A few questions

edctac

edctac

Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
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So I just got my WWII in the mail today, and have a few questions. First of all, this thing is awesome, the weight of it is stunning. The blade is so thick and heafty, and looks like it could take an arm off. My question is, how sharp should a khuk be? it seems pretty sharp, but I would like to know if you guys keep yours hair shaving sharp or just pretty sharp. My other question is, is forcing a patina on my new khuk frowned apon or advised? The polish on the blade looks great, but I always love a good patina. I've read plenty of suggestions on how to sharpen, but I don't know what level to shoot for.
 
It will easily take off an arm. Read the safety thread carefully.

You'll get many different opinions on your questions. I keep my users pretty sharp, and the "display" pieces quite a bit sharper. My users develop an honest patina on their own.
 
I promise I won't take off any arms :), and I did read the safety thread. Wallace, how sharp, shaving sharp?
 
A khukuri should not be shaving sharp, It should be axe/hatchet sharp.
By making a chopper shaving sharp you would be compromising the edge. One should keep the convex edge profile that it originally came with. Recommended sharpening method is with stones or mousepad/sandpaper. Using a belt sander or the like will usually give you a V-grind, which is not recommended. It could also void your warranty if it is ground/sharpened so that the blade will not perform as intended.
 
It kinda depends on what you plan on doing with it. If you're planning on doing heavy chopping, shaving sharp isn't really necessary. If you're going to do clearing tasks on lighter stuff, a sharper edge might be nice. I don't do that much heavy chopping, so most of mine are a bit shy of shaving sharp. I try to keep it a bit sharper than my usual heavy working edge.
 
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If my edge can slice paper, I'm happy. Most khuks have a convex edge, good for chopping. These blades weren't designed for shaving, so trying to get one superdooper sharp is just an exercise in sharpening, but not needful for good chopping results.

I try to stay away from the polished blades in favor of the villager offerings, and I just use them. They will get scuffed, perhaps scratched, perhaps dinged, over time, but if used as a tool, this is to be expected. If you want a pretty blade to show folks when they come over to dinner and won't leave, HI has plenty like that as well, and they are beautiful blades, indeed.

Andy
 
If you want to impress your friends with it and do not really intend to use it outside, then you can have it shaving sharp. But one thing is for sure, you will damage your edge if you take one that sharp and chop wood. The two don't mix. Also, an edge that sharp will get stuck in wood like a machete making it just as hard or harder to chop than if you had a dull edge.

Good luck with your WWII...
 
I tend to keep the 14" over all length khuks shaving sharp. Anything bigger is moving out of knife territory and into dedicated chopper. With practice, you can get a convex edge to pop hair off of your arm. When you factor in that it's a 1-2.5lb knife, you really get a shuddering appreciation of the damage these babies can do :eek:

15" on up, a good hatch sharpness is just fine. For me, the khuk becomes to unwieldy to be pressed into a fine knife role when it gets above 15". The chopping power of a khuk comes from edge geometry, blade shape, and mass. Sharp is a bonus, but you can (ill advised as it is) take a nearly butterknife dull khuk and chop through a log if you have the time;) Just be safe with it. The learning curve regarding an "oops!" is very steep with a khuk.

As far as patina goes, you can just use it like the others have suggested or do one on your own. The easiest/laziest way for me is to just use the knife and clean it up with scotchbrite pads. that will rough up the high polish and allow any natural acid juices you come across to nestle in. I have also done the lemon juice etch, but I don't find it deep enough. I work with muriatic acid a lot and have used that for a nice deep gray blade. Keep in mind, the stronger the acid, the more potential non-warrantied damage you could do. Also, the stronger the acid the more noxious the fumes are. Be careful:)
 
Karda said:
A khukuri should not be shaving sharp, It should be axe/hatchet sharp.
By making a chopper shaving sharp you would be compromising the edge. One should keep the convex edge profile that it originally came with. Recommended sharpening method is with stones or mousepad/sandpaper. Using a belt sander or the like will usually give you a V-grind, which is not recommended. It could also void your warranty if it is ground/sharpened so that the blade will not perform as intended.
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Karda, I sharpen all of my Khukris on my 1x30 belt sander with a slack belt. It keeps the convex edge and sharpens the edge quickly. It just depends on how you have yourf belt sander setup. :) Congrats on the new WWII, what size and what's it weigh? I recently got my 2nd horn handled WWII an 18" that weighs 27.6oz. It sure cuts nice!

Even a smaller WWII can take of a hand, I would know. I almost lot my left hand while improperly using my 15" Anh Khola years ago. Luckally It was a glacing blow that only damaged 4 tendons, flesh and nerves. $10,000 later and tons of physical therapy later, I have 70% to 80% use back in my wrist. Have fun and be carefull!! BTW got pics?

edctac, I give my blades a toothy edge thats just below hair poping sharp. Mine normally develop a nice gray to blue patina from cutting green stuff and what not. If you want to force a patina, I would recommend onions.
 
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