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arty said:
How do you like your Khukuri handles, shiny or satin?

Sorry to go "off topic," but I thought that this was the point of the thread.
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LOL...as Hollow said...there ya go! :D

I like a *deep* satin finish...not glossy, but worked to develop the warm deep sheen of the wood.

I have a couple of dozen I would be glad to send to you for practice purposes if you promise to send them back when they dry.

Notice I said dry...you might keep adding coats just to hang onto them! :eek:
 
Nasty said:
I like a *deep* satin finish...not glossy, but worked to develop the warm deep sheen of the wood.
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You mean that kind of glow or sheen that seems to come from deep inside the wood, rather than a reflective coating of polyurathane on the surface? Yes, that is very nice. I guess poly is nice and easy and convenient, but the high-gloss stuff can look kind of cheesy.

(I sometimes disagree with people's political statements here, but I keep my mouth shut out of respect.)
 
When they wind up in my grubby paws, I don't let them go.
I like to keep my khuks, but I am running out of space.
Soon - I will have to build a storage cabinet.

One reason that I like to finish the handles is that it temporarily keeps me from buying more until I am done.
I guess that I could finish more than one at a time....

I had a problem with a GK panawal (Chiruwa) AK when it came in. The wooden slabs had shrunken back from the tang, and appeared to keep shrinking in my well-heated Midwestern home. I tried using multiple coats of Formby's oil on it, and this seemed to have worked.
The 16" panawal AK is now living in a tool box in my SUV.

I found cracking of horn and shrinkage as well, when the knives lived indoors. I decided to finish the handles to try to limit this.

So far, any horn handle that I have finished with Watco Natural oil has not cracked after being finished with 4 coats. I have done this with a few knives, and it works. It stops an shrinkage.
I recommend the stuff. It is great for horn, and does not change the appearance. It leaves a nice satin finish on wood.

Formby wiping oil varnish leaves a glossy finish on the surface of wood - probably closer to what you would get with a varnish.
 
I watched or "lurked" the controversial threads, but was a little disheartened and didn't post in them. I agree with Josh, and everyone else on the thread.
Rusty said it best.

I started posting here in 1998, under a different screenname. Dhaju (Uncle Bill) always wanted this to be a haven, like Rusty said, but a compassionate haven.

This is a place on the web that I come to talk to people of like and rational mind. It IS a true haven for me when I am in the office, with little in common with the folks around me. It's a haven at home too, because, often, this is the time I get to "talk to the boys" about similar interests. I hope we can continue the friendly and compassionate feel of this forum. It has brought me a lot of happiness, and I am grateful for the friendships that it has helped me make.
 
My first horn Ganga Ram handle was cracking more and more, and I painted it with some urethane. I tried to get some of it under the bolster and butt cap too to seal the ends off. It seems to have worked, cause no more cracking.
 
Hollow - How does the varnish look on the horn?
A polyurethane would seal the surface, and that appeared to stop the cracking and drying of the GRS hamdle.
Do the cracks look like surface cracks, or were they bigguns?
I originally wondered if a polyurethane would adhere to horn, but I guess that it has.
I have always wondered how horn would stand up to hard work...
 
arty said:
There is a lot more to freedom than having elections. Elections without respect for minority views or differing views is what they have in some places where there is no freedom.
They had elections in Burma, and the winner was imprisoned by the military....more than 10 years ago.

Freedom is a 12"AK by Bura that is now drying after 4 coats of Watco. It is really pretty "little" knife, about 12 1/2", and 10 5/8 oz. The handle is a nice dark wood. It needs to be sharpened, since I can see too much light reflecting off of the edge.

I am trying to decide whether I should let the Watco cure for a few days and then add a coat or two of a wipe on poly finish, or just keep it "natural" and not very shiny. It has a nice satin sheen right now.

How do you like your Khukuri handles, shiny or satin?

Sorry to go "off topic," but I thought that this was the point of the thread.
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Arty, #1 I vote for a satin finish on top of the natural Watco danish oil finish. Pretty but not too shiny. #2, please let me know, did you sand before the watco of just put it over the handle as you got it from Uncle Bill? I am getting ready to do this and wanted to know all the variables.

Thanks,

Norm
 
Falling Knife - Yes...exactly. To my tastes (which have often come under question) it is much preferable to the synthetic feel. I love the true synthetics such as micartas being used today by so many knifesmiths, but not on khukris.

