Are HI's non-kukri knives also zone-hardened as well?

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Moonw

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Nov 19, 2014
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I guess this would be good to know before putting any of those custom knives to work. Been wondering for a while.
 
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---- Deleted, since after Howard edited his, my response didn't make sense. ----
 
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Howard Wallace said:
Some are, some are not. You take your chances.
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I think he means non-Khuk (shaped) not non-HI. Like the swords, farm knife, AKBowies, Kumar Karda, etc. not Khukri shaped. Im pretty sure HI differentially hardens eveything in the traditional manner. I have seen some that extend wider than others on straight knives and some like the AK Bowie that are hardened just like the Khuk shaped blades. You can pretty much tell after you get used to sharpening them. If needed you can run a file lightly across the edge and feel where its harder because the file wont dig in. It will slide across instead of cut. After you use the polished blades a while you can start to see the line where its hardness increases. In general if your buying an HI blade you can pretty much count on it being hardened where it needs to be. I have scores of them and they are all properly hardened. btw. A bit of lemon juice or vinegar will also show this temper line but will "patina" the edge as well. Do the file thing if you want to keep the mirror shine.
 
I popped this over to the cantina since the main forum is for HI products only.
I think what Howard means is that you really have no idea what other manufacturers are selling or how tight their quality control is. Many khuks are zone hardened, but unless it's an HI, there isn't much of a guarantee if there is an issue.
 
Annnnnnnnd I apologize:o
I read it like Howard did.

Yes, most are depending on on their design.
 
Well. back to the original topic - What about the Chainpuris from Chainpur that are offered on the DOTDs? I would assume that anything sold by HI would be properly differentially hardened / tempered?
 
You folks are correct, I read the question incorrectly. I thought it was asking about Non-HI knives. I'll go up and edit my response to head off further confusion.
 
moparsbob said:
Well. back to the original topic - What about the Chainpuris from Chainpur that are offered on the DOTDs? I would assume that anything sold by HI would be properly differentially hardened / tempered?
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I don't know, run a chakmak over the edge and see where it is hardened. It'll glide over the hardened area.
 
I put a vinegar patina on this one and found it is hardened in a much longer area, from the very tip down almost all the way to the handle.

IMG_1359.jpg~original
 
Huh that's interesting. I didn't know patinas could show things like that, how long did you soak it for philllllllllllllllllll?
 
Thanks for the input, maybe I should've worded my question differently.

Philllll...yes, please spill the beans, I'm interested as well.
 
That patina took several hours with the blade wrapped in a paper towel soaked with cider vinegar. I had to switch out the paper towel a couple times when it dried out.
 
Whenever i use a vinegar patina, it comes out yellowish. I really wish i knew the secret to get it darker gray to black..
 
I like to use apple cider vinegar, and use a single layer of paper towel over the steel. I think it helps react with the air better or something. :confused:

The trick is to use a single layer and get it nice and flat with no wrinkles, which would should up as lines in the patina. It's usually yellowish after the first run, but once the paper towel dries out for the first time I wash, rinse, and dry the blade and then start over with a freshly soaked paper towel. 3 or 4 cycles of that should get it nice and dark.
 
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