A lil' of this 'n a lil' of that but all khukuri.

D

Dave Fulton

Joined
Feb 11, 1999
Messages
568
Greetings,

I've been really busy lately so I haven't had chance to post until now.

First, on my HI Villager Short Sword/Chainpuri. I've only had time to do limited chopping, but I love it so far. As light as it is, I didn't figure it would be worth much for chopping, but was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I haven't done anything really tough yet. I finally got around to clearing out the remains of my veggie garden and took the opportunity to play some too
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I used it to bush wack everything, and it was like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Almost as much fun as the bush wacking, were my neighbors as they watched me play. Understand that I live in your standard, sheeple filled suburban neighborhood so these people have never seen anything like my khukuri and their reactions were .... pricelessly amusing
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Second, I need some help regarding my khukuri. After completing the aforementioned bush wacking, I wiped the blade clean & dry and then aplied a heaving coating of WD-40 (I keep meaning to pick up some Tuff-Cloth), and wrapped it in an old cloth diaper which also had WD-40 on it. When I pulled the khuk out a few days ago, there was some very feint rusting along the edge only. I got a lot of it off with some more WD-40 and carefully applied elbow greese, but I need some advice on getting rid of the rest ... what to use/how to do it.

Also, while inspecting & trying to clean the edge, I noticed what appears to be a small fold line a little less than an 1/8 of an inch from and parallel to the cutting edge itself. It's very small, but being so close to the edge, I'm wondering if this something to worry about.

Finally, I showed my villager to my Kali teacher and some of the other guys at the club. Now keep in mind, that the Filipino Martial Arts, are blade arts so these guys are used to seeing bolos and other large blades. My teacher takes one look at it and says "That's evil looking!". I couldn't help but chuckle
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It really seems to fit well with our fighting style too. The only problem, is that the curve of the blade makes one of our thrusts (a back handed thrust) tough to do. It's not a big deal though, because I don't like that thrust much anyway because it's awkward for me even with a bolo. All in all, I like this khukuri and hope that fold line along the edge isn't going to be a problem.


On, on a lighter note, we were watching "Courage Under Fire" last night. In the beginning, they show a bunch of news clips that were related to the Gulf War, and in one you see a crowd (actually just the tops of their heads) chanting, and prominent in the foreground is someone in the crowd waving a khukuri over their head. I only caught a brief glance, but think it was a World War II or AK or something along those lines.

Sorry for the long, rambling post.

Dave.



------------------
Full Contact Martial Arts Association.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."


[This message has been edited by Dave Fulton (edited 25 October 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Dave Fulton (edited 25 October 1999).]
 
Concerning the rust, if it is really deep take some fine wet/dry sandpaper to it. However I have found that a scotchbrite pad will remove all but really heavy rusting. By the way, WD-40 is about the worst thing you can use to prevent rust. Just regular mineral oil is much better.

As for the fold line, if it is a problem I can't see an easy method for you to fix it (except just grinding the bevel back) since I am pretty sure the blade would have to be reworked. If it was me I would just take the khukuri and do some chopping (of a type suited to this model) impacting in that area and see if a problem develops. Bill would know much more about this obviously.

-Cliff


[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 25 October 1999).]
 
Hi Dave: Thanks for lively report. WD-40 works for me but remember I live in Reno which is high desert so generally humidity is not a problem here. Listen to Cliff, he lives near the water.

The fold like has a chance of maybe 1 in a hundred of giving you a problem. I think it's only a cosmetic flaw but, again, listen to Cliff. Work that area hard and if it gives you any problem send it back and I'll find a new knife for you.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
Thank you Uncle Bill and Cliff!!!

I'll follow your suggestions and report back later.

To clarify a previous statement. When I said I didn't expect the villager to be "worth much for chopping", I meant for heavier chopping. I bought it because I wanted something light & quick (for a fighter), and knew that I'd be giving up the raw chopping power of the heftier khukuries. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well it has handled the (little bit of) harder chopping I've done so far.

I was in a hurry and it came out all wrong. Anyone know of a good medication for foot in mouth disease
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Dave.

 
If the rust is light surface rust 000 or 00 steel wool and oil works well for getting rid of it.

WD 40 is good for displacing moisture but a poor rust inhibitor. I use Rust Check or Krown (I got one spray can of each from a trade show) it displaces moisture and inhibits rust. Normally I have a sponge saturated with Rust Check in my backpack. It is also great for firearms in the rain. My khukuri's and car will give testiment to its effectiveness.

When I get a chance I'm going to try a 3M abrasive sponge soaked with Rust Check. It will be used to maintain the edge of the khukuri as Ysva suggest, clean, and apply rust protection.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 30 October 1999).]
 
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