- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 3,397
Last week I made a trip back to visit my parents and my childhood home.
Kentucky, about 20 miles South of Louisville.
Since much of the land is wooded, I packed a couple of khuks to exercise.
There was a 14" snot-nose pug villager, and an 18" AngKhola beauty.
What a difference 4" make. The AK is about twice the weight and in hand
feels almost twice as long.
The AK kept me company in the woods. I was going in to cut a few straight
saplings for walking sticks. In addition to a chopper, I wanted something I could
use to shield myself from a snake if I failed to see one soon enough.
Dad told me an 6' rattler had appeared over the hill on someone's back patio.
Not many ancients like that running, errr, slithering around. But the babies are
problem enough when you're running around in hard-sole mocs.
Anyway, back to the khuks.
Average sapling size 1", so not much of a test for an 18" AK.
But, I also used it as a shovel and pry bar while digging up some of
the saplings with root intact. In several cases I chopped directly into the
stony (mostly softish stone) loamy dirt to cut a thick root.
End result on the blade was:
Last 2" of tip blunted flat, dented very slightly.
Belly had about an inch of edge flattened, blunted Very slightly.
Otherwise it stayed plenty sharp. Chakma worked out much,
but not all of this when I sat down later to peel and smooth
the trunks.
I used both khuks and their kardas to work on the sticks.
Comments RE the AK apply to the villager as well, just not to the same degree.
The 18"AK was handier than I expected when peeling thin bark.
But, I had to find just the right angle with the AK, in order to get under
the bark, but not cut into the wood. The kardas, on the other hand,
were thin enough that angle was not very significant.
Sliding the khuk down the stick is an easy way to shave off/down the nubs of
twiggy branches. The 2" area of the khuk edge just in front of the cho makes
a good draw or push knife. Again, the angle is important. And sitting on the
ground I was too close to the work to draw the blade toward me safely.
One reason for this region working is that the blade balances near here
and it's comfortable to hold with the weight resting on the work.
This area is also great for smooth scraping. Hold the edge perpendicular
or slightly lagging the direction you scrape.
I learned a trick for fine shaving with a big blade.
(Right handed descriptions follow. Harder to describe than to show.)
With a stick pointing away from your body,
rest the blade on top, pointing left,
blades balance point about 2" to the left beyond the work,
blade edge toward you and toward the area to be shaved.
Heel of the hand resting on the handle side furthest from you,
thumb on top the blade, index and middle finger around the blade spine,
this postion should make you feel that the blade is pretty well balanced and
controlled in your hand, and the actual weight of the blade is on the work.
Lift the spine of the blade off the work to get the cutting angle you need.
The idea is to rock the handle of the blade toward you by pushing with
the heel of your hand. Inertia does the rest.
The blade will pivot around the balance point which is out in the air to the left.
Both ends of the khuk move an inch or three,
And the cutting edge an inch or so in front of the cho will move just
enough to shave a tiny bit. Move left and right to get the cut you need.
Adjust everything to suit your own blade, grip, and other factors.
Kentucky, about 20 miles South of Louisville.
Since much of the land is wooded, I packed a couple of khuks to exercise.
There was a 14" snot-nose pug villager, and an 18" AngKhola beauty.
What a difference 4" make. The AK is about twice the weight and in hand
feels almost twice as long.
The AK kept me company in the woods. I was going in to cut a few straight
saplings for walking sticks. In addition to a chopper, I wanted something I could
use to shield myself from a snake if I failed to see one soon enough.
Dad told me an 6' rattler had appeared over the hill on someone's back patio.
Not many ancients like that running, errr, slithering around. But the babies are
problem enough when you're running around in hard-sole mocs.
Anyway, back to the khuks.
Average sapling size 1", so not much of a test for an 18" AK.
But, I also used it as a shovel and pry bar while digging up some of
the saplings with root intact. In several cases I chopped directly into the
stony (mostly softish stone) loamy dirt to cut a thick root.
End result on the blade was:
Last 2" of tip blunted flat, dented very slightly.
Belly had about an inch of edge flattened, blunted Very slightly.
Otherwise it stayed plenty sharp. Chakma worked out much,
but not all of this when I sat down later to peel and smooth
the trunks.
I used both khuks and their kardas to work on the sticks.
Comments RE the AK apply to the villager as well, just not to the same degree.
The 18"AK was handier than I expected when peeling thin bark.
But, I had to find just the right angle with the AK, in order to get under
the bark, but not cut into the wood. The kardas, on the other hand,
were thin enough that angle was not very significant.
Sliding the khuk down the stick is an easy way to shave off/down the nubs of
twiggy branches. The 2" area of the khuk edge just in front of the cho makes
a good draw or push knife. Again, the angle is important. And sitting on the
ground I was too close to the work to draw the blade toward me safely.
One reason for this region working is that the blade balances near here
and it's comfortable to hold with the weight resting on the work.
This area is also great for smooth scraping. Hold the edge perpendicular
or slightly lagging the direction you scrape.
I learned a trick for fine shaving with a big blade.
(Right handed descriptions follow. Harder to describe than to show.)
With a stick pointing away from your body,
rest the blade on top, pointing left,
blades balance point about 2" to the left beyond the work,
blade edge toward you and toward the area to be shaved.
Heel of the hand resting on the handle side furthest from you,
thumb on top the blade, index and middle finger around the blade spine,
this postion should make you feel that the blade is pretty well balanced and
controlled in your hand, and the actual weight of the blade is on the work.
Lift the spine of the blade off the work to get the cutting angle you need.
The idea is to rock the handle of the blade toward you by pushing with
the heel of your hand. Inertia does the rest.
The blade will pivot around the balance point which is out in the air to the left.
Both ends of the khuk move an inch or three,
And the cutting edge an inch or so in front of the cho will move just
enough to shave a tiny bit. Move left and right to get the cut you need.
Adjust everything to suit your own blade, grip, and other factors.
And definetly makes a very good draw knife.Made a nice walking stick for the wife with it.FRANK