Foxy Folly is a disappointmet.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
I was all excited when my Bro called and said his Foxy had made it to his place today. I thought he was teasing at first and then Barbie headed for the door to greet our Fe-mail person.;)
I couldn't get it open fast enough. My first impression after taking a file to it to check the edge was, "YES!!!! Kumar did as well as Bura on the hardening.
Mine was pretty dull like the original Folly so I took it into my workroom where I put a nice full convex radius from the top of the existing bevel to the edge.
Another quick file check and it was ready for a quick test. I took it outback, Barbie rolled the chopping block over to the patio where I put a piece of well seasoned pecan on it. I took several swings before I stopped to inspect the edge.
Imagine my disappointment when I saw that the dayumed edge had rolled!!!!:grumpy:
Gawd Dayum, but this makes me sick!!!!:grumpy: :(
There's a soft spot right in the middle of the sweet spot. I don't know how this could've happened, but happen it did.
Now the question is what can be done about it? Maybe it could be sent to Art for rehardening?
I really don't want to give this kukri up since there are no more!:(
Kumar got in to dayumed big of a hurry when he hardened this blade and screwed up.
I got in to big a hurry in my excitement over getting it so soon and I didn't check the sweet spot as well as I usually do.
But sliding a file across it at an angle the way I do it was easy to miss.
Dayum but this makes me absolutely Sick!!!!:(

Y'all better check your Foxy's and hope that the rest are alright!!!!
 
:( And I thought Kumar was doing pretty good work lately. Must have been the rush before Dashain.:(
 
:( :(

It is that time of year, right?

Art did a good job on my GRS with soft edge , but he (I think rightly so) is pretty conservative. So it will be usable, but may not have that really hard, yet un-chipable edge the Kamis seem to get when everything goes right.

He really went the extra mile in e-mail correspondence, too. He made me want to buy something from him, hope I can make it to one of the shows he goes to.
 
Oh no. I am sitting here reading this and looking over at my Foxy. I may do an etch on the blade to see what I am looking at. It will be a couple of days before I am going to be able to really cut anything. I hope that it is. I am sure that it will be fine but that does make me nervous reading that. How much of the edge rolled?
 
Sad to hear. A blade etch will indeed help locate problem areas. I had an 18" AK by shanker that I ended up breaking. When I first etched it, you could see the dark temper line dropping straight to the edge. When it broke, it broke at the exact spot where the dark line came down-- right in the middle of the sweet spot. If the edge is really thin, you might want to try sanding/grinding it down to a more obtuse convex edge. This pretty much solved some problems I was having with My M43.
--Josh
 
Originally posted by Josh Feltman
If the edge is really thin, you might want to try sanding/grinding it down to a more obtuse convex edge. This pretty much solved some problems I was having with My M43.
--Josh
Click to expand...

It wasn't any thinner than what I've got on a lot of my blades including my GRS. What gets me is that it's harder on either side of the rolled spot.:confused:
Kumar just didn't do nearly as good a job on the rest of the kukri as Bura did either. The original didn't have that ugly short, so called, habaki bolster on it.:barf:
Bura did a whole lot better on fit and finish too!!!

Mark, et al, about 1 1/4"-1 1/2" of the edge rolled. And it rolled enough that there's a noticeable flat spot in the blade instead of that beautiful curve.:(
I couldn't believe my Freakin Eyes!!!!:grumpy: :(
I think maybe the gal that was bawling Pala out about paying the kamis too much money may have been right. The more kukris they makle the more money they make. Human beings are the same the world around and when people work under that kind of system they sometimes tend to get sloppy.
Especially when there's more than one girlfriend or wives hollering for more and more goodies.:rolleyes:
There's a few Screw Machine shops that pay a bonus for production over and above the regular hourly rate.
It can pay off handsomely, but only if you're making good pieces consistently and not getting to where all you care about is the money.:rolleyes:
 
This is a very odd situation, in view of all the trouble Kumar must go through to make these Foxys. You'd think dribbling water on the blade would be one of the more minor aspects of the operation. Unfortuately, finding someone in the States who can do it just right would be tough, not to mention taking the handle off, etc. etc.

Maybe you can swap it out for another one in the next batch.
 
