Great Christmas selection by Yangdu for 12/22. Pix and usual steals.

I just got the wood handle villager BAS (by Kumar) in the mail. It is a beauty. The metal finish is a bit scruffy, but I expected that. The handle wood was sanded very smooth, but the finish is matte. The wood looks much more like rosewood than the Khuks I have seen in the past, but I am not sure what it is. It is not the same brownish tan that I have on other Khuks - it has some darker streaks in it.

Anyone have an idea?

I know that this has been covered in much older threads, but does anyone know what the white metal is made of?

The blade is 10.5", the overall length is 15", and the blade is almost 7/16 at the bolster (20.5 oz). There is a gentle hollow in the blade, and this can be seen in the photos.
 
munk said:
Karma.
That's one of my favorite blades. Whenever we get into it with politics with each other, I think of this and other invisible ties which have connected us to the other in some way I do not understand.


munk
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Arguing politics is like playing a game or a lawyer arguing a case. You just shake hands and go out for a beer after it's all over. Nobody can ever prove they are totally right or the other guy totally wrong so it's nothing to dislike another person for, at least for me :D
 
Arty, among us, we've agreed that the white metal is nickel-silver. I think firkin blessed that designation.
 
Aardvark - thanks for the info. I wonder what Bill would say?

The wood does look different than the other wooden handles that I have...
 
arty said:
Aardvark - thanks for the info. I wonder what Bill would say?

The wood does look different than the other wooden handles that I have...
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I haven't seen the later handles with different wood but for a long time Shop 1 and then Shop 2 used real rosewood for handles.
Me Likey.:D
 
The Sgt. Karka seems to be rosewood for sure. I do know what you mean about the newer wood. The villager I got the wood appears to have the same sort of grain as their normal stuff but its darker.
 
The wooden handles from 1 year ago are lighter in color and don't have the dark streaks. The older wood is more tan/brown and less red.
The red is not dye from buffing, since I like to seal new wooden or horn handles on my Khuks. I normally clean the wood with a solvent before apply a finish....in this case, I am using Watco over the original oil.

Incidentally, the natural Watco Danish Oil worked to prevent any cracking in horn.... Still no new cracks.
 
arty said:
Incidentally, the natural Watco Danish Oil worked to prevent any cracking in horn.... Still no new cracks.
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That really surprises me but it's good to know. How thick does it seem to build up on the horn or is it not too apparent?
 
The white metal is closest to Nickel-Silver. There is a difference between the nickel silver we have here, and the stuff they manufacture abroad. But it is closer to that than anything else.

But don't confuse the "white metal" with aluminum - which is found on some two-part handles.
 
Yvsa - The Watco is not apparent on the surface, and you don't want any build up on the top surface of the horn. It just takes four applications (with 8-10 hours between each) to get enough into the surface of the horn to seal it.

After each application, I add more Watco after 30-45 minutes, and then wipe completely off after an hour or so. I don't leave any on the surface. It does not change the appearance of the horn.

The horn is dense, so it is hard to get the stuff to soak in. In an earlier test on a Bura Villager Sirupati, I found that 3 applications would not do it - 4 were needed. The last one did it. Subsequently, I used the Watco on two other khukuris with horn handles, and no cracking. One of the khukuris is a villager but the other is not.

Bladesmiths may use a vacuum device to get the finish into horn or other dense surfaces, but I don't have one.

I use the Watco Natural Danish Oil on wooden handle villagers, since this preserves the appearance of the wood - in a more natural, satin state. I used an oil-varnish on a Bura BGRS, and that gives you a shiney surface, with buildup of the varnish. You don't want a buildup with Watco.

The original recommendation of the Watco came from a bladesmith on the swordforum. I gave up on using lanolin on horn, since I found that it didn't work.
 
we would all benefit from having a quart-jar bottle full of some type of oil....Danish, Tru-Oil, Tung Oil, Boiled Linseed Oil, Mineral Oil.....whatever....and just soak the handles for a day or two every year.


My father-in-law passed to me a old saying:

Every day for a week
Every week for a month
Every month for a year
Every year...

This is for building up (and maintaining) a good oil finish on anything....
 
Some of the khuks I've bagged off ePray had very dry handles that seemed on the verge of delaminating. I've had good luck restoring these with mineral oil (Johnson's baby oil, but don't tell.)
 
Daniel Koster said:
...and just soak the handles for a day or two every year.


My father-in-law passed to me a old saying:

Every day for a week
Every week for a month
Every month for a year
Every year...

This is for building up (and maintaining) a good oil finish on anything....
Click to expand...
That's also the method of tanning snake skins with glycerin.
Tack the skin flesh side down on a board with the tacks about 3/8" - 1/2" apart.
After a few weeks the scales will start sloughing off the skin leaving it nice and supple. No salt or other preservatives needed, just rub the glycerin in as stated.

And if you use a pair of scissors to cut down the belly of the snake you will get a nice, smooth, even, and straight cut all the way down!:D
Free snake skins are good and can make really purdy, purdy, insets in sheaths for knives and other assorted sharp instruments.:cool: ;)
 
I still like Watco for horn. I have used a variety of oil and varnish finishes on wood in the past, depending upon intended use and desired appearance.
On the surface finishes look great on wood, and I like linseed oil and wax for mahogany. It darkens the wood. Straight varnishes are great for durability, and varnish oil blends work when you want a shiny surface.
But Watco seems perfect for horn. It preserves the original appearance, and protects it against cracking.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Some of the khuks I've bagged off ePray had very dry handles that seemed on the verge of delaminating. I've had good luck restoring these with mineral oil (Johnson's baby oil, but don't tell.)
Click to expand...

If anybody doubts Tom's use of baby oil, I have ample supplies for testing in my garage...

:eek:
 
that was nuclear oil, Nasty.....it'll outlive you half-life or not.....:eek:
 
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