My new Chitlangi-seeking advice from you experience ones!

Sort of like owning a new car. There's a twisted sense of relief once you get your first scratch or dent. :)
 
I'd say an important factor is how you came about this knife.

Did you order it straight up from the website? You, as the customer have a certain level of expectation that you want met. Uncle Bill will do his best to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

Did you order a blem or villager? You have gotten an excellent deal and your expectations should be lowered, as you are not purchasing a prime example of HI quality, hence the lower prices.

That being said, I know how it is to anticipate the arrival of your perfect knife and have had some disappointment when I've received some of mine. Take it out and use it. You will come to appreciate it as its very own self. You will learn what it can and can't do, and maybe why it looks the way it does. Use it a few times, and it will be "your" knife. Sure, you might want to pretty it up a bit or modify it to fit you a little better, but the thought of giving it up will seem very unattractive.

If you just sit and look at it over and over, the disappointment will build and build, and every time you see it your eye will go straight to the points you don't like about it.
 
Whenever I find myself paying too much attention to imperfections and irregularities in my Khukuris I go look in the mirror.

For what it's worth, the Moro's have traditionally considered "irregularities" in a blade to give it uniqueness and power. These guys are about as serious a blade people as anybody. For all I know the Nepalese do too.

Pat
 
Welcome to the Cantina! :)
You have been given lots of great advice by lots of the "guys in the know".
All I can add is my personal take on these fine blades.
First question, do you really like the khukuri in spite of these imperfections?
If so, are you capable of fine tuning these imperfections out of your new khukuri, and are you willing to try?
Personally, if I get a khukuri that is sound in blade and handle and sheath, but has certain cosmetic, blemishes and flaws, I smile! :D It is at this point where I get, in a small way, to be part of the creation process. I happen to have the tools and ability to take care of most any cosmetic blemish I find.
The blades that I have had to work at this way are the ones that I feel one with. The more I do, the closer I feel. :rolleyes: I bought an 18" AK once because it was listed as having a crack in the blade, 1/4" long going up from the edge towards the spine, so I got it for a steal. I ground the crack out, reprofiled the overall shape and recontured the blade sides and edge. When all was done, you could not tell it ever had a problem. I love that Khuk. There is so much of me in it, that I get a special joy taking it out and putting it through its paces. It is a chopping demon.
I guess what I am being so long winded in saying is, Keep it, rework it, become one with it! :D It will be more than worth the effort in the end.. Have Fun!!
 
Thank you guys for the thoughtful replies. About understanding and accepting imperfection (I like the comment about looking in the mirror! How humbling!); about making the khukuri your own. I'm still thinking about what to do but your comments, to use the proper English, rock.

I could get the jeweler's files, and would have no problem filing the inside of the cho. It's the surface that would worry me. I wouldn't want to mar the surface metal. I don't have a shop (NYC apartment! Hence my love of camping--need to get away!). Would filing, then wet sanding, then polishing with metal polish do the trick? Or will this potentially leave a discolored temper to the blade?

I once did woodblock printing. We would use a v-shaped knife (among other knives) to carve grooves on the block. Is this the type of knife you guys are recommending? Basically a flat wooden handles with about a half-inch blade shaped like a "V".

Thanks, Steve, for your kind offer. Maybe if I get close but fear of botching the blade, we can work something out--at least I could get your two cents in terms of technique advice?
 
You're not going to 'discolor' the inside of the cho. You do what you're talking about and it'll be fine. Even if you could discolor it- it's a cho, for God's sakes.



munk
 
I like the rough chos...proof positive with the forged surface "See there? That's what the whole blade once looked like!"
 
I agree with Monk, but I disagree with Nasty.



Or the other way round.



I forget.



Nevermind.
 
Let me clarify- I wouldn't like a jagged metal cho with snail snot dripping out, but if it's uniform with the typical black grey metal finish of forging it's fine with me.

It would have to be pretty bad for me to refinish it. I took a few tenative swipes at one with some sand paper once. I realized I didn't have enough time in the day to do the job. I had more important things to do- like pick the lint out of my navel.

