Beetles in the scabbard?

R

RevNick

Joined
Jun 17, 2000
Messages
31
I have a Service No.1 which arrived from Craig a couple of months or so ago, and I noticed at the time that there were three small round holes (slightly larger than a pin-head) in the buffalo leather of the scabbard, holes which I assumed were from some insect that had penetrated the hide whilst still on the animal.
However, each day for the last three days, there have been fresh wood dust deposits round each of the three holes, and today a fresh hole (with dust) has appeared.
Has anyone any idea what sort of insect this might be, and any suggested remedies? As the dust deposits were initially round the holes that were apparent when I received the khukuri, I assume it must be some sort of Nepalese insect in the wood, that has recently hatched out. Any thoughts on this one, fellow forumites, before my scabbard disappears into a heap of dust? Looking forward to any suggestions. Thanks.
Nick.
 
Nick,
You're the second person to experience this problem - last time the thread was titled Bugs in Sheath, though as FNG has pointed out before, "scabbard" is the correct term for a wooden knife case
smile.gif
. I've seen insect holes in several old khukuri scabbards but never had an active infestation. I'd be careful of the microwave cure, though, unless you remove all metal, including the little nails holding the karda & chakma loops. Years ago I tried to eradicate some Chinese bugs from the bamboo scrubber in a wok set, but forgot about a tiny little wire loop around the bamboo. Very impressive mini-lightning storm and repair bill for microwave
frown.gif
.
Berk
 


Maybe try some powdered insecticide (like Dursban [U.S. name]) in a plastic bag with the sheath, shake it all up and let sit for a couple days.


 
Or (and I've NEVER tried this): since bugs need oxygen, why not submerge the entire thing in nesfoot oil? Would that hurt the integrity of the wood or leather? I have no idea, but oxygen starvation is how I remove ticks from my dog (or if I've been in the field, from myself).

------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Could you combine some of the treatments? By that, I mean put insecticide and the scabbard into a large ziplock bag, dip this in water (to drive out the air), seal it while mostly submerged, wipe dry. Could you then put into the freezer? Would freezing harm the leather and/or glue? Good luck, and I like my Service 1 tons.
 
Could you combine some of the treatments? By that, I mean put insecticide and the scabbard into a large ziplock bag, dip this in water (to drive out the air), seal it while mostly submerged, wipe dry. Could you then put into the freezer? Would freezing harm the leather and/or glue? Good luck, and I like my Service 1 tons.
 
I'm not sure I'd want my scabbard contaminated with powdered or liquid insecticide. Fumigation, followed by long airing-out is probably the traditional remedy. The gasses used are dangerous, and may be best handled by professionals.

What about putting it in an ice chest with a block of dry ice? Freeze the sheath and the bugs, and drown the bugs in CO2. Let it rise slowly to room temperature before handling. Would deep freezing and slow thawing harm the leather?


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Thanks fellas for all your suggestions. My Father-in-Law who has been a woodworker all his life (and has the other Service No.1 I ordered from Craig) also suggested putting the scabbard in a zipped plastic bag in the freezer, so that is where the little bugs are shivering at the moment! Failing that I am awaiting suggestions from a man who fumigates wood for a living. Any other suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks again, Nick.
 

I'd like to know how the beetle freezing project turns out.

If it doesn’t work out and you don’t like the pesticide route, I just remembered this:
An organic gardener once told me that to kill pests in his garden he uses tobacco. He gets
a big bag of chewing tobacco and puts it in a pint (read litre in the U.K.) of water and
mashes the mixture up until its dark as tea. He sprays it all over the garden. He says
there's no bug that can take the nicotine--it kills them on contact. I don’t know if dunking
the sheath in something like that would ruin it, or not.

On freezing...
I once saw a documentary on scorpions, to demonstrate how tough they are, a scientist
froze one in a block of ice. Six months later (I think it was six months), they take the
block out of the freezer, melt it down with a propane torch and the scorpion starts
walking around.

On the other hand, freezing an article of clothing will kill the awful smelling fungus
which permeates mildewed clothing and *won't* wash out (good to remember after a
canoe trip).

Now that I think about it...Martha Stewart would know EXACTLY what to do, and she’d
have a nice desert waiting for all of us afterwards.


 
Or (and I've NEVER tried this): since bugs need oxygen, why not submerge the entire thing in nesfoot oil? Would that hurt the integrity of the wood or leather? I have no idea, but oxygen starvation is how I remove ticks from my dog (or if I've been in the field, from myself).
Click to expand...

Oil is definitely not a very god idea with leather - it will easily get gummy...
redface.gif
(

Freezing is good (especially with many exotic pests) - I guess there is a good chance with insects from the Kathamndu Valley but insects from other parts of Nepl might be resistent to even extremely low temperatures.

Carbon dioxide from dry ice may help, too.

If this fails, heating the scabbard to 50-60 degrees Celsius for _several_hours_ will surely kill all larvae/adults (use a high-temperature-stable plastic bag for avoiding heavy desiccation of the wood).

All these treatments _may_ not kill off eggs - so repeating the method of your choice after a few weeks and regularly checking wether the bugs appear again is certainly a good idea...

Happy hunting,
kai
 
Thanks again for all the suggestions, I certainly have plenty to go on if the bugs decide to put on ice axes and snow shoes in the arctic conditions of the freezer!
Yes, if they come from the higher reaches of Nepal, then I might have to resort to more cunning ploys.
I'll keep everyone posted as to how effective each method tried is.
Hang on a minute, can I hear faint yodelling sounds from the high peaks of the freezer? Have these bugs got a Swiss guide with them? I'll keep you posted...........
Kind Regards,
Nick.
 
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