M-43

Dpris- mine is wood. I soaked it for a week straight and it just brought it back a tad. Couldn't tell you how well it soaked, since I didn't measure.
 
Yeah, hard to quantify expansion exactly.

Normally, I would not use mineral oil on wood.
Too much oil absorption of any kind can cause deterioration of the wood fibers over long periods of time, has been known to ruin rifle stocks.

Most of the shrinkage solutions I see mentioned are linseed for wood & Hooflex or mineral oil for horn.

I've also tried olive oil on one horn handle, a while back.
Didn't seem to do anything noticeable.

I didn't know if the mineral oil would do much for the wood on this M-43 here, just had the jar already full of it & thought maybe soaking for a few days fully immersed, as a one-time deal, could help.

The tang surfaces on it came not hugely proud, but enough to wear skin with repeated heavy use.
Oddly enough, the pommel cap is a perfect fit.

Decided if I soaked the handle in oil & it grew any, it might grow above the cap edges.
So, started with a single-cut bastard file, took the tang edges down to the wood, worked through progressively finer diamond files to blend steel to wood & remove the medium-coarse file marks, then rubbed a good coat of oil into the wood surface till most was absorbed. Wiped off the rest.

That may do it for now, but I do have another question re the rivets/pins:

Youse guys are much more into the technical construction aspects than I've ever been.
In trying to make this M-43 everything it can be, the tang's now fine for extended use, but the rivet heads are just high enough to scrape slightly.

Since they're aluminum, they can be easily filed or sanded down flush.

Questions are- is the visible head that I see the same diameter as the rivet's shaft, or are the heads peened out into a mushroom shape to retain them in place?
On a wood-handled CAK just acquired, the rivet heads are obviously peened out way beyond the diameters I see in other Chiruwa handles.

Are the rivets glued in place?
Are the wood scales glued, too?

If I sand the heads down flush, will the rivets loosen & wander?

I don't have overly sensitive hands, but if this M-43 ends up joining the regular expedition gear, it has to be cleaned up enough in the handle area to not cause a debilitating injury to hands in emergency use.
I'm not being critical of the workmanship, I'm just very picky about the serious tools I bet my life on. :)

So far, this one's looking very good.
Denis
 
The scales and usually the rivets are basically glued on with laha. They are peened over.
If they are sticking up I generally just file them down and then sand em smooth.

So far I've never had the pin work loose or be effected in any negative way. Not to say it couldn't happen.

But if they are sticking up I'd file em down and make it right. If the pin works loose we'll deal with it. Repean or replace in a worst case scenario.
 
What Bawanna said Denis. I have filed many many of them down to the wood or horn surface simply because of shrinkage and have had no problem with them. They are aluminum and they are mushroomed slightly but after filing look just fine. Im sure Bawanna has had plenty of experience with that becuase of his checkering talents. He probably files them flush before he checkers over them. Im only speculating tho. I usually file mine first before I send them to him to save him the trouble and he gives me a cut rate discount;) The only pins I have had come loose are the ones that have the brass liners around them like what is on the ASTK and Samsher and a few others. The brass will be tight in the wood but sometimes the aluminum will slip around inside the brass liner. If your lucky and there has been some shrinkage you can re-peen them then file flush and be done. Problem with peening them further when they are raised and still tight is you risk splitting the scales. Not worth the risk solely for cosmetic reasons so I just file them flush and DD.
 
Thanks, that helps too.

If it were just cosmetic, I wouldn't bother, but I don't want scrapes & blisters in the wilds.
Denis
 
They can give good scrapes. That's why I filed down the pins on mine. I had a good slice across the callus of my upper right palm near the base of the middle finger.
 
"I usually file mine first before I send them to him to save him the trouble and he gives me a cut rate discount"



And don't think for a moment your efforts go unnoticed. You speculate edzachary weedhopper. Every one of the bowies has had rivets filed down a bit. Most only needed just a bit of filing, some more than others but they need to be flush to run the checkering tools over them.
 
DPris said:
Hmmm.
Looks to be a strong all-round package.

Steel fittings can rust, but appear to be less likely to deform than brass.
Chirruwa style tang adds strength (I know the rat-tail's good enough for heavy use & involves less vibration, but something somewhere in the back of my head just keeps telling me for sheer toughosity go chirruwa...).
And with two pommel cap peening points it appears to severely resist the possibility of that cap loosening.

Maybe the strongest (most durable) model, overall?

Anybody have much experience with the M-43?
This one's a 15-incher.
Denis
Click to expand...

