Khuk edge reprofiling, Chape glue and burnishing?

M

Mindz_I

Joined
Nov 6, 2002
Messages
435
Hi guys,

A couple of quick newbie-ish questions.

Burnishing

After reading that the chamka (sp?) are usually to soft to achieve efficient burnishing I picked up one of the following items www.toolpost.co.uk/pages/Woodworking_Tools/ Planes___Scrapers/planes___scrapers.html (The scraper burnisher).

At present I'm at somewhat of a loss as to how exactly I should be implementing the tool to realign the blade.

Most of the info I've found on the HI website and these forums have suggested 'wiping' the chamka across the edge, however does anyone have a clarification of this term?
As is I envisage this as literally holding the burnisher against the edge (starting at the pomel of the khuk) and drawing the burnisher along to the tip of the blade (drawing the burnisher out as it goes).

Could anyone shed any light / ellaborate on the term "wipe the chamka on the blade"?

--

Secondly, on recieving my khukuri (15" Ang Khola) the Chape (if that's the term for the little brass cap at the tip of the sheath) fell off, popping free and falling to the floor.

I've been wanting to glue it back on for a while but wasn't to sure of what to use.

Could anyone advise me of;

a) What the purpose of the Chape is (i.e. Does it assist durability)
b) What adhesive would be best to reattatch it.

--

Finally,

Even though I'm yet to use the Khukuri for anything more than cutting up an old chair, I have had it for quite some time.

However, the blade profile is a little off from what I can see.

Approximately 2" from the tip of the blade (along the edge, just where the tip joins the belly) there's a portion of the edge (just over 1") that's almost totally blunt. It's not that it wasn't factory sharpened, but it just seems this small portion of the blade is thicker than the rest of the edge / harder and as such is extremley blunt.

I'm aware that khuks are differentially harneded, though I was unsure of exactly how this was implemented, but it seemed unlikely that the small section of unsharpened blade was the desired result of the hardening given it's to blunt even to tear paper.

With this in mind I was curious (yet again) as to how to best go about rectifying the problem. i.e. whether I should be reprofiling the edge by some fashion etc?

Thanks kindly for any help or advice you may give.
 
I'm going to wait for the blade and burnishing experts to weigh in on your most important questions. I do think that you've described what to do with the Chakma pretty well, though. But the chape- most of us would smile and do a skip if the annoying pointed thingy fell off without our having to pry it off. I guess it depends upon whether it is a safe queen or user. Bill Martino had no use for the metal chape stabbing his leg as he walked.

It is designed to protect the blade. You can glue it back on with just about anything. I bet Elmers might do it, but again, there's probably a leather expert who could give you the best choice.

munk
 
First off, is your kukri a Himalayan Imports kukri?

If a portion of the edge is really thick, you might need to use a belt grinder or find someone who has one to reprofile that part of the edge. However, you can also damage the knife very easily with a grinder, so it would be advisable to find someone experienced in doing this. Maybe one of the fellows in this forum might be able to help you.
 
I suspect that the chape is there because of British military influence. Giving the Gurkas something else to polish, while they're not fighting. It serves no structural purpose, that I can figure, and the old sheaths I've seen didn't have it. There are folks better qualified than me to comment on this, however.
As for edge profiling, you will see that a lot of opinion has been posted recently about the 1" belt grinder situation. :)
 
Welcome! Coarse silicon carbide sandpaper mounted on a rubber sanding block works great for reprofiling. If you really want to remount the chape, I would use epoxy to glue it back on. That way it'll never come off.
 
I think everyone has their own way of using a chakma or steel. I hold the knife with the edge facing outward from me, and draw the burnisher along the edge while pushing it away from me.
 
wow, thanks for the quick responces guys!

Firstly yes it's a HI 15" Ang Khola by Sher. A bunch of us ordered a few khuks from HI in the UK.

I ended up with a real sweet kumar AK 15" that was perfect for me, though one of the lads with much larger hands asked if he could have it as the 15" Sher I have now was too small for him, so I traded it with him.

Secondly, the Chape.

