Chitlangi Question

Triquetra

Triquetra

Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
759
I have an 18" HI Chitlangi that I've had for several years as a safe queen and decided to take it out this weekend to build a natural deer hunting blind with. Worked great and breezed through everything. The only thing that I don't really like is the brass bell on the end of the handle. Before I try to do anything with it, I was wondering if anyone knows if it's hollow underneath the metal or if the wood is curved to where I could just take the metal layer off and have just plain wood or wood that I could shape a little to my liking.
 
Hi Triquetra,

The large bell/pommel serves as a "brake" should you over-swing the chitty. The tang is peened together with the metal plate and secured by the laha (your description sounds like it's stick-tang). You could remove the plate by immersing it into a boiling water pot (please tape the sharp edge part before you do so) and the laha will melt. You probably have to work the plate a bit before it comes off.
 
Do you know though is the wood part of the handle at the end shaped the same as the metal or is it just a hollow cap filled with the laha. I don't mind the bell shaped handle so much as the "gaudy" for lack of a better word shiny metal. When it was more of a show piece it was ok but a user in the deer woods it just doesn't fit.
 
I really doubt there's any significant sized (as in, 3/4" or larger) hollow space plugged up with a big glob of laha, under the bell of at least 99% of HIs.

However, being handmade, in a 3rd world country, I guess it's always possible something like that might happen, if that's the only wood that was available.

I've sometimes wondered, myself, just how thick the metal is compared to a standard pommel, if it's super-thick like my Sgt. Khadka Chainpuri-Chitlangi hybrid appears to be, or if it's simply curved around the wood.

You might be better off buying a Chainpuri, maybe selling the Chitlangi if you're not going to use it more? The balance is very similar, perhaps a hair lighter, and they have IIRC a single very shallow fuller, like a Siru except more slender. And the bell pommel is mostly wood, with only a small diamond of brass in the center. Much less metal than the standard pommel. It's not a standard catalog item, though, I don't think.
 
Last edited:
Triquetra said:
Do you know though is the wood part of the handle at the end shaped the same as the metal or is it just a hollow cap filled with the laha. I don't mind the bell shaped handle so much as the "gaudy" for lack of a better word shiny metal. When it was more of a show piece it was ok but a user in the deer woods it just doesn't fit.
Click to expand...

The wood part is shaped the same as the brass. there may be some small void under the buttcap to allow for adjustment of the tang. This will usually be filled with laha. If you want a finished look without the large brass bell it is usually better to order it that way.
 
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