;_;

O

Otaru

Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
21
I ordered an 18" Gelbu Special blem the other day. It was delivered err... monday afternoon. I was asleep and missed it. :mad: I actually woke up when the doorbell rang, but by the time I got there the guy was gone. My step-father and dog (I'm a bum who lives at home... trying to change both being a bum and living at home simultaneously) were both out in the yard at the time but they missed it somehow.

I've arranged to get it picked up tomorrow or otherwise I should be up and around to get it when they re-deliver (had to pay COD this time) after which point I will proceed to try it out on whatever I dare :D

In the meantime I was trying to obtain stuff to "repair" it with (I actually didn't find out what was wrong with it but I'm sure it's the handle at least). I had read some of the posts and threads about fixing the handles and removing rust but let me double check on that here (eh heh kind of forgot a bit).

For the handle I bought a new tube of superglue (not the gel) to fill the crack(s), got a magnifying glass standing by so I don't miss any. And also some epoxy to fill up the handle if it's "empty". Was that good advice? I thought it made sense to fill it with SOMETHING but looking at the stuff I have to wonder if it's the right something. I got some stuff that takes 30 minutes for the initial bond, two hours before you can handle it. The 4 and 5 minute stuff was tempting, but I thought it was best to get something slower drying in case I get it on something I don't want it on (I'm a bit clumsy and I'm REALLY unlucky). Also, I figured it was best to go in from the buttcap but is there anything I should do with/to the bolster?

Other than that, I saw a post reccomending treating the horn handles with Watco Danish Oil to prevent additional cracking which seemed pretty convincing. Well they don't sell that at Walmart or at least I didn't see it(happened to be there to buy my dog a new kennel... which they were out of). Any advice on where to find that (I figured a hardware store would be a good place to look) or what to use instead?

If there's any rust, is there anything special I should do other than scrubbing it off with a scotch brite? Should I apply something to it? Since the blade is carbon I need to oil it regularly right? I figured mineral oil should do the trick (used to apply it to the wooden handles (and cutting boards) on the knives we sharpened at the kitchen store where I worked... don't remember putting it on the blades though) but is it better to use a serious oil or lubricant? It was already asked in another thread what to do to keep rust from coming back so I'll just wait for a reply to that one rather than ask again.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
sounds like you already got all the right answers, Otaru. Throw everything you got at it and tell us what happens....:D

Yes, mineral oil is good for storing blades.

I think I could manage a good "shopping list" for you....but let's see your khukuri first. Tell us what it's like when you get it.
 
To prevent rust, I use automotive wax. It's not as messy and doesn't pick up lint. I do carry a small bottle of mineral oil on trips though. It's easier to carry than a bottle of turtle wax.
 
And let me be the first to say that I've never seen even a drop of rust on Bruise....he's well oiled, waxed and buffed 24/7.


:D :eek: :p
 
You can get Watco from home stores like Lowes or Menards. Some hardware stores may carry it, but you can also get it mailorder, from places like Woodcraft (I think).

If you use Watco, be sure to use at least 3 or 4 treatments, and make sure that you wipe off the excess oil. I used a very fine sandpaper to roughen the surface first (2000 grit). I wanted to aid penetration of the sealer. You might try using a wax remover instead, if you want to keep the finish unchanged. I would use something to be sure that you are down to the horn.
 
but have settled on United's polishing paste. like car wax with some fine posishing abrasives.

Keith
 
pendentive said:
And let me be the first to say that I've never seen even a drop of rust on Bruise....he's well oiled, waxed and buffed 24/7.


:D :eek: :p
Click to expand...

That means he's fit to slide around Nasty's garage floor. :eek:
 
pendentive said:
And let me be the first to say that I've never seen even a drop of rust on Bruise....he's well oiled, waxed and buffed 24/7.


:D :eek: :p
Click to expand...

I believe I speak for everyone one here when I say:

Egad.
 