Personally I'd rather not have it on the sheath as it's mostly going to be pushed down the side of a pack and I'd rather not risk it ripping my pack. However I was worried that the Chape was a structural part of the sheath, possibly stopping the khuk from bursting out the sheath or something. If however it's none functional I'll happily leave it at home :D

I'll comment on the more synaptic intensive issues tommorow as it's 1am here and i'm starting to flag a little ^_^

Cheers for all the input so far guys.
 
Mindz ?

Unless a collector, the chape's function is to stab your leg. Your choice.

Burnishing for me means using a hard steel some-thing-or-other as if I were whittling the blade. I push away and attempt to push back the edge in allignment. But I'm not really very picky.

There are hair-cutters in the crowd.


Welcome
 
As far as I can tell, the chape is there to add weight and penetration when the scabbard falls through the frog and impales your foot.

I'm a sailor. Brass is good and brass gets polished. If you like having another shiny bit of kit then leave it - otherwise, set it off to the side and forget about it. You can always put it back on later.

When I lose a chape I bend the "ears" in a little to improve the chape's grip and I use a coat of 2-ton epoxy on the inside. I've never had one fall off twice.

The chakma thing was described to me as thus: do what you have to. If the khuk is sharper afterwards, you did it right. Depending on my mood and what feels right, I scrape it, drag it, rub it, and even hammer with it. I use the flat, edge, and corners. In my experience the corners are more aggressive than the edges, which are more aggressive than the flats. Hammering is a last resort for when you've really deflected the edge badly. (I've managed to nerf one this badly only once.)

Reprofiling? I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to be helpful. I'll let the gurus discuss this part.
 
Mindz_I said:
Approximately 2" from the tip of the blade .....
seems this small portion of the blade is thicker than the rest of the edge /
harder ....................
I'm aware that khuks are differentially harneded, ................
but it seemed unlikely that the small section of unsharpened blade
was the desired result of the hardening
given it's to blunt even to tear paper.
Click to expand...
Welcome.

I have seen a couple completely blunt in this area.
When I realized why I consider it a good thing.
When the blade gets its final grind/polish
the hardest areas of the blade don't get ground down as quickly,
so, it stays thicker at the hardened zone at the edge
near the sweet spot.
99% of the time this means an obviously thick/blunt
sweet-spot/belly region is properly harder than the rest of the metal.

You can sharpen this area with a slightly steeper bevel
then ease it down little by little each time you resharpen.
A couple of good sharpenings are in order anyway
to 'break in' the blade,
even if it comes sharp enough from the shop.

chapes
I'm not a fan of these,
but I think these -can- act as a binding
to keep the end of the scabbard from splitting--
in case of dropping, sitting on, wrenching the blade, etc etc
-if- the chape is affixed strongly.
The wood sections under the leather are not glued together
they're held together just by the leather cover.
If I were very concerned I might consider a metal band in this area
for the added support.
Uncle Bill was a fan of iron wire binding to correct splits in the scabbard.
This could also provide the same binding function as the chape.
Brass wire if you prefer the look.

Some people just round off the bottom of the chape,
an opening also allows water to drain out if necessary.

------------------------------

The scaper burnisher is a great idea
{but difficult to fit in the scabbard :D }
same principle/function
Even a good resource to web-search for descriptions
of how the burnisher is used on woodwork blades/scapers
very much like use on khuk

BTW,
your link had a space that prevented it from working
fixed: www.toolpost.co.uk/pages/Woodworking_Tools/Planes___Scrapers/planes___scrapers.html


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You're lucky the chape fell off by itself. I usually have to heat them up so that I can remove them.

As mentioned, a belt sander is just the thing to sharpen a blunt portion of the blade. If you don't have access to one, RoadRunner's suggestion works well, just takes a 'little' longer.

Welcome.
 
Cheers for all the help guys.

I'll try the sandpaper and sanding block method when I get a moment.

The Chape is now sitting in a cupboard away from the khuk :D
 
The chape (AKA "dap") does not have to be pointed. Some on military scabbards look sort of like the hardware item sold to fit on the end of curtain rods so you don't snag when hanging curtains - bluntly rounded point. It would protect the scabbard/prevent point penetration if the scabbard was dropped while "loaded." Other examples are more pointed, but still not nearly sharp.
 
You might make a chape out of leather just to protect the tip of the scabbard . Not a fan of them either.
 
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