Kagas Katne review

dhuff

dhuff

Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
129
Received the kagas katnes I ordered and am very pleased. Two of the three had quite decent edges, and the third should be easily sharpened via techniques previously discussed here and in the FAQ. Construction quality, while not superb like the typical, full-sized HI offerings, was perfectly decent. These should serve very well as an unusual curio/envelope opener for your desk or to slip into briefcase/purse/backpack as box knife, apple slicer (wash & dry it well!) and twine cutter.



At the current price of $10 ea., you really can't go wrong. Heck, at this price you should buy several as gifts or stocking stuffers :) <br>
 
You had so good a tool for $10! Congrats...

I'm really interested in KKs though shipping cost over the Pacific Ocean has been preventing me from buying one. Maybe next chance I buy bigger khukuris, I'll add a Kagas Katne.

BTW, I usually use socks as scabbard cover for my 12" Ghopte and 18" BGRS. With one stuck into another, it covers the tip of scabbard very well. They gives less intimidating looking to khukuris. And also, you're carrying another pair of socks with your khukuris!
 
Love them Kagas Katnes! I make knives as a hobby, using blades from Sweden and Norway. Good steel, and razor sharp, in fact I used one to shave with in the field once because I was too lazy to hike back to camp to fetch my straight razor. Heat tab, canteen cup, bar of soap, signal mirror, and bingo there you go.
Good as my scandinavian knives are my Kagas Katne has a special charm all it's own. A, no kidding, hand forged blade for ten bucks, incredible! Modern, mass produced, blades have a sterile, impersonal, character about them. Not the Kagas Katne. You're right, they're not perfect, and each is slightly different from the other.
That's exactly as it should be for a tool made by the hands of a living,
breathing, human being.
At ten bucks a pop, they will indeed be stuffing some stockings around my house come Christmas. They might be "baby" khukris, but they capture the handcrafted spirit that makes all the HI khukris special.

Sarge
 
gotta love those kagas katnes...

Great knives. Just wish the little belt loop was larger...I think I'd be tempted to carry one!
 
WrongFriend wrote:


<i>I'm really interested in KKs though shipping cost over the Pacific Ocean has been preventing me from buying one.</i>





Yes, I'm surprised at how expensive it is to ship even small items between Japan and the U.S. I have ordered some "Region 2" anime DVDs from Japan and the shipping costs have been almost a third of the price of the DVD itself (and even a well-packed DVD doesn't weigh that much). You'd think that two technological, highly automated, "first world" countries like Japan and the U.S. could do this sort of thing much more cheaply - but who knows... <br>
 
Easy modification. Carefully pry out the tack securing belt loop to scabbard. Cut new belt loop of proper size out of 8 oz. leather (dye black to match). Use tack and some Barge leather cement to reattach.
Or you could use my even simpler method; run a thong through the belt loop and hang it around your neck. Of course I did wind up running a narrow strip of leather around the top of the scabbard and the belt loop to end it's annoying habit of rotating. Drawn up tight with the stitching, that leather strip snugs up the scabbard throat considerably, so my little KK stays put until it's needed.

Sarge
 
Sarge - do you neck carry the kagas? (frequently, that is)
 
Originally posted by dhuff ..... I'm surprised at how expensive it is to ship even small items between Japan and the U.S.
Click to expand...
You've got to figure that most of it is the business middlemen.
I read within the last year that cargo ships full of mixed recycling
material is shipped to China(?) for seperation, then shipped back
to the US for actual recycling.
The actual charge for carrying something over the sea must be minimal.
Air transport of course would be more.........
 
I just got a couple of KKs with my t-shirt order. They are great. I ended up attaching a thong to the belt loop on the scabbard and then around my belt. I then stick the whole knife and sheath in my pocket. Makes a great dangler type of sheath. Great little blades also!! Dirt cheap also.
 
dhuff, even in 21st century, the Pacific Ocean seems as broad as previous century in terms of cost. What differs now is shipped items we're talking about... Cartoon vs hand forged knife! Nobody could have imagined it's between US and Japan some decades ago.
 
Good stuff and thanks. Shipping costs for kk's end up costing more than the knife when going overseas.

Oi-Chan, I have a 30 inch Sirupati headed to Mr. Ueda and I have put in three kagas katnes at no charge. One of them is for you. I have asked Mr. Ueda to contact you and make arrangements for you to receive your complimentary kagas katne.
 
Uncle Bill. Really unusual behavior in today's times. Shows the difference in character between you and most enterprises.

Nice to see.


Kis
:rolleyes:
 
A couple of years back Wrongfried struggled to get some khukuris past customs in Japan. First shot Japanese customs denied entry and returned the khukuris. We tried again and failed. But, Satoshi kept trying, paying the very high shipping cost each time, until we finally got him the khukuris. That kind of perserverance and customer loyalty deserves consideration so it's something I owed rather than an act of Mr. Nice Guy.
 
Pendentive:
Yes indeed I neck carry with the Kagas Katne, it's a perfect size for that. Sooner or later I'll get around to making a flat leather sheath that's more secure and lower profile. I wet mold them, dry them out good, and dip 'em in a melted mixture of two parts beeswax, one part parrafin, and one part petroleum jelly. You wind up with a sheath that's strong, stiff, and reasonably waterproof.
Thanks to Uncle Bill's kind and generous heart, I've got another KK on it's way with an 18" Sirupati one of my boys ordered. Gonna give the one I've already got to Pappy, who's itching to try it out as a neck knife. Why should I be the only one addicted to these little boogers? Besides, only got one neck, and the one from Uncle Bill will mean more to me than the one I already bought. Just because.
Sooner or later some Khukri lover is gonna figure out that if he buys six Kagas Katnes, he's got himself one unique set of handcrafted Nepalese steak knives. Build a nice wooden case for them and watch people's eyes pop when you open it up. How's that for another use for the little "paper cutter"?

Sarge
 
The process of soaking leather in waxes is another version of the Cuir Boulli process of hardening leather.

I mix 5 parts beeswax with 1 part paraffin, then bring to melting , then brush on the leather, then put the leather in the oven to open the pores up more. I've made book covers, sheaths, and leather armor this way, and a 1/2inch thick plate of cow-butt treated in this way makes great imapct resistant armor!

Keith
 
I wish I'd have known about the armor recipe when I was having organized rock fights as a kid.
Talk about Darwin Awards in motion....:p
 
You're absolutely right about the leather armor deal Ferrous, not that I'm the least surprised. Oddly enough, the first time I ever heard of this process was from a guy who used it to treat KaBar sheaths for Navy Seals back in the days before Kydex. I figured, "if it's good enough for Seals..........".

Sarge
 
I have four that hang on my Christmas tree every year. I also have a great and understanding wife.
Mike
 
Ferrous, do you have a good source for the beeswax? Paraffin is easy enough to get, but I don't know of a place that sells beeswax in quantity.

--Mike L.
 
Originally posted by pendentive
gotta love those kagas katnes...

Great knives. Just wish the little belt loop was larger...I think I'd be tempted to carry one!
Click to expand...

I got an older one from Geraldo that has a great big belt loop on it. My son carries it on his belt out in the woods. My newer ones only came equipped with the GI Joe-sized loops.
 
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