- Joined
- May 27, 2014
- Messages
- 106
I got my first "Done Deal" on 6/19 for a blem 16" 22 oz KLVUK. It had a slight crack in the handle on the back by the bolster, hence the blem status. I received it on 6/23. My work on the handle consisted of filling in the crack, sanding and shaping to better fit my hand, bluing the white metal fittings, and a TRU oil finish. The third and final coat of TRU oil was dry by Fri 6/27 (it dries fast on this wood).
I played/fondled this blade for three days (no I didn't go blind) until that Monday (6/31) I couldn't stand it any longer and ordered three more, along with Kami Medical Fund sheaths for each.
One was a backup for my first, the second was a backup for it, and the third I ordered for a friend who saw the one I got from DOTD and just had to have one also. One of these three had a problem which Auntie promptly remedied. (Wow, Auntie, you truly are an amazing lady.)
The only one I have done any real work with (aside from small limbs in the backyard) was the original from the Deal of the Day. I went down to my Parents' home for a few days to help my 75 year old Father with a couple trees he needed removed. One had been cut down for a while but had never been taken apart and put on the brush pile. I don't know what type of tree it was, but suffice to say it was HARD wood and had been there for months. My 18 in chiruwa handled WWII was used for most of the delimbing on this one and worked beautifully. However, I spent over an hour and a half that evening cleaning, buffing, and polishing on this amazing piece of edged art as the scuffs in the metal made me feel like an abusive parent.
The second tree was a live oak with a trunk almost two feet in diameter. No, I did not cut it down with a Khukuri. As fun as some people may think this would be, trees this size are why God invented the chainsaw. Once it was down however, the KLVUK was put to work.
Properly struck from the right direction, I was able to take up to inch and half thick limbs from this fresh cut oak in one stroke with this blade, and up to three inchers with less than five. My father, brother, and nephew all could not believe how fast I was able to remove limbs with "that weird knife" as they kept calling it.
The real test, however, occurred when my Brother got the chainsaw blade stuck in a ten to eleven inch thick branch. If you cut down into a log, at a point in the log that is off the ground and also between two other points that are each resting on the ground, this cut becomes a hinge which closes onto the device making the cut. After trying unsuccessfully with a steel bar in an attempt to lever the log high enough to open the cut while my Brother pulled on the chainsaw, I drew the KLVUK.
My brother and nephew looked at me like I was nuts when I started cutting on this 10-11 inch thick log about 7-8 ft from where the saw was stuck. We spent the next 7-8 minutes with me cutting, and them prying/cursing/grunting with the same steel bar lever method that still was not working. At the end of this 7-8 minutes, I had cut about 3/4 of the way through this log, and the log gave way. The cut I made acted as a hinge with this hinge point lowering down to make contact with the ground. My brother just stared until I pointed at the chainsaw and said "try it now". It was free.
I had cut through about 7 inches of oak, before it gave way, in less than 10 minutes. The edge was still sharp, not shaving, but still sharp. The crack that gave it the "blem" status? Totally unaffected.
That evening, I cleaned it with Gunslick foaming bore cleaner, wiped it down with Birchwood Casey Barricade (a gun oil), and touched up the edge. Total maintenance time, ten minutes.
Total playing/fondling time after the maintenance? Going on several weeks now.....
I played/fondled this blade for three days (no I didn't go blind) until that Monday (6/31) I couldn't stand it any longer and ordered three more, along with Kami Medical Fund sheaths for each.
One was a backup for my first, the second was a backup for it, and the third I ordered for a friend who saw the one I got from DOTD and just had to have one also. One of these three had a problem which Auntie promptly remedied. (Wow, Auntie, you truly are an amazing lady.)
The only one I have done any real work with (aside from small limbs in the backyard) was the original from the Deal of the Day. I went down to my Parents' home for a few days to help my 75 year old Father with a couple trees he needed removed. One had been cut down for a while but had never been taken apart and put on the brush pile. I don't know what type of tree it was, but suffice to say it was HARD wood and had been there for months. My 18 in chiruwa handled WWII was used for most of the delimbing on this one and worked beautifully. However, I spent over an hour and a half that evening cleaning, buffing, and polishing on this amazing piece of edged art as the scuffs in the metal made me feel like an abusive parent.
The second tree was a live oak with a trunk almost two feet in diameter. No, I did not cut it down with a Khukuri. As fun as some people may think this would be, trees this size are why God invented the chainsaw. Once it was down however, the KLVUK was put to work.
Properly struck from the right direction, I was able to take up to inch and half thick limbs from this fresh cut oak in one stroke with this blade, and up to three inchers with less than five. My father, brother, and nephew all could not believe how fast I was able to remove limbs with "that weird knife" as they kept calling it.
The real test, however, occurred when my Brother got the chainsaw blade stuck in a ten to eleven inch thick branch. If you cut down into a log, at a point in the log that is off the ground and also between two other points that are each resting on the ground, this cut becomes a hinge which closes onto the device making the cut. After trying unsuccessfully with a steel bar in an attempt to lever the log high enough to open the cut while my Brother pulled on the chainsaw, I drew the KLVUK.
My brother and nephew looked at me like I was nuts when I started cutting on this 10-11 inch thick log about 7-8 ft from where the saw was stuck. We spent the next 7-8 minutes with me cutting, and them prying/cursing/grunting with the same steel bar lever method that still was not working. At the end of this 7-8 minutes, I had cut about 3/4 of the way through this log, and the log gave way. The cut I made acted as a hinge with this hinge point lowering down to make contact with the ground. My brother just stared until I pointed at the chainsaw and said "try it now". It was free.
I had cut through about 7 inches of oak, before it gave way, in less than 10 minutes. The edge was still sharp, not shaving, but still sharp. The crack that gave it the "blem" status? Totally unaffected.
That evening, I cleaned it with Gunslick foaming bore cleaner, wiped it down with Birchwood Casey Barricade (a gun oil), and touched up the edge. Total maintenance time, ten minutes.
Total playing/fondling time after the maintenance? Going on several weeks now.....