My m43 has been a great chopper I use it around my property a lot. Check out wildmike's post's on here. When he was homeless he used his M43 to build several shelters and a cabin to live in out in the woods.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1041119-My-Famous-M43-Kukri?highlight=m43+wildmike
 
On the ring, British Gurkha issue Mk. II, as well as the enigmatic M-43 (whether or not it was issued has been debated), both came with rings and slick handles. The WWI Mk. II had rings, as well as early WWII models. The rings seem totally gone by at least 1943 from what I've seen. The consesus appears to be it was cost cutting, as quality also seemed to deteriorate with Mk. II in general at the same time. Production was really ramped up. As well, Mk. II were issued to Allied servicemen, so that could have played a part as many do not like the unfamiliar ring (if it's not in the right place for your hand size, it is annoying). The Mk. II was an issue piece for the US Merrill's Marauder Rangers.

Any excuse to post pics:) Here is a WWI/early WWII Mk. II with ring.
RingedMkII004.jpg


Here are two 1943 Pioneer Calcutta Mk. II and an M-43 on bottom, sans ring. Notice the quality difference between the above ringed Mk. II and the Pioneers. It can be felt as much as seen. All of the M-43's I've seen appear to be of very high quality.
mkii010.jpg
 
Hmmm.
I actually like the ring.
It's in a comfortable spot for my hands on my other khukuris, but I can live without it on the 43.

Kinda thought it might be a cost-cutting deal.

Also interesting to find Merrill's Marauders carried khukuris.
Denis
 
DPris said:
Hmmm.
I actually like the ring.
It's in a comfortable spot for my hands on my other khukuris, but I can live without it on the 43.

Kinda thought it might be a cost-cutting deal.

Also interesting to find Merrill's Marauders carried khukuris.
Denis
Click to expand...

Maybe how the Katana could have gotten back to Nepal from Burma? Just a thought.
 
While plenty US troops have carried khuks, the Marauders are the only ones I know of who had them issued. It's because they initially trained with the Chindits, as they were to work jointly on long range penetration. Unfortunately, Gen. Stilwell managed to steal them to spearhead his Chinese troops. Anyway, while training, the Marauders were very impressed with the Gurkha and their khuks and the supply officer managed to obtain a large supply of Mk. II khuks. Many photos of General Merrill show him wearing his khuk.

Here is Major Briggs, the CO of Khaki Combat Team, Third Battalion, performing an equipment inspection prior to departure to Myitkyina.

1e409df3-1e4e-4569-8d2a-7a3fee6c6095_zps867e96e5.jpg
 
Times have changed.
Never knew a major who understood which end of a rifle the bullet came out. :)
Denis
 
DPris said:
Times have changed.
Never knew a major who understood which end of a rifle the bullet came out. :)
Denis
Click to expand...

Different days indeed! Fought in a time and place where every soldier walked everywhere and carried what they needed on their backs. They were re-supplied by air, when available. A year or so prior, General Stilwell and Col. (at the time) Merrill themselves walked over 100 miles on foot to lead a group of Americans and Burmese out of Burma into India barely leading the quickly advancing Japanese. Colonel Hunter's (who truly lead the force) HQ was whichever hut close to the fighting the local Burmese village head would loan him. They had a projected 80% casualty rate, which was later proven accurate. But, with the help of the Chindits, brave and creative US pilots, and some useful Chinese troops (the troops were good, but only one Chinese general was worth a crap), they crushed the idea that the Imperial Japanese were the premiere jungle warriors and helped turn the tide of war in the Pacific theater. During the Chinese advance, it was said General Stilwell, if unhappy with the speed of the advance, would walk out beyond the Chinese front lines and stand there, forcing the Chinese command to push their front lest the commanding US general be killed by a lucky Japanese bullet! Sorry for the thread drift:)
 
That quality of leadership was sorely lacking during my later 1970s uniform time.
One common joke at one base was that if the balloon went up, our first shots would be to the rear (removing said "leadership"), after which we'd go on to handle the problem. :)
But- as you say, enough thread drift.

Had been trying Mr. Puckett for a sheath, but response is sluggish.
Now dickering with Wildmanh Heber for a baldric arrangement for this M-43.
It's currently sitting in the oil bath with the most recent wood-handled CAK after removing the three hornies.
I'll give it a couple days there to see if the wood grows at all.

After filing tangs down on both, doesn't need much expansion.

If the M-43 tends to run about 15 inches, use steel fittings instead of brass, and feature that dual-attachment pommel cap, I'm thinking future buys will probably be that model, as a general purpose user.
Too much rain lately to do anything with it, but I'm liking the overall construction & size so far.
Denis
 
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