Am I doing something wrong?

S

Steelwolf

Joined
Jul 19, 1999
Messages
443
Well...great joy, as I finally held my new khukri in my hands. Blem#26, a HI 15"AK, "most likely by Sher" as Uncle Bill said. And I believe him too. This is one thick knife! About 1/2" thick and real heavy. Quite a good finish, mirror polished blade and all that, but there were scratch marks here and there and some rough spots. No worries there. I can polish them out later. As for the blemish? A couple of thin but long cracks in the handle. They weren't going anywhere and were too thin to fill with epoxy, so I left them. But there was a small chip in one of the cracks, so I glued it back in place with Selley's Superglue.

Anyway, I was anxious to try it out as I had been hankering to get one since the middle of last year, but couldn't afford it and kept missing out on previous blems because of the time difference.

So I take it and go out to the local park, where they have a wood pile for use in the park's BBQ pits. BTW, the edge was quite sharp and sliced paper easily, but there was an annoying little burr. I left it on as I wanted to test it out on the "factory" edge first.

First test, wood splitting. I grabbed a large chunk that needed to be spilt to make good firewood. Put it up on the chopping block and split it. No problem. One stroke to get the khukri seated on the end, and a second to split the wood. It was so simple and effortless, I thought that this was not a proper test for its capabilities. (Please note that I have never split firewood before since I grew up in Singapore, so I might be misguided in this).

Second test, log chopping. There were a few logs seated next to the pile which were obviously for the fire, but had not been chopped up yet. Maybe they were still green, but I doubt it, since they had been sitting there with the rest of the wood since the last time the park rangers trimmed the trees. Anyway, I moved one in to a good position and starting to hack away. I was a little surprised at the shock and vibration I felt through the handle and changed my grip a few times. Nothing seemed to improve, so I just carried on. Initially, I seemed to be making good time through the bark and the outer layers of the log. But that center had to be made of steel or something. The impact shocks got worse. By this time, my hand was quite tired and painful. This was after about 5-10min of chopping. So I changed the position of the log to get to the untouched portion. After about 1min rest and getting the log in to the new position, I started to chop again. I had to stop again after only a short while because my hand was just too fatigued to continue. I checked the blade at this time and noticed that the burr was gone, and the edge was a little more blunt than when I started. A bit of hard steeling with the Chakma soon restored the edge, but it's been over a day and my hand still hurts slightly.

So, can anybody tell me if what I experienced was normal, or was I doing something wrong? BTW, though my hand was painful and tired, I never lost my grip. Mainly, I think, because of the flare at the end of the handle. Strangely enough, it was the flare that first dug in to my hand when I started chopping and made me shift my grip a little forward.
 
The extreme thickness of the blade may be hindering your penetration.

My Shop 1 15" AK is an excellant chopper and splitter. To split the heavier stuff I usually take a good strong chop to embed the blade into the wood. After that I will take another piece of wood and hammer the spine (while holding the handle) until the log splits. This technique works very well and is much easier than trying to pound the log into the block.

I have also found that imparting a little "flick of the wrist" at point of impact greatly improves penetration and chopping ability. I don't quite know how to describe it to you. You just have to play with it a little bit. The blade will tell you how to use it.

For chopping through large logs try angling your chops. Kind of like chopping a "V" into the wood. I have taken down some sizable trees this way. Remember, it's still a knife, not an axe. However, there isn't another knife (and not many, if any hatchets) that can chop and split like a well made khukri!

I rounded off the points at the end of the handle with a dremel tool. This greatly improved comfort and eliminated those hot spots on my hand. I recently bought a heavy BAS made by Sher. It is almost the equal of my AK and the points were already rounded off enough that I didn't have to modify them. I think this should be standard on all the HI khuks. BTW, I am VERY impressed with Sher's work. The thickness of some of his blades seems a bit like overkill but it is perfect for my BAS!

Uncle Bill, is Sher a Master? What is his background?

[This message has been edited by Jaeger (edited 06-07-2000).]
 
Jaeger, I think I know about the "flick" that you put in just as the stroke is reaching its target. And the V pattern of chopping. Sort of worked it out, and was aided by watching some of those Scottish Highland games where they have a contest to chop a log while standing on it.

I will probably take your advice and lessen the flare on the end of the handle. Thanks.

Uncle, I would like to know more about Sher and the other kamis as well. Whatever you can tell us about them will be greatly appreciated.
 
Many thanks for good report. I think with practice you are going to learn to use the khukuri without wearing yourself or your hand out. Keep us posted. We have experts here who can help you.

Sher is at master level. I figure he is about 30 and has over 15 years experience. He is a very pleasant but no-nonsense fellow and comes to the shop to work rather than chat and drink tea.

As a big brother he sometimes tries to boss Kumar around and this doesn't work. They get into fights from time to time. I gave Sher a little advice when I was hanging around the shop and told him he should leave Kumar alone and quit fighting with him. It slowed him a little but I think they still go at it from time to time.

We have a picture of Sher posted somewhere but I am not sure where. Maybe a search would turn it up.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 06-07-2000).]
 
If you grip is getting tired then your technique is significantly off. While you want to maintain a tight hold on the khukuri to prevent glances and to allow you to deliver maximum power, you don't want to actually be squeezing it. You should also try to minimize your hand, wrist and elbow movement and chop from your shoulder. Once you can do that move to chopping from the waist.

