khuk handle repair??

firkin

firkin

Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
2,737
I've a 20 inch sirupati with a somewhat loose handle.

A while back I peened down the tang, as the buttcap was a little loose, and rotated. Also filed in a notch at the edge of the buttcap and filled in with some glue. That's OK, but the bolster end of the handle has a very slight wobble from side to side, but not in the vertical direction. The bolster seems a little cockeyed too. The motion is just enough to feel if the blade is moved sideways while grasping the handle. I think Bura was a bit stingy with the laha.

Anyway, I've not got a torch readily accessable. Any chance I fix (bad pun!) the handle by heating the thing at about 200 F in the oven for a while, wrap the handle and run outside to stick the point in a stump, and peen the tang down some more?? (Pretty under-equipped her--no vice either, at least not the tool kind). As I understand it, anything below around 325-350 F shouldn't affect the blade temper.

Or can I boil the handle end for a few minutes and try the same thing? Or will I loose too much laha and ruin a pot too?

If you all say I gotta get a torch, do I want the big mixing tip, or the regular one for a bottled propane torch?

Thanks!
 
Firkin before you do anything else just pour a little super glue into and around the bolster with the buttcap facing downwards.
I did that with one of mine and the super glue (Bondini 2) melted the laha and set it up. It hasn't came loose since!!!!

Just be sure and put the bolster where it "feels" right to you before you lean it up against something to cure.:)
 
Like Yvsa said, superglue should get the job done.

Failing that, boil the handle in a pan of water for a couple of minutes, then allow it to cool. I did that with one of mine, & the bolster's never rattled since.
 
I gave this advise to Semp a while back when he had a handle rattle due to loose laha, and apparently it helped. If you really need to melt the laha, heat the spine of the blade as close as possible to the handle with your torch. This area of the blade is supposed to be soft anyways, so the heat shouldnt be problematic. Also, laha doesnt take much to flow. The ambient heat from a small torch on the spine should travel up the tang in just a few seconds. If done right, this should get the laha to flow where it needs to go, and be less messy. Just be careful not too overheat, like I said it doesnt take much heat to make the laha flow, and too much might make it flow well just too much which would be my main concern.
 
Thanks everyone! Especially the "cooking" times if I need to go that route. Sounds like the laha moves around faster than I would have thought.

Guess I'll be looking for some of that Bondini first though.
 
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