Extreme Cold / Horn Handle

madbomber1998

madbomber1998

Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
182
So I'm going up to Alaska for my wedding, spending like 6 months up there, and was going to bring one of my HI khukris with me. It has a horn handle - was wondering am I going to have any problems with the horn handle in extreme cold? IE, my girl says it gets down to -50F where they are.....
 
Yes, horn may become more prone to breakage than wood if used for chopping during freezing weather.
 
steel can also become brittle at -50... also I wouldn't recommend working outside in -50 degree weather
 
Not planning to be out there in that weather :-p I'm content to curl up in front of the fire in that kind of weather....

And thanks for the answer!
 
heck, at -50 everything will be frozen rock hard, including you if you are not careful. even steel gets more brittle down that low. keep the handles in where they are warmed when not in use. it's deceptive. it can be way below zero with no wind and the sun out with zero humidity and you can stand there without a jacket quite comfortable, until a wind comes along to remind you that you are mostly water. fingers, toes, ears and noses go first. of course during the winter you do not get a whole lot of sun. i'd opt for a through tanged wood handle myself, a full tang with exposed metal might be a bit chilly.

p.s. - i've been there on the pack ice when it was -50F, you don't want to do anything that makes you sweat either, like chopping. the moisture freezes then you do too. had a shipmate who was a deckie, he was out on the bridge wing on our icebreaker one watch & it got that cold. his moustache froze and snapped off on one side. hilarious. i was an engineer, so i got to stay indoors mostly, where it was warm. unless the spray started freezing topside, destabilizing the ship. then we all (including the captain) took turns breaking it off with baseball bats and axe handles. a turn outside was maybe a half hour before you started to freeze up & had to go in.

edited: i see we all said just about the same at just about the same time; GMTA!
 
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You must seriously be in love dude. Going someplace where its -50 to get married.

She must really be something. Too cold for me, my hands are starting to predict the weather when it gets in the +40's.

Congrats on your pending nuptials, stay warm best you can. Maybe leave the khuk's home and take an Ulu.
 
Um -50? You into a native or something? That temp doesn't happen much in the worst of winter unless you are FAR north where the Eskimo types "survive" or deep interior areas. Besides large knives aren't necessary unless you're cleaning a whale and the locals that do that don't want outsider help, believe me!
I'm just teasing, but I'd recommend bringing some smaller blades for using and keep the horn handled stuff for warm indoors for show off. Oh and if you take a smaller prop plane.. The cargo bays are commonly NOT climate controlled
 
It hit -50 a few times this last winter where my girl's parents live. I had to quite complaining about our single digit weather (though we get like -20 with the wind chill here sometimes) to my girl.

And oh yea, I'm planning on using smaller knives mostly like I usually do. Just was curious about the horn. It doesn't usually get anywhere near -50 during the day where I'm going, and screw being out at night in that stuff.
 
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