Friend wrecked HI's edge

A couple thoughts in no particular order:

A centimeter deep roll/nick/ding/whatever is freakin' huge!

I am assuming the hardened edge does not extend back as far as this damaged spot. If it did, the damage would have been much less. At least it wouldn't be rolled that deeply, anyhow. It is for this very reason that I do not consider varying the grind geometry or zone hardening on my own knives anymore.

I've whacked hard steel spikes (big rough nails), rocks, all manner of nasty stuff with my big bowie and edge damage has never been more than a couple millimeters deep. My khuk is not quite as durable so far, but then I haven't had a really bad whack on the soft part of the edge yet, either.
 
Can anyone provide tips on exactly how to hammer it back into place? I'll have someone else reprofile everything for me (the edge is completely gone....I'm not complaining, it was dull and needed reprofiling anyway, so I was going to have to do this at some point). The finish is horribly scarred too in a few places from scraping against nails, what would be a quick and dirty way to redo it?
 
not sure which is the best way to fix the roll...
as for the finish you could give it a nice satin villager finish by going over the entire blade with a scotchbrite pad or various grits of sandpaper :thumbup:
 
I basically unrolled it as best I could; may have used a cold chisel. A lot of little hammer taps on a small anvil. It was by no means perfect, so I redid the whole edge removing some metal with the belt sander. All you can do.

Not the end of the world. Since that khuk is damaged, it actually gets more use now as a fishing khukuri. Rust, blood, pitting, who cares. A green Scotchbrite pad does wonders later.


Mike
 
If it was not a hardened part of the blade I would anneal the spot before I tried to bend it. I would take a propane torch and heat that spot up until the edge just barely glowed and let it air cool. I would tap it into allignment with a cheap hammer against a curved section of anvil. I would reprofile that section with a half-round file.
 
http://www.scythesupply.com/workshop.htm

The good folks at the website I've linked have a series of articles on how to "peen" a scythe, to sharpen it. I'd imagine that the same process would be how you'd work out a rolled edge, bending it back into shape.

I think Jeff's onto something - do an etch first, to see if this is an unhardened part of the edge (I think it must be). If you need to, anneal that spot with a propane torch .. but as Sarge would have said, hold onto the other parts of the blade with a cloth dampened with cold water, so you don't draw the temper from where you want it.

t.
 
I agree with what has been said as far as it being a learning blade. Clean it up the best you can. I would not use any heat on it though. What temper exists in the sweet spot would be annealed with the softer area, and that isn't worth messing up.

All you need is something to use as an anvil, and a small hammer to try to align things. But be careful, you can break off or chip parts of the blade if you swing too hard or in the wrong place. Go slow.

Get your not-so-bright friend a $7-$14 Mora (perferably a hard plastic handle with the intergal guard) from Ragweed Forge. He will be greatful and he can beat up on that till the cows come home.

While you are out there you might want to get some Nordic laminated blades and try your hand at making handles. Not that they are better than HI, they are great steel of a different flavor.

See you around.
 
If you're still in dallas and get some free time, you should come down and help me with the project. Haven't hung out with you in a semester, it seems like.
 
I have no plans this weekend, I will give you a call as soon as my Cisco class ends.

You at your old number?
 
I wouldn't heat the edge either. If its in the hardened spot, then you've annealed hard edge. If its not in the hardened spot, then you've annealed soft steel. Whats the point. I'd check the edge for ring. If you're in the soft part, then carefully hammer it back. If its hardened, deal with it, or grind it out.
 
aproy1101 said:
If its not in the hardened spot, then you've annealed soft steel. Whats the point?
Click to expand...

The point is that even if soft, the steel can only be bent back and forth a couple times before it will still just snap off. It may break/tear off when trying to straighten it just this one time. After all, a centimeter up, the steel is quite a bit thicker than the paper thin steel at the edge, which is what this method is really for. Heat and/or annealing may help keep it from breaking off entirely.
 
the possum said:
The point is that even if soft, the steel can only be bent back and forth a couple times before it will still just snap off. It may break/tear off when trying to straighten it just this one time. After all, a centimeter up, the steel is quite a bit thicker than the paper thin steel at the edge, which is what this method is really for. Heat and/or annealing may help keep it from breaking off entirely.
Click to expand...
Yup. I'd be afraid of work hardening along the bend line ...
 
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