Beware- there is a class of person who must have a sparkling cho. I believe some of these persons also have emaculate toilets. Beware the man whose toilet is too clean. Some of the sins you can't see must be filthy.

Take my opinion for what it's worth; I used to have a 32 Gallon drum trash can full of whiskey bottle empties in my apartment. The drum runneth over, so to speak. We didn't need no stinking sparklin clean cho's back in those days. Our favorite mountian range was represented by the Red one on the Wine lable.


munk
 
Well, so much for the barest hint of religious significance the cho might have ever had.
 
What do you mean- what does a cleaned up or left alone cho have to do with it's religious significance? Still the same, I'd think.


munk
 
I guess the religious significance will be there no matter what, depending on your religion. It still keeps the beer from dripping on the handle as it runs off the blade. :D
 
Heck, let me clarify too, else I run the risk of seeming like some dude who goes around glossing his toilet seats with windex. The black, jagged areas run through the *surface* of the cho and a bit on the blade, not just on the inside. Still no great big deal. One of my questions is how can I remove the black areas on the blade and bring those areas up to the shine of the surrounding area. This is also for future reference, not just for this blade.

Makes me really appreciate what you bladesmiths do. I know you guys aren't in it for the money. I saw the work of a chap named Don Fogg not too long ago. While his stuff may be too arty for some (and definitely out of the average guy's price range!) I admire his sense of craft and his philosophy very much.

Whenever I visited my father's home town in Batangas, the Philippines, I used to visit the town of Balisong, just a few minutes away. This is the place where they first made butterfly knives. I would drop by a couple of the workshops. Dirt floors for sure. Clean areas. Guys doing amazing things with melted down brass and springs, and off course cut-out colored toothbrushes for decoration! They would produce touristy stuff to sell, but their most simple blades were the most beautiful. Deer or carabao horn handles, plain. Guys could handle them, too. $2.50 get you a nice knife. Maybe now the price is $5.00 or so for a decent 3" blade knife.
 
munk said:
Beware the man whose toilet is too clean. Some of the sins you can't see must be filthy.
Click to expand...
Long ago did a summer internship with a public health department
inspecting restaurants.
The restaurants that were immaculate in the public areas
were invariably a pit in the kitchen.

But if the eating areas were grungy,
the kitchens sparkled.

That was one city too many years ago.
I'm sure there are many exceptions.

Still don't like eating in grungy restaurants.
And try not to think about the kitchens in clean restaurants.
Try not to think at all about other people preparing my food.

What were you talking about...........?
Oh, cho's.
I don't pay much attention to them myself.
 
Give this a try. You should be able to clean up the area without much work and without changing the inside shape of the cho. Get a old broad shoe lace (I like to use the flat laces that go in tennis shoes or boots) and some polishing compound. You should be able to get some compound at any hardware store or online. Rub the polishing compound on the shoe lace and "floss" the cho with it. Be careful. Mark
 
The shape or condition of the cho -Doesn't Usually- bother me too terribly much but every once in a while....:p :rolleyes: :D ;)
I changed the shape of the cho on my As Forged Chainpuri Blade so as to introduce some ndn influence on it. I reworked it into the shape of a "Weeping Heart" like is found on many ndn Tomahawk's.
But then I also took artistic license on the blade itself, rounded off the angle on both the inside and outside of the blade and rounded the angle on the spine and made it just a tad more pointy.
The khuk turned out to be a balance model with its fully curved handle and blade. One of Uncle Bill's Very Favorite Khuk's!!!!:D

And every once in a while an exceptionally beautiful khuk comes along with a poorly formed cho and I have been known to have reworked a couple of those as well. A flat washer the proper size laid on and held in place and then drawn around with a Marks-A-Lot makes for a perfect pattern. Then some judicious work with a Dremel or other rotary tool makes for a perfectly formed cho.:cool:
The machineing with the carbide burr automatically makes it bright and shiny if not smooth.
I couldn't care less about the smooth.
Too me a perfectly formed cho makes for a beautiful khukuri even if the khuk is only half way right.
But an already Exceptionally Beautiful khuk with a perfectly formed cho is itself a study in artistic excellence!!!!:p :eek: :D :cool:
 
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