NEW 21" SKINNYBEAST!

Jim March

Jim March

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 7, 1998
Messages
3,022
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Ohhhh ya.

Kewl. Rusty, sorry, ya ain't gettin' it
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.

Lesse...where to start?

It feels damn good in the hand, overall quality is very high. Clearly handmade of course, but the blade is dead straight, even, everything is rock solid.

As I understand it, this piece is a product of the "visiting kami program" at Shop2. Meaning it's a big step up from a Village model, it has a lifetime guarantee like a regular HI piece and is inspected by the "regular crew". Exact type and size from this program varies all over the map, if I understand previous posts it's basically "find a good kami, let him in the shop, tell him to do the *best* piece(s) of his life".

This critter is exactly the size and type I want. It feels fast and nimble, and is sized close to max for the sort of "kydex tip up Outsider rig" I plan on doing for it. Believe it or not, the tricky part would be to add support for the two small blades to the same sheath...my "gut instinct" says it's proper to keep all three together but it complicates the kydex work. I may do a mixed leather/kydex setup.

Anyways...there are three small flaws, none of which I consider important:

1) The brass pommel plate feels too "pointy" at the top and bottom. I think a bit of rounding off is needed, no big deal. It's probably because my hands are bigger than what the kamis pondered, they didn't expect the upper tip to dig into palm flesh. Easy to fix, that's why the dieties of your choice invented Dremel tools.

2) There's a tiny irregularity in the blade edge. It "bulges" just a hair for about two inches...there's no break in the cutting edge, no "stresspoint", no practical harm whatsoever and I don't plan to alter it. It could easily be "sharpened out" if I cared about such things. At first I thought it was a single dip which would be harder to fix if I cared, but no, it's a single very short and wide "bump".

3) This is a dumb complaint but...that particular kami seems to like to attach the frog to the main sheath with thick leather lace through brass eyelets. And at a guess, Shop2 didn't *have* any leather lace, that ain't their usual thing. So they cut strips of some random leather and...well, as laces go, these were crud
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. Not a problem, I keep a spool of real black leather lace around (really useful stuff) and it took all of five minutes to do it right.

Anyways, on the blade itself it says "MADE BY KGR SN80" - whoever "KGR" is, he's VERY good but just get the dude some real lace or something
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.

For $125 this was a superb deal. Hell, it's worth double that but Bill priced it lower than normal for the size class because of the minor flaws. He ended up sending it to somebody who doesn't care at all about the "flaws" (me) - it's handmade, it's got soul, it's cool.

One other thing: so far, it doesn't appear that "rolling it in your grip to change the edge direction" is going to work out. It may be my hands, it might be the Rosewood grips versus horn, brass, ivory or something else smooth. But...hmmm...it still just "feels right".

One thing that occurs to me is that if you had a situation where deadly force was warranted but you didn't want to kill, a smash with the *spine* could break an arm or rib but avoid flat-out killing. Such a situation is rare but can happen, such as a loony 14yr-old with a knife.

What it adds up to is, I'm not going to do any sharpened false edge without a whole lotta pondering and only if I can think of a REAL good reason.

Jim March
 
Jim,

I was wondering how you would react after you had a few hundred years of experience and tradition in your hand. There is a lot that has gone into these old designs, and it's obvious that you are feeling some of it. The blade sort of captures you, does it not?

Your idea of a khukuri that incorporates a back-cut ability is interesting though. I think it is worth bouncing the idea off the kamis in Nepal to see what they might come up with.

As to changing the edge orientation, I suggest you try rotating the forearm around the long axis that goes down the bone rather than trying to roll the grip in your hand.


[This message has been edited by Howard Wallace (edited 08 September 1999).]
 
Howard, the "wrist orientation" thing works fine, right...but it doesn't put the "inner bend" of the elbow towards the target. Now granted, your odds of getting in a high-speed geeking contest with somebody who knows how to perform an arm-block is pretty low, but with the inner elbow direction at the target it's "unblockable", or nearly so.

Hmmmmm. Subject needs much pondering and play.

Jim March
 
Jim, delighted you like it, and I have too many too close to it anyway, but you don't let a chance go by for one like that without doing something...

Don't be in too big a hurry to smooth down the pointy parts of the handle. I find that they really serve to index my hand to the blade. Remove any sharp edges, yes, but leave the points for times when things go thump in the dark.

Have fun playing and give the khuk a chance to teach you it's style first, like Howard said before you go "improving" things engineered over the centuries down to the genetic level.

Also, get ahold of a smaller khuk and compare the handling differences where the diameter between the rings and buttcap is reduced compared to the part from rings to bolster. You may find that alters handling considerably.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 08 September 1999).]
 
Before I forget, KGR stamps every blade. I know he doesn't make them all and my guess is he may be the only Kami who can read and write and may have an inkling of English language capability. This harks back to what I keep saying -- the guys over there don't place a lot of importance on who make the knife. The main consideratin is "will the knife take a beating and keep on working." If it does this what matter is it to anybody who make it? It is a different world.

I was about 99% sure of the reaction we would get from Jim but I am very pleased that he is pleased. Jim knows a lot about knives and is not one to hold back if he sees something wrong. His evaluation is a Stamp of approval.

Many thanks to all for input.

Uncle Bill
 
Congratulations on purchasing a fine knife!

Your comments on a smash with the spine being pretty formidable are certainly true. I know that I would go to some lengths to avoid the flat of a two-pound iron slab, let alone the spine or the edge.

Please keep us posted on your tip-up Kydex rig for it; although I don't know that I would wear a khukuri of that size like that, I would definately be interested for, say, a 12" Sirupati.


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Namaste,
Jeff Paulsen
 
Jeff, I think I have a 12 inch Sirupati from shop 2. If you are interested I'll check.

Uncle Bill
 
:
Like that do you Jim?
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Now you have more of an idea of what I meant about the fuller and forgeing the spine on down into the false edge.I still think it is still a killer idea.No pun intended.



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.

 
Something else: in the straight area of blade in front of the grip and behind the "crook", there's a series of wavy carvings, perhaps a "waves on the sea" design? Two of the areas have a black coloring in the engravings and two have what appears to be brass pounded in.

Very interesting pattern. It's actually similar to the picture of the GH piece on the main website ( http://www.bladeforums.com ) - can anyone tell me the significance of this pattern of decoration? If a similar pattern is found on two pieces from different sources and of different types I would assume there's some "significance" to it, perhaps spiritual?

Is this sort of thing common? I can't recall seeing anything similar on any other picture...you can *barely* see it on the pics Bill took of my piece.

Rusty, I have NO plans on "getting rid of the raised bits on the pommel". My only thought was to "round out the pointy tips". At most I'd "shorten the tips" down about 1/4" or so, turning the pommel brass into a "broad oval".

I agree with the indexing bit, no question. I'm just concerned about being jabbed and distracted by those tips...I beleive a blade should "speak" to you - not yell
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.

Jim

[This message has been edited by Jim March (edited 09 September 1999).]
 
Jim, I just asked Kami (sitting her beside me trying to figure out just what sort of television this is) if the scrollwork and inlay had any meaning. He said if it did it has been lost in time. He called the scrollwork and inlay the "khukuri system" which had been around forever.

Uncle Bill
 
Bill, what's really odd is what that says about cultural differences.

Think a sec: if an American bladesmith produced knives that had an engraved decoration pattern carved in that was identical to another guy's product, there'd be cries of disgust and possible threats of a lawsuit. But among the kamis, we have craftsmen from all over Nepal using the same pattern, one fairly difficult to do (esp. the pounded-in brass) and they can't even recall why.

Hmmmm. The closest Western-world equivelent would be the distinctly "old west" floral patterns seen on some holsters and sometimes carved into guns. There's also German "oak leaf" traditional engraving...but very few modern craftsmen in Europe or the US use any such "traditional motifs" and if they come up with a personal motif, nobody would DARE copy it, that would be considered highly impolite.

What's interesting is that "traditional engraving" USED to be common here and it's faded. We now place more of an "emphasis on new and original to the artist", which Nepal never switched to.

Jim March
 
Re: scrollwork and inlay, I have (and have seen) khukuris from several different sources, and a lot of those with scrollwork have this same pattern on them. So, I guess FWIW, this further supports Pala's answer that this particular scrollwork/inlay design is the "khukuri system".

- Sonam
 
What amazes me is that pounding brass into a series of fine indentations and then polishing it perfectly flat has GOT to be a labor-intense process?

And they don't know why they do it?

(scratches head)

That's...strange, in Western terms.
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Maybe it's easier than I'm thinking? Mebbe they "rub it in hot" and it's no big deal?

It's odd, but it's nice that that much care was put into *small* details that don't affect performance. Maybe the real idea is to show that they DID care, and that you can then *trust* the performance?

Jim

[This message has been edited by Jim March (edited 09 September 1999).]
 
Jim, the brass is not rubbed in hot. The first time I saw a khukuri with the brass inlay this is exactly what I thought, too. First, the kami makes the "hole" for the brass. Then he cuts small chunks of brass just about the "hole" size and pounds the brass into the hole.

This design goes on some khukuris and not on others. Why this is I don't know and neither does Kami. He said if you ask the kami he will put the scrollwork and inlay on any khukuri -- nothing sacred or set in stone as to which khukuri gets it and which doesn't.

Uncle Bill
 
:
Just wanted to bring this one up for comparasion.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.

Himalayan Imports Website http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

 
How about some fun ? Fill some empty aluminum
soda cans with water, place them on a post, and see if you can remove the top only.These blades will suprise you, if you have cut targets with Katana or a waki.

Have fun
Floyd
 
Jim,

Just a thought. There is a small but non-zero probability that a big guy dressed in leather might have to engage a hostile person at close range. There is a somewhat larger possibility that you will dump your bike and find yourself rolling over the gravel at 40 mph with 21" of razor-sharp steel inside your leathers. Have you given thought to the safety implications of a fall with your carry rig?
 
Howard, you BET I've thought of that. I'll assume we're talking about the Kydex rig I plan to make for it, because honestly, the traditional sheath is just *not* gonna be safety-adequate in a bike crash.

Key points are: tip area of the sheath has to be reinforced, radically. Stainless steel rivets plus I'm considering an extra sheet of .090ish grade over the entire tip area. It will also need "double retension" at the grip, as in both the standard Kydex snap-retention plus a "seat belt materal" web-snap with a heavy or even dual snap system.

But ya, crashing a motorcycle is the one area the traditional sheath just isn't up to.

Jim March
 
Jim, when you get this together I want to see it. It sounds like it's going to be The Right Thing.

------------------
Namaste,
Jeff Paulsen

"Oh, a magic khukuri. Why didn't you say so?"
 
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