Kukri: Steel question on a custom

BePrepared

BePrepared

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Aug 26, 2010
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I am looking at buying a custom kukri in 6150 steel. The guy i'm buying it from told me

"The hardness of your Kuhkuri is 60 and the composition is

Carbon 0.38 - 0.43
Chromium 0.80 - 1.10
Iron Balance
Manganese 0.75 - 1.00
Phosphorus 0.040 max
Silicon 0.15 - 0.35
Sulphur 0.04 max
Vanadium: Mo. 0.15 - 0.25 min"

is this right for 6150? I don't know of anyone who has purchased anything from him, so i'm a tiny bit leary
 
Carbon seems a tad low normally up around .5% otherwise it seems like its 6150 to me.
 
well, at 100 shipped, with a leather sheath, i'm going to take the plunge. Once i have it in hand, i'm going to run it through it's paces and see if it holds an edge as well as my condor blades.

Being 6150, if it is properly heat treated it should perform at least as well as condors 1085

the design is VERY neat, so once i have it in hand, i'll do a full review, and maybe pass it to someone nearby me who can test the hardness and tell me the details that i might miss
 
The xx50 indicates about .50 C , actually .48-.53 C. Maybe a typo ?? You could ask them to verify.Anyway it's a good steel for a kukri.
 
I also find the hardness of 60 a bit suspect.

The specs given would seem be 4140, and appear to be copied out of an ASM handbook.

I am going to make my next comment just my personal feelings and observations. If you love Kukri, then quit reading here:

Edited-
I will rephrase it to say that I have seen only one good kukri, out of more than 50 that I have examined.
 
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Bladsmth,
Considering your general level of ignorance on the subject, I can certainly understand your reluctance for anyone with a dimes worth of knowledge on the subject to fore go reading your rant.

However, it is true that the market is flooded with crap, but you get what you pay for generally. The reputation of these knives was not built or been maintained with this low level of junk. Speaking of taste, I see in your avatar, a knuckle guard on a Bowie knife, how useless is that?
Dan
 
Don't knock em' til' you've tried em', Stacy. :D
Yes i've used a khukuri quite often and for awhile. They chop quite nicely and make a great camp knife. :thumbup:
Your pakistani friend was telling you how the pakistanis do it. It doesnt mean that anyone else necessarily does.

60 Rc does seem a bit high. We normally don't like to see khukuri above 58 Rc because they tend to be more brittle.
with that said....you may be fine. Won't really know until you beat the snot out of it.
 
bladsmth said:
I am going to make my next comment just my personal feelings and observations. If you love Kukri, then quit reading here:

I can't see the craze over kukris. Sure ,the name sounds cool, and the shape looks wicked, but has anyone actually used one. They seem clumsy and awkward in the hand. The hype and crapola in the sales pitches is pure bunk. They are made cheaply in India/Pakistan and sold as "antiques" . They offer great sounding stories how a "Lost Armory" of them was found, or how they were buried for 100 years to keep them from the British (Yeah, like the well armed British army would want them!).The steel is usually junk, and the Rc is in the upper 40's on many.
I have never seen one that looked like it was made by any sort of craftsman or qualified smith. A prison shiv often has more fit and finish than a "High Quality Antique Kukri".
What I was told personally by a prominent Pakistani knife/sword maker ( who's work we all have seen), is that they are cheaply made, soaked in an acid, and burried in manure for a while to "Patina" them. Anyone ever wonder why they are allways pitted and deeply stained? He said ,quote," PR writers in Atlanta,GA make up the stories", we just make the knives. The sheaths are made from cheap leather, and "distressed" to look older.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you found a place to vent after your bad taste in a tourist khuk. Too bad. Everybody needs to start somewhere....
 
hmmm... this isn't about whether you like kukris or not... i like em, and i'm asking for information about the STEEL that this one's made of

thanks for the info guys. it looks to me like the carbon content he's telling me is a mistake, or he's using 4140 steel and calling it 6150... i genuinely don't know how to tell the difference


any advice here? I REALLY like the design of his kukri, and the price is right, but i don't wanna get hosed. There's only one person online who i know has gotten one and he said it was great
 
Maybe you're overthinking this. If an online friend likes his, you should give it a shot. If you don't like this one, you aren't out much, and you could potentially resell it to reclaim most or all of your investment.
 
lol... you make a good point

i tend to over think pretty much everything. It's the engineer in me... if I don't know EVERYTHING before i make a decision, i'm never really comfortable.

but now that you mention it, a handmade, carbon steel kukri, with a leather sheath and micarta handles, would likely get me back the 100 i'm spending if i decide i don't love it
 
Stacy, 6150 has Vanadium but no Mo and 4140 has Mo but no V !!

