- Joined
- Oct 25, 2004
- Messages
- 3,178
In this thread, aliloff did a truly excellent job of rehandling a khukuri with leather washers. Reading about the process there and elsewhere, and not personally owning any leather handled knives, it got me to thinking...could I do this? Should I do this? A bit of preliminary research left me believing that this style handle would actually be very appropriate (if unorthodox) for a large chopping blade in general and a khukuri in particular. Problem was, most of my khuks already have pretty good handles...except one.
I've got an old UBE that I picked up at the MWKK of '05. It had a plain if functional horn handle that actually didn't fit my hand too badly, although the shape was a bit odd. I'd already aquired a few extremely efficient choppers by then and wasn't impressed by anything that couldn't chop wood well, and the UBE didn't -- I mean, look at the shape and the weight. (28 oz., in this case.) It's just not made for that. I chopped some wood with it just so I could say that I had and it spent the next year and a half hanging on the wall. I was actually thinking about selling it.
Maybe a new handle would jazz it up?
I also read about the various ways the leather handle can be secured. I didn't feel like peening yet another tang but threading, now...I own no khuks with a bolted-on handle and I'd never threaded a tang before. This would be a perfect time to try it out, right?
I don't think that it turned out too badly for my first attempt:
I also "de-habaki'd" the bolster a bit while it was dismounted. I mean, why not?
I'm still playing with finishes for a leather handle. Multiple soaks with Watco Danish Oil (what else?) and buffing afterwards seem to be hardening and darkening the leather without making it feel plasticky. The handle right now feels wonderful in the hand, and a bit of testing on a fire hardened piece of seasoned madrone reveals that it transmits virtually no shock to the hand at all. It was also the easiest handle that I've ever constructed -- no, seriously, if one takes their time and uses a bit of common sense it's almost impossible to go too far wrong.
In the meantime, the UBE will be seeing some more mods in the near future -- some blade thickness and weight reduction, a reworked scabbard, and perhaps even a false edge. We'll see. I'm starting to like this one again in any event.
I've got an old UBE that I picked up at the MWKK of '05. It had a plain if functional horn handle that actually didn't fit my hand too badly, although the shape was a bit odd. I'd already aquired a few extremely efficient choppers by then and wasn't impressed by anything that couldn't chop wood well, and the UBE didn't -- I mean, look at the shape and the weight. (28 oz., in this case.) It's just not made for that. I chopped some wood with it just so I could say that I had and it spent the next year and a half hanging on the wall. I was actually thinking about selling it.
Maybe a new handle would jazz it up?
I also read about the various ways the leather handle can be secured. I didn't feel like peening yet another tang but threading, now...I own no khuks with a bolted-on handle and I'd never threaded a tang before. This would be a perfect time to try it out, right?
I don't think that it turned out too badly for my first attempt:
I also "de-habaki'd" the bolster a bit while it was dismounted. I mean, why not?
I'm still playing with finishes for a leather handle. Multiple soaks with Watco Danish Oil (what else?) and buffing afterwards seem to be hardening and darkening the leather without making it feel plasticky. The handle right now feels wonderful in the hand, and a bit of testing on a fire hardened piece of seasoned madrone reveals that it transmits virtually no shock to the hand at all. It was also the easiest handle that I've ever constructed -- no, seriously, if one takes their time and uses a bit of common sense it's almost impossible to go too far wrong.
In the meantime, the UBE will be seeing some more mods in the near future -- some blade thickness and weight reduction, a reworked scabbard, and perhaps even a false edge. We'll see. I'm starting to like this one again in any event.
:thumbup:
