Chakmak vs. Chef's Steel

R

Rich_S

Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Messages
1,391
I was out in the garden last week chopping branches, weeds, etc. with my 18" AK. A number of time when chopping large weeds down, the blade went into the ground. Have a few dings and very small edge chips where I probably hit some rocks. Anyway, decided to test out the chakmak on the dings. To my surprise, not only did it not work but the khuk was actually scratching and gouging the chakmak. :eek: Anyway, on a lark, I went into the kitchen and got my Henckels chef's steel from the knife block. Made a couple of passes on each side of the khuk with it and all the dings are gone and the blade is perfectly aligned. Just thought I'd pass that on.
 
My understanding is that the chakma(k) is not hardened after it's made. Please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.
 
Many times the kamis don't pay as much attention to the karda and chakma as they do to the khukuri. As a result they are often not hardened enough.
 
Chakma's are generally not as hard as they should be. I only have 4 or 5 out of 30+ that are hard enough to get at the rougher dings. However, used as a touch up tool in between jobs, they seem to work just fine. I am agreed on the butcher's steel. I have long been a fan of sharpening all of my knives on my steel. I have one that is "worn out" on two sides, and still has bite on the other. Generally, new knives without much of an edge get several passes on the rougher side, followed by the worn out side to smooth out the teeth, then a strop on rough leather, then a strop on smooth leather, then a strop on my pant leg. Shaves hair every time with no wire bur to speak of;)

Jake
 
Chakmas are not as hard as they should be always, but the removal of dings is not their job. Not the size of dings here. A chakma is to realign the fine edge of the khuk in the field as it is chopping, and therefore, save industry and time. A steel takes away some metal, however slight; a chakma does not. Using the chakma in the field extends the time between work and real metal removal and sharpening.

Cliff Stamp has remarked upon this.
munk
 
I WILL have a DMT diamond-dust coated chakma one of these days.

I'm using 2 DMT diamond files in place of a chakma on a khuk that came with no K&C.


Mike
 
Thing we all have to keep in mind is that the khukuris themselves are carefully made, by master bladesmiths, using only the highest quality materials available. Accessory knives, on the other hand, are fairly coarse, as they're made by apprentices from whatever's lying about. With one noteworthy exception. I am convinced that Sgt. Khadka makes his own accessory knives. They reflect his hand in their workmanship, and the ones that I have from him are quite hard. :D

Sarge
 
You know, this is one of those things we should simply say clearly to Yangdu: The chakma should have a harder edge than the kukri. I'll write her and ask.

Bura pays a lot of attention to the accompanying tools, used to be noted for their design. Bill said he made the best. (Bill said this pre-stroke) Bill also said Kumar did the horn handles better than anyone. I believe the kamis have a hand in the smaller tools, but don't precisely know how/what/why that relates to their apprentice's participation.



munk
 
Sadley the majority of both Indian & Nepali chakma made since about 1930 are made of mild steel or if spring steel are usualy untempered.

I guess after 1930 or so they included them more as a token to tradition than as a tool as by then most people had access to files etc.

Its a pity, as good ones make great burnishers & or scrapers for sharpening. It would be great if modern manufacturers reverted to them bieng a useable tool.

At the time bieng for my user kukri I make my own out of HSS.

Spiral

Edited for nonsense date!
 
I just bought a good full sized burnisher sold by Lee Valley / Veritas that works for just about eveything. I have a shorter fat round one that I use as well, but this one seems to be the most versatile and was well worth it. I mostly use it on scraper blades, but it is just the thing to realign the edge if needed prior to sharpening.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32642&cat=1,310,41070

I agree that Sgt. Khadkas chakmaks and kardas are a cut above what you normally get, and are very usable. Still, even if the chakmak companion blade is perfectly done, IMO it is too small on the larger blades to get much leverage with, and the handles are usually too small for me, so having a larger aftermarket one is a help.

Norm
 
munk said:
Chakmas are not as hard as they should be always, but the removal of dings is not their job. Not the size of dings here. A chakma is to realign the fine edge of the khuk in the field as it is chopping, and therefore, save industry and time. A steel takes away some metal, however slight; a chakma does not. Using the chakma in the field extends the time between work and real metal removal and sharpening.

Cliff Stamp has remarked upon this.
munk
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that a chef's steel realigned the blade without removing metal. I know some places sell steels that are coated with diamond, ceramic, or other fine abrasives, but I thought that a plain steel was strictly an alignment tool (like a chakma is supposed to be).
 
munk said:
You know, this is one of those things we should simply say clearly to Yangdu: The chakma should have a harder edge than the kukri. I'll write her and ask.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tend to agree. I don't think it would take much extra work for them to just harden the crap out of them. They don't need to worry about differential hardening and it doesn't matter if they end up brittle or anything since they'r not used for chopping, they just need to be harder that the khukuri edge.
 
Indeed Svashtar , must admit I often have used good quality screwedrivers shanks as well, the larger handle makes it easy & my hands are small.
Nice to have something that fits in the scabbard though sometimes.

Spiral
 
A rounded edge chackma removes no metal it realigns & burnishs.

A squarer edged chakma or a fluted chiefs steel does remove metal by abbrasion or scrape cutting.

Spiral
 
And by the same token of what Spiral just said, I thought that a modern steel with cross hatching would remove tiny amounts of metal. Not much, I agree. But more than a smooth chakma.



munk
 
As munk mentioned, the modern chef's steels usually have lengthwise grooves to act like files. I've seen and own older ones that are perfectly smooth and mirror polished.

I've often burnished the edge of my bowie using another hand tool that's been hard chromed. Most wrenches, screwdrivers, etc., etc., are chrome plated, and I usually have at least something within reach.
 
Most of the better kitchen knife makers make two different steels, a grooved one for removing small amounts of metal and a smooth one for aligning the edges.
The model I bought when I bought our Two Oxen knives made in Italy is smooth and hard chromed to 64 Rc. The very old chamaks were well hardened so as to strike sparks with flint as well as remove dings from the khuks and there's no reason todays models couldn't be made as well.:rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top