25" Gelbu special: Bent on the first chop!

Bummer, man:( Looks like the first blow did it, but i'm no expert.

Jake
 
I didn't hear any cussin' on the video. Bent and broken blade video is always followed by a good amount of cussin'.

Sorry about the blade though. :(
 
Ok....this one had me in stitches...hope you're not offended, DIJ....but seeing that blade and the video...just made my chuckle. (in a good way ;))


Go ahead and send it my way...I'd like to see it in person before making an assessment of the damage....I do like hawkwind's idea of clay-coating it and heat-treating it. Then you can beat on it again and see if it bends. Sounds like a fun project. Email reply sent.
 
Ok, Im going to send it to Dan. Id rather not ask the Good people at HI to make up for what is probably just my sloppy cutting technique.

Im not embarrassed about any of this, and I dont think it makes HI products look bad. This is a unique experience isnt it? We get to see the actual event of a khukuri bending and the results. A rare thing Id imagine.
Very scientific.

I like this sucker, I want to see it made right.
I am going to ship it to Dan for a re-education in the ways of the force.
Still, like AdAstra says, bending of the blade is strange.
Perhaps HI does need the khukuri back for their own examinations...
What do yall think?
 
Two things: Looks like it twisted in your grip on the first strike.
Solid "clunk" at the end of the first strike--out of sight of the camera--earth or something else?
 
Send it to Dan. It's a special order and can't be replaced.

He can re-temper it even better, I bet.

Was the thickness 3/8 like other biguns?

You musta *really* hit that bamboo a water-buffalo beheading stroke...

KIIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!


Ad Astra
 
The ground underneath was leaves and dirt and some rotten bamboo.
Nothing solid really.
Honestly, my feeling is that it happened during the second cut.
Im gonna send it to Dan and well get her a racing stripe!
 
that's my guess too, Danny....I'll let you know what I think when it arrives.
 
Hi, I'm new here but have been lurking and buying khuks for a few weeks.

I was looking at this video, trying to detective out when the bend occurred.

Does anyone else see an odd reflection on the spine at the end of the blade right before the second cut? I don't see this reflection before the first cut.
 
DannyinJapan said:
As to torque on the second cut, both cuts were the same, but I made the angle more acute for cut #2.
Click to expand...

The torque is different on a glancing blow than a cutting blow. It appears that on the first cut the blade slipped sideways and the side of the blade took most of the torque.
On the second cut the edge took the brunt of the torque transfering it into the bamboo which enabled the cut.

It would have been nice if you had examined the blade after the first cut as that would have told the story but you didn't so no use worrying about what ifs.
 
I gotta say, the bamboo made a cool sound when you cut through it though. :thumbup: :D
 
What I want to know is who was that funny looking guy in the video? :eek:

I bent an AK prying up a rock but the angle was much greater and i pushed down on the side of the handle, didn't look like it should do that from that angle but maybe that little twist was just enough on the first stroke.
 
I will send you another replacement as soon as I can.
I apologize, Danny
 
Ad Astra said:
!?!

Only HI I ever bent was the tip of a much-used BAS; my bad for dropping it. Straightened up with vise/hammer.

The 25" Malla wouldn't bend if Superman chopped a pier piling with it- it couldn't. Same thickness as 20" AK, IIRC. Never owned a Gelbu Special; does the back hollowing weaken it? It sure has heck doesn't with an Ang Khola.

Ad Astra :confused:
Click to expand...

Ad, I'm not so sure about that. My 25" Malla and 25" Chitlangi are both the same weight and thickness, and although I have only seen the pic of the spine of Danny's Gelbu, I believe it is very close to those knives. Also, both the 21" Gelbus I have are very close to their thickness. I have a feeling that a similar blow would bend those 25" blades as well.

I think this was just a bad combination of the hard bamboo skin, an impressive glancing swing (that I saw move the bamboo 2-3" to the left), and Danny's incredible Ninja strength. :D

If it were mine I would probably try Khukuri Monster's good vise and dowel suggestion, and try and straighten it out, or I would just write it off as a bad investment and send it to that guy Norm for the cost of shipping! ;)

Norm
 
Svashtar said:
Ad, I'm not so sure about that. My 25" Malla and 25" Chitlangi are both the same weight and thickness, and although I have only seen the pic of the spine of Danny's gelbu, I believe it is very close to those knives. Also, both the 21" Gelbus I have are very close to their thickness. I have a feeling that a similar blow would bend those 25" blades as well.

I think this was just a bad combination of the hard bamboo skin, an impressive glancing swing (that I saw move the bamboo 2-3" to the left), and Danny's incredible Ninja strength. :D

If it were mine I would probably try Khukuri Monster's good vise and dowel suggestion, and try and straighten it out, or I would just write it off as a bad investment and send it to that guy Norm for the cost of shipping! ;)

Norm
Click to expand...

Norm, I haven't seen the video- I use a mac and it doesn't like WMV (Windows Media Vid.) But generally speaking, swords aren't for cutting trees... Like with the Kobra (one I don't have). Which makes the 25" khuk an interesting piece: light sword or really big knife? Also, haven't other cultures used bamboo as armor? It's gotta be tough stuff.

I dunno. Maybe a massive sideways blow could bend it, but don't they bend and spring back? I don't think I could bend any of the 3/8 khuks with a whack.

That was generous to offer to accept it. I still crack up about the time you told the guy overseas he couldn't receive his DOTD because it had nanites or something.


Ad Astra
 
Ad Astra said:
Norm, I haven't seen the video- I use a mac and it doesn't like WMV (Windows Media Vid.) But generally speaking, swords aren't for cutting trees... Like with the Kobra (one I don't have). Which makes the 25" khuk an interesting piece: light sword or really big knife? Also, haven't other cultures used bamboo as armor? It's gotta be tough stuff.

I dunno. Maybe a massive sideways blow could bend it, but don't they bend and spring back? I don't think I could bend any of the 3/8 khuks with a whack.

That was generous to offer to accept it. I still crack up about the time you told the guy overseas he couldn't receive his DOTD because it had nanites or something.


Ad Astra
Click to expand...


Yeah, that was one of those times that a new guy swooped in and picked up an incredible DOTD and we never saw him again! Wasn't he in Indonesia or something? He snagged a carved chandan handle Kumar Karda as I recall that had the most beautifully intricate carving. I think I told him the wood was special and there was a Nevada US law that said such protected wood couldn't be shipped out of the states, or something. I was half-hoping it would work! :D
 
I opened it back up in Movie Maker and took a closer look frame-by-frame.

tip.jpg


This is after the first swing but before the second. I grabbed a frame, blew it up and sharpened it a bit. It appears that the tip is bent already but I can't be positive. Perhaps one of our more experienced editors can do a better job of things but I suspect that the first swing did it...not really sure how, though.

Very interesting. Barring HSN wallhanger katana foolishness it's not every day that one gets to see a failure on video.
 
The first blow looks to be one that bent it.
A hit on the flat of the blade that far out on the tip will bend the blade. I've straightened a couple of old khukuris bent in the same area, same direction.
The blade should be softer on the spine and tip so it wont break just bend.
It can be straightened fairly easy by using a padded vise or by sticking it between the boards of your front porch(my method) :D
Good luck.
God Bless.
Terry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top