I've been hard on my Sanu GS

S

Spinnerblade

Joined
Apr 11, 2002
Messages
178
I claimed my Sanu 5/20 and it arrived a few days later (it's such a pleasure to deal with Uncle Bill). This khuk was just what I was looking for, it has good reach (18") fairly heavy (23oz.) and pointy enough :D . Anyway a few days after arrival I took the GS for a field test.The target was a variety of tamarisk called salt cedar. This miserable tree grows in desert washes, usually in dense thickets which are difficult to get through. Well I attacked the trees with all the force I could muster while still maintaining control of the blade. The limbs varied in size from pencil diameter to five inches in diameter.I cut and chopped for about two hours.While cutting I noticed a black stain on the blade.At first I didn't know if it was the sap or if the blade was oxidizing before my eyes. As it turns out this tree can secrete salt through its leaves, and was causing some rusting:eek: .The wood on these trees is also quite hard and dry (rain in this area is a rare occurance). Well at the end of all that chopping my blade was not sharper than when I started:rolleyes: , nor was it as sharp, but it was not damaged in any way:), except for two very teenie dings from when I lost my grip :eek: (twice:eek: :eek: ) and my khuk hit the sandy soil(I told you I was swinging hard). The bolster also got a little loose, I'm going to try a litte super glue on it. A couple of days after this I decided to trim the schrubs by the front door. All was going nicely until I misjudged a little and hit the sidewalk:eek: . I bent the tip 3/16" into a right angle which is better than snapping, and I've got it almost straight. Again I was swinging pretty quick. After all this I like my Sanu gelbu special alot. Patrick
 
Sorry to hear about the point damage, spinnerblade. I think that is why the kamis leave the tip untempered, for shock abasorbtion. Had the tip been tempered, it would have just snaped off.

I use a khuk-like stainless welded-tang piece of crap blade for the same job. It takes dings in stride, and I can sharpen it on the bench grinder.

Keith
 
Spence or Bill or anyone: when I use the Chakma to burnish do I use the flat or the narrow side of the blade against the Khukuri edge?


munk
 
Thanks Rag, I've done the same but wasn't entirely sure...well heck...i'm no knife nut like N2 and others here...I'm really a gun nut who likes Khuks..

munk
 
Munk:

I use both the flats and the narrow edge.
Reason being there seem to be different hardness areas in the Chakmas I have. Also, the flats on my Chakmas are a bit concave (dished) from their final polishing, while the edges have a more desirable doming (slight). If you really have a tough task ahead of you, using the edge of the chakma realy speeds the work, as you can apply more pressure to the smaller area, thus maximizing force.

Keith
 
Originally posted by Spinnerblade ......I misjudged a little and hit the sidewalk:eek:
Click to expand...
I had my 18" AngKhola out of the box not 10 minutes
when I (somehow) missed the 2x4 I was chopping on
and hit my cement garage floor almost straight down
and at a fair strength.

Rolled the edge back about a 32nd of an inch
1/2 in long back about an inch from the tip.

Couldn't push it out much so gradually honed it off.

Can't tell there was ever any damage.
 
I usually use the back, but I will use the flats on occasion. The back seems to work best for me.

S.
 
Originally posted by Spinnerblade ......I've got it almost straight.
Click to expand...
Once the blade has been bent and straightened......

How many more times until if falls off?

Could it be retempered ?

(fatigued/'work hardened' area softened)

By --careful-- application of heat?
 
ddean:Could it be retempered ?

I would think that the tip is left unhardened. Proof of this is that it bent, as opposed to snapped off.

If you hammer the pint back into plae, this would be annealing, or softening the tip. If you were to temper(harden) the tip, and the same strike occurred on the tip as before, the tip would most likely snap off.

Remeber - Hardened or tempered steel is brittle steel. Thus, it is almost always backed with a softer core or spine for shock absorbtion.

Keith
 
I think you may have missed the point, though not sure, Ferrous. The point is silly folks like me ask ourselves: "if I bend the tip, bend it back again, won't it be weaker? If that keeps happening, will it break off?" So the retemper question is to apply enough heat to restore the tip to the state it was in before it started bending the in the first place. Could this be done? I'm guessing more danger to the rest of the knife than help to the tip.

Yeah, I worry about some crazy stuff...

It was me who asked what would happen if you resharpened your blade past the hardness....

munk
 
I wouldn't worry a lot about fatigue problems with tip bending. If you run into problems with this and Art is still alive send the blade to him for rework.
 
Thanks for the link, Spence. I used a c-clamp to get the point going in the right direction, then finished with a small hammer and a dumbbell for an anvil. Does anyone know why my posts come out in one big block, even though I indent for paragraphs, and leave spaces? I'm glad some people can find some humor in my posting :p ,khuks are for fun;) . Patrick
 
Was the "Missed the point" line a pun?!?! if so, good one! I think it is your khuk that is missing the point! Heehee.

Save yourself some time and effort, and just grind the point off. you don't use it, right? ehehee....

Sorry, wyrd sense of humor tooday.

Keith
 
Bending metal sets up stress points in the metal, whereby it becomes easier and easier to streess the metal there until it breaks.

For example -- Take a paper clip and straighten it out. Now, bend it in one of the straight areas about 90 degrees. Now straighten. Repeat. you will note that it gets easier to bend each time you bend it, and it will eventually break. You might also note heat given off by the bending. that is the result of metal molecules coming unglued from each other, on the molecular level, byproduct--heat.

I might advise you use something else to cut cement(hee ehe). I mean, these khuks are tough, but damn! Are you sure you weren't doing some stress tests for Cliff Stamp!?!?!

Keith
 
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