Damn, Yvsa, that really sucks. I'm sure Uncle Bill will make it right once he gets everything squared away.
--Josh
 
Originally posted by Josh Feltman
Damn, Yvsa, that really sucks. I'm sure Uncle Bill will make it right once he gets everything squared away.
--Josh
Click to expand...

Bill said to send it to Art. I've got to run a search for his e-mail address.
 
Those who are new to this forum, please listen up!

This shouldn't have happened to start with, it should have been caught, second, and it should be rectified, third.

It happens anyway because we are all human. Yvsa reported it, and it should be fixed one way or another. Note that this is a limited production piece, too, so there isn't the normal replacement option.

It happened and Bill is trying to make it right. Yvsa isn't getting ( overly ) upset until after a chance to fix it is given. And Yvsa's right. A trusted kami blew it.

He's also looking at what the kamis themselves say: a blade is forever, the handle isn't. Yvsa is looking at the blade first. The other things are secondary.

And the kami is about to get a hindu version of a "come to Jesus" moment by a buddhist employer ( come to think of it, on behalf of a Native American healer ) for abusing that trust.

That's how things go at HI when they go wrong. The rest of the time they go right pretty much from the start.
 
The email address that I have for Art is. <ArtSwyhart@gorge.net> I hope it is still good.

Sorry to hear about the Foxy. Seems like a shame. Hope Art can do you some good.:)
 
Originally posted by Rusty
That's how things go at HI when they go wrong. The rest of the time they go right pretty much from the start.
Click to expand...


Working with hand-produced knives is amazing in many ways, even this one. Imagine how this discussion would be going with a regular manufacturer, or even a custom maker who used SuperSteel X and Bos heat treat. Khuks have a lot of spirit, and sometimes a mind of their own. :cool:
 
Originally posted by Tohatchi NM
Khuks have a lot of spirit, and sometimes a mind of their own. :cool:
Click to expand...

HE SAID IT - not me. Me saying that would be redundant.

Some might think I tend toward the mystical. Then again Pala says he heard a yeti and I believe he's telling things honestly. I believe a Bura made 16.5" WWII
has something more to it than can be related scientifically.

That's the other end of buying from HI. The chance to end up buying a blade that speaks to you. A blade with something intangible added.

No guarantees on the intangible part. But if you listen, they seem to call to you.
 
Bro wasn't the only one to be let down and dissapointed by Kumar's poor performance on this pattern.

What has been said about the Spirit in so many HI khukuris is so true, I have personally experienced this often. That is why it is all the more sad when this sort of thing happens.

Also very true in my experience is Uncle Bill stepping right up to the plate and doing whatever is necessary to repair not only the knife, but the relationship.
 
Needless to say this is not the kind of news I need at the present. It is Dasein and Tihar and this is when things are at their worst at BirGorkha.

I'll so my best to make it right and so will Art.
 
I just went out again and hammered mine on another tree. After the oak and this 9 inch pine the part that contacts the tree the most was pretty dull when you held it up to the light you could see. It still cut pretty well though. The weight alone drives the blade in.

I went back inside and used my diamond steel on it and it sharpened right back up.Also when the steel went across the kuk you could hear that noise that says its hard. I don't think this one is going to bend.

I'd get another that was exactly like this but about 16 inches long, about 2 and a half inches wide and about a quarter inch thick.
 
Originally posted by Rusty
HE SAID IT - not me. Me saying that would be redundant.

Some might think I tend toward the mystical. Then again Pala says he heard a yeti and I believe he's telling things honestly. I believe a Bura made 16.5" WWII
has something more to it than can be related scientifically.

That's the other end of buying from HI. The chance to end up buying a blade that speaks to you. A blade with something intangible added.

No guarantees on the intangible part. But if you listen, they seem to call to you.
Click to expand...

Anyone who deals with hand made knievs, or better yet, makes them themselves, konws there's osmething mystical(or choose your own words, I'm a self-professed Christian and believe in only one God, but there IS something) about a handmade knife. It really does get something of the maker in it. I have two here right now, one that I jsut am adding handles to a premade blank, and one that I made from barstock myself, cut it, gorund it, heat treated it, adde bolsters and handles, and there's so much more in the second one then the first. First might as well be mass produced(well, almost so, I did custom produce the micarta for the scales), but the second is part of me. ANd it seems this happens most at the heat treat point.

But anyways, enough babbling, just meant to agree with you. :)
 
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