Chakma how to?

A

alamborn

Joined
Mar 19, 2008
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I've only been lurking for a grand total of 4 days, but have already decided that the khukuri is the tool I need and the forumites here are a great bonus! :D

I'm recovering from using a diamond hone on everything, and don't want to subject the khukuri to a premature end due to over sharpening. I've read the sharpening information here and on HI, but haven't seen any pictures of the actual process.

How does one hold the knife and the chakma when reforming the edge? Any help is warmly welcomed!

AL
 
Dave Rishar used to be the man at the chakma. I never could figure it out. But I will tell you this. A khuk is a LOT of metal. You'll probably never wear one out unless you use a belt grinder to sharpen your knives.
 
Can't say much--I love my diamond hone, and I'm using the chakma too. Each has its place. I've also found my khukuri chakma works pretty well on my HI sword. Perhaps those khe tris should ship with a chakma? :)

Question, though: the chakma's supposed to be tougher than the blade, right? My chakma got scratched by a bur on the blade that I was trying to straighten out prior to resharpening it Was that supposed to happen? (steep, rocky slopes and fragile bushes=a nick in the blade. I'm still learning to control the blade).

F
 
Havent got a HI khuk yet, only a couple from Khukri House. The sharpening thing it comes with are garbage, not useful for anything. My diamond stones make my khuks nice and sharp :) ...one day I will get a HI Khuk to see the difference.
 
Dave Rishar used to swear by the chakma. He acknowledged it was soft, but still swore by it for field touchups of his edges.
 
I've had pretty good luck with the chakma. Some of them come TOO soft, but most will do decent job of burnishing an edge.

The thing to remember about a chakma is that it is a realignment tool and not really a sharpener. The trick is to use force and the somewhat flat hard edge of the chakma to push any steel that sort of micro-warps out of place with use back into a straighter line, thus creating a better cutting edge.

The only way that I have found the chakma to work well is to use it for frequent touch ups. Maybe chops for 20-30 mins, then give it a few passes. However, I don't do a lot of long chopping sessions, so I might just use it to chop my camping firewood then run the chakma down the blade by the fire's glow.

Don't be afraid to use some pressure, but please BE CAREFUL. More that 10 times have I slipped and given myself a cut ranging between a "boo boo" and "an anatomy lesson".

Watch a butcher some time. What he does with his butcher's steel is the same principle as the chakma. Make a few cuts, give the edge a few licks, wash, rinse, repeat. As a matter of fact, if you like a sort of toothy edge to your khuks, I have had great luck using a butcher's steel to keep mine touched up. It'll still hog off a small amount of metal, but nothing anywhere near what a stone or diamond will do.:thumbup:
 
I use the chakma a lot when I get a new khukuri. Usually the edge needs a little realigning. It is good for taking out waves and dents after initial use. Getting the edge right is all part of breaking in and getting to know your tool.
 
WV, the chakma is the "dull" knife that comes with the khuk. The sharp one is the karda.
 
Soft might work but harder makes it easier & hones as well.

All the antique nepali military or Brit. Gurkha ones ive hard are harder than the kukris they came with..


Spiral
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should be able to figure the chakma out, and will be careful doing it! I've already had experience with the unexpected kiss from a sharp edge due to my own carelessness. It was a lessen well learned with a few stitches as homework. :eek:
 
Certainly be careful. Its a short tool, and if you get a khuk as sharp as Steve Ferguson, or get one of his (I'm waiting for one now fromt he Ram Raffle!) one slip and you'll see bone!
 
To begin answering your question, I'll say that you want to use the chakma in such a way that if (or, more exactly, WHEN) your hand slips a bit, you won't find your chakma-holding hand suddenly moving into contact with the sharp edge of the khukuri.

That's the basic theory part of it. To implement it in practice, if you're right-handed,hold the khukuri in your left hand, edge facing to your left. Hold the chakma in your right hand, so it's approaching the khukuri blade from behind. Touch the chakma to the khukuri's edge near the handle, and, applying pressure, slide the chakma along the edge until you get to the point of the khukuri blade. Repeat, but this time with the chakma underneath the khukuri's blade, getting the other (= right) side of the khukuri blade. I find that if I slip while doing it this way, my chakma hand sails past the khukuri's edge from behind, and I don't get cut.

If your chakma's steel is too soft, you might try heating the chakma until the glue holding the blade into the handle (called "laha", or Himalayan "epoxy") liquefies, pulling the steel out of the handle, and heat-treating it by heating the metal until it is cherry red / non-magnetic, then dropping it into water. I've never done this, but I think it'd work. Anyone tried this--or any other method of re-hardening a chakma? (After you'd hardened it, you could polish it a bit to get its good looks back, and then either re-heat the laha and replace the steel in the handle, or remove any excess laha and epoxy it in.)
 
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