bones?

boerboel84

boerboel84

Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
160
should not a khukuri be able to cut through some one inch ribb bones from a deer?
iwe seen menny knives chopping through elk leggs and ((removed)) on youtube without chipping.
i was chopping up some bones for my dog, and now the edge almost look like a saw :eek:
i will get the edge nice again, but i realy thoght it would be stronger?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
boerboel84, we need more information; which Khukuri, polished or villager finish, what part of the blade were you using and pics? Sometimes on a "new" blade you have to sharpen down to the harder steel. I occasionally hit old cattle fence embedded in some of the wood I chop and I usually don't notice till i finish and see these little half-round nicks in the edge. I've also destroyed a (non-HI) stainless steel cleaver chopping up a frozen chicken.
 
It's been discussed before and your results are not very surprising. Bone is VERY hard stuff and hitting it with a kukri is not advised if you want to maintain a good edge... As already suggested, if it's a polished version, sharpening it up again might help remove the softer metal caused by the buffing process. You also have to remember that only a small "sweet spot" of the kukri is hardened to 58-61HRC. The rest is kept slightly softer and hitting bone with it will probably cause noticeable rolling. Given hard enough bone, even the sweet spot could chip out or roll...

Honestly, I don't see the point of chopping bone with a kukri. That hard of material calls for a dedicated saw IMO.
 
When sharpening it up you can do 2 things. 1 is to remove the softer metal on the exterior and get down to the harder edge. The second is to reprofile the edge to a blunter angle that will be stronger for chopping hard bone.

If chopping bone is what you need to do, it seems entirely appropriate to use your khukuri for the task. When you optimize it for this kind of work it will be a little different than one optimized for cutting vines or soft pine branches.
 
Even butchers in nepal do not expect to have undamaged blades after cutting bone.
As stated, bone can be quite dense and hard. It can test blades just like you are hitting rock.
Small bones are fine. Cutting ribs, cutting thru femurs and long bones is not recommended. H.I. does not warranty khukuri used to cut bone.
 
its a 1200 grit sanded and etched, once polished ganga ram 22" :)
i hitted it pritty mutch on the hardened sweet spot.
im realy not disepointed about it, i just thoght it would nail it:)
how mutch steel must be removed to get to the hard steel?
are we talking one light sharpening or or grinding off 1-2 mm?
thanks for ansvers :)
 
Good advice from Howard and the others. What many people forget is that a kukri is a tool and like every other tool, it is designed for certain tasks. It is really cool when people sharpen their kukri so it can shave hair and slice through paper like a chefs knife but, when you go back outside and do real work things go terribly wrong. A working kukri should have a tough convex edge like a hatchet not like a straight razor. Untiil we get an infushion of alien metals from Area 51 there are certain laws we have to follow, one of whiich is that you cannot cut things like bone and hard woods with a thin edge, no matter how good the metal.

Some of the other knives you mentioned that cut bone without damaging the blades more than likely had their blades sharpened and shaped in a manner that allowed the blade to stand up to that activity, not so much that is was a superior metal or quality. If you have the proper kukri and its blade is properly hardened, shaped and sharpened for that activity, it should be possible to cut bone without damage. But even then, most metals will show wear from repeated exposure to cutting bone. A knive of any kind probably isn't the correct tool choice to deal with cutting bone, that is why someone felt the need to invent the bone saw.

But the most important question, is there any deer jerky left???

Good luck,
Bill
Virginia
 
Did it once on whitetail deer legs. Chipped the hell out of it...15"AK.

Fixed blade.

Did not do it again.

Have not had the problem again.

:)

be safe.
 
shortwinger said:
Good advice from Howard and the others. What many people forget is that a kukri is a tool and like every other tool, it is designed for certain tasks. It is really cool when people sharpen their kukri so it can shave hair and slice through paper like a chefs knife but, when you go back outside and do real work things go terribly wrong. A working kukri should have a tough convex edge like a hatchet not like a straight razor. Untiil we get an infushion of alien metals from Area 51 there are certain laws we have to follow, one of whiich is that you cannot cut things like bone and hard woods with a thin edge, no matter how good the metal.

Some of the other knives you mentioned that cut bone without damaging the blades more than likely had their blades sharpened and shaped in a manner that allowed the blade to stand up to that activity, not so much that is was a superior metal or quality. If you have the proper kukri and its blade is properly hardened, shaped and sharpened for that activity, it should be possible to cut bone without damage. But even then, most metals will show wear from repeated exposure to cutting bone. A knive of any kind probably isn't the correct tool choice to deal with cutting bone, that is why someone felt the need to invent the bone saw.

