I already had a nice

Walosi

Walosi

Joined
Jan 10, 2001
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14" Sirupati (Jag & Prem, horn handle) and when I got an e-mail from Uncle about a 15" Sanu he had jst received, I immediately had a doubt. Farther down, he said it had a "dark Saatisal handle, looks like a good burl on the side away from the K&C". HEE Uncle knows when and how to set the hook :D The knife came today. Perfect scabbard, in every detail. The karda and chakma are, of course, too small for practical use, but they are perfect miniatures, and finished like jewelry. They would do justice to any blade I've seen so far, and would outshine a few. The Sirupati has to be one of Sanu's best efforts. He marked it with the "+" rather than his usual cross, but he was in no hurry on this one. The blade is almost razor sharp (no wire), and the blade, bevels and sword of Shiva are symetrical. The brass inlay is deep and the wheel didn't manage to "pick" at the sharp points. Still 10/10 up to this point :)
Then, there is the wood. O - M - G!!!!
I don't believe it is Saatisal. Now, with a fine finsh and two coats of oil, it is definitely a burl - not just on the one side, but all the way through. If this wood had appeared on an importer's site, I would have said "Burled English Walnut". If it had appeared on the forend of a $30,000 Holland & Holland double, I would have said "Yep, belongs there". If I had an unshaped rifle stock blank of this quality, I would expect to pay at least $1,000 for it, and around $5,000 for a finished stock, fitted to a fine Mauser action and barrel. I e-mailed Uncle to alert Pala to check his gun rack when he got home - the kamis are chopping up gunstock to make handles :eek:
Thanks, Uncle. This one will eventually go into a shoulder sheath, and go with me. It will also get into what I laughingly call my photo album, when I progress from Crayola to Kodak. This may be the second "70 coat" piece of wood in my lifetime.
 
Uncle, if there's another length of that same branch lying around the shop, sounds like it would be just fine for the big dui chirra project:)
 
AMEN!! ROGER THAT!!! and as many other affirmatives as you can scare up. This class of wood seems to turn up on Sanu's knives, in my experience. Maybe he has his own stash somewhere.
I had already suggested to Uncle that an exemplary set of "Knives by the Royal Kami", handled in this wood, would outclass Kothimodas, and the dui chirra would be a fine representation of the "old" style. Say a set of three blades..what should the other two represent, and which blades would do it best?
 
"This may be the second "70 coat" piece of wood in my lifetime"

woodchuck1.jpg

Oh indubitably! A fine peice of wood, if I may say so myself...
 
...and I get a lowly, carrot-thieving RODENT??? THATH PREPOTHTURURUS!!
 
I had already suggested to Uncle that an exemplary set of "Knives by the Royal Kami", handled in this wood, would outclass Kothimodas, and the dui chirra would be a fine representation of the "old" style. Say a set of three blades..what should the other two represent, and which blades would do it best?
Click to expand...
How about a Hanshee for one specimen?
 
FWIW, I think a Hanshee would constitute a set by itself. That is the one I am really waiting for. Include it in, by all means.
 
Do you think it would be possible to talk the kamis into doing handles of that wood without the rings and the ridge? The reason I ask is because I've sanded off the rings and ridge on my WWII (the rings were very shallow) to better show the grain of the wood and it looks fantastic! It feels good in the hand as well. I know it's traditional and all but beautiful, high quality wood deserves to be shown with nothing to obscure it.

Hope you can someday get pics up of this piece Wal, after you get the 70 coats on it. I'd really like to see it.
 
Paxton,
For once(prob. the ONLY time )you were right! That is def. Wal.! hee!LOL! JUSTICE AT LAST & FROM PAXTON!:D AS MUCH AS I HATE THAT duck, YOURS IS TRUE TO FORM,"a rodent"bwAAAA!HEE,heee!Now someone else gets nailed & "NO MORE DUCK!!YIPPPEEE!
jim
 
Do another Daffy - Tsimi is getting out of sorts, again!!!

CoalBlack, as much as I like the woods, I leave the rings and grooves, and even accent them when I'm detailing. They are traditional, but they aren't decoration. The grooves, perhaps, but the ring is the Nepali "guard". With the ring between the middle fingers, or the ring and pinkie finger, in a strong grip, your hand stays off the edge. Horn, as Yvsa says, can be slippery with sweat or whatever. Oiled wood is a little better, but not totally secure. The ring is uncomfortable, and the point of the buttcap can dig, until you build up both a callous or two, and a "feel" for the all-around balance of the knife. The flare toward the buttcap will begin to slide along the ball of the thumb, and whatever muscles you have or don't have in your hands, they will begin to strengthen and develop differently than they have with any other blade. The "Cantina Wisdom" is "Let the Khukuri Teach You". Removing the ring increases the likelyhood of your Khuk taking off for parts unknown at the end of a hard swing....or worse, toward parts well known :eek:
 
The wood that is used for handles can come from anywhere and this piece might well have been recycled from a gunstock or a broken fence post. Nothing is wasted.

The kamis are not going to change the handle design except maybe for a special order. "It's always been made that way" -- and I suspect for two reasons -- one practical and one religious.
 
Really? So far I haven't had any problem at all with the handle slipping in my hand but your point is well taken Wal and will be remembered in the future. Many thanks for that bit of wisdom.
 
The bottom line is whatever works for you. A few take a couple of wraps of sports tape around the handle -- very non-traditional but it works.
 
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