- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 580
I had shared this on another khukuri forum, but felt it was just as appropriate here......
Since I buy these khukuris for collecting only, I do not like to alter them in any way. Even though it’s rare for me to do so, there are times I’ve made an exception to this rule.
The Himalayan Imports factory edge on my WW2 model, and it's sharpened accessory blade, was something that bugged me too much to leave it as it was. The original HI edge on this knife looked as if it had been done after the blade had been highly polished. This left the edge pretty sharp, but it did not look as nice as on the other brand khukuri specimens that I own. The others seem to have all the sharpening done before the final polish is performed on them, leaving a nice smooth and sharp edge.
I put some good thought behind any possible modification before I decided to approach this task. Once my game plan was calculated, I went to work on it.
I masked off the entire blade and handle, except for leaving about 1/8" of the entire edge exposed. I then went to work on the edge using a very fine grit emery cloth (grade was not marked, but I would guess it to have been in the 700 to 900 grit range). I used this emery cloth supported by a cushioned home made sanding block. I then went with some soft cloth that I rubbed briskly against a finer grit polishing compound, and used it on the area that I had just used the emery cloth on (using the same home made cushioned sanding block as it's support). I then did the same thing again, but with an even finer grit polishing compound. Then I removed the tape and paper wrapping I had on the knife, and went over the entire blade area with some Flitz polish. This was done on both the main blade and it’s sharpened accessory blade.
Here is the “before” edge on the main blade (the original HI factory edge):
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/434/dscn09124yu.jpg
Here is the “after” look of the same edge after I performed the work on it:
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/6126/dscn09289xv.jpg
I kept it sharp, but not overly so (just right, IMO).
And now, when I wipe these blade edges down with a silicon cloth, it feels like I'm wiping down smooth glass,............ not like before, which felt more like I was wiping down the edge of a fine toothed hacksaw blade!
I’m definitely happy with my results!
Since I buy these khukuris for collecting only, I do not like to alter them in any way. Even though it’s rare for me to do so, there are times I’ve made an exception to this rule.
The Himalayan Imports factory edge on my WW2 model, and it's sharpened accessory blade, was something that bugged me too much to leave it as it was. The original HI edge on this knife looked as if it had been done after the blade had been highly polished. This left the edge pretty sharp, but it did not look as nice as on the other brand khukuri specimens that I own. The others seem to have all the sharpening done before the final polish is performed on them, leaving a nice smooth and sharp edge.
I put some good thought behind any possible modification before I decided to approach this task. Once my game plan was calculated, I went to work on it.
I masked off the entire blade and handle, except for leaving about 1/8" of the entire edge exposed. I then went to work on the edge using a very fine grit emery cloth (grade was not marked, but I would guess it to have been in the 700 to 900 grit range). I used this emery cloth supported by a cushioned home made sanding block. I then went with some soft cloth that I rubbed briskly against a finer grit polishing compound, and used it on the area that I had just used the emery cloth on (using the same home made cushioned sanding block as it's support). I then did the same thing again, but with an even finer grit polishing compound. Then I removed the tape and paper wrapping I had on the knife, and went over the entire blade area with some Flitz polish. This was done on both the main blade and it’s sharpened accessory blade.
Here is the “before” edge on the main blade (the original HI factory edge):
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/434/dscn09124yu.jpg
Here is the “after” look of the same edge after I performed the work on it:
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/6126/dscn09289xv.jpg
I kept it sharp, but not overly so (just right, IMO).
And now, when I wipe these blade edges down with a silicon cloth, it feels like I'm wiping down smooth glass,............ not like before, which felt more like I was wiping down the edge of a fine toothed hacksaw blade!
I’m definitely happy with my results!
