Blade Refinement question

J

JasonO1

Joined
Dec 18, 2016
Messages
4
Hi,

I just bought a kuhkri from Nepal and it is great except it came a bit rough. The blade has pitting, and you can see tool marks, but is otherwise in great shape. Traditionally the Gurkha kuhkri is a fighting weapon, but I intend to use it as a draw knife/machete. My question is, since i am knew to blades, should I pay to have the blade finished, considering how I will use it? Will the blade last longer in this unrefined state or is it beneficial to refine it and why?

Thanks in advance,

Jason
 
Depending on how bad the pitting is, the damage to the finish may not be reversible. I'm sure it is still a functional knife even though it has corrosion issues. Pictures would help.
 
So long as the surface imperfections don't impinge upon the edge, they will not have any impact on the practical utility of the blade. Surface finishing is helpful for keeping corrosion at bay, but not necessary.
 
I took some images but it doesn't seem to be a way to upload them. Anyway, I do see some minor very small pitting going on but not near the edge. Throughout the blade you see grind marks, but very subtle. Is there a coating I can get to maybe dip the blade in to help with that? I keep it in oil now, but would like to not have to do that if possible as I intend to get a composite-based sheath which I suspect will not be oil friendly. Thanks.
 
those things are handmade and are forged with very little in the way of power tools. The rustic look and feel is part of the charm of having such a knife. I would just use it. Anything that is going to cause a catastrophic failure is probably either going to be blatantly obvious or hard to see at all. I would examine the blade for stress cracks and fractures. But surface pitting? I would not sweat that. If you want a knife with an absolute perfect finish lower cost handmade knives should probably be avoided.
 
Agreed, my primary concern with its current condition is based on how I plan to use the tool. I don't want this thing rusting or breaking on me. The pitting is very minimal and the blade is roughly 1 cm thick the entire spine, full tang blade, so I doubt I have much of a concern, but I may want to alter the blade still. The handle is traditional with an outward swoop at the end of the handle and it digs into my hand. Since I am not worried about someone trying to pull it from hand, I would like to replace the handle, grind down the back swoop, leaving the front swoop, and maybe while they have it, polish the blade and sharpen it slightly -don't want it razor sharp. Would like to coat it in teflon or equivalent also to eliminate the need for oil. A composite sheath would be nice too.
 
You can get it Cerakoted by Razor Edge Knives, but I'm not sure if coating over a pitted blade would cause any problems. I wouldn't think so, but I'm not certain.
 
Looks like the place to get this done. And, not too far from where I live. Thanks for the help.
 
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