But the most important question, is there any deer jerky left???

Good luck,
Bill
Virginia
Click to expand...

While I agree with your statements, I do have to interject slightly: a blade that can shave/slice paper cleanly does not necessarily equate one that has a thin/very acute edge. That level of performance comes from edge refinement and alignment - the geometry is secondary. I have put a polished edge (capable of shaving) on a splitting maul with roughly a 50 degree inclusive angle. Was it necessary or beneficial? Doubtful... the shaving sharp capabilities got ruined the second it made a hard impact with seasoned wood.

The question is one of diminishing results and practicality. Obviously, if you're going to be wailing on a blade, a polished, shaving edge is going to get ruined quickly and investing the time in the first place might seem impractical. HOWEVER, the area you should be wailing on with a kukri accounts for only a small portion of the blade (the sweet spot)... keeping the recurve and tip shaving sharp DOES have it's advantages. It also does not take as much effort to get a knife "shaving" sharp as people assume - with a properly aligned edge, a knife should start to become capable of shaving at 220-400grit. I sort of went into this idea with my INFO thread here.
 
In my somewhat limited experience, chopping bones will chip or roll any steel. I've rolled axe edges, kukri edges, even INFI steel rolls. Bones, especially deer bones are very hard, and the ribs an femurs are the worst. Normally what I do is ram the tip into the cartilage separating various bones and pry them apart, rather than cut the bone. If I need the bone cut, I bring the quarter or half to a butcher and have him saw it.

To answer on how far you have to sharpen to get to the harder steel: It varies from kuri to kukri, since they are hand made and polished. What I do is use a file to shape the blade to a convex edge in the soft steel, and then keep filing that profile down until the file "skates" -- won't take any more metal off. Then sharpen from there with stones. You may have to take as much as 1-2mm off, usually 1mm or less.

That's also why my edges, unless the picture was taken when the blade is new, look like crap. But they work well.
 
i'll note the bonecutter model isn't necessarily for cutting either.

did not know the warranty doesn't cover bone.

use 20 hatchet next time, or a hammer and chisel? or a vise ;)


Bladite
 
Thanks for the personal insight Cpl! I really don't have any experience chopping bone with blades so everything I've said on the matter is based more or less on speculation. I've always been one to size up a task before taking it on and using any bladed implement (that I wanted to keep sharp) for hacking through hard bone has never gotten past the "sizing-it-up" step.

As said, a saw is probably the optimal tool for dealing with tough bones and it's what I've used on the few occasions I had such a task. If I absolutely had to get through bone and only had a kukri on hand, I'd opt to use the spine - it's "V" shaped for a reason and will save your edge ;)
 
A humorous aside on cutting tiny chicken bones.

I've always liked the old Chinese story of the butcher who only needed to sharpen his knife once a decade because he skillfully maneuvered it between the muscles and tendons, separating the meat without ever dulling his edge. I saw quite a different philosophy on butchering when trecking in Nepal back in '79, and my guide bought a chicken for a special Christmas treat.

I watched the poor doomed fowl looking at me from a doka most of the day. Then when it was time to butcher it out came the khukuri. Whack -- 2 half chickens. Whack whack - 4 quarter chickens. Into the pot. It was an unusual experience eating the chicken parts that had been cut with absolutely no thought as to where the bones were or individual parts like legs, wings, etc.
 
I've never chopped bone but my guess is that it's a question of edge geometry. If you want to be able to chop through something extremely hard without damage to the edge, you need a thick edge. None of my HI khuks have come with very thick edges. Some thicker than others but none very thick. If you you thicken the edge to optimize it for bone, it won't work as well on wood or softer materials. So I'd suggest you cut through bone with something else, more specialized.
 
thanks for all the great answers:)
i will definetly try using the spine next time, that was a great idea:)
when im sharping it, i will try to make the edge a little thicker after some sharpenings i think, but not so much :)
its realy good to have a nice place to ask when you are wondering something:)
there is so menny people with realy good skills and knowledge here:)
thaks everyone:)
Halvor
 
by the way:)
the khukuri is a realy good tool as mutch as a knife for a lot of tasks:)
im realy trying to find usefull tasks i can use it for around my property, it great.
i love to cary it around here, even if it is a little big and heavy:P (22", 45 oz)
cant wait to get my astk-v by vim (18", 42oz) :)
if someone wanted some deer jerky, its just to come over and have some;) hehe i have plenty dryed:P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top