New Stuff

[SASSAS]

The Falcata is here...I'll save the bulk of it until tomorrow, when I can post pics and get some decent light...

Busy day...I missed a drop off yesterday.

I had an order arrive that I picked up off the Exchange... First time I've ever done it and I'd give it a try again if I saw something that interested me.

M43 by Sher I hadn't seen one listed by Sher since I've been here. It's not U.B. marked. Deep well-defined blood groove and well-defined cho. Kind of elegant for a Sher anything. It cleaned up real nice on the first rubbing with Ballistol. Just a nice blade.

A few dings on the handle, probably a combination of the way it came and some closet wear. Chafe is unblemished, but the scabbard and (especially) the frog need some oil.

18" Chiruwa WWII by Kumar Nothing exotic about it, but a nice piece of wood on the handle. It's light with deep well-defined blood grooves. Nice blade, just a bit of blemishing near the tip, which I have pretty much rubbed out after letting some Ballistol sit on it for a few hours. Another shot at a Ballistol soak, then maybe a real light bit of sandpaper if I have to. It doesn't seem to have the full bright mirror finish. A good solid inch of cho creep and a habaki brass bolster with a clean, crisp cho. The handle has a well-used feel to it (it's finished). Not U.B. marked.

Stuff Straight from Yangdu...

18" 19 oz. Sher Special Great lightweight blade. Nice handle design that is comfortable as long as you don't mind your first finger resting on an inch-long bolster... I'm probably knurling it or getting a handle/bolster replacement. It's got traditional two-finger tools that are well made.

20" 30 oz. Jange by Bura It's a nice blade. Full-tanged, well-balanced and has a pair of blood grooves nearly the length of the blade whcih could be taken as an impressionistic sword of Shiva on one side (they're not close to being symmetrical on each side and look like they were either an experiment in forging or it's the real reason the YCS has a dull awl ). It has great balance to it and nice chop. It can be easily controlled in repetitive drills and combinations. The tools are kind of smallish for a 20" inch khukuri, especially the karda.

There are a couple hairline splits on the back of the handle as advertised. Otherwise, this is the best fit and finish on a horn handle I've seen...no fillers at the bolster or buttplate, no rough chop marks, etc. Beautiful, white metal fittings, just as precise as the handle. When this handle cracked, somebody must have cried.

14.3" AK Bowie by Bura This one puts the AK in AK Bowie. It's got great, well-defined fullers just like one of my Kumar AKs. It's actually as long as the AK Bowie I have listed at 15" - but has more blade and less handle.

It's got a black horn handle which looks great on this model. It's got some cheats (filler) around the slabs, but I get the feeling horn doesn't like to be cut at angles like this. Kind of curous about the assembly... It looks like the bottom of the handle was carved to fit after attachment (there's a nick in the 'pommel' that looks like it was made when the handle was shaved or trimmed).
Overall, this is a really nice bowie knife with some AK styling.

 

[namaarie]

Good Sharking, SASSAS! Does a body good.

Nam

 

[Fiddleback]

My wife would kill me and I could never hide it all! Congrats! Looks like a fun pile of steel. Andy

 

[SASSAS]

My wife would kill me and I could never hide it all! Congrats! Looks like a fun pile of steel. Andy

Try this...

1) Become a fan of a sport (any overglorified sport with a lot of merchandise will do).

2) Make sure your wife is incredibly bored with it.

3) Set up a junky shrine anyplace you have space to yourself.

4) Populate it with bulky knock-offs from street vendors at 1/20th the cost of real stuff. In cities, some of them actually sell from stores and give you receipts. Leave the receipts for the cheap stuff where she can find them and she'll be happy you found a cheaper hobby. An occasional more expensive receipt will build a precedent for later emergency khukuri funds (if you've got buddies that buy stuff like this, you can snare a few receipts from them, thus spending no money and leaving even more khukuri funds).

5) Hide your khukuris behind, under, inside and amongst the crappy sports stuff.

6) Be sure to be really anal and persnickety about it, keeping everything squarely aligned (mark outlimes on the table or *hint* tablecloth surface to keep things perfectly square) and perfectly dusted, clean and preserved as a collectible (giving you a reason to be cleaning it rather than her). Make sure some of the stuff is baseball cards or books (no household cleaners around them) and some 'rare' bootleg videos - irreplacable, so no vacuum near them because of the magnetic fields).

7) Smile kind of embarassed like when she mentions your stupid hobby jokingly to her friends - being able to display a little dominance is a nice positive reinforcement for most women. Don't go to far - if she likes it too much, she'll start buying you that crap instead of what you want for gifts, or worse yet, want to be involved and learn about it, which will mean she'll be around it enough to notice the khukuris...

 

[Daniel Koster]

congrats on the falcata.

You don't know how long we've waited for its return. Please give it all the attention and love that we (collectively as a forum) have given it in our mind's eye.

And don't ever let it go.

 

[munk]

That is very nice, SASSAS. Especially that Jange, O lucky one.

The falcatas should get here, is what Yangdu told me.

We wanted the traditional bolster and Yangdu said OK and we are. The FF was made, and several new models of khukuris are being introduced. Things are really going great. I guess those of you who'd wanted falcatas all these years were waiting for when Yangdu was at the helm.



munk

 

[SASSAS]

That is very nice, SASSAS. Especially that Jange, O lucky one.

munk

Yeah, the Jange was kind of funny... I bid on it really late after it had been talked up in the thread and hadn't gone. That's contributed to my rapid pace - I'm easily enabled. I didn't find out I got it until sometime the next day. I didn't think it polite to mention it immediately, but I felt it would have been less than forthright to make it silently disappear...

 

[munk]

The Jange is in a good place with you, SASSAS.

When I try for a sale item I post so others will know it. This saves unneccesary emails to Yangdu if nothing else. I think it also helps the other bidders.



munk

 

[Fiddleback]

I like your system. I have a similar method. Woodworking. I have a shop full of s*^t she doesn't like or understand. I make sure when cleaning the shop not to go too far. That way she focuses on the dust and clutter when she's in there. I am sure to leave a new tool or knife in there for a couple of weeks before using it. Then when asked I bought it "ages" ago! She gives a couple of under-her-breath comments and we're done.

Problem with Khuks is that they look so funny, and the hobby is so new, that they stand out badly. In a few months I'll be able to ramp up my collection more quickly and they won't stand out so badly. Until then I gotta be real careful or she'll know right away.

Added benefit of the woodworking shop is that she reaps the rewards. You cannot find for purchase solid hardwood furniture much anymore, and she appreciates it a lot. Its very frustrating dealing with the HIKV and no way to hide the fruits though.

Andy

 

[ddean]

"Added benefit of the woodworking shop is .......
......solid hardwood furniture....
Its very frustrating dealing with the HIKV
and no way to hide the fruits....."



Secret panels in the new furniture ?




<> THEY call me 'Dean' <>

<> -fYI-fWiW-iIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TiA-YW-GL-HH-HBd-
<> Noobee <> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D

 

[Fiddleback]

Dean,

I could enlay each piece with a different Khuk. A signature of sorts. Andy