Leather Handle for Sirupate

T

TWBryan

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
1,140
Scored a 20.5" sirupate from Auntie Yangdu,this one is 20.5" (overall) ,came with a cracked horn handle. After looking it over I decided to replace the handle with a leather stacked one. It took a little while to boil the handle and remove the odoriffic laha (monkey-poo glue). I put a slight bend in the tang,then went after it with leather washers and 2 ton epoxy. The blade now feels like "magic" in my hand,so I guess I did something right.

Thanks For Looking

khukhndle205.jpg
 
Did you heat the tang then forge in the slight curve, or just bend it cold?

Edited to add: Nice work!
 
:thumbup:

Those leather washer handles look so right on khukris.

A little bit of the West added to the East.

I can dig it.
 
Thanks guys! I find that the further from the blade you get, the softer the tang is, I bent it cold. As I said just a slight bend.
 
What do you do with the bolster?

They're made of formed sheet brass and hollow.

Do you fill the inside of the bolster with smaller washers or epoxy, etc?
 
Wolf 1989-I used a two-part epoxy putty,comes in 2 small metal cans. Kind of like JB weld. I clean out the bolster,set it into place and fill it with putty. The next day I file it flat and can start putting on the leather washers.
 
TWBryan said:
Wolf 1989-I used a two-part epoxy putty,comes in 2 small metal cans. Kind of like JB weld. I clean out the bolster,set it into place and fill it with putty. The next day I file it flat and can start putting on the leather washers.
Click to expand...

Ah so. Sounds like that would work pretty well.

I'm just about convinced that should I ever need to replace a khukuri handle, leather washers would be the way to go.

Good looks, good gripping surface, good shock absorption...
sounds like a winning combination to me.
 
I think this is the second Khukuri that I have seen with leather washers used as replacement handle material and they sure look great to me. :thumbup:

I really like the idea of a natural product such as leather replacing other natural products such as either the original wood or horn materials.;)

The concept makes many 'plems' with a handle issue a candidate for the leather washer treatment. :)
 
Munchi kool- Well,I did a 25" sirupate earlier,and I think Il Bruche started this with one he did. I actually orderd the washers from fleabay from a birdtoy store. They're vegatable tanned,can't tell you whether the price was all that great or not,seemed like it at the time.
Must apologize for what I now realize is a pretty bad pic. The handle actually looks uneven in places,it isn't. It's really smooth and even and fits my hand very well. As to the blade I think Bura did a good job,Yangdu did her usual fantastic shipping and I received it from across the country in 3 days.
Handling the khukuri it feels very good in my hand,almost like it has a neutral balance and could move in any direction without overcoming inertia.
 
Nice job, Bryan. :cool:
Bending the tang really changes the blade dynamics, doesn't it?
Cheers
Eric
 
Eric C -Thanks,yes I think it changes it a bit. Although I think that sirupates seem to fit me better than any other khukuri.
 
Leather looks much better than Neoprene, let me tell you! Is the bottom of the handle flush with the bolster or offset slightly? Either way, good work!
 
Yangdu-Thanks! You flatter me. :)

Bushman5-Thanks!

DrThunder88-Thanks! Yup,on the underside of the grip there is a slight offset,about 1/32". I could probably correct it,but as the knife is mine I am content to leave it be. The belt sander helps immeasurably in shaping these type of handles. I find that some khukuri handles are almost perfectly round,I prefer an oval cross-section which orients the hand better.
 
I noticed the cross-section thing too. The shoulders on the blade I worked on were almost two inches wide. A two inch cylinder proved too big for me to get a purchase on!

And +1 on the belt sander, though my little 1x30 got to chugging on the washers!

Good work again!
 
It's tricky to transition smoothly from one diameter to another without it looking crude. All I have is a little 1x30 harbor freight. I used the 40 grit belt to remove large amounts and rough it.Then I switched to 80 grit to finish it on the sander. The sander kindo of "lugged down" a couple times,but kept going.:thumbup:
 
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