Karda Blade Thickness - Again!

M

munk

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Mar 22, 2002
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Yangdu got ahold of me out of the blue the other day and wanted to know what thickness the kardas should be... I know we had a thread about this issue but I can't recall the results. For as long as I've hung around HI there have been legitimate complaints about the thickness of the karda blades. Too thick being the point.

How thick do you want them? Keep in mind this must be doable financially- let's not go for fillet knife here-

Weigh in and Yangdu will take the concurrence and submit it to her Father.

This is a good chance to improve the HI khuk. I know from the field a thinner blade would be more useful when combined with the thicker chopping blade of a khuk. Most kardas are so thick I ignore them. We shouldn't have to do that. A knife for the more delicate and detailed work, as well as everyday tasks would be nice, and that's what a Karda should be.

The knife makers will be able to steer us right as to what is practical and desirable.

thanks,


munk
 
I would say no more than an 1/8" thick. I mean, the thinner the better for a cutting tool.

Personally, if they could just make the Chakma harder I would be happy. The karda is nice to have, but what person doesn't carry a think mass produced SAK/Spyderco/etc folder with them? A good hard chakma can do a lot of things that a hone can't. The ability to smooth out a small ding, poke or pry around in the dirt, and strike a spark on flint (for those that like primitive fire starting) is something would add utility to the tool beyond what most have in their pockets every day.

I love my kardas. I sharpen then, I make little sheathes for them, I have a dozen+ stashed around the house and in the glove box. The first thing I reach for to cut anything small is a SAK, however. Maybe just taking the edge down a bit thinner would be easiest. Also, how hard would it be for the kardas to be pounded thin and just left spring temper? Who needs a karda to hold an edge forever? I would just like a mini-Old Hickory kitchen knife style of blade. Of course, the easiest route for that is to just replace the karda with an Old Hickory pairing knife;)
 
1/8" would improve them considerably, and we can ask for right hardened Chakmas at the same time. Naturally, these things will add to time spent on production, and cost, but I think it would be worth it.

It would be nice if the little ones were 3/32; is this doable/practical?
I also agree with the Kumar Karda at 1/8th

I can see younger Kamis trainees doing a lot of hammering.


munk
 
I haven't purchased a Kumar Karda, and I'll admit up-front that I probably won't. However, I'll offer a slightly different opinion because it seems to me that the niche it occupies is that of a heavy-duty camp knife; that's why I don't need it -- I've got storage boxes full of those. If that's what it's supposed to be, then I think it should probably be more like 3/16-inch thick for a bit of chopping heft rather than 1/8.
 
If the little karda's have 1/8" spines the edges will be tapered much thinner. That ought to be enough. I'm just thinking. What the average pocketknife spine thickness? I measured some of mine but that's in hundreds of an inch and I'm not good at equivilances. I dont' think the Kamis should be expected to pound out pocket knife thin blades. I dont think that would be cost effective or desirable for us; we've already lots of pocket knives and companies mass produce them very well.

munk
 
Looking around a bit, 1/8-in (.125) is a fairly standard heavy duty tactical folder thickness; lighter duty knives are a bit thinner. 1/16 to 1/8-in thickness is a fairly standard range for kitchen knives. The Becker BK-7, a heavy duty 7" combat knife, was made of .188-in thick stock, which is 3/16-inch.
 
1/8" thick, I'd like it hard, and a hard chakmak. I'd also prefer harger handles on both, say a minimum of 3", no matter the size of the kukri.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
1/8" thick, I'd like it hard, and a hard chakmak. I'd also prefer harger handles on both, say a minimum of 3", no matter the size of the kukri.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I think a handle of minimum 4" would not be too much for karda and chakma on any khuk of 14" and longer.
 
I vote for 1/8" thickness.
Ditto for the harder chakmas

keep the handles the length that they currently are.

If HI goes with the revised blades, any chance of us getting some sort of retro-fit??? even if it is a seperate purchase?

Marc Adkins
 
Maybe the Kamis can do a batch of Kardas if the demand is there. I can't see HI affording replacement, but Yangdu might be able to sweeten the deal.


munk
 
If handles were much longer, wouldn't that get in the way of gripping the kukri handle, unless it was possible to sheath the accessories further down the scabbard?

(ie. a re-design of scabbards, or maybe some downwards extension of the frog to incorporate such sheathing)
 
Thinner karda blades would be good, but the thick ones I have are manageable if "thinner" isn't economical. It would be very nice it they were just a wee bit harder so as to hold an edge a bit longer.

Ideally I would go for the 1/10" thick blade on kardas that come with shorter khukuris...with a slightly harder temper (hard enough so that a new fine file will only just file the edge of the blade).

And yes, I'd like a chakmak so hard it will strike a shower of sparks from a natural flint. This means that it should really be just about the same hardness as an engineer's file. But the chakmak should have a fairly 'thick' blade.

With thinner karda blades, there will be a time saving when it comes to grinding.

Just my thoughts. The khukuri blades are the important things to get right, but it would be nice to have the changes to the karda and chakmak if possible.

I have played with the karda and chakmak that came with a Tora khukuri. They are also a bit too soft in temper in my opinion (The khukuri blade was good).

Best wishes to all....Coote.
 
1/8" and harder chakma sounds good to me. Probably would buy a couple to replace ones I have. Usually I just replace them a good Mora.
Terry
 
Thank you for the help, munk
 
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