Got some questions, and a new Chitlangi :)

C

conwict

Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
43
Hey HI posters/lurkers.

I have been trying to shark this forum for a while and really lucked out to get the chitlangi (19"/24oz) posted up recently.

I want to post up some thoughts/first impressions and then throw some general questions out.

Nice to have this community here...thanks in advance.

First impressions-
Glad I got the 19", I am 6'1 and this is definitely the right size for me for a general purpose Kuk. I am not going to intentionally abuse it so the lighter weight is nice too for longer bush/woods carry.

Not very sharp at all out of the box but it does have a straight/even edge that I should be able to touch up w/ a belt sander. However since it is a full convex rather than convex edge I am waiting on this...any tips? Not a fan of sandpaper/mouse pad personally. I may just try touching it up with my DMT Dia-sharp cards by hand first.

The handle where the brass and horn meet has a SMALL gap that I am going to fill with some 24 hour epoxy then sand, this should not be an issue correct?

The horn looks a bit dry and I am only mentioning this because I remember reading about people rubbing it with some kind of oil. It's fine...and will look/feel better I think w/ oil...any recommendations??

Likewise the pommel/bell is a bit rough, no issues w/ sanding it correct? Anything I should keep in mind?

I thought the wood scabbard would have a loop of some sort but it doesn't. No problem...got some rawhide lace and plan on doing this koppo style wrap to make a loop, then putting the scabbard inside a loose belt w/ the loop to hold in place. Does anyone have experience w/ this or a better idea?

http://www.themartialist.com/pecom/koppowrap.htm

My first impressions are not all negative by any means. These are nit-picky things I want to fix myself which is half the fun! I am looking forward to this and making it worth (to me) twice what I paid for it...particularly once I have the edge touched up I will post first impressions of functional use.

Thanks again. I will probably mostly continue to lurk but the archives, sadly, are vaster than the search function is useful (tends to be the case with vBulletin boards!). Anyway I really appreciate any input!!
 
The horn looks a bit dry and I am only mentioning this because I remember reading about people rubbing it with some kind of oil. It's fine...and will look/feel better I think w/ oil...any recommendations??
Click to expand...

I went to the local feed store and purchased a hoof treatmnet/hydrating product, sadly my "dance card" has been too full to try out the product.

good luck
 
Bet it felt good to slide your first khukuri out the first time.:thumbup: Congratulations on your new addition. I also like the 18" range khuks and prefer the slimmer ones though getting a Baby Ganga Ram Special, Hanuman or AK for chopping duties will speed up those chores.

As to sharpening, read the "Sharpening a Khukuri" in the Links Library sticky that Karda has put together. The last entry is an excellent submission by Yvsa on convex sharpening. He recommends the DMT DuoSharp hones to get the edge. The final stages of his technique is stropping to bring out the "Full Shiver Sharp" edge. In the archives he tells you how you can make your own strops for this purpose. I have gotten the DMTs and use them when an edge needs to be established or refreshed and use the chakma or a steel on the edge in between. I think I fall somewhere between Yvsa and Uncle Bill (chopping sharp) in my edge maintenance. I haven't used the strop and as a result I don't have a "hair popping edge" on my khuks. Something for me to do in the future.

Sanded epoxy in the gap should be fine. It has been done and recommended for quite a while and I haven't seen any complaints yet in the Archives. You did good getting a longer set epoxy, too, as many past posts recommend the longer setting epoxies as being stronger after setting.

Treating the horn is done by several means. Mineral oil can be used. Any product with a high lanolin content seems to have worked well including skin lotions, hoof treatments such as Hooflex and IIRC Bag Balm was even mentioned. A caution for hoof treatments: they may have a slightly unpleasant odor due to an included vitamin or antibacterial agent included in the formula. Personally, I have applied 100 0/0 Neatsfoot Oil on my horn handles. Since it is derived from hooves, I figure it won't hurt the horn. Be warned that some Neatsfoot Oils contain petroleum distillates and may not be recommended for use on your horn or leather. Since my Neatsfoot was pure, my mind didn't remember the negatives of the petroleum additives. Its in the Archives.

If the bell of the handle is rough enough that you can feel it, you might want to begin to smooth it with an abrasive such as WetorDri and start with a finer grit so as not to scratch the brass. If it is too fine and isn't smoothing it, you can always drop down in grit and then go back up to get your finish back. As a final step, or if the bell isn't too rough, you can use Flitz or Simichrome which have really fine abrasives to get your polish back.

I'm not sure that I know what you are talking about for your scabbard. (Just looked at the 5/13 DOTD and now I understand.) Your koppo style attachment would probably work. If you do that, please let us know how it works for you. I didn't try to get some recent Sgt. Khadka Chainpuris partly because they came with this style scabbard.

The kamis keep confusing me. The Chainpuri has a closed cho and a bell shape to the pommel with a keeper over which the tang is peened. The Chitlangi is similar except the rounded bottom of the bell is brass covered with the keeper atop the brass and the blade is double fullered. What you have is a Chainpuri blade with a standard pommel handle. They recently had quite a few 12" WWII/Chainpuri combos available. Just get some good, lightweight Chainpuris back.:(

The Chainpuri is one of my favorite khuks and was also my first. I hope that you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. And if you haven't done it yet then read the safety thread.;) "Safety comes first, beauty always comes last"-John Cale.

Rick
 
stickfred and SI, thanks.

SF, I actually have read a lot of that stuff...I really appreciate your generosity in paraphrasing much of it. That is an awesome welcome and I have to say far more considerate than most internet dwellers, as far as helping a newb.

The specific compound recommendations re flitz, etc, were helpful. I have a lot of this stuff and didn't want to try it w/o some anecdotal recommendations, first. I've screwed up new toys before by being overly eager.

Glad I picked the right epoxy...

I actually did read the sharpening guide but was hoping someone had used a belt sander and would recommend what micron belts and so on to use.

I will probably just use a slack belt to hit the entire convex grind, then if necessary when I've worked up and completed a finer grit, redo just the edge with a taut belt.
 
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Stick is indeed a good man and as usual has beat me to the punch. :)

I would find something with some more grit to it than Flitz for the smoothing of the bell as Flitz has none at all. It is merely for making things shiny without any abrasives in it at all. I use it a lot myself on the blades and brass to make my khukuries shine like the sun. I would find some very fine grit sand paper, 800-1000 grit and go over the rough area very lightly until it is smooth, then you can shine it up and remove any of the sanding marks left with the Flitz after you have smoothed it out.

As has already been stated, I like the Chainpuris too but for a fieldcraft blade, I would consider something a little heavier. The lighter blades are not warranted against breakage for one thing so if you go to chopping something that is a bit too much for it and snap it, you will be on your own to replace it. Plus, breaking a blade like that means you will have stuff flying around that may cause you some serious damage. Perhaps try out an M43 for something like this as most folks seem to like this one for this duty a lot. I personally have a Garud AK, which is merely an AK with the head of a dragon carved into the pommel, that I am fond of for taking out in the woods.

There was no frog on your scabbard? That is a bit odd I would wager...

As for sharpening, there are as many methods of doing this as there are members here. Find the one you like and go with it. I like using my belt sander too but usually tend to use my stones because it makes for a more keen edge, then I follow it with a leather strop when I want it to be hair popping sharp.

Welcome the the forum and for sure, welcome to the collecting. If you can stop at one Khukuri, you are a better man than I. :)
 
conwict-No problem on the help front. I'm a newb myself and have spent the past months poring through the Archives and am glad to send it out again. On the consideration, Uncle Bill was considerate and respectful to all his forumites and it spread like HIKV among them all. A testament to Bill and the life he led.

On sharpening, I know that Yvsa had a Grizzly belt sander that he used in the past. I did a quick search of the Archives but couldn't find a mention of the type belts he used in my quick scan. If you are leery of proceeding, you might be able to contact him and see if he can give you more information. I can't say that he'll get back to you since I'm not personally in contact with him. I just know that he's probably forgotten more than I'll ever know about quite a few things and he's one of the Spirit's best.

warty-Thanks for the info on the Flitz. I thought that I had just read somewhere that it had a really fine grit to it. Paging Dr. Memory:D. Oh, his scabbard was a wooden one with brass trim and banding so no frog.

As for a Chainpuri for a fieldcraft blade, you just need to get one made by Sher(T);). I don't see how you're going to break one of these blades, though. Bura has drilled it into them that "Thin khukuris break, thick ones don't" to such a degree that I'd feel confident using any HI khuk in the field. You're right about "Field Use" not covered by the warranty for this style blade. That's why for real chopping you need a BGRS, YCS(Yvsa Cherokee Special) or an Ang Khola.

By the the way warty, have you gotten a Janawar Katne yet to go with your other Nephilim blades?

Peace
 
No worries, if my chitlangi breaks under my fairly light use I will surely have already gotten my $ worth. I doubt it will and agree with stickfred.

As for the belt sanding, I'm reasonably comfortable...will search Yvsa's posts...mine is just a harbor freight 1x32 belt sander and Bill Talmudge (sp) has written plenty so I'm confident I've got it set up for knife work (that's why I got it actually). Speaking of which these things are just unbelievable w/ the right setup, be sure to read up if vaguely interested...$85 or so (for all belts, polish, shipping, etc, plus the $30-35 sander at HF and you can easily reprofile those nasty thick factory grinds 'most every production knife comes with. Two thumbs up.

I think I'm about to try the koppo wrap "frog" (was wondering what a frog was!) and try some of my DMT stones by hand, going from spine to edge rather than tip to tang.

May even apply epoxy tonight and sand the rough spots.

Will report back.

warty, thanks for the welcome...khuku'nut, yes, it is wood/brass.
 
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I see, I liked that scabbard too and you are the one who out sharked me huh...

Good on ya!

I have the same belt sander you do and I use it for everything from making new edges to making handles to all manner of other wood working stuff. For $85 you simply can't beat them and mine has been going for at least 8 years now and shows no sign of dying. I love the thing.
 
here's a link to download dan's videos on how to sharpen a khukuri, LINKY

graciously hosted by jstrider since i sent it to him in 2006 after getting it from dan... be warned it's a 35mb file, so if you are on a dialup you will take a while.

it has info on belts...

unzip it into it's own folder, then click the index.htm which should then show in your browser

edited:

just checked it, the index.htm required a couple tweaks where the links to videos was incorrect, new file is zipped up HERE, unzip over the earlier one. the two videos were actually there but had wrong file names in the index, they were minor videos, so don't bother with this bit if you don't want to.

p.s. - it just sunk in i've been registered here for almost 7 years. how time flies.

or in the immortal words of the great sage:

"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." - groucho marx

p.p.s. - i like the link you provided on the grip wrap. i use that on spears and clubs, knives and other things that need a slightly bigger or rougher grip, but i have used it without the loop. if you tug the base end after inserting the last turn in the top loop, you can pull the bitter end under the wrap near the top, and cut it off. i generally give it a coat of something to fix and waterproof it.

sample:
Knobkerrie.jpg

done with a three part braided string
same on a spear:
braid.jpg


another one i use a lot is the turks head:
tombak2.jpg

here on a tumbuk (spearhead mounted as a dagger). many S.E.Asian weapons have wooden
scabbards and are meant to be stuck under a waist sash. i like adding a wrap or turks head with a loop finish
which you stick the belt thru, as well as tucking the scabbard under the belt. keeps it from slipping out & getting lost
in rough terrain.

on swords, like the burmese dha, a rope baldric is used, the knot work can get creative.
DSCF0002.jpg

DSCF0001.jpg


and just to show off:
DSCF0003.jpg

this is the whole dha in the first picture showing the whole baldric & it's flat terminating knotwork that spreads
the load on my shoulder...
 
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Thanks for the pictures and names kronckew. I knew that there were variations for attaching but this helps alot. Can even make a baldric inexpensively. Good stuff to know and see.
Thanks again, old timer.
 
Super cool. The wooden scabbard works decently as-is but I think the cord-work will really hold it in place. It isn't so bad tucked into a belt already (good sturdy belt that is), but I will feel better w/ a loop and will post pics.
 
of course you will post pix... or we will hunt you down and take them ourselves... BUWAHAHAHA!

Just kidding...

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with...
 
As a Chitlangi connoisseur, I can tell you that your chitlangi should be able to perform chopping duties better than you might expect although it's the wrong tool for the job if you are planning on literally chopping down trees with it. My rule of thumb (maybe the wrong choice of words:eek:) is if it's (sapling, branch, etc) larger in diameter than my bicep, that's a job for the M43 or Ang Khola. The Chitlangi could probably do it, but the heavy hitters are better suited for that sort of heavy duty chopping than the lighter khukris.
 
bruce, you rapscallion, you, you whippersnapper ! :)

(i've always wondered where that came from so i looked it up:

Main Entry: whip·per·snap·per
Pronunciation: 'hwi-p&r-"sna-p&r, 'wi-
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of snippersnapper
Date: 1700
: a diminutive, insignificant, or presumptuous person

A paste from the Word Detective:

"Whippersnapper" is a somewhat archaic term, rarely heard today outside of movies, and then usually from the mouth of a character portrayed as chronologically-challenged and hopelessly old-fashioned to boot. A "whippersnapper" is an impertinent young person, usually a young man, whose lack of proper respect for the older generation is matched only by his laziness and lack of motivation to better himself.

One might imagine that the term derives from the understandable temptation among more productive citizens to "snap a whip" at such sullen layabouts, but the whips in question actually belonged to the whippersnappers themselves. Such ne'er-do-wells were originally known as "whip snappers" in the 17th century, after their habit of standing around on street corners all day, idly snapping whips to pass the time. The term was been based on the already-existing phrase, "snipper-snapper," also meaning a worthless young man, but in any case, "whip snapper" became "whippersnapper" fairly rapidly.

Though "whippersnapper" originally referred to a young man with no visible ambition, the term has changed somewhat over the years, and today is more likely to be applied to a youngster with an excess of both ambition and impertinence. )
 
and i'm not that old! hadrian's wall was almost complete by the time i got there. had to have them make that last bit a few feet higher. would have got there earlier but i was having too much fun drinkin' beer and chasing wenches in the teutobergerwald after we caught ol' varus there back in 9 a.d. as you measure it now...boy, was augustus mad. had to wait a bit over a century before it was safe to show my face in rome.

p.s. - yvsa is a bit older than me, he remembers coming over on the land bridge from asia. my great-granny was one of the few women that yvsa did NOT manage to sleep with (or so she told me) as she managed to escape back to asia and europe before he could ketch her.
 
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Wow, a Javanese tombak, a Thai dhab and khukuris all in one thread. Felt like vikingsword.com for a while. ;)
 
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