Khukuri under inspection

Ivan Campos

Ivan Campos

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 4, 1999
Messages
2,502
I took my 12" Sirupati to an old blacksmith friend of mine to see on Saturday. He is close to 80 and has been making knives and most things blacksmiths do for all his life and is the last blacksmith over here making sorocabana knives, so I would like to know his opinion about it.
He looked at the khukuri - not a totally strange shape to him as another guy took a tourist style khukuri to his shop a while ago (and he did not give it a second look afeter saying it was "nice") - from all angles, turned it in his hand, swinged it and said, after a few menuts studying it: "They have finished it very well". Then he asked: "What steel do they use?" and I said "Probably 5160." He just observed: "So it should get the job done", with a very typical smile of aproval he only gives when he is really sure things have been done right. If I had any doubt in the depths of my hart, almost three times my life in knifemaking experience are enough to remove it thoroughly.
The only reason why he did not run a file in the blade and tried it cutting something was because it was new, and he wouldn't want to do it with someone else's knife as a matter of politeness, even though I surely would have allowed.
just an experience to share with you all.

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Ivan Campos
Full-time knifemaker...finally!

http://www.bitweb.com.br/users/campos
 
Boa tarde,
Voce pode tirar uma foto para mostrar essa faca a gente? Gostei muito do seu sito web e das facas que eu vei la.
Perdone o meu brazileiro ruim.
Fausto
(just asking for a picture of the sorocabana knife and congratulating Ivan's web site and the knives I've seen there)
 
Hello
I surely could put a sacn of one later, if Uncle Bill allows me to.
E o seu português está ótimo, Fausto. Muito melhor que o meu italiano!
(and your portuguese is great, Fuasto, much better than my Italian!)


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Ivan Campos
Full-time knifemaker...finally!

http://www.bitweb.com.br/users/campos
 
thanks, Uncle Bill
Here it is:

View


This is a 2 or three years old knife made for that artisan I talked about.

There are many handle and blade variations under a similar design, as with khukuris, and this umbrella-like handle may come straighter or more curved depending on the artisan who made it but it is used in 95% of the sorocanbanas I have seen , so I think it is the most usual.
The overall shape may be like this for a more utilitarian blade to a thinner, more upswept fighting like blade. Size may go from 2 inches to a full yard.
The traditional hanld is made of horn slabs with brass liners, though most of the local customers of this blackmith prefer Celeron, a type of micarta, because it will not delaminate, even though it is not pretty as horn.
Perhaps the most unusual feature of this knives is that the blade is pinned into the handle, wich is forged from a round bar of soft steel. usually, a single artisan does the entire knife, from start to finish, including the heat treatment, which make sthe blade hard only on the edge, and very springy on the back. Even 100 years old knives I have in my collection show this flexibility.
Unfortunatelly, there is not much historical information availabile on them, but they surely come from the mediterranean dirk, just like the Gaucho knives. One day I will have the time to research and write a book on them.
The sheath is also typical, and very seldomly would come with silver fittings in some special knives. This one is made by my uncle, who is retired and also happens to like knives (and now is trying to add a certain khukuri to his collection...)
Hope you enjoy.

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Ivan Campos
Full-time knifemaker...finally!

http://www.bitweb.com.br/users/campos

[This message has been edited by Ivan Campos (edited 04-24-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ivan Campos (edited 04-24-2001).]
 
I was expecting it to be something like this. I've noticed that the mediterranean dirk is a recurrent theme on your site and I was thinking as well of the Gaucho knives. It is a design that I find really attractive.
Years ago my portuguese used to be quite fluent but now I'm loosing it for lack of practice.
Ciao
Fausto
 
Hello
I am glad you liked it. As a matter of fact, uncle Bill, it is not a picture. It is just a scan of the knife - that is why I have chosen one of the smaller pieces in my uncle collection.
A recorrent theme, Fausto? I have to check this out, as they were peobably inconscient choices. I absolutelly haven't realized I did it. Well, I could have done worse - there is a lot of bad stuff to choose from. By the way, I have just seen an "original", "military issue" khukuri in Ebay marked "Ghurka Army" on the blade...

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Ivan Campos
Full-time knifemaker...finally!

http://www.bitweb.com.br/users/campos
 
Ivan,
recurrent is just fine, they are beautiful knives and they deserve to be displayed. I happen to have a "Ghurka Army" and they are quite crappy (actually the knife is decently finished but the blade hardness is somewhere in between peanuts butter and milk chocolate).
But its a present, so I have to keep it.
Ciao
Fausto
 
I really love that handle design. A good swell to hold onto, narrower near the blade to switch grips and give control, a return hook . . . looks like a knife that would "come alive" in your hand.
 
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