jdk1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2010
- Messages
- 2,040
Well Im at it again. Once you get over the initial fear that you will destroy something, tinkering with it becomes fun! Some may remember my very special, special order, 19 inch M-43 by Tirtha. I was floored when I received it and Im still amazed every time I hold it. It came with a very serviceable wooden handle. But many of my other khuks came with great handles. I remember Cpl. Punishment (I believe) saying he always felt his M-43 would fly out of his hand during use. Mine wasnt quite to that point, but never felt rock solid either. Now I must offer full disclosure. As some may remember, Im just getting to know my new rotator cuff. So my M-43 has not seen heavy use of any sort yet, though I feel heavy use will only endear me to this lovely khuk. My lighter khuks are seeing use and Im enjoying it. I didnt want my M-43 to be an its a great khuk, but Im gonna grab my WWII/ GRS/BC/CAK
. khuk. I wanted it to feel as good as it looked. Time is precious right now, with small children, but I managed to fit in some weekend work sessions. Like my B-43 (chiruwa Bhojpuri/Malla), Im glad I hit the work bench.
I locked her into the vise and began to work. I remembered Hungs advice to work slow and take breaks. I started with sandpaper, constantly assessing my work. I quickly realized using sand paper was not quite enough. I began using files, rasps, and a Dremel tool. You have to watch the Dremel tool! It actually went very smoothly. I did get one gouge with a rasp, but final sanding worked most of it out. Notice the rear pins are larger than the front. I followed Hungs advice again, removing the wood while leaving the pin. I peened the pin using a small ball peen hammer with leather covering the anvil surface of my vice, to protect the other side of the handle. Once I had the pins peened to my satisfaction, I filed them down. Final sanding with 100, 220, and 400 grit paper preceded Watco Danish Oil in natural color. The wood is very dark maroon/brown, with purple and black grain, looking suspiciously like red never mind. Im very pleased with the results. The dark wood contrasts nicely with the shiny steel. The wood is also very dense and hard. I have a lot of confidence in the handles ability to withstand abuse.
Some Details;
The grip was originally shaped like a sausage. It was big in the middle with a little taper at the ends. The diameter was too large, even with my relatively large, but not yeti sized hands. Also, the handle was very round. It seemed like I could swing it with the edge off center without knowing. Without the bell pommel, it could have gotten away from me for sure. Again, it felt OK and would have worked, but with that much material I knew the perfect grip was just beneath the surface. I first worked the top and bottom to give it more downward curve and taper. I didnt go drastic, just tweaked it. I also increased the taper from top to bottom. I then knocked the top off the bell pommel, rounding it quite a bit. I remember the original M-43 seemed to have little pommel on top compared to the bottom. From there I removed a little from the front sides and a lot from the rear sides. From the top, or bottom, it has a nice taper which guides my hand into place and easily indexes the edge for me, if you understand what I mean. I can now close my eyes and know where the edge is. Since I scratched the base plate while removing metal, I went ahead and sanded the whole pommel with 400 grit paper. I then had to decide what to do with the bolster. I got the idea to sand the rounds and leave the flats polished. Theyre a little scratched, but I kind of like the look. The 400 grit paper leaves a nice satin finish.
Im very pleased with the results. It feels very good and looks great to me. I will continue to tweak it as I use it, but that will be fun. It was really easy and improved the grip dramatically. I can now say its a custom fit! I was very apprehensive to begin, but once I started, it was kind of addicting. I actually had to stop myself to be sure I didnt remove too much material. Hungs M-43 lost several ounces after putting his handle on a diet. I was looking forward to seeing where my weight was, since I removed a bit of wood, aluminum, and steel. It started at an already sweet 31.6 ounces, for a 19 inch khuk. I was surprised to find the postal scale registered 31.8 ounces this time. I can only attribute the additional 2/10th ounce to the Danish Oil (or a bad scale). I wont loose any sleep on this though. Handle weight will only improve the feel, helping balance out the long blade. I didnt take handle measurements before beginning, but heres what the handle measures now:
1st Pin: 1.38 (W) X 1.45 (H) inches
2nd Pin: 1.13 (W) X 1.33 (H) inches
A few random thoughts on this khuk or khuks in general:
This khuk will not replace my 16.5 inch WWII for general light work. It cant. The WWII is just perfect IMHO for lighter work due to the handy size and perfect balance. This M-43 was meant to be my do it all/bullet proof khuk. I hate to use the overused fall of the western world scenario, though this IS the khuk for that. I prefer to think of it more as, if I were a bush pilot or long-term backwoods traveler, what would I need? Maybe I listened too much to Wildmike (I always enjoyed reading his glowing praises of the M-43), but I envision this khuk as handling everything from trimming a walking stick to building a cabin. Mike pretty much proved to my satisfaction that this model is capable of exactly that. At a hair under two pounds and 19 inches in length, it has everything I need in weight and reach without being cumbersome. The chiruwa handle seems easy to repair in the field. Shoot, if it started to crack, I could just wrap it with duct tape or bailing wire (which seemingly grows from the ground in this part of Texas). I also like the longer handle, around 6 ¼ inches from peened end cap to the front of the bolster, due to flexibility. As Ive said in other threads, it allows me to either add or subtract balance from the blade, depending on hand placement. I see this as a plus for a come-what-may tool. The M-43 is probably no better in this role than an ASTK or the new Deradune (or several others for that matter), but certainly no worse. And strangely, Ive come full circle over aesthetic preferences. In the beginning, I preferred the angled shoulder, and now really enjoy the quarter moon curve. Go figure. Ive rambled on long enough. Id love to hear what yall think about all of this. I receive a lot of entertainment and knowledge from you guys. Take care and God bless.
Old and new shots from above:
Old and new profile:
And an edge view:
I'm sorry for being so wordy, but I hope you enjoyed the photos
.
I locked her into the vise and began to work. I remembered Hungs advice to work slow and take breaks. I started with sandpaper, constantly assessing my work. I quickly realized using sand paper was not quite enough. I began using files, rasps, and a Dremel tool. You have to watch the Dremel tool! It actually went very smoothly. I did get one gouge with a rasp, but final sanding worked most of it out. Notice the rear pins are larger than the front. I followed Hungs advice again, removing the wood while leaving the pin. I peened the pin using a small ball peen hammer with leather covering the anvil surface of my vice, to protect the other side of the handle. Once I had the pins peened to my satisfaction, I filed them down. Final sanding with 100, 220, and 400 grit paper preceded Watco Danish Oil in natural color. The wood is very dark maroon/brown, with purple and black grain, looking suspiciously like red never mind. Im very pleased with the results. The dark wood contrasts nicely with the shiny steel. The wood is also very dense and hard. I have a lot of confidence in the handles ability to withstand abuse.
Some Details;
The grip was originally shaped like a sausage. It was big in the middle with a little taper at the ends. The diameter was too large, even with my relatively large, but not yeti sized hands. Also, the handle was very round. It seemed like I could swing it with the edge off center without knowing. Without the bell pommel, it could have gotten away from me for sure. Again, it felt OK and would have worked, but with that much material I knew the perfect grip was just beneath the surface. I first worked the top and bottom to give it more downward curve and taper. I didnt go drastic, just tweaked it. I also increased the taper from top to bottom. I then knocked the top off the bell pommel, rounding it quite a bit. I remember the original M-43 seemed to have little pommel on top compared to the bottom. From there I removed a little from the front sides and a lot from the rear sides. From the top, or bottom, it has a nice taper which guides my hand into place and easily indexes the edge for me, if you understand what I mean. I can now close my eyes and know where the edge is. Since I scratched the base plate while removing metal, I went ahead and sanded the whole pommel with 400 grit paper. I then had to decide what to do with the bolster. I got the idea to sand the rounds and leave the flats polished. Theyre a little scratched, but I kind of like the look. The 400 grit paper leaves a nice satin finish.
Im very pleased with the results. It feels very good and looks great to me. I will continue to tweak it as I use it, but that will be fun. It was really easy and improved the grip dramatically. I can now say its a custom fit! I was very apprehensive to begin, but once I started, it was kind of addicting. I actually had to stop myself to be sure I didnt remove too much material. Hungs M-43 lost several ounces after putting his handle on a diet. I was looking forward to seeing where my weight was, since I removed a bit of wood, aluminum, and steel. It started at an already sweet 31.6 ounces, for a 19 inch khuk. I was surprised to find the postal scale registered 31.8 ounces this time. I can only attribute the additional 2/10th ounce to the Danish Oil (or a bad scale). I wont loose any sleep on this though. Handle weight will only improve the feel, helping balance out the long blade. I didnt take handle measurements before beginning, but heres what the handle measures now:
1st Pin: 1.38 (W) X 1.45 (H) inches
2nd Pin: 1.13 (W) X 1.33 (H) inches
A few random thoughts on this khuk or khuks in general:
This khuk will not replace my 16.5 inch WWII for general light work. It cant. The WWII is just perfect IMHO for lighter work due to the handy size and perfect balance. This M-43 was meant to be my do it all/bullet proof khuk. I hate to use the overused fall of the western world scenario, though this IS the khuk for that. I prefer to think of it more as, if I were a bush pilot or long-term backwoods traveler, what would I need? Maybe I listened too much to Wildmike (I always enjoyed reading his glowing praises of the M-43), but I envision this khuk as handling everything from trimming a walking stick to building a cabin. Mike pretty much proved to my satisfaction that this model is capable of exactly that. At a hair under two pounds and 19 inches in length, it has everything I need in weight and reach without being cumbersome. The chiruwa handle seems easy to repair in the field. Shoot, if it started to crack, I could just wrap it with duct tape or bailing wire (which seemingly grows from the ground in this part of Texas). I also like the longer handle, around 6 ¼ inches from peened end cap to the front of the bolster, due to flexibility. As Ive said in other threads, it allows me to either add or subtract balance from the blade, depending on hand placement. I see this as a plus for a come-what-may tool. The M-43 is probably no better in this role than an ASTK or the new Deradune (or several others for that matter), but certainly no worse. And strangely, Ive come full circle over aesthetic preferences. In the beginning, I preferred the angled shoulder, and now really enjoy the quarter moon curve. Go figure. Ive rambled on long enough. Id love to hear what yall think about all of this. I receive a lot of entertainment and knowledge from you guys. Take care and God bless.
Old and new shots from above:
Old and new profile:
And an edge view:
I'm sorry for being so wordy, but I hope you enjoyed the photos
.
) which is 17 inches and 23 ounces, IIRC. Maybe the kamis need to try that same flat grind design, though forged of course, on the B-43 profile at about 17 inches. The Farm Knife appears to have that type of forge, so it should be possible. It should result in a khuk close to the original. I'd buy one quick like
. In the mean time, I love the HIs I have and they fit my needs pretty well. Take care and God bless.