Horn Handles How Thick ???

[ghorka]

ANY ONE KNOW HOW THICK THE HORN IS ON THE HANDLES ???
and also how big is the hole where the tang goes through the handle, and how much laha is put in ????
someone out there must have an idea.the reason i ask is so i and others who might think of mods,and carving ect will know how deep we can carve cut ect without hitting laha. regards ghorka

 

[Bill Martino]

It depends of the size and model of the khukuri. A 38 inch Janawar Katne is going to be a lot thicker than a 9 inch Dhankuta.

 

[Daniel Koster]

ghorka = good question.

Let's say you're working on a BAS with a horn handle. The handle should be around 1 1/8" to 1 3/8" thick. The BAS has a partial tang that gently tapers along the wide sides and extends about 3" into the handle. You would have about 5/16" of horn at the least up to a full 7/16 at the end of the tang.

Of course, carving that deep in such a small handle would be very difficult. Plus it would weaken the handle tremendously.

My advice? Don't carve any deeper than 3/16" - which is pretty deep in the first place.

Anybody else wanna chime in?

 

[Bill Martino]

On smaller knives 3/16" might be a little too much. I'd stick with 1/8". Bigger knives -- 20 inches and up -- 3/16" OK.