Start off slowly. You want to increase your precision until every chop goes exactly where you want it, basically right where the last one fell as you switch from side to side. Once you can do this then you can start increasing the power and speed of your chops. Until your precision is high though it is useless as you will just be doing a lot of nothing really quickly - and it is very dangerous.

One trick that I often use is to first have people chop with thier off hand (go really slow and deliberate here). After cutting through a few sticks like this, once they change hands they always walk away with a positive impression.

Depending on your hand size, the 15" AK may be a little small. My grip is a little cramped on mine, the 18" AK is excellent though.

-Cliff
 
Thanks, everyone, for your replies.

Cliff, I don't think I was getting fatigued from gripping too hard. For one thing, I wasn't really gripping all that hard. For another, I should be able to grip for long periods of time anyway because of my weight training. I think it was the vibration from the impact. And I think Jaeger may have hit something too when he mentioned about the flared ends causing discomfort.

I'm not sure if I got your suggestion right about the chopping action, though. The mental image I'm getting is a person bending backwards and forwards at the waist while keeping the arm, elbow and wrist rigid; much like a tin man. I don't know, but it seems to be rather awkward to me. The "flick of the wrist" thing came more intuitively to me, and I've got the strokes rather accurate, so there wasn't a lot of wasted effort, I think. The main problem was the vibration from the impact and the flared ends digging in to my hand. I wonder... I'm a Chinese male, of about average height and build. My hand span is about 21cm (tip of thumb to tip of pinkie), heel to tip height of about 17cm. Palm width (base of index to base of pinkie) is a shade over 8cm and palm height (heel to base of middle finger) is about 9cm. Would you say that a 15" AK has a large enough handle?
 
Steelwolf,

I think I know what you may be experiencing. When the handle is too small for the user's hand the tip on the back buttplate tends to dig into the heel of the user's hand when chopping. Some people respond by choking up higher on the handle. This causes the blade to be more difficult to control. The blade will also have a greater tendency to twist and vibrate, as you are likely to not strike with the blade aligned properly.

I second Jaeger's suggestion that you use a file to round the top point on the buttcap, and shift your grip back to the lower position. If that does not work perhaps a knife with a longer handle is in order.
 
Steelwolf, you might be gripping too lightly. If this is the case then the blade will not be secure which will cause discomfort by impacts off of the butt-cap or irritation from the middle ring when your grip slips on the handle. It will also increase vibration because the blade will not smoothly penetrate into the wood. You hand seems to be the right size for the handle. Howards suggestion is a good one. I rounded out the points on my 15" AK .

Concerning chopping from the waist, it is a piviot about the centerline. You can also come off the ground with your lead leg and drive with your full body weight. You can also combine that with a twist from the waist and an acceleration from the shoulder for maximum power. Every time you increase the power you increase the danger as well. You should have near perfect precision and blade control before moving up each step.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 06-08-2000).]
 
Thanks, Cliff. Now I'm starting to get the mental picture. OK. Looks like I'll be doing some major re-work of the handle, and spending quite a few more weekends at the park making firewood.
smile.gif
 
I wouldn't call it major rework
smile.gif


I blunted the top end of the butt of my villager with a little course sandpaper and about 1 minute worth of work. Try that prior to having at it with a file. That thing would dig and dig and dig into my hand, and I was startled at how tiny an alteration I had to make to get it to stop.

Either way, stop and check often to see if you need to remove more material. Its easy to take more off. Putting it back on is more involved.
wink.gif


Mike


------------------
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein
 
"Am I doing something wrong?"
Of course you are! You're only using one khukri! You need at least three or four to choose from to match the particular chopping style you're using that day. Also varies with what clothes you're wearing and the relative humidity. The only solution is to buy more khuks.
wink.gif


Tom
 
TomF, of course you're right. I need a few more khukris. I'm looking to get a 20"AK or something similar; something to go with my Croc Dundee outfit.
smile.gif
That should be in the far future because of finances and collection strategy. But I'll get it one day. And it might be sooner than I believe if everything works together and I manage to pick up another blem from Uncle.
tongue.gif


Uncle, with TomF, I don't think you have to worry about paying him anymore than 40cents/hour and rice. Just the chance to play with any new khukris before anyone else would be payment enough, I think.

On a more serious note, I always wonder if there is more we can do for the people at BirGhorka. More modern equipment and training in their use will definitely improve quality and rate of production, and probably working conditions as well. But all these things will not be easy to get over without a whole lot of bribes. And I doubt if the kamis and their families will be too eager to leave their homeland to work in USA, besides which there is difficulty with immigration laws, integration in to a new society and recruiting of new blood from their homeland.
 
Steelwolf, don't be too ambitious. We must be humble as to want only YAK... yet another khukuri!

Hope you enjoy more & more.

------------------
Did you enjoy today?
\(^o^)/ Mizutani Satoshi \(^o^)/
 
"Something for my Croc Dundee Outfit."

Two words-

"Gelbu Special."

Now THAT'S a knife
wink.gif


Tom
 
Steel, I have shipped a bunch of khukuris down under, several repeat orders and to the best of my knowledge they have all performed admirably and still are which really does not surprise me.

Gift can be shipped directly to the kamis in case anybody is interested. From here or down under or anywhere. I'd suggest clothes.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top