Hello everybody, I just got a 12" Sirupati. Love it. New to the forums (first ever post on bladeforums, but long time reader). In the spirit of Cliff Stamp I just had to go and test it, rather roughly. The edge is OK but the mirror finish on the blade is scratched up and removed entirely near the tip. Any suggestions on how to restore the mirror finish? Also, there is some tarnish near the edge (I cut some apples), and any suggestions to clean that up would be muchly appreciated. BTW its horn handle, made by Raju Rasaili.
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New Khukri owner & abuser
- Thread starter NWIFSER
- Start date
Nasty
Chief Cook & Bottle Wash
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2003
- Messages
- 5,924
A few minutes with a buffer would take care of it like new. If you've not got access to one, you might want to go to a satin finish with scrub pads. If you use the knives as you are supposed to, they are going to get "character" anyway...
nasty's right, but I'd go 800 grit steel wool. The problem with a user and the mirror finish is the time you'd take to restore the finish after every use- which would seem pointless.
I like cutting apples with mine. I hope the tarnish Stays! The natural blue everyone covets.
Welcome. I can't wait to read when you test one of the bigger models.
munk
I like cutting apples with mine. I hope the tarnish Stays! The natural blue everyone covets.
Welcome. I can't wait to read when you test one of the bigger models.
munk
Thanks, that was a very quick reply. I'm not really a message board/forums type person usually, I have had bad experiences with people who are not exactly... friendly. But everyone here in the HI section seems real nice, and ready to share help and info. But back to the knife! I actually want to restore the mirror finish on this, it is quite pretty (hopefully it will stay that way!) with the brass inlay and all. Now that I have played with it some, it will probably not be used too much... who am I kidding I'm the type of person that would use this as their every day carry, or at least try to. But at least so I know in the future, if I do not have access to a buffer, what else, if anything, will work?
That patina look though is nice, but as with the finish, any reccomendations for cleaning it up? I don't want to seem annoying or something, and I probably wont worry about the patina and will go with the satin finish, but... I am POSITIVE this is only the first of many Khukris and I just want to know for the future, when I order one that won't be a 'user'
I have an old belt sander in my garage and a dremel tool, thats all I could think that might be useful for such things.
That patina look though is nice, but as with the finish, any reccomendations for cleaning it up? I don't want to seem annoying or something, and I probably wont worry about the patina and will go with the satin finish, but... I am POSITIVE this is only the first of many Khukris and I just want to know for the future, when I order one that won't be a 'user'
I have an old belt sander in my garage and a dremel tool, thats all I could think that might be useful for such things.
I can't believe I'm posting again in less than five minutes...
In my previous statement, when I said patina, I was referring to the tarnish, just to make things clear, was typing fast and things got mixed up, just to clarify that it was the unintentional tarnishing I was referring to.
On another note, a couple friends were over, they definetly liked what they saw. One of them especially liked it, he thought he might consider a villager for starters though, said he was gonna email Uncle Bill when he got home, to find out what his options were/what was available.
In my previous statement, when I said patina, I was referring to the tarnish, just to make things clear, was typing fast and things got mixed up, just to clarify that it was the unintentional tarnishing I was referring to.
On another note, a couple friends were over, they definetly liked what they saw. One of them especially liked it, he thought he might consider a villager for starters though, said he was gonna email Uncle Bill when he got home, to find out what his options were/what was available.
- Joined
- May 18, 1999
- Messages
- 15,395
Welcome to the Psycho Ward/Cantina N.
If you just want to remove the tarnish either Flitz or Simichrome will do that.
It's more involved to restore the mirror finish, Start sanding with 400 grit wet or dry paper and progress to 2,000 grit. Sand first one direction and with the next grit up sand the other until all scratches are removed.
After that rubbing compound may work to bring out the mirror finish, never tried it myself as I have a buffer.
You may also be able to remove the drive wheel from your belt sander and install a buffing wheel on it.
Just remember that a buffer is the most dangerous machine in any shop!
:grumpy:
If you just want to remove the tarnish either Flitz or Simichrome will do that.
It's more involved to restore the mirror finish, Start sanding with 400 grit wet or dry paper and progress to 2,000 grit. Sand first one direction and with the next grit up sand the other until all scratches are removed.
After that rubbing compound may work to bring out the mirror finish, never tried it myself as I have a buffer.
You may also be able to remove the drive wheel from your belt sander and install a buffing wheel on it.
Just remember that a buffer is the most dangerous machine in any shop!
:grumpy:
- Joined
- Mar 8, 1999
- Messages
- 8,911
Welcome to the Stage Stop and Cantina.
Others can give you hands on advise on returning your blade to mirror finish. Once you have it back, try waxing it. Paste or other wax that'll dry to a hard shine.
Uncle Bill is not up to phone conversations now. Try looking at the Deals of the Day posts, and you'll see Bill Martino listed as the guy starting the post. His signature lines can be clicked on and will take you to various web pages. that will tell you more than you can absorb. Have fun.
Others can give you hands on advise on returning your blade to mirror finish. Once you have it back, try waxing it. Paste or other wax that'll dry to a hard shine.
Uncle Bill is not up to phone conversations now. Try looking at the Deals of the Day posts, and you'll see Bill Martino listed as the guy starting the post. His signature lines can be clicked on and will take you to various web pages. that will tell you more than you can absorb. Have fun.
Nasty
Chief Cook & Bottle Wash
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2003
- Messages
- 5,924
The red is a lower grit (Tripoli) and the Dremel will be tough to get good results with...but give it a shot. There is little you can do with that setup that can't be fixed/changed/modified later. Who knows...you might be able to get a finish that satisfies you...
Welcome to the Cantina!
Welcome to the Cantina!
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2002
- Messages
- 7,269
read the safety thread at the top ^.
Count your fingers before you do anything. Count them after. The number should be the same.
If you are going to use the knife, give up on the mirror finish before you make yourself crazy. It will become an endless cycle of use/buff/use/buff.
Kukris were made to be used. These H.I. thingies especially.
Welcome.
Count your fingers before you do anything. Count them after. The number should be the same.
If you are going to use the knife, give up on the mirror finish before you make yourself crazy. It will become an endless cycle of use/buff/use/buff.
Kukris were made to be used. These H.I. thingies especially.
Welcome.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2004
- Messages
- 373
What kind of belt sander do you have? If it is a sander that accepts a long skinny belt, like 1 x 42 or 2 x 72, I would strongly recommend that you buy a leather belt for it. The leather belt is just like a normal grinding belt, except it is made of leather, and nonabrasive. You apply rouge to the belt. I use white rouge, but there are a variety of rouges you can try.
You can use this belt to hone your khukuris to "scary sharp". However, the belt also mirror polishes the khuks. It won't remove all the scratches, but it will take out the patina and the dull look in seconds. I have one, and I love it.
You can buy these belts and the rouge from Jantz Supply (www.jantzsupply.com). What I recommend, though, is buying a strip of leather, cutting it to the proper length, and gluing together your own belt. Use a good, strong leatherworking contact cement, or barge cement. Usually this costs about 1/3 the price, and you can cut the belt to fit your belt sander.
Jantz supply also sells these strips. You might have a leatherworking store in your area, though, that you could check out. Tandy Leather Company is one such chain. (www.tandyleather.com)
You can use this belt to hone your khukuris to "scary sharp". However, the belt also mirror polishes the khuks. It won't remove all the scratches, but it will take out the patina and the dull look in seconds. I have one, and I love it.
You can buy these belts and the rouge from Jantz Supply (www.jantzsupply.com). What I recommend, though, is buying a strip of leather, cutting it to the proper length, and gluing together your own belt. Use a good, strong leatherworking contact cement, or barge cement. Usually this costs about 1/3 the price, and you can cut the belt to fit your belt sander.
Jantz supply also sells these strips. You might have a leatherworking store in your area, though, that you could check out. Tandy Leather Company is one such chain. (www.tandyleather.com)
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2004
- Messages
- 1,032
re a belt sander, what grits and type of belts do you recommend? I just ordered the Harbor Freight 1" belt sander cheapie and I want to order a few belts. I will order a leather belt (I prefer this to making my own), thanks for the advice, but what about the sanding belt? Do you have recommendations? At this point I want to use the sander to put a convex edge on khukuris, wondering which belts to buy. Thanks.
Nasty
Chief Cook & Bottle Wash
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2003
- Messages
- 5,924
If you are just starting doing this, you only need a handfull of the best priced belts you can find. You'll go in stages...maybe from 120 to 220 to 320. Believe it or not, you could stop at that and never have a dull knife again. I'd suggest that you start simple and let your equipment grow with your experience.
You'll do 90-95% of the work with the first belt you use...
You'll do 90-95% of the work with the first belt you use...
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2004
- Messages
- 1,032
if I were to get one grit belt what should it be? Or is that unrealistic?
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
Good stuff and thanks.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 3,397
welcome
Auto supplies:
Mother's Billet Polish
about $9 per jar
I use a pad from folded brown paper torn from a grocery bag
tiny bit goes a long way
when it starts to dry
add a 'drop' of -any- oil to keep it going
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2745161&postcount=5
Chrome polish can work too
but seems slower
if you use the dremal
good idea to fix the blade securely
(ALWAYS a good idea)
so it doesn't get thrown by the fast wheel
always, always, always watch the fingers
keep the edge pointing away
approach the edge from the spine side
don't reach over/past the edge
~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean'
-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
Auto supplies:
Mother's Billet Polish
about $9 per jar
I use a pad from folded brown paper torn from a grocery bag
tiny bit goes a long way
when it starts to dry
add a 'drop' of -any- oil to keep it going
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2745161&postcount=5
Chrome polish can work too
but seems slower
if you use the dremal
good idea to fix the blade securely
(ALWAYS a good idea)
so it doesn't get thrown by the fast wheel
always, always, always watch the fingers
keep the edge pointing away
approach the edge from the spine side
don't reach over/past the edge
~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean'
-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2004
- Messages
- 373
re: belt supplies
Check out www.trugrit.com. They have good prices on abrasive belts, plus a good variety. If you bought a 1 x 42 sander you will have better luck finding belts than if you got a smaller one.
There is an incredible variety of belts out there. "Get the best you can afford" is good advice, but there are specific types that you should look for.
Manufacturers use different types of materials in the manufacture of abrasive belts. The most common, and cheapest, is aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide belts work well on wood. The standard, cheap aluminum oxide will do OK on metal, but will wear out fast.
There is another type of aluminum oxide belt. These belts look quite a bit different than the normal belt. These are called "structured abrasive" belt, and the grit is arranged in little raised boxes. It's difficult to describe, just look at a picture and you will see what I mean. The brands of structured abrasive belts are the Norton Norax, 3M Trizact, and 3M Trizact CF (also called "Gator"). The Norton Norax and 3M Gator belts are excellent. They cut fast and don't produce much heat buildup. They also seem to last pretty long.
Another abrasive is silicon carbide. This is the same abrasive that is in wetordry sandpaper. These belts are waterproof. I have no experience with them.
Alumina Zirconia is an abrasive used on metal, which lasts longer than standard aluminum oxide. I don't know how it holds up to structured abrasive belts. I don't use this type of belt.
Ceramic is the most long lasting and wear resistant abrasive. Both Norton and 3M make ceramic belts. I like the 3M Super Cubitron ceramic belts (they are gold colored), but some like the Norton "Hogger" Ceramic belts better. These ceramic belts can remove a lot of material very quickly and last a long time.
They are usually only available in lower grits. If you have to reprofile a khuk, go for an 80 grit ceramic belt. Then finish up with a higher grit Norax or Gator belt, probably up to 400 grit or so. You may want to take an intermediate step, so you could go from 80 to 220 to 400, or something like that.
For general sharpening, 400 and 800 grit Norax belts work well for me. You can also buy super high grit Norax or Trizact belts. My friend has a 2000 grit Trizact belt, and likes it.
Now, if you go to TruGrit most of these more exotic belts are only available in the 2 x 72 size. It looks like they have an 80 grit Norton ceramic and a 240 grit Gator belt in the 1 x 42 size. I would recommend you buy these two belts. You could also get one of the finer grit aluminum oxide belts, or finish up with hand sanding. More belts may be available for your size grinder from other online stores, so shop around a bit.
Check out www.trugrit.com. They have good prices on abrasive belts, plus a good variety. If you bought a 1 x 42 sander you will have better luck finding belts than if you got a smaller one.
There is an incredible variety of belts out there. "Get the best you can afford" is good advice, but there are specific types that you should look for.
Manufacturers use different types of materials in the manufacture of abrasive belts. The most common, and cheapest, is aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide belts work well on wood. The standard, cheap aluminum oxide will do OK on metal, but will wear out fast.
There is another type of aluminum oxide belt. These belts look quite a bit different than the normal belt. These are called "structured abrasive" belt, and the grit is arranged in little raised boxes. It's difficult to describe, just look at a picture and you will see what I mean. The brands of structured abrasive belts are the Norton Norax, 3M Trizact, and 3M Trizact CF (also called "Gator"). The Norton Norax and 3M Gator belts are excellent. They cut fast and don't produce much heat buildup. They also seem to last pretty long.
Another abrasive is silicon carbide. This is the same abrasive that is in wetordry sandpaper. These belts are waterproof. I have no experience with them.
Alumina Zirconia is an abrasive used on metal, which lasts longer than standard aluminum oxide. I don't know how it holds up to structured abrasive belts. I don't use this type of belt.
Ceramic is the most long lasting and wear resistant abrasive. Both Norton and 3M make ceramic belts. I like the 3M Super Cubitron ceramic belts (they are gold colored), but some like the Norton "Hogger" Ceramic belts better. These ceramic belts can remove a lot of material very quickly and last a long time.
They are usually only available in lower grits. If you have to reprofile a khuk, go for an 80 grit ceramic belt. Then finish up with a higher grit Norax or Gator belt, probably up to 400 grit or so. You may want to take an intermediate step, so you could go from 80 to 220 to 400, or something like that.
For general sharpening, 400 and 800 grit Norax belts work well for me. You can also buy super high grit Norax or Trizact belts. My friend has a 2000 grit Trizact belt, and likes it.
Now, if you go to TruGrit most of these more exotic belts are only available in the 2 x 72 size. It looks like they have an 80 grit Norton ceramic and a 240 grit Gator belt in the 1 x 42 size. I would recommend you buy these two belts. You could also get one of the finer grit aluminum oxide belts, or finish up with hand sanding. More belts may be available for your size grinder from other online stores, so shop around a bit.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2004
- Messages
- 373
Pic of Trizact belt:
