20 inch Sirupati - First Impresions !

E

Edd Harbin

Joined
May 24, 2000
Messages
540
It finally came in the mail ! When I picked up the box I thought "WOW" . THe sheath is good fit and the frog is superb.
When I drew out the blade it was love at first sight . Delicate yet solid . THe sword of Shiva is very nice. The only complaints with the blade is a flat spot on the edge , and a little rust on the very tip , both easily taken care of .
This thing has to be 1/2 inch thick almost the entire length of the blade. the edge to about 1/2 inch back is polished well, then you can se some marks , again easily taken care of.
There seems to be alot of "grease ?" in the sheath . Every time I take it out it is covered in brown packing grease .
The handle is pinned on with aluminum pins . They seem to be fitted very well. THe butr cap is shaped like a large "eye' and very nice again .
If this is a "BLEM" I can hardly wait for my Konvention special . I have $200 semi-custom folders that have as many problems as this and I took care of those my self . This will be a joy to own and a pleasure to "fix".


Thank you Uncle Bill


Sincerely,
Edd C. Harbin II
 
Edd, bring it with you to lunch and we'll see how consistent that village kami was from one to the next. I was impressed with the quality of mine. My thanks also to Uncle Bill.

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"i have trouble with the persons with the signs
but i feel the need to make my own" --King's X
 
The marks on the blade are already gone. Just started with 800 grit sandpaper and worked up through too 2000 grit . Now its mirror finish from stem to stern . Rust is gone too.
Now on to that flat spot !
 
Many thanks for report, Edd.

It is the monsoon season in Nepal and if they don't put the heavy grease on the blades we are headed for rust. It will take awhile to get all the grease out of the scabbard unless you want to do a scabbard cleaning like Mohd.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Edd, where do you get that ultra-fine grit sandpaper (800 and finer) ?

--Mike L.


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Real men ride Moto Guzzis!
 
You get the fine grit sandpaper at auto paint supply stores . It works great and you can get mirror finish with a little elbow grease .
 
It actully leaves a satin finish if you use it dry. Looks realy nice . Wet it will leave a more mirrowed look .
 
Edd,
Count on it. I'm looking forward to our lunch show-and-tell. I'm still trying to decide whether my belt is strong enough to hold the 30" Sirupati
smile.gif
. Congrats on the 20" Sirupati, it will serve you well, as do all HI Khuks and Villagers!

Rob


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Nothing soothes the nerves like a sharp knife in hand...
 
Don't any of you remember pictures from the 30's and 40's when cops wore a Sam Browne belt from right front waist belt up diagonally under the left epaulet (sp?) then back down hook on at the right rear of the waist belt? And what was the name for the same type of outfit they used to carry the claymore and two handed swords across their back like in Braveheart? You slipped the whole rig off, drew the sword, and tossed the **BALDRIC** _that's_ what they called it! aside til the fighting was over.
 
Edd, X-Head and lefebvrj,

Where to y'all work at? If you can bring a khukuri to work and no one yells and runs, I want to work there! Any computer positions open?
smile.gif


Oh, wait, y'all work in AL don't ya? That explains it!
smile.gif


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MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
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Fear the man that owns only one rifle,
he likely knows how to use it.
- Anonymous
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Ben Lee
Computer Science
AOL IM: MSURifleman
www2.netdoor.com/~rifleman
www2.msstate.edu/~brl2
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Forgot to ad this. I love my 20" Sirupati. It's light and fast. I want to get a smaller one from Bill to keep in my car. Everyone is scared of me now because I always have my Glock and AK in my car. Hey, if you ever have to go to New Orleans, be prepared. Notice there is no smile face after that line.....
 
I must say that after a day of handleing this blade, that while it looks like a prybar with an edge , it handles great .Again , I can't believe this is a "BLEM" .
Just wondering Uncle Bill, have the kamis ever checkered the grips before . On these heavier models ( this one is over 2lbs.) it would reduce wrist strain . I find that when a heavy blade slips it tires the wrist/hand more . Maybe this is due to trying to "whitenuckle" the grip so that it doesn't slip . Just a thought .
 
I had to modify my lansky type sharpenor to work on the allmost 1/2inch thick blade. The edge that it came with was sharp only in the bend. the rest had almost a rounded edge.
It is taking a while with the edge hardness , but it is coming along nicely.

Uncle Bill , what is the traditional edge angle ?
 
Finally got the edge where I wanted it .
I then went out to cut up some fallen branches. On the first swing I had to look and make sure I didn't miss , ... I didn't , it just split the 3inch limb like it wasn't there. It continued to do this for about half an hour with no noticable effect on the edge. This blade is a work of art and a workhorse to boot.
I still can't see where this is a "blem".
The only thing I can see is that there is a little to much laha in the grip area. it seems to flow over the full tang and onto the slab. This will be cleaned up shortly.
I must give thanks to the kamis who make these wonderful blades. I hope they know just how special they truely are. This type of craftsmanship is lost in the west , we stamp out everything . There is almost no way to get truly handcrafted tools of this quality .
 
Edd, in the world of HI anything that is not 100% perfect is considered to be a blem. Many nephews are just like you --they don't see the blem but for some reason the knife was kicked out of the perfect barrel into the blem box. But I'm pleased you like it and I appreciate your field report.

Many thanks.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Bill thinks he rejects the blems, but the true story is somewhat different.

When a BirGorkha khukuri is first born it has a powerful desire to chop. Some of the blades experience great anxiety during the polishing process, as they realize that they may be put in a display and never experience the crack of separating firewood, or the wind and rain on their steely sides.

These blades usually manage to convince their compatriots to give them a little scratch during the trip to the US.

I believe that is how your khukuri picked you, Ed.
 
Very nicely said, Howard.

For those who don't know, Howard is an old Nepal hand of sorts himself and learned some strange (but very true) things when he was living on the subcontinent.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
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