Danged sisau!

Aardvark

Aardvark

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OK, I admit I thought that the kamis had made up the name. But I found out that it was really Indian Rosewood.

And I'm hooked. The wood is heavy and pretty dense. And finishes up gorgeous.

Here are a some pics of a DOTD Kumar Karda that I got a couple of weeks ago. The finish is superglue, and I haven't gotten the technique quite right. But it still looks pretty good. Funny, since it looks REALLY bad in it's unfinished state.

Let me know if you have trouble seeing the pics. I don't attach them often. Thanks.
 

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Looks very nice.
I usually find that horn looks better, but that wood looks great,
 
Hello Aardvark.

Good to see you posting. I hope all is well with you and your family. Nice Karda.

David
 
Aardvark said:
Here are a some pics of a DOTD Kumar Karda.
The finish is superglue, and I haven't gotten the technique quite right. But it still looks pretty good. Funny, since it looks REALLY bad in it's unfinished state.
Click to expand...

Aardvark you're getting there.:thumbup: ;) :D All you need is several more coats of superglue to build the finish way above the grain and surface of the wood proper.
When I put the superglue finish on my HighSpirit Bass Condor Flute in "D" it looked like it was ruined until I got the present layer of glue smoothed up.
I didn't sand it perfectly smooth between sandings but knocked off the high points and then spread a coat in the low spots with my finger, encased in a vinyl glove...;)
The next sanding would generally pretty well level things up and I kept repeating really heavy and thick coats until I had about 0.025" of an inch of superglue all over and pretty level getting close to the final sanding. I built it up until I had about a 1/32" thickness all over with lighter coats and then I started the final sanding going finer and finer with the wet or dry sandpaper that I used wet when it started really leveling out.
When it started looking pretty good with I think the 600 grit I then used a maroon Scotch-Brite pad with mineral oil and used a really light hand getting closer to the final finish.
When you are at a near glass smooth finish you'll need to get some rottenstone to put the glass like finish on.
Wet down a very soft cloth with a bit of mineral oil and then sprinkle a good amount of the rottenstone on the pad making sort of a paste and then rub like hell in a straight line with the grain.
Suddenly the wood will look like it's been encased in glass and polished.
My big Bass Flute is about 26 inches long and I used about seven or eight bottles of the Bondini II that WalMart once sold.
They were a pretty generous sized bottle but not quite as generous I don't believe as the bottles of LocTite Superglue our WalMart's now have.
But maybe they were, I just checked to see how much was in a bottle and it's .14 ounce and the bottle has a lot of superfluous excess fluff on it.:o ;) :D

Of course if you just built it up until the coat is thicker and do what you've been doing and then use the rottenstone and oil on it you'll be home free.:thumbup: :D
When you hold my Bass Flute up so the light glances off of it all you can see is a glass like surface. All of the grain is completely filled and covered and probably to an excess since that's the way I generally do things but it sure is pretty and the Red Cedar hasn't cracked since like it did in the extreme heat and dampness in the Lodge before the superglue finish.:cool:
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
That is nice! I was told that superglue does a decent job stabilizing the wood, too, if necessary.

Andy
Click to expand...

And it does Andy.:thumbup: :D :cool: And I forgot to add a warning to the excessive long post above.
IF YOU DO A SUPERGLUE FINISH DO IT WHERE YOU HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF VENTILATION, PREFERABLY OUTSIDE BECAUSE THE FUMES ARE A KILLER.:eek: :grumpy:
Besides making your eye's water like all Hell got in them and that ain't counting trying to breath!!!!! :rolleyes:
I know because I had to learn it from experience.:rolleyes: :o
 
I shall heed your advice, O elder statesman of cyanoacrylate substances! (don't you just hate it when people say 'elder'?).

And, as you mentioned, it DOES DO a great job stabilizing your eyeballs and lungs. Nasty stuff.

Going to have to get me some rottenstone. You've mentioned it a couple of times, but I've never got a round tuit. (Almost had one once, but pushed too hard on the belt sander, and one side got flattened.)

Happy holidays.
 
To stabilize wood?

So I could cut a piece of wood with a khukri, let it dry, make a knife handle with it and just put some superglue on it to stabilize it?
 
Yvsa said:
spread a coat in the low spots with my finger, encased in a vinyl glove...;)
Click to expand...

Oh, now you tell me. You have any idea how hard it is to shop for nail polish remover in California with a 17" khukuri stuck to your hand. The cashiers are very skittish for some reason.:confused:


:D
 
Man that looks sweet. Pretty knife.
 
cybrok said:
To stabilize wood?

So I could cut a piece of wood with a khukri, let it dry, make a knife handle with it and just put some superglue on it to stabilize it?
Click to expand...
Conceptually, yes. Might be a tad more difficult than you present. Make sure it's REALLY dry.
 
cybrok said:
To stabilize wood?

So I could cut a piece of wood with a khukri, let it dry, make a knife handle with it and just put some superglue on it to stabilize it?
Click to expand...

Well I should've sorta rephrased that so it was clearer, sorry about that.:o The superglue doesn't stabilize wood as such because it's only a surface layer and doesn't penetrate the wood like is commonly done under a vacuum. But it does stabilize the surface so that very damp surface conditions doesn't affect it.
My Red Cedar aka Juniper Flute started getting surface cracks in it when I took it in the very hot and steamy wet Sweatlodge. Since I put the superglue finish on it there has been no more cracking period.
It makes a very hard and durable finish that is glass slick, smooth, and shiny.:thumbup: :D
 
Great job! Those smooth handled KK's have gone from being almost impossible to obtain, to becoming more and more prevalent over the past few 4 months. I remember having to shark an old Amtrak KK from a retired collector to get one in smooth horn, and here Sher made a nice one the other day.

I have talked to Yvsa about superglue finishes, but never had the guts to try one yet. I have had the pleasure of seeing Yvsa's completed cedar flute in person, and the finish is just stunning.

Nice work there, and nice pics. :thumbup:

Norm
 
Thanks for the kind words, guys.

I had to give that one away, so I won't be able to improve on the finish. But I've got a little WWII with the same wood that's crying for new clothes.
 
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