Well yesterday was busy (built a grape arbor with my step-dad, we had set the posts up in the fall actually) and so is today but I still managed to get my khukuri picked up from the post office (yesterday) even though I didn't get a chance to do anything with it other than turn it around in my hands and swing it 300 times or so before going to bed... *cough

Well let me first say that I don't know how it happened seeing as I had been wanting a blade from HI for almost a year and must have read the website dozens of times but I somehow confused the dimensions for the overall length with blade length... in case you were scratching your head over things I said regarding length before that is why... *cough so when I got it I was a bit dissapointed to find that my 18" gelbu special only had a 13 inch blade... while at the same time I was kind of glad because I'm not sure that I would be able to handle an 18 inch blade anywhere near as well.

Anyway, the blade on this thing looks great. Pictures just don't do these knives justice as I had never seen a knife with a "real" mirror finish until I had this thing in my hands.

The knife has the initials S.B. and a half sun on it which the website says means it was made by Sher. I got a bit of a chuckle out of how the tiger made the dragon's knife but that's neither here nor there.

hmm... ah yeah well the OAL is close to 18 inches with the blade being just over 12 and the handle (buttcap to bolster) at or about 6. The thickest point of the spine appears to be exactly 0.4 inches thick, the widest point (right after it first curves) as well seems to be exactly 1.5 inches. It's hard for me to get a handle on the weight (I'm bad at that kind of thing) and I'm not really at liberty to weigh it but it I'd guess between 1.5 and 2 pounds.

My first thoughts on taking a look at it were "damn this thing just screams weapon... guess I'll have to buy another one to take with me to the mountains" heh... I think that's probably about right but I also think that this thing would be able to go right through brush and small branches as well as split firewood (the way you put the wood on the blade then carry it down through the wood on impact) which might be all I'd need it for so we'll see... more about that later.

The only thing I don't like about HI khuks are the handles. I don't care for the design and it feels a bit funny in my hand. The middle "ring" is just in a bad place for me. But at the same time, once I start swinging it the handle doesn't seem like it's a problem at all. At the least I have no trouble maintaining a grip on it and on this one there is enough room for my hand below the bolster by about half an inch (which again just makes me wonder about 15 inchers).

As a side note the only thing I can compare the feel of the khukuri to (particularly the pull from the front) is my suburi bokuto which to me looks like an oar and weighs between 2.2 and three pounds. I got it from e-bogu.com a while ago and I think they've since gotten in a sleeker and lighter one since the picture looks a bit different from mine, it still looks about like this:
YUT-KEN-BOK-SUBURI-NATURAL--2.jpg


Anyway since I regularly swing that thing around, the weight of this isn't a big deal to me. Moreso, since it's nowhere near as long (suburi bokuto is 45 inches OAL) the effect of the weight is less. To me it actually feels easier than swinging around the rubber mallet (wood handle rubber head) I use for exercise so I suppose it does only weigh 1.5 pounds.

Speaking of swinging it, when I have that thing in my hands, the overhead cut feels like it could go through just about anyone. I didn't get a chance to chop anything with it and for some reason I couldn't get a good feel on the "chopping area" (I thought it was the begining flat area, but feels more like right where it starts to curve). But the tip is sharp and it stabbed through my pillow top mattress no problem. I didn't even actually stab it, I just set the tip against the mattress and pressed down a bit and it went right through to the springs. Makes me wonder what kind of dagger or stilletto the kamis could make...

Well other than what makes it a blem I think that's about it. There are a couple of spots of either light rust, grease or filth on it that look like they'd take about ten seconds with a scothc brite. The handle however... it looks fairly beat up but the cracks don't go through and are more like scratches except for one nasty one near the bottom which almost looks like it's from an impact. Frankly though, I'm not sure that I can put superglue IN the cracks since there's not even an "in", I think I'll try to put it "over" anyway though. The handles on the karda is okay other than scuff or discoloration on the left side and bottom, the chakma handle doesn't look too good though. The karda is also strangely not very sharp. That might be my fault as I didn't find it to be sharp and tried to sharpen it on the chakma... I don't think that thing works very well... I tried it on a duller part of the khuk too and it was more like the khuk was scraping metal off of it or something.

