Maintenance Qs

Jens Schuetz

Jens Schuetz

Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
4,162
Hi,
Now I have 3 Kukris and would like to know how to keep them in good shape or fix a few minor issues.

* I just received my 18inch Amar Singh and it has some surface rust on its spine. What is the best way to deal with rust without having to scratch the blade?

* What oil is the best for leather, horn, wood and metal. I tried Lanolin after some online research. It makes horn and wood nice shiny but doesn't soak in since its more of a grease. Would a vacuum help?

* my sheath was too tight (compated to my other 2 HI Kukris) that even with careful pushing and wiggling Mr Amar Singh went right through it and bit my index and middle finger. The fingers will heal but how do I fix the sheath? Insert a plastic strip and glue a bit of leather on the outside?

*i like the look of the traditional sheaths but Kydex might be more functional. I made some in the past for normal knifes but would like some pointers regarding Kydex thickness and how to prevent the Kukri from getting stuck after molding the plastic to its curved shape.

Thanks guys.
 
I use mineral oil for all of my blades / handles it has worked quite well for me. And its food safe.
 
Flitz works well for me in removing surface rust, and it doesn't seem to affect the polish of a polished blade.

I use a leather conditioner for leather, hooflex (the paste, not the liquid) for horn, tung oil for wood, and mineral oil for metal.

I do not recommend kydex. We read far too many comments on Bladeforums about knives getting scratched up from kydex sheathes. HI blades are soft steel (except for the edge), which would be scratched even more easily than many of the knives in those comments.

Too tight or too loose sheathes can be a pain. I was able to stretch a too-tight sheath by inserting wedges, but it took a long time and I only got a little bit of stretch. For a too loose sheath you can glue a strip of leather inside, but it's not always easy. If you live in a climate that has extremes of weather, the tightness and looseness of a sheath might vary with the seasons. Leatherworkers such as Pugs can make you a custom sheath for a knife that you really love.
 
I concur with the Flitz. Also oil with 0000 steel wool will make short work of surface rust.

I'm a recent new fan of Ballistol. It's been around forever but I only recently gave it a try and I like it. Works equally well on the blade and wood/horn handle. Can't say on a bone handle but I see not reason it wouldn't. Just not certain.

A picture of your damaged sheath would help immensely.

I also second the Pugs option and don't care for Kydex on these blades although I do use kydex on some of my others.

They just seem to scream for leather.
 
I've had good luck soaking my overly tight scabbards in water then putting a slightly thicker than the blade wedge down in the the throat and allowing it to dry very slowly. To make sure they are really dry on the inside, I've turned them upside down over a floor vent. If all goes to plan, the sheath will draw up pretty snug on the wedge, but no further. In theory (and usually in practice), the blade fits easily.

Just a safety tip, never wrap your hand around the business side of the scabbard. It makes me shudder at how bad that could have been for you. I always try to wrap my hand over the spine of the scabbard and never close to the edge. Hell, it makes me cringe to watch those old Samurai movies where the warrior completely wraps his hand around the throat of his scabbard when he draws. It might be 100% safe, but I've been khuks a LONG time. It also might have something to do with having been bitten by my HI Kat about 10 years back:D
 
I also use Flitz for metal polish and mineral oil for the blade. Watco or tung oil for a wooden handle and mineral oil for a horn handle.
 
If the rust is really light a pencil eraser will do the trick. Just rub it vigorously for a while then clean off any residue.
 
Rust can be removed with metal polish or if it's pitted a bit 600 grit sandpaper followed by 1500 grit and then metal polish. It will look better than new.
 
Thanks everybody.
Pictures of the sheath tonight.
All you can see is a 2-3 cm long cut in the spine side of the leather. It's the opposite of the business side but since it was the tip which went through (at a very flat angle) it didn't matter that I kept my fingers away from where the edge is in the sheath.
The cut is long but not wide. It's so thin it's barely visible. I would sew it but the leather is wrapped so tight that I doubt I can push a needle in. When the tip went through a little bid of wood dust came through the cut and some was on the blade.
I think it's just cosmetic but wait for everybody's opinion before fixing it.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Thanks everybody.
Pictures of the sheath tonight.
All you can see is a 2-3 cm long cut in the spine side of the leather. It's the opposite of the business side but since it was the tip which went through (at a very flat angle) it didn't matter that I kept my fingers away from where the edge is in the sheath.
The cut is long but not wide. It's so thin it's barely visible. I would sew it but the leather is wrapped so tight that I doubt I can push a needle in. When the tip went through a little bid of wood dust came through the cut and some was on the blade.
I think it's just cosmetic but wait for everybody's opinion before fixing it.
Click to expand...

I fixed a split sheath by filling the crack in the wood with superglue. After the wood hardened I used leather glue to close the split.
 
Wow, I didn't think it was possible to cut through the sheath at that point. I've read and adhere to Uncle Bills safety thread but I'm gonna be even more careful after seeing that. It looks very very minor to me. Like you could put a little black shoe polish on it and it wouldn't show. But if the blade will go through there we probably need a better fix.
 
I was using Hooflex for keeping my horn handles healthy, but found mineral oil may be the best. I bought a WWII vintage khuk with a severely dried horn handle. It looked very poor. I soaked it in mineral oil by filling an old large glass jar and placing the khuk in handle down. By the next day the horn looked as though it had just come off the buff! It literally made it new again. Good luck.
 
Thanks again.

I ordered Flitz from Amazon. Flitz sound like a paste which I used on my bicycle when I was young (in Germany)

I had tried the pencil eraser and it removes most of the rust except for a few darker areas. I wish I would have known the trick when removing rust from rifles in the army.

The jar filled with oil sounds so simple and effective. Will need to get more oil first.

Widening the sheath sounds straight forward. I will try that after I fixed the cut so it doesn't spread.

I'm still planning on making a Kydex sheath and to prevent scratches I might line it with a softer plastic or leather.

Thanks again for everybody's help.
 
I delayed trying mineral oil for a long time and regret it. It's so cheap, but it's perfect for hydrating horn.
 
I read the ingredients on my can of Ballistol and it's primary ingredient is you guess it, mineral oil. Now wonder it works so well.

I've never looked for straight mineral oil before, maybe it's a common thing.
 
Bawanna said:
I read the ingredients on my can of Ballistol and it's primary ingredient is you guess it, mineral oil. Now wonder it works so well.

I've never looked for straight mineral oil before, maybe it's a common thing.
Click to expand...
Go to any pharmacy window and ask for it. It is sold as a laxative. Never tried it on myself? Ill stick with shrimp, crab, and lots of garlic butter for that:barf:!...:D I was figuring mixing half mineral oil and half Hooflex for my horns since it seems to be 50/50 on public opinion. For guns i have friends that swear by Ballistol but i cant seem to find it.
 
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