I'm a great fan of kukris ! and I use them ! There were many tourist type kukris made as was the first one I had before I knew anything . Now I have two , a 24oz one to the military pattern and a 18oz one that AGRussell had made in Italy . 24oz makes for cutting serious stuff ,That one I made changes to the handle.
You can get good ones and good ones certainly make for efficient tools ! In a pinch they will chop more than wood [but they don't go 'bang' !]
 
OK, I sort of knew that I would get blasted, and will stand down on the rant.
I will rephrase it to say that I have seen only one good kukri, out of more than 50 that I have examined. I guess that is because of my general level of ignorance on the subject. ( We try not to attack the person on Shop Talk, BTW. Tear down the statements all you want, but try and avoid personal attacks.)
I have no problem with hand made kukri by individual smiths, but the commercial ones seem pretty poor.

The knife in my avatar is a full take down D-guard bowie, made on a 1860-1880's pattern, and was the subject matter of a magazine article on D-guards. After the article, Joe Perry wanted to purchase it for $2500, but a hurricane and then a north-easter queered the deal.

The D-guard was considered a good feature when people used knives in hand to hand fighting. I have made several for martial arts and knife use instructors...but what do those guys know.
 
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There are plenty of well made Kukris out there. I don't think this one fits your description at all.

ChiruwaAngKholafor3-26.jpg
 
..That carbon content is too low for 6150..Its about right for 4140..Probably a typo, the standard for 6150 is about 0.48-0.53.
 
bladsmth said:
I will rephrase it to say that I have seen only one good kukri, out of more than 50 that I have examined.
Click to expand...
Which is? And may i ask how do you examine it? Have you try to chop with it?

bladsmth said:
The D-guard was considered a good feature when people used knives in hand to hand fighting. I have made several for martial arts and knife use instructors...but what do those guys know.
Click to expand...
D-guard,FS, machete, parang, Kampilan,Khukuri and even a small Okapi had been known to inflict great pain and death. It's all about technique and intent of use, apart from the design of the blade itself.
This is a good read from one of the best "knifer/sworder"-the late weapons expert Hank Reinhardt
http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/hrinterview.htm

HR:
Case in point is the British experience against -- oh, I think it was the north Indians -- where they were taking discarded British swords, sharpening them and then going and [practically] cutting soldiers in half. The British were astonished, and when asked how they managed this, [the Indians] said, "Oh we used your blades, they're very good." This shocked [the British]. When they asked how [the Indians] taught fighting, they said, "Oh, we don't teach anything, we just run up and hit really hard!"
Click to expand...

Back to OP, 6150/4140 is usually made into impact-prone tools for toughness; Usually see 6150 used in forging hammer and 4140, a gun rifle material (staple of RMJ hawk) which usually hardened to Rc 55Max.(RC60 would be too brittle for the edge). Moreover, the edge retention of these metals are poor. Khukuris are traditionally differentially hardened with harder edge and softer spine.
 
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Instead of 6150, most khukuris are made in 5160, 1050, 1080 or 1095.

If you can find 9260 it would probably be better!

J
 
At some point you just have to trust the maker. The guy could be listing the best steels available, and even using them, but then you still have to trust him that he knows what hes doing when it comes to heat treating.

If you like the design, done your research, and so far only have heard positive results (albiet only from 1 buyer) then I agree with tryppyr....just give it a try and if its not for you then you can resell it to get back some/all of your money.

bladsmth, while I agree that the vast majority of kukris out there are made of inferior quality, a well designed, and made, one functions beautifully. Same thing with barongs, bolos, and similar indigenous designs. Often the makers don't know what they are doing (or don't care) but if you find a decent maker they can be really efficient designs.
 
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