So I'll need to find a solution for sharpening it. I was hoping that maybe a couple of crock sticks would be good since I could carry them with me but I was hesitant to use my japanese water stone since I don't think it's actually very abrasive. I have a "diamond steel" but that has been used a lot on kitchen knives and all the "diamond" seems to have come off... I guess it's just ceramic under there so I might give it a shot, it's still too big to take around though. Any suggestions for a portable khuk sharpener are welcome.

Well the handle is definitely mostly hollow. The bolster seems to be attached well so I'm not going to mess with that. And honestly even though I think it would be a good idea to fill up the handle (it struck me that the point of filling it with epoxy is that if it does crack it'll still be held together and won't be able to come apart on you), the buttcap is attached perfectly so I'm hesitant there too... hmm...

If I boil some water will that get the buttcap off without damaging anything? Maybe I should just take it all off and replace it with epoxy. I was hesitant to do that at first since I didn't know if I'd be able to get the laha off of a pot, but I just realized I can simply get a super boil going then dump the water into something else that I don't have to worry about (a crappy old or disposable ziploc tupperware, a flower pot etc.). I wonder if it would be better to treat the handle before getting it wet... hm... OTOH might be worth treating it inside and out... Any advice on that?

Well that took a while so I'd better be off.

jia jian
 
I'd say, just use it for a while and see what you find out, before tearing it apart and rebuilding it. Unless, of course, you are like me and can't resist peeking at what's inside. :rolleyes:
I always soak new horn handles in olive oil to keep them from cracking. It's worked for me for 30 + years. I use a tall narrow jar and keep the oil for years. I let them soak overnight or longer. Sand down the horn and fill the cracks with super-glue first, though. (The horn isn't hollow-it's solid all the way through, FYI.) Then file file down the brass to be level with the horn, sand with finer and finer grits down to about 320 or 400, and then go over the whole handle with #000 or #0000 steel wool and soak a bit longer in the oil or give it a a bath or Balistol, Hoof-flex, Bag Balm, lanolin nipple cream... or whatever suites you.
Hey, these Nepali things are tough. Don't worry about babying them Just use common sense and take good care.
 
It's not hollow? *taps the handle ARGH! I was convinced it was near the bottom but now I'm not so sure... I got the idea in my head from a couple of posts saying that the cracked handles didn't have anything in them or something like that.

But I do indeed like to see how things are so long as I can put them back together again (I wouldn't want to take apart my monitor for instance) and now I bought that epoxy anyway.

The olive oil idea sounds interesting but I already bought some Watco Danish Oil and don't have any old crappy stuff laying around (we have a nice $20 a bottle oil, obtained for free from my friend). I suppose I could run to the grocery store and grab some (must be cheaper than the danish oil). Does it make a difference whether the oil is filtered or unfiltered? I'd imagine the filtered would be better (little bits of olive stuck in my khukuri...). And does that work for wood handles? I might give it a shot on future purchases.

Now when you say "brass" do you mean the butt guard or the bolster? I'm assuming you mean the butt guard since it sticks over the horn whereas the horn sticks out past the bolster.

Thanks for the advice
 
Brian in Chi wrote:
lanolin nipple cream... or whatever suites you.

/me thinks of all the fun he could have with lanolin nipple cream and...well, nevermind.

Sorry, feeling perverse today, thanks for letting me vent. :D
 
I had this plan to find out if my khukuri handles were hollow or not. I'd bring the khuk to the dentist's office. When he did the x-rays, I'd put the handle on my cheek when he wasn't looking and viola, internal picture of the handle. The plan needs a little massaging though. :rolleyes: :)
 
Otaru said:
The only thing I don't like about HI khuks are the handles. I don't care for the design and it feels a bit funny in my hand. The middle "ring" is just in a bad place for me. But at the same time, once I start swinging it the handle doesn't seem like it's a problem at all. At the least I have no trouble maintaining a grip on it and on this one there is enough room for my hand below the bolster by about half an inch (which again just makes me wonder about 15 inchers).
Click to expand...
It takes a little time for your khukuri to teach you how to hold it.....be patient and willing to learn. ;)
 
You're joking about unfiltered olive oil, right :confused: Use the cheapest stuff you can find. Find a very narrow jar that just fits a knife handle and doesn't need much oil to come up to the top. Put some scrap brass or iron in it if you need to bring the level up to cover the horn. This treatment works on ivory too, as well as deer and elk antler. The left-over oil lasts for years if you put the lid on when you're done.
I level off the brass and horn or wood so that everything is smooth. Needle files, and assorted fine sandpaper works fine. Lots of patience needed and PLEASE cover the sharp edge with at least 2 layers of masking tape, before doing ANY handle work. #4/0 steel wool brings the horn up to a nice sheen but still has some "grip."
Wood is another story.
 
Brian in Chi said:
You're joking about unfiltered olive oil, right :confused: Use the cheapest stuff you can find.
Click to expand...

No I was serious. I suppose my sense of price on olive oil is off since for a while now I've been able to get high quality stuff for cheap or free since I used to work in a kitchen store (the most expensive one there, I believe it was $60-$80, cheapest was $14 which was still pretty damn good). We used to get some unfiltered stuff from the grocery store which was "only" $6 a bottle.

It's funny but the watco has the worst childproof lid EVER on it. The sides of the container don't allow for any room to turn it when you push the lid down so I couldn't get it open. I suppose I could file the sides of the lid down or bend the edges of the container or something but I think I'll just forget about it and go with your olive oil suggestion.

... do you think there would be any improvement if I used more expensive oil? It's dark out now and I'm a pussy who doesn't drive so I'll just go the grocery store and buy the cheapest thing I can find tomorrow. I might have to try and buy something to put the olive oil in in the first place though. I don't think we have any empty crocks anymore as that would have been perfect... maybe a flower vase or an urn of some sort...

Other than that I tried chopping some old pieces of wood that were laying out in the yard. I think they were pine. I was having trouble getting the angle of the strike correct since the two tables I pushed together to hold the wood up were a bit low... Anyway, I could not cut through the wood for anything. Even an old stake that was at the most as thick as the knife. The weight of the knife usually broke the wood from the force of my strike rather than the blade... I suppose that kind of gets the job done but it left something to be desired.

I got sap on the knife somehow (I wouldn't have thought that wood sitting in the yard for a handful of years would have sap in it), I cleaned it off with some goo gone. At least I think I did... I'm fairly certain I got everything off but my horrible strikes scratched the blade in the spot where the sap was so it looks like it's still there even after I scrubbed it (which just scratched it up more... goodbye mirror finish I hardly knew ye).

The spot that I thought was very light rust was apparently just a bit of grime or a nasty smudge... cleared right off with a few passes of the scotch brite.

I sharpened the karda up with my diamond steel. It went from butter knife to damn sharp in a few passes. I tried to work it some more after that (less abrasive pocket stone followed by normal steel then after cutting some stuff I repeated) but I guess that thing just can't get any sharper.

Trying to sharpen the khukuri wasn't too fun but at least the area for chopping only became more apparent as it was the only spot to easily sharpen. The hardest part was trying to test the sharpness. I usually fold up some paper towel (I sharpen in my kitchen by the sink) and cut through that. The karda almost went all the way through the maximum folds (6 out of 8 layers I think). But I couldn't get in there with the khukuri to cut... I tried passing the paper towel over it and it went through... I suppose the khuk doesn't need to be as sharp since it's heavy, but to me a weapon needs to be as sharp as feasible (I can't see much point in putting a razor sharp double bevel on the thing for instance... not that I would be able to anyway).

*yawn well I think that's enough sharpening for today (actually I only woke up a few hours ago) but tomorrow I think I'll try it out on my japanese water stone... hopefully it won't rust when I do that but I did pour some mineral oil on it and I can just wipe it off a bunch (used the karda to cut up a 10 year old holey pair of shorts for a some rags).

I think I will work on the cracks of the handle though... oh I should have checked it after the beating I gave the knife... *cough
 
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