NEED HELP FROM THE EXPERIENCED

R

RUDY

Joined
Jan 24, 1999
Messages
251
First of all, it was quite a surprise yesterday when I went to the P.O. to pick up a package and out came a 2 foot package with HI on it. As I walked the 30 feet from the desk to my car I could barely keep from pulling out my Spyderco and cutting the package open. Once in the car I did though and out came a 20inch AK. My god is it beautiful. Everything about it is great and it just wreaks of strength. The blade is perfect as is the handle and the sheath is just amazing. I never dreamed it would be of such high quality. I just love it. Thank you Uncle Bill.

Unfourtuantely, my inexperience has created one problem which is the heart of my message. I am not sure how to sharpen it. There is no actual edge or secondary bevel on the blade and so I do not know what to do. I mean it is sharp but once I use it how do I sharpen it. If i do use normal DMT stones do I establish a cutting edge/secondary bevel or what.

Could someone who has used and sharpened theirs possibly post a picture of the edge on their khukuri so I could get a visual edge on what to do also. Mr. Stamp I know you can post pictures so could you please if it would not be to much trouble? It would be greatly appreciated.

Also, what do I do with the tools included. I believe one is supposed to be a knife but once again it has no secondary bevel so could someone instruct me on how to sharpen it or what to do with it even and as for the dull one that is not ground I am completely lost. I believe it could be for burnishing what ever that is but I am not sure.

All in all, I am in love with this knife and its quality so any help in learning how to correctly take care of it would make it even better--something that I am having trouble imagining right now.

thank you all and take care
collin
 
Hi Collin:

Sounds like you approved of the 20"AK which makes us quite happy. If you are happy we are happy.

Let's get Cliff and Will Kwan in on this since they are our resident sharpening experts. I do not go to the trouble they do in sharpening as my personal requirements are not the same. If the knife is "chopping" sharp I am happy with it since I do not use khukuris to shave. I do this with a cheap stone and touch up with the chakma -- that's the blunt edged tool you got. It is for burnishing the big blade. The little knife is called a karda and is simply a small utility knife.

I use my stone at about 20 or 25 degrees on each side and that's good enough for me. Cliff and Will can tell you how to bring the edge up to razor sharp.

Thanks again for staying in touch.

Uncle Bill
 
EXCELLENT posting on HI KnifeForum.com dated 10-28-98 on How to Sharpen. I had the same feeling with my WWII and 20"AK as you. HI khukri's are in a class of their own as is Uncle Bill. There are some very astute members (not me) on HI forum which makes it especially enjoyable to read their input.

------------------

Greg


 
The info is here somewhere -- just have to search the old posts to find it which it looks like you have done, Greg, and thanks.

Uncle Bill
 
Thank you guys. I will check out the mentioned thread and I am sure it will be helpful Greg. And to say these blades are in a class of their own is certainly no understatment.

thank you all and take care
collin
 
Collin,

Check out Cliff Stamp's homepage as well for sharpening information on the 20" Ang Khola. The same shapening principles you mention apply to the khukuri.

If your DMT stones are small enough it would be easier to move them rather than the knife. I usually fix it to a table when I do this. Also, the Ez-Lap Model M works well on the 20" Ang Khola. The model M can scratch the the blade but you'll do this anyways with use.

Oddly the 20" Ang Khola is the sharpest khukuri I have every bought.

Will



[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 09 June 1999).]
 
Rudy, you can have a look at some of the following for a start :

http://www.knifeforums.com/ubb/Forum27/HTML/000045.html

http://www.knifeforums.com/ubb/Forum27/HTML/000226.html

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum26/HTML/000106.html

Now as to your question as to the edge having no final bevel, you are right it would be pretty difficult to maintain the exact same profile that it came in. What you would have to do is basically grind along the width of the entire convex bevel and round the whole surface down.

The advatantage to this is that you will keep the full grind. The disadvantage is that you are removing a fair amount of metal and after a couple of years your khukuri will be very thinned out. Mel Sorg is a knifemaker with a lot of experience with full grinds this was one of the first things that came up when we discussed edge geometry. He related to me that his father used to use full flat groud utility knives a lot and used them out in a couple of years.

So I would not really do that to one of my khukuris. What I would do is make another bevel right along the edge. You can make this to whatever angle you want. I usually v-grind it, but you could make it convex if you wanted. The angle of the v-grind I use varies depending on which khukuri it is on. If you look at my 20" AK, the grind is so obtuse that if you looked at it at arms length you would have trouble seeing it. Its used for heavier work so I have a thick bevel on it.

Most important though, is not the sharpening but regular maintenance with the chakma or any other steel you want to use. If I used my 20" AK for a long period of time on wood work, eventually the edge will have rolled to the side enough so that I can lightly run my fingers along it and they will not get cut. I like it sharper than that but this does not mean that I take a hone to it. I just take the chakma and rub it along the edge, alternating sides, until I get a full burr. I then give it a few strokes with a ceramic rod until the burr is gone and it cleanly grabs my thumbpad when I wipe it across the edge from both sides.

Note on actualy sharpening with a stone. The khukuris are very heavy and its generally hard to use them in the standard way. For example your 20 AK is probably heavy enough to do damage to a diamond stone if you let the full weight come down on it while sharpening, and similar for the Sharpmaker as noted in the above. It would probably also make a lot of clamp/rig setups loose balance. The recurve also makes using such setups a bit difficult as well. If I had to pick one I would probably go with the Sharpmaker (the new one with the double angle), and use a light touch.

Personally I prefer a small diamond pad. This is for two reasons. First I find it much easier to keep the multiple pound khukuri still and move the small pad than to do the opposite, and second I carry the pad with me so I can sharpen it in the field just the same as when I am at home. I just use a 600 grit (fine dmt) finish and finish with the ceramic rod (800 grit).

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 10 June 1999).]
 
Thank you all so much. You have no idea how important this is to me. Without this forum I either would have had to just admire my new blade or screw2 it up trying to unsuccessfully sharpen it.

The information you guys supplied is very detailed and extremely helpful, especially your Mr. Stamp. Thank you for reexplaining the whole process eventhough you could have just made me reread the links you provided (which I did),

Just thank you all. I did try and sharpen my karda I mush say using what you all told me and it worked very well. It was shaving sharp in just a little while. The edge I established is a little asymmetrical though so I will have to work on it.

Once again thank you all and take care
collin

p.s. what you can learn on this forum just amazes me.
 

Hi Rudy.
Just another take on stones used for sharpening. I was at Wal-mart the other day and noticed a small diamond hone made by EZ-LAP in Carson City.Nev. it is 3" x 1" and I doubt that there is a lot of diamond on the one side,but it was cheap.Abut $5.50 with tax. I used it on a couple of other blades because this type of diamond cuts very aggressively when brand new. When the roughness had worn off of it I tried it on my 15" AK.
I layed it on the edge and raised it just enough to keep from scratching the top of the existing convex bevel.
(kinda keeps close o what it was only it will be v shaped now.)
I worked one sde down until it had a burr all along the edge and then I worked the other side down. I then used a very light touch with it to help remove the burr. Then I used the set of ceramic rods I have.They are very fine and I lock them in my wood working vise. This lets me get pretty aggresive when using it and gives better control since I can use both hands on the blade,one on the handle and one at the point of the blade.
It came out "hair popping" sharp as they say,although it is a pretty scary feeling running someting that big up or down your leg or arm And mine is shorter,smaller,and lighter than yours.
smile.gif

I don't know how long this cheap little hone will last,but it works very well and may give you an option besides the chakma in the field.
I like it well enough that I am going to get a couple more of them.

------------------


>>>>---¥vsa---->®
 
I would like to second Uncle Bill's words. All information is welcomed and very helpful. Thank all you very much.

thanks and take care
collin
 
Can I ask a dumb question?

What would happen if you "polished it" with strokes down towards the cutting edge with some 2,000grit sandpaper? I've heard of working your way up from 1,000grit or even less. It seems to me you could preserve the original "rolled edge" that way without extreme metal removal. So long as you weren't working out major cutting edge dings, that should work great.

This technique is used on some lesser-grade or modern reproduction Japanese swords. It's a "poor man's way to immitate waterstones".

It seems to me a Khukuri's edge is the same but scaled WAY up.

Jim March
http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw
 
Jim, is that freehand with loose sandpaper? And you are right, you will not be removing much metal. For a weapon I don't see it as a problem. How often are pure combat blades sharpened anyway, not very frequently I would assume. However with a heavy utility knife I would probably just grind a cutting bevel on it. I would be curious to see how a Gurkha sharpens his and what they look like after say 5, 10 years of use.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 15 June 1999).]
 
Cliff, Kami had his Gurkha Indian Army military issue hanging on the wall of his home for years until it was stolen by some trekkers who stopped by for food and a place to crash for a night. This knife appeared to be used but the edge and knife in general were in excellent condition. Kami used this khukuri for 8 years for clearing brush mostly and killed a couple of rabid dogs with it. To the best of my knowledge he did not use it in combat although he may have. Another question for him when he arrived in September.

Uncle Bill
 
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