Khukuri Recycling.....Khukarang?

[jdk1]

When life gives you lemons....make khukuri lemonade! I've had a khuk for a while which had some problems. The main issue was a poor heat treat which caused the area of the forward belly to be just about dead soft. Strangely, the mid-belly heat treat was well done, but any contact with even green twigs would cause the forward belly to fold and bend like an empty beer can in the hands of a testosterone filled high school kid. So, it sat for quite a while as I had no idea what to do with it. It seemed like it could be salvaged as a chopper, but it was too heavy for my tastes, and that several inches of soft steel was just in the way.

Well, I got the idea of making a specialized tool for clearing palm tree fronds. I have a palm tree and trimming it is a royal pain. The fronds are tough, super tough when dry, and the working area gets really tight. Add to that they're covered in thorns. One of those thorns penetrated my work glove a few years back, going into my knuckle. I pulled back, but it left a little something to be remembered by. So one finger surgery and two years later, and I won't be doing any hand modeling. So, a tool just for clearing this tree might make some sense, especially since the blade is useless otherwise.

My goals were twofold: rid the blade of useless steel and lighten the load. Both could be done by hacking the blade at the hard/soft junction. But, I decided to angle the cut to remove more weight. The result, which is a little under 16" OAL (no clue on the weight yet), feels very nice in my hand, and puts a good hardened belly at the end of the blade, great for chopping in tight spots. The extreme tip of the blade is still soft steel, and I plan to leave it dull for inevitable contact with the ground, but the rest of the cutting edge seems to hold up well. While it looks a bit like a Gil Hibben prototype, it's pretty handy. It chops quite well and seems well suited for trimming large bushes or other work near the ground, as it has no tip to interfere with ground level work, as normal khukuri do. It also makes decent curls! Overall, I'm impressed with the little beastie! Time will tell whether it was brilliance or folly, but at least It's now a useful blade. Thanks for looking.

The khuk.

Some hack saw and file work.

And, Viola! The khukarang, or Frankenkhuk, or something which looks a lot like a breaching sperm whale

 

[JayGoliath]

John,

There must be something about that Khuk that made you think otherwise!

Holy Cow! Hit me up if you must find a proper parang Lol.

How does the Khukurang feel?

 

[jdk1]

Hey Jay! It really feels nice in my hand. The khuk, although heavy, felt well balanced before the transition. It feels better now. We had summer weather yesterday and I gave it a short work out. Today is winter again, so it'll have to wait for more use. So far, I think I may have made a sweet yardwork tool. It's thick and bullet-proof, so I'm not worried about hurting it, yet it's easy to use. I imagine it won't work well on light, springy vegetation, but It'll do what I want. The main thing is it was nice to make a useful blade out of it. I'm afraid to try a parang. If I buy one I'll end up with twelve! Take it easy.

 

[ArchAngel]

Great work! It looks good also, and you took a blade with issues and made it work for you> Good job!

 

[jdk1]

Thanks ArchAngel. The look of it is growing on me. BTW, it started life as a 28 oz. khukuri, which is a bit heavy in my book, but now weighs 25 oz. It feels pretty nice and balances well. I'll likely continue to tweak it. I like handle rings, but this one is too far to the rear, so that'll likely go away. From there, who knows. I can see myself filing down the of the butt plate as well. It's large and adds weight were it doesn't belong on a dedicated chopper. Take care.

 

[Dirtbiker]

I like the way it came out. Seems like the last couple batches from that maker have had problems.

 

[james terrio]

I think it looks pretty cool, actually. As long as it works for you, that's all that matters. :thumbup:

 

[MassMatt]

That is a cool mod, though I confess the title of the thread made me think you had created a boomerang from a Kukri. Now THAT would really be something. Throw it and get the hell out of the way!

 

[jdk1]

I like the way it came out. Seems like the last couple batches from that maker have had problems.

Thanks Dirtbiker. I quickly learned traditional khuks were different. As their manufacture is more art than science, it's all up to the kami. Unfortunately, kamis wander to and fro like the wind. That company is getting settled in with a new kami, so hopefully things are fixed. I can say the heat treat on the last batch (new kami) is superb! The designs also hit the nail on the head for what he was trying to do. Flukes still make it out of Nepal, and he's still working out some issues, but that's the nature of the beast. The factors which make them so tricky are the same which draws us in Anyone shopping for a traditional khukuri needs to keep service after the sale in mind. And test any user completely. That's Uncle Bill's advice and I took it to heart. I honestly don't know how anyone can maintain their sanity being in the business of getting khuks out of Nepal

I think it looks pretty cool, actually. As long as it works for you, that's all that matters. :thumbup:

Thanks:thumbup: The looks are really growing on me. Instead of a shed corner tool, I'm thinking of leather sheath designs It isn't the most useful design, but I'm starting to dig it. I can't wait for the palmtree to need a trimmin'.

That is a cool mod, though I confess the title of the thread made me think you had created a boomerang from a Kukri. Now THAT would really be something. Throw it and get the hell out of the way!

Thanks! After the saw cut, as I was filing, the file slipped. It cut the hell out of my finger and it was almost thrown...in the trash! The name came from the fact it looks like somebody crossed a khukuri and a parang. Though I swear it looks just like a sperm whale to me!

I'll keep you guys updated as I get some use out of it. Thanks and take care.

 

[Karda]

Just for the record, this is NOT a Himalayan Imports Khukuri.

 

[jdk1]

Just for the record, this is NOT a Himalayan Imports Khukuri.

Karda is correct. It is not an HI product. Take care.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Looks pretty cool. I agree that it does look kinda like a whale. Looking at it, I was thinking in your shoes I might round it off even further:

 

[jdk1]

Crimson, Thanks! I've thought about taking it down more, like your pic. The things I keep coming back to are that it would be hard for me, with limited tools, to remove that much steel, and that it would turn it into a short, possibly very handle heavy khuk. It probably wouldn't be much for chopping and I have some great khukuri, which it likely couldn't compare with in general use. I may still tweak the blade a little and the handle will see some small changes. Thanks and take care.

 

[jdk1]

I removed the handle ring. It was too far back and fell under my ring finger. The handle feels a bit better now and actually works well with gloves, which is not how most khuk handles behave. I used it to cut back a medium sized bush and it worked pretty well. It'll never replace a real khuk, but seems to handle it's duties as a yard tool well enough. Thanks for looking.