Loose bolster

Y

yoippari

Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
341
My 18" kobra has recently developed a loose habaki (sp?) bolster. I havent had it long and have only really used it once. It has a horn handle. This only developed after the broad side whack and light wood prying tests. However I did not notice it until about 4 days after the test. So far I havent oiled, treated, or otherwise pampered any part of the knife, just a super glue crack fix and a little fileing of the butt cap.
 
sounds like you know what to do. ;)

Keep us posted.
 
I had a loose bolster on a non-Habaki bolster AK, that I fixed by cutting the corner off an HD zip-lock bag and put some J-B Weld in it. Got the corner under the bolster and squeezed in the JB. No more rattle!
 
Yoippari--the first thing I'd try would be to moisturize the handle with some hooflex or other lanolin-containing product. As it expands, it may push against the bolster and fix the looseness. If that doesn't work, try gluing it. I'd try superglue first, as it will seep in an melt the laha. When the laha and glue harden, the bolster should be good to go. If that doesn't work, try JB Weld as Rio Jim suggests. It seems to hold up to vibrations better than other epoxy. If it's really loose, you might want to try pushing a few toothpicks in as shims and gluing them with either superglue or some sort of epoxy, then trimming off the excess flush with the edge of the bolster. Whatever you do, I'd strongly recommend against trying to hammer or squeeze the bolster in any way to tighten it. I did this on a chiruwa WWII and really uglified it. The bolster is purely cosmetic anyway, so all you are really wanting to do is tighten it up enough so that it doesn't rattle during use.

--Josh
 
I think that the hooflex would be my best bet. It doesnt move much, not even enough to get my fingernail between the bolster and the handle. However I can get my nail between the blade and the bolster. Where can I get this... "hooflex"? Sporting goods store? knife shop?
 
yoippari said:
I think that the hooflex would be my best bet. It doesnt move much, not even enough to get my fingernail between the bolster and the handle. However I can get my nail between the blade and the bolster. Where can I get this... "hooflex"? Sporting goods store? knife shop?
Click to expand...

You can usually find hooflex at feed stores--it's made for horse hooves. Anything with lanolin will work well--you can even find pure lanolin in a pharmacy, where it is sold, as Rusty will happily tell you ;) :D, as a balm for the sore nipples of nursing mothers. Others have good luck with olive oil or mineral oil on horn, but I like hooflex myself.

--Josh
 
I was thinking of making a bruise like comment regarding the balm version, but I couldn't flush it out even semi-realisticly. Bruise, you have a gift, just dont over use it or dan might get ANOTHER $20s via paypal.
Ok, we have a couple of feed stores nearby that I will check out.
 
Hooflex is also sold at a tack store (about $8). They should also carry Corona Antiseptic Ointment ($3.49, 2 oz). It has 50% lanolin (I don't think Hooflex lists the amount, which usually means less). A pound of Lanolin Anhydrous U.S.P. can be pretty pricey from a pharmacy, and doesn't smell as pretty. It's also pretty sticky. I just gave several of my horn grips 4 coats of WATCO Danish Oil (Home Depot or a hardware store, about $10 / quart). Any of the above should help swell the horn. If you try the J-B Weld approach, I went in between the blade and the bolster.
 
Good help and I think problem will soon be solved. About the only function of the bolster is a habaki style helps keep knife in scabbard.
 
I just noticed this and think it might be related. There is a new hairline crack that starts at the bolster (about 30 degrees from the top) and runs all the way to the double rings, getting thinner all the way. Could this be from the broadside whack test? I'm thinking that the hooflex will likely fix this also and if not then superglue definetly will.

After finding this I checked the karda and chakma and found a second hairline crack on the karda (the first is a hairline about an inch long, the second is hairline about 1/4" long and starts just below the corner of the spine) I have never used the karda on anything that would put much stress on the handle. The first on the chakma looks like it started at the factory where there is a chip in the handle by the blade which was filled with laha. the second starts right at the top corner of the blade and followed the grain in a semi-circle (makes me think that a little disk shaped piece wants to come off). I do use the chakma similar to how I would use a small steel, so I do put preasure on it.

I fixed the first cracks with superglue when the knife arrived. I should probably go over them again to really fill them in. I guess what I am asking about the karda and chakma is: is this normal, and would hooflex fix it?
 
Maybe I'm too easy on my knives (like Danny, I have a lot of shelf queens!), but I don't whack any of my knives on the side. Sure it can happen accidentally while you are working with the knife, especially with a heavy blade, but IMO that is about the hardest thing you can do to any knife or sword. Chop with it sure, and hard. That's what it is meant for. And I would say that this does not apply to a chiruwa style handle. But hitting a heavy bladed rat tail tang knife on the side is really stretching the design limits to the extreme.

Don't get me wrong, if I'm outside and get tired and swing wrong and the tang snaps I wouldn't be embarrassed about asking Uncle Bill to see if he could get me a replacement, but I don't feel right stressing it that way out of the box. I have a feeling depending upon the blade geometry and length that I have a few that would not survive, and those are for slicing, not chopping.

I'm not saying you did anything wrong by testing your knife in this way, but it is pushing the design envelope.

Regards,

Norm
 
Depending ont he time of year, Uncle Bill heartily suggests the whack test Svashtar. Or at least, I THINK that's what my memory says. ;) During Dhasein(which I always spell wrong), I guess there's genreally one or two blades that get through hardeend too far up the tang(making it brittle, and then weak), so he suggests testing your khuks this way to make sure they were heat treated right.

Again, memory's rather fuzzy right now, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this. :)
 
Yoipari I would not recommend using the hooflex to fix the cracks if you already fixed some with superglue. I always recommend hooflex before glue fixes, because the glue is permanent. However, after gluing if you use the hooflex, the subsequent strains caused by the moisture intake can either cause new cracks or weaken the old glue fixes. If new cracks are appearing, and since you have already glued, I would recommend going ahead and fixing the new cracks with glue, and then putting on a superglue finish to finally seal the horn. Im not sure if the kami's are sealing the horn after finishing it, but since the khuks are so sensitive to moisture, I would imagine they are not. Some ivory workers I have known recommend that all horn after curing be sealed. Superglue works, as well as clear lacquer. Would make for a less maintainence intensive khuk. I know the khuks I have sealed have not have had cracking problems. Though I must admit sealing takes aways the organic feeling of holding unsealed horn, and that I do not seal everything. Though I am considering it now as the blade collection grows.
 
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