Danny's 25" Gelbu Etch

Svashtar

Svashtar

Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Messages
4,793
I just got around to this tonight. Dan mentioned that he also wanted to see where the bend had occurred. Following the tips both Dan and Nasty gave me, I tried my first etch using this knife for practice. (Heated vinegar, etc.) It worked better than I had hoped, and gave a nice look to the blade when it was all done.

I couldn't tell if I had gone too far, or not far enough, but once I got it all cleaned up I guess I could have gone longer to get the look some of you guys have come up with.

But, you can make out the temper line, and it looks a lot clearer with the naked eye than it does with my pics. I took 3 pics and moved a little further out with each one. The center punch shows the exact spot of the original bend.

It's harder to see, but although there is some hardening along that area, the majority of the water quench seems to have hit in front of the damaged area, and at the tip, which I guess is good, because if it had bent a few inches further forward, deeper into the hardened area, I think the blade might have been ruined.

You can see the little dimple in the edge which is all that is left showing of the original damage. I need to get that rolled out now with a burnisher and the blade sharpened, and it should go away.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Regards,

Norm

attachment.php


attachment.php


attachment.php
 
So I DID hit it on the tempered area?
OR is only partially on?
If the temper had gone further back, do you think it would have still bent?
Just curious, you did a nice job fixing her up...
 
Very good job Svashtar! :thumbup:

Could you please pass me on the information that led you to this outcome?

Thank you,

George
 
It's just as I expected, right at/behind the sweet spot. Norm I think if the strike had been somewhere near the middle of the sweet spot that it would have less likely bent, but with that length and that much force it's hard to tell.:confused:
Had the first strike not been a glancing blow I doubt it would've bent anyway. It wasn't the fault of the khukuri IMO.:D
 
Just about comes down to a powerful blow at the far end of the tang...helluva swing Danny!
 
looks like it bent where it's supposed to bend. A fully hardened knife would likely break, but the selectiveliy hardened khukuri bends, allowing you to bend it back. I imagine this kind of thing happens enough in Nepal...necessitating the practice.

Thanks for doing the etch, Norm. It does look great. Take the amount of time/effort you put into it and triple that....you'll get more contrast. IOW, yes, you can keep doing more if you want - won't hurt anything...just more work for you. :D
 
If you can, edit your post and put an <enter>(you know, just hit the <enter> key, not type in the word:D) between the pictures... That will fix the WIDE screen problem...
 
Nice job, Norm.

Glad you got to save it, AND show us what happened.

'ppreciate it.
 
Im still sold on the idea of complete edge tempering. #2 will be hardened all the way down the edge to the cho. If it breaks, cest la vie.
In our way of fighting we dont use that much force on weapons really, so its ok to be harder than the usual design, I think.
 
DannyinJapan said:
Im still sold on the idea of complete edge tempering. #2 will be hardened all the way down the edge to the cho. If it breaks, cest la vie.
Click to expand...

Me too Danny.

Norm, Excellent work bud, Nice straightening job, etching and good photos!

Steve
 
DannyinJapan said:
Im still sold on the idea of complete edge tempering. #2 will be hardened all the way down the edge to the cho. If it breaks, cest la vie.
Click to expand...

DIJ it won't make any difference and probably still won't break as it is differentially hardened instead of through hardened.
The ABS test knives are hardened to be able to be bent to a 90* angle without breaking, even the hard edge seldom breaks, don't know if it's permitted to or not, Dan?
It may still bend though and that's what you want and need, although it may not bend as much. Had you of hit further up on the sweet spot the first swing I doubt it would've bent as much but it still may have bent.
A glancing blow like that exacerbates the force probably more than ten fold.
And with your strength and training you no doubt hit it with a great deal more force than you realize and probably moreso than most of us here could generate.
Methinks it still held up well.;) :D :thumbup:
 
Oh its a kick ass knife, theres no question about that!
25" is perfect for the gelbu, I really think it is.
 
Yvsa - you are allowed a break at the edge, but it cannot exceed 1/4 of the blade width, IIRC...or some fraction/percent similar to that.

Ed Fowler bends his 52100 knives back and forth several times before they break and 52100 is not too far removed from 5160 (khukuri stuff - "spring" steel).

I still would like to see the edge hardened all the back to the cho - why bother putting on a bevel otherwise?
 
jamesraykenney said:
If you can, edit your post and put an <enter>(you know, just hit the <enter> key, not type in the word:D) between the pictures... That will fix the WIDE screen problem...
Click to expand...

Will do James, thanks for the tip.
 
DannyinJapan said:
So I DID hit it on the tempered area?
OR is only partially on?
If the temper had gone further back, do you think it would have still bent?
Just curious, you did a nice job fixing her up...
Click to expand...

Danny, I think Yvsa's analysis is correct. The biggest, hardest part of the sweet spot is just in front of the damage. Although there is some hardening back from that, but not as much. Your specifying full length hardening is a great idea. When I etch it more this should show better. I also agree with him and have always thought that _any_ knife of this length would have reacted the same way. If you did the same blow with your new one, maybe not as much, but still a bend, and it obviously might be a bit harder to straighten.

Dan, I see now what you mean, and when I get an extra 90 minutes one night I'll do several more passes on it and I'm betting I'll see even more of the hardening in the damaged area.

I guess the Kami's are so used to dealing with plain old khuks that when they get a long blade like this they don't think about hardening all along the edge, and just hit the teapot along the standard areas. Too bad, as if would make a hell of a slicer if they went from the cho clear to the tip, although to be fair, 95% of the cutting with a blade this long is not going to be in the back 1/3rd of the blade.

It's a very nice handling blade. The damage does not seem to have affected it's cutting ability as far as hacking on a 4X4 and some other scrap wood I had laying around, but for now I'm staying away from bamboo...(-:

George, you got me there bud, and I'm just not sure what you mean. Feel free to PM or email me if you want more info. You might do a search for "25" Gelbu", and you'll find Danny's original post and pics from when the Bamboo attacked him and his new custom knife. :D He defended himself in true Ninja style, and his knife took the brunt of it, but he escaped unharmed.

He is getting another from HI, and I did a deal for this one.

Thanks,

Norm

P.S. Thanks Steve, but the pics are still glary in the wrong spot on one and hides some of the blade details. Need to get more diffused light on the blade.
 
Deliver some L6 to the kamis, and send them a video of someone flicking a hot piece of steel in a water trough. Might be hard to bend if done properly!
 
Dan - I've seriously considered making a video to demonstrate edge quenching in oil. I'm sure they have access to quenching oils....vegetable oil, transmission fluid, etc.

Even better if we could get them to clay coat it...but that might get expensive (unless they have a native clay that would work).
 
Uncle said that he had Bura quench once in tranny oil and he about had a fit because of the smoke. The teapot stayed.
 
stevomiller said:
Uncle said that he had Bura quench once in tranny oil and he about had a fit because of the smoke. The teapot stayed.
Click to expand...

Yep, I remember that.:D Bura is well aware of using oils for a quenching medium. Bill also told about a conversation about the clay coating and the kamis are familiar with it as well, or at least Bura is.
Trying to communicate getting a different method of hardening the khuks may be like trying to pull hens teeth.:eek: :rolleyes: ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top