Forged a kukri, then this happened.

They're 1) using very thick sections of presumably 5160 steel, they're 2) not actually quenching in the sense that we use the term, 3) all the info we have about that afaik is anectdotal and second hand.

I've seen pics of them pouring water from a kettle over the "sweet spot" to harden. That has nothing like the cooling rate of dunking a blade into a large volume of water. I've seen very little information as to whether it's pure water, what temp, etc.

I'm actually a huge fan of nepalese khukri makers, but I've found very little definitive information on their processes, other than stuff on the HI forum, which is often contradictory, and a few random videos, which offers little explanation and serious translation problems. In my opinion, you've got take it all with a grain of salt, or catch a plane to Nepal and find out first hand.


Just my 2c, feel free to disagree. ;)
 
Just want to add, that I've had a few dozen or more Nepali, mostly HI khuks in my possession at various times, including many by the best reknown current kamis, and some antique pieces. The HT on them was *wildly* varied, even pieces by the same maker. I've broken 3 or 4 completely, had serious edge deformation problems and even pieces improperly tempered that chipped heavily.

The best kamis like Bura, Sanu, Sher, Kumar offerred the most consistency, but it's nothing on the scale of what I expect from a high end custom western maker.

Fwiw I have a hardness tester, and have tested many. I admire the oldworld craftsmanship and the raw forging talent many of these kamis have, but I wouldn't look to any of them for advice on metalurgy or heat treating technique, unless you're more concerned with traditionalism over effectiveness.

Not trying to detract from some guys I regard as far away heroes, at all. Just being honest.
 
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