Arty - Not going to let me mooch free services off you, eh? ;)

Lion - Well said...

Hollow - I've seen you work these things...sooner or later, you will defeat the handle material on each, no matter what is done to it.


.
 
Regarding use of Watco. I have sanded and not sanded, but I always remove the wax and dirt first by using either a wax remover (Formby) or some mineral spirits. Both work OK. If there are any chips or tears in the grain of the wood, I might use some sandpaper - I did sand with the 12"AK. I just removed the wax for a Sher Chainpuri. I didn't want to mess up the carving.
I have used the Watco on horn without any sanding first, and it worked fine. I just used something to remove wax and dirt.

I follow the instructions on the can, which call for soaking the oil in for about 30 - 40 minutes, coating it again and soaking for another 15 minutes, and then wiping off all of the stuff on the surface with a soft cloth.
I do this again and again, with about 10-12 hours between treatments. It looks fine if you wax the handle after the last coat has had enough time to dry (>24 hrs.). I recommend 4 coats for horn, and the same for wood. I don't think that you gain anything by going beyond this. If you want to, a fifth coat won't hurt, but I have never tried that.

With horn, I may try to soak the stuff in for a longer time frame each time, perhaps and hour to hour and a half.
With Watco natural oil, the finish should be in the wood or horn. You don't want to leave the stuff gooped on the surface after the treatment time - wipe off the excess thoroughly each time.

It is the only thing that worked for me for horn, but if you want a shine - see Hollowdweller's posting on urethane.

If you want a rougher surface on the horn, you can sand with a very fine paper - say 1500 grit. If you want it to look like the original smooth horn, don't bother sanding - just remove wax and dirt with a solvent. This has worked for both horn and wood handles. If there are any indications of uneven or torn grain or color, you may want to sand to remove any residual oil or to smooth it....but it probably is not needed.
Yangdu said that she thought that the Kamis use oil on the handles, something like linseed oil.
 
I'd really like it if people would just take all current Iraq war related posts to the political forum. I love watching the days pass in the Cantina and all the great conversations but always dislike it when this comes up.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth-

eleven
 
Nasty said:
I am in constant contact (as is Semer Fi, whom I now have the honor of calling Brother Johnny) with a huge group of such men. I am very sensitive to the damage and injustice that has been done unto them individually and as a group. I may even be damaged myself...
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Good post. Calling you Brother is *my* honor.
 
Thanks Bro...Tet can't get here soon enough for me. I need an LRB fix.
 
arty said:
Hollow - How does the varnish look on the horn?
A polyurethane would seal the surface, and that appeared to stop the cracking and drying of the GRS hamdle.
Do the cracks look like surface cracks, or were they bigguns?
I originally wondered if a polyurethane would adhere to horn, but I guess that it has.
I have always wondered how horn would stand up to hard work...
Click to expand...

Well, I like the way it looks but I can't really take a pic that would actually show it. I put several layers and then steel wooled them down. It seemed to get into the little hairline cracks better than the glue. On some of the larger cracks there is still a little depression where the cracks were, but overall I think it looks great. Just looks really black almost like somebody did a high polish on it. I stopped buying horn handles because of the cracking, but from what I'm reading the horn they are using now doesn't seem to be cracking, so If I DID buy another I'd do this right off. It doesn't look funky at all.
 
this thread is taking a strange twist.....the opposite of usual actually....


normally we start out talking khuks and end up somewhere else...?!
 
Any natural material needs to be stable and relatively dry, and properly sealed.
If the horn is strong, but not sealed and not dry before use as a handle, then it will shrink as it dries. This can yield the cracking we saw.
You can get warping, cupping and cracking with wood if it is not dried enough before use.
I had a lot of shrinkage with the wooden slabs on my GK panawal AK before finishing the wood. Now, I normally finish the handles when I get a khukuri, wood or horn - and I start the finishing process the day they come in. I do this for all of them. I have never seen this kind of shrinkage in Hi wooden handles, but I finish them pronto! I haven't seen any shrinkage or cracking in horn handles when the finish was applied right away - day 1.
Correct me if my memory is off here, but as I recall, you used a wiping poly varnish, not a brush on, water based type? I don't think that it matters much, but I don't think that I would want to use a water based poly on horn.
 
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