pit if you let it. keep it clean, dry, oiled, and ... well, you can sand it out to 2000 grit if you want buff buff buff with rouge. if you want. most of us don't! i'd guess :}

bladite

 

[Jaiofspam]

lol awesome you got it today bladite... dang that was a deal
time a custom rig a sheath for that baby now... or is it your new dedicated $68 user

 

[Bladite]

lol awesome you got it today bladite... dang that was a deal
time a custom rig a sheath for that baby now... or is it your new dedicated $68 user

both...

it's an older one for sure, couple scuffs, and it's weighted to use... but to use it, i'll need to carry it.

by and large, my 18 inch GRS is "the way", but we'll see what silly things this 20 AK can do when the time is right. from the sound of tapping and such, it sounds hard in the right places, and it's THICK. i don't have any worries on the blade; the handle is solid too, just a bit shrinky in a way that auntie yangdu would only notice

good deal!

bladite

 

[Svashtar]

You about stole that one outright my friend! I already have a 20" at 35 oz. by Amtrak, but the price was so exceptional on that I almost bought it as a Christmas gift. (My den is full of HI Christmas gifts that I couldn't part with!)

Great snag and an outstanding deal. :thumbup:

Norm