New Blade Sharpness? - CAK

M

MrMike

Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Messages
147
Just curious - how sharp are your new blade purchases direct from HI? I just received a new Chiruwa Ang Khola (not a blem) and the blade on both the Khuk and Karda were dull. I could not cut paper with either, much less cheese, or shave the hair on my arm (which I honestly don't expect for field use.

I carefully spent about ten hours with 600/1500 grit sandpaper and a hard rubber eraser used as a block (for those of you who have not tried this method, I highly recommend it) to put a near satisfactory edge on both. I'm almost pleased with the result except that after sharpening, the Khuk appears and feels quite sharp with no visible tooth on the edge profile - the next day it just feels more dull and there is an ever so slight roughness on the edge, that you can see visibly in spots and with a magnifying glass. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

I may still be seeing what's left of the original (dull) grind in spots, or it may be a result of bad tempering. I'm not sure. I do know this - I whacked several pieces of large, hard maple crossgrain, and then split each in half, with no chips or noticable dulling in the sweet spot, point or near the cho.

Any help is most appreciated.
 
The HI khuks I have purchased have ranged from taking hours of work on my part to get a decent edge on to so sharp that I accidentally cut myself getting it out of the box and had to go to the ER.

In general seems to me the Bura ones are more sharp.
 
Welcome MrMike:)

HI khuks tend to come a bit on the duller side at times. Many times, the khuks are given an edge before final polish. The polishing sometimes dulls up the edge. This is why villager models come "field sharp".

As for the issues you are having with the edge, just give it time and a few more sharpenings. A lot of times, due to the tempering/heat treat process, the "good stuff" is a couple of micro layers into the steel. This is partly where some of the tales of mystical khuks becoming sharper over their lifetime come from:D:thumbup:

If you continue to have problems with it, feel free to get a hold of Yangdu. She is incredible to deal with, and she will set it straight if you got a khuk with a bad heat treat. That said, if you are not having huge chips coming out of the blade, then it is probably OK and you just need to work off the softer outer steel.

Hope this helps. Once again, Welcome:)
 
Carolina - what sharpening method do you use? 1500 grit produces a near-mirror finish, but I stroke it gently the length of the blade from cho to point, instead of from bevel to edge. Much easier... and in all honesty I can't tell the difference.
 
I go edge to spine, just like using a stone. My 15" sirupati came today, and it will sorta-kinda cut paper, but will do a number on a cardboard packing tube if given just a very weak, half-hearted chop. I tried a katana with the same amount of force, and it cut to an equal depth! The katana cut was noticably cleaner, of course, but both were about 3.5" into the tube. The same swing with a $5 machete, in comparison, cut only 3/4". Really pathetic.

I don't think khukuris need to be particularly sharp to work.

My villager finished Giant Chitlangi bowie came much sharper, though there was a visible ding in the edge halfway down, and 2 near the tip. About 5 minutes with a diamond file and sandpaper though, and it's perfect. It'll easily shave off small little slices of paper. I'm kind of afraid to try shaving my arm with it. Tried chopping the packing tube with that as well, using about half as much force (basically just letting the blade fall under the force of gravity), and it cut an inch deeper! I'm really glad I didn't try a real swing! Would've chopped straight through my floor.

The balance on that thing is absolutely incredible as well. 0.440" thick at the base, yet it balances only 3.5" ahead of the guard! Center of percussion and center of rotation are both 6" from the tip, pretty much the perfect for this size of blade. It basically handles like a bastard sword, except much shorter. It really does not feel like it weighs 59 ounces at all.
 
All my non villagers came dull. Some would saw through paper, some would not cut skin even when pressed.

+1 on the soft outer layer of metal,. I've come to taking a file to the bevel and file down through the soft stuff. Be careful if you do this, when you reach the hard metal, the file will all of a sudden skate instead of bite. I then do a coarse/fine sharpening on a stone. I've come to sharpen them like an axe: circular motions from cho to point on one side, then from point to cho on the other. I tend to keep a scandi grind (flat bevel to edge) rather than convex. I get good performance on soft vegetation as well as on chopping wood.
 
Ryan M said:
My villager finished Giant Chitlangi bowie came much sharper, though there was a visible ding in the edge halfway down, and 2 near the tip. About 5 minutes with a diamond file and sandpaper though, and it's perfect. It'll easily shave off small little slices of paper. I'm kind of afraid to try shaving my arm with it. Tried chopping the packing tube with that as well, using about half as much force (basically just letting the blade fall under the force of gravity), and it cut an inch deeper! I'm really glad I didn't try a real swing! Would've chopped straight through my floor.

The balance on that thing is absolutely incredible as well. 0.440" thick at the base, yet it balances only 3.5" ahead of the guard! Center of percussion and center of rotation are both 6" from the tip, pretty much the perfect for this size of blade. It basically handles like a bastard sword, except much shorter. It really does not feel like it weighs 59 ounces at all.
Click to expand...

My villager Chit bowie came very sharp as well. It also balances 3.5" in front of the guard. One thing I think is obvious is that the kamis aren't just kniofe makers, they are users. Their blades balance so well, and they just can't be lucky enough to get it right by accident all the time. The Chit Bowie also came with what is probably the nicest sheath I've ever got from HI.

Oh, BTW, if you go for a full swing and try to stop it, you'll feel every last one of those 59 ounces! :D
 
A VERY Interesting thread, Guys....
I have just a few blades, and honestly I have not had a "sharp" problem with any of them.
Even my Everest Katana became Super Sharp with a few strokes thru ceramic rods.
Of course it could be that the Katana just had had Great care prior to my having it!
I have a few smaller Khuks....and with any and all of them... a few trips thru the ceramic rods and a most excellent edge comes up!!
Maybe I am just Lucky so far.....
Doc
 
My one and only khuk -- a CAK -- came sharp for an axe and dull for a knife, which is just as well since I convexed it and now it push cuts paper while remaining a beast of a chopper.

Having since tasted sheet metal, concrete, pebbles, and the caresses of a 3lb mini-sledge as a batoning implement, the CAK is doing great (building lots of character!) and the convex bevel is awesome.
 
MY 15ich CAK came with a slightly dull edge to start with. it took me about two hrs to get it where i wanted.:cool:
 
I'll weigh in here too. I got my first HI Khuk, a villager BGRS on Saturday. I LOVE IT! But, it came to me fairly dull. I seems the "sweet spot" was definitely sharper than the rest of the blade and the tip itself was plenty pointy and sharp but it would not cut paper at all. So, me being a Spyderco guy and having a sharpmaker (and I always keep my folders hair-whittling sharp) I decided to just give it a go and spent maybe an hour tops with the diamond rods, medium and fine rods, pretty much corners only. That definitely got things to a more acceptable level for a chopper like this. However, I will not be satisfied until the whole edge is sharp enough to push cut paper and maybe even pop some hair off my arm so it will definitely get more TLC. I think I am going to invest in some different sandpaper grits and go convex.
 
Update - went and got some 220, 400, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper and spent some quality time with my BGRS last night. I only spent maybe 30 minutes tops and only got as far as the 400, but the khuk is now MUCH sharper across the whole edge and cuts paper fairly easily. I also had a 3/4" dowel laying around and decided to take a few test hits on it. Basically just the weight of the blade on the wood and it bit acceptably deep and I was able to even fuzz stick it. Of course the "fuzzies" were quite a bit bigger than normal, but it still carved really well. So I have no reservations about getting that scandi grind niiiiice and sharp. BTW, I have really only used the Sharpmaker and a leather strop to sharpen my knives, so the whole sandpaper on a foam block thing was new. I picked it up really quickly though and the results are definitely encouraging.:thumbup:
 
Good to hear you got that BGRS in better shape. What a boon sandpaper is to us knifely folk!

I still use the fine sharpmaker triangles for final honing. I haven't used the actual sharpmaker stand/base in quite some time though.
 
My Chiruwa Ak was blunt when I got it:rolleyes:. After a looooong time on the belt sander its very sharp in spots while other areas still reflect light along the edge. I was/am disappointed, as it is a gift for a friend and instead of handing him an untouched Khukri I had to reprofile the blade:rolleyes:. As my first Khukri I have to say... I'm not impressed. They have such a great warranty and story behind them, I think Yangdu could charge double what she is if more attention to detail was given to fit, finish and especially the edge.:)
 
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