I just bought the 16.5 inch 25 ounce Chiruwa Ang Khola by Amtrak kami from the 11/1 deal of the day thread. My first question is who is Amtrak Kami, I looked for him on the Himalayan Imports web page but he isn't listed under the Kami names? Is he a part timer that brings his work in occasionally? Does anyone here have any Khukri made by him? What do you think of the quality? Also, the sheath shows a lot of wood around the back flap area where the Karda and Chakma sit. It is like the sheath flap that is hidden by the frog wasn't pulled tight before the nail was put in. I only have two other HI khukris but they are the smaller 12" models so I wasn't sure if the larger sizes show wood or if this is an error. I got this khukri at a great price because of the horn shrinkage on the handle, so I don't want to complain too much and seem ungrateful. How does everyone get the epoxy into the spaces between the metal and horn on the Chiruwa AK handles when they need to be filled? Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help............Malcolm
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A few khukri sheath questions
- Thread starter malcolm47
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- Feb 21, 2001
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RR is Raju Rasaili, a young kami who shows great promise. Bill refered to him as Amtrak, as in RailRoad, because of his initials. I've several of his pieces and he does good work.
If you can pull that flap and renail it, go ahead and try.
Unless the gap between the tang and horn is large, you can wick some superglue into the gap to fill it up. You might have to do it 2 or 3 times. If the gap is large, and you use epoxy, put some masking tape over the horn and the tang, leaving only the gap. Work the epoxy into the gap with a toothpick.
Others might have better ideas.
Welcome!
Steve
If you can pull that flap and renail it, go ahead and try.
Unless the gap between the tang and horn is large, you can wick some superglue into the gap to fill it up. You might have to do it 2 or 3 times. If the gap is large, and you use epoxy, put some masking tape over the horn and the tang, leaving only the gap. Work the epoxy into the gap with a toothpick.
Others might have better ideas.
Welcome!
Steve
- Joined
- May 28, 2003
- Messages
- 1,815
Here's a neat trick to make black epoxy:
Take a piece of clean aluminum foil and using pliers, hold it over a candle flame. If you find the right spot, it will form a lot of black carbon soot on the foil. Be careful not to melt the foil. Let cool and mix the epoxy on the soot and incorporate it into the mix. Don't use the quick set (5 minute) epoxy. I use a very thin , small spatula to apply it, and work it into the void. (Actually it' an oil painting palette knife.) Build it up a little and sand it down when it is thoroughly set - 10 12 hours, or overnight.
Take a piece of clean aluminum foil and using pliers, hold it over a candle flame. If you find the right spot, it will form a lot of black carbon soot on the foil. Be careful not to melt the foil. Let cool and mix the epoxy on the soot and incorporate it into the mix. Don't use the quick set (5 minute) epoxy. I use a very thin , small spatula to apply it, and work it into the void. (Actually it' an oil painting palette knife.) Build it up a little and sand it down when it is thoroughly set - 10 12 hours, or overnight.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 19,797
How does the knife fit into your hand? Mine was a little too large, so before I started to sand it down I filled with epoxy. I wasn't messy, but didn't tape up the handle either. Then I went to the 1"x48" belt sander and took down the epoxy and also evened out the tang and handle material. Then I used files to reshape the handle and get it to the right size. The mid handle ring on mine was large and I took some off of that too. Once the size was close I started with 220 grit wet dry sandpaper and progressed to 600 then did some steel wool (0000). Then I rubbed in some vitamin-E oil. I didn't have any lanolin. Looks great. The satin finish makes it easier to hold when youre really swinging it too. If you want to keep the polished finish, tape it up and don't sand.
Andy
Andy
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- Oct 25, 2004
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- 3,178
My first khuk was a 16.5" AK from R.R. The handle was quite small for my hands. In fact, after wrapping it with paracord, it's still a bit too small. Great khuk though.
One thing about those nails in the scabbards...if you decide to pull one to reposition something, be careful not to damage the nail. Every one that I've ever played with was frighteningly soft. (In fact, every one that I've ever played with wound up getting nerfed.) Be ready to tap it back into shape with a small mallet if necessary.
Good info, Bri. I'm having another "Why didn't I think of that?" moment.
One thing about those nails in the scabbards...if you decide to pull one to reposition something, be careful not to damage the nail. Every one that I've ever played with was frighteningly soft. (In fact, every one that I've ever played with wound up getting nerfed.) Be ready to tap it back into shape with a small mallet if necessary.
Good info, Bri. I'm having another "Why didn't I think of that?" moment.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2003
- Messages
- 473
Some of my HI scabbards have been 'lacking' in the quality control dept, not doing the khuk justice.
I'm more for practicality than the old fashioned look, so what I do first is pop the chape off and pull out the nail holding the back flap down. I then use Permatex black automotive super weatherstrip to seal up the seams and glue the flap down. I'll also glue down the flaps around the top, where the khuk goes in. I like to also cover up the threads in the back with the Permatex so to protect them from abrasion during prolonged use.
I'll usually then cut the point off of the chape and round the end on the horn of a small craftsman's anvil. The chape is then glued back on with the Permatex and when it's dry I'll drill a drain hole through the tip and in through the scabbard bottom so the cavity can drain well.
For the little loops to hold the small tools, a durable method that I've found to cover up those nail heads is to glue a piece of thin leather, like from some old, worn out gloves, onto the nail heads and folded over the top a bit as an 'L' shaped flap so it grabs when taking the tools in and out so the leather won't come loose after prolonged use. Sometimes it's a good idea to smooth out the heads of those internal nails a tad with a dremel before covering them with leather.
If you make new tools and the loops are not big enough, or the leather is too thick, you can thin out the leather with a dremel and then you can wet them a bit so they'll stretch and conform. If you decide that they need to be removed, remember that the nails are hammered through the back wood of the scabbard body and bent over, so getting those nails out is some involved surgery.
I'm more for practicality than the old fashioned look, so what I do first is pop the chape off and pull out the nail holding the back flap down. I then use Permatex black automotive super weatherstrip to seal up the seams and glue the flap down. I'll also glue down the flaps around the top, where the khuk goes in. I like to also cover up the threads in the back with the Permatex so to protect them from abrasion during prolonged use.
I'll usually then cut the point off of the chape and round the end on the horn of a small craftsman's anvil. The chape is then glued back on with the Permatex and when it's dry I'll drill a drain hole through the tip and in through the scabbard bottom so the cavity can drain well.
For the little loops to hold the small tools, a durable method that I've found to cover up those nail heads is to glue a piece of thin leather, like from some old, worn out gloves, onto the nail heads and folded over the top a bit as an 'L' shaped flap so it grabs when taking the tools in and out so the leather won't come loose after prolonged use. Sometimes it's a good idea to smooth out the heads of those internal nails a tad with a dremel before covering them with leather.
If you make new tools and the loops are not big enough, or the leather is too thick, you can thin out the leather with a dremel and then you can wet them a bit so they'll stretch and conform. If you decide that they need to be removed, remember that the nails are hammered through the back wood of the scabbard body and bent over, so getting those nails out is some involved surgery.
. I'm going to try the epoxy-soot method on the handle and the sheath repair on my next day off :thumbup: . I'm glad I found this forum but my bank account isn't ..................Malcolm