- Joined
- Sep 15, 2002
- Messages
- 183
Hello all!
I'm new to the cantina but have been lurking for a while. Just arrived back in Singapore from Hawaii with two BAS khukuris (one for me, one for an old ex-marine, Vietnam vet boss - I figured I owe him for all the hassles when I was his employee). Khukuris caught my eye because a) in Singapore, Gorkhas with khuks from a special police regiment have been deployed to guard American targets after an Al-Queda linked bombing plot was uncovered in December (by the way, the Gurkhas seems to switch from broad brimmed hats to berets whenever there are security alerts - they have broad brimmed hats now so I take it the Bali bombing (relatively nearby) fears have cooled - sorry, that's something for another thread), b) my dad (a WWII vet - saw Pearl Harbor on Sunday morning, got drafted soon after) used to tell me great stories about the Gorkhas and their Khukuris, and c) I could really use a tried and tested knife/axe/machete combo.
I began surfing the net looking for someone who sells Khukuris and luckily found HI (all the Gorkhas could tell me was that I could buy them in Katmandu for around US$15 - tourist ones I'm sure). I've learned a lot from the HI site and forum. In an attempt to reciprocate your help, here's some comments from a newbie on getting to know his first Khukuri.
The First Chop: arrived at my in-laws house in Hawaii and tore open the HI packages. Sheer beauty. Felt the balance and weight. Fell in love right then and there (and started planning for the next one - probably a beauty for display, the BAS is a "user"). Father-in-law (ex-Army officer) freaked out about "a weapon in the house". Mother-in-law impressively cool. Went outside to chop down a few rampant bushes. Great. Mother-in-law now overjoyed at lazy son-in-law doing something useful in the yard.
The First Wipe: as suggested in the FAQ, washed the crud off then wiped the blade with Tuff-Cloth (Marine Tuff-Cloth ain't easy to find). At first . . . nothing. Began to wonder where Father-in-law kept the WD-40. Then after a while something magic. The cloth that seemed to do nothing left a thin film that harden into a rainbow colored shine on the polished blade. Great stuff.
Had to leave Hawaii the next day for a some work in Korea. Khuks packed in check-in bags. The X-ray airport lady (Honolulu screens check-in stuff, too) sees them and asks what they are. Told her "Khukuri knives". I think she heard cookery knives. Anyway, let's it go. Arrive in Korea at baggage claim and see my bag has a big red electronic tag on it. Customs calls me aside to open the bag, tells me weapons not allowed in Korea and holds them at the airport (sorry, another story for another thread). Anyway, after lots of twists and turns finally arrive in Singapore yesterday happily walking away from the airport with khuks in my bag.
The First Scrape and Grind: the khuks arrived sharp. But after reading the FAQ and forumites talk about shaving forearm hairs. I got a leather strop on a piece of wood. It came with some metal/fiberglass polish from Germany called Flitz. Seemed odd to me how metal polish on leather was supposed to sharpen anything (my last sharpening experience was a pocket knife with a whetstone when I was a boy scout - I think I ended up dulling the blade). Tried what the FAX said to do on the karda for practice. Back and forth on the strop around five times. Nothing special. Maybe the blade was getting polished, but sharper? Then tested the blade on a sheet of paper. WOW! It did get sharper. Not bad for leather and metal polish.
Let's see how far this could go. As suggested in the FAQ, I got some 600 sandpaper. Couldn't find styrofoam, so I got some velcro and used it to stick the sandpaper on the flip side of the "leather on wood" strop. The velcro gave enough padding to be styrofoam-like and was a lot handier and easier to use on the strop. Two to three light swipes on the sandpaper, then a paper test. Wow, again. Amazing what such little work can do. Tried sharpening the BAS khuk. Felt like magic . . . again.
I had to run off to do something before I could get the khuk and karda sharp enough to cut forearm hairs. Somehow I get the feeling that might take a lot more practice. But I am impressed and grateful for all the contributions made in the forum and the FAQ.
Many thanks, folks! It's great help for someone new.
I'm new to the cantina but have been lurking for a while. Just arrived back in Singapore from Hawaii with two BAS khukuris (one for me, one for an old ex-marine, Vietnam vet boss - I figured I owe him for all the hassles when I was his employee). Khukuris caught my eye because a) in Singapore, Gorkhas with khuks from a special police regiment have been deployed to guard American targets after an Al-Queda linked bombing plot was uncovered in December (by the way, the Gurkhas seems to switch from broad brimmed hats to berets whenever there are security alerts - they have broad brimmed hats now so I take it the Bali bombing (relatively nearby) fears have cooled - sorry, that's something for another thread), b) my dad (a WWII vet - saw Pearl Harbor on Sunday morning, got drafted soon after) used to tell me great stories about the Gorkhas and their Khukuris, and c) I could really use a tried and tested knife/axe/machete combo.
I began surfing the net looking for someone who sells Khukuris and luckily found HI (all the Gorkhas could tell me was that I could buy them in Katmandu for around US$15 - tourist ones I'm sure). I've learned a lot from the HI site and forum. In an attempt to reciprocate your help, here's some comments from a newbie on getting to know his first Khukuri.
The First Chop: arrived at my in-laws house in Hawaii and tore open the HI packages. Sheer beauty. Felt the balance and weight. Fell in love right then and there (and started planning for the next one - probably a beauty for display, the BAS is a "user"). Father-in-law (ex-Army officer) freaked out about "a weapon in the house". Mother-in-law impressively cool. Went outside to chop down a few rampant bushes. Great. Mother-in-law now overjoyed at lazy son-in-law doing something useful in the yard.
The First Wipe: as suggested in the FAQ, washed the crud off then wiped the blade with Tuff-Cloth (Marine Tuff-Cloth ain't easy to find). At first . . . nothing. Began to wonder where Father-in-law kept the WD-40. Then after a while something magic. The cloth that seemed to do nothing left a thin film that harden into a rainbow colored shine on the polished blade. Great stuff.
Had to leave Hawaii the next day for a some work in Korea. Khuks packed in check-in bags. The X-ray airport lady (Honolulu screens check-in stuff, too) sees them and asks what they are. Told her "Khukuri knives". I think she heard cookery knives. Anyway, let's it go. Arrive in Korea at baggage claim and see my bag has a big red electronic tag on it. Customs calls me aside to open the bag, tells me weapons not allowed in Korea and holds them at the airport (sorry, another story for another thread). Anyway, after lots of twists and turns finally arrive in Singapore yesterday happily walking away from the airport with khuks in my bag.
The First Scrape and Grind: the khuks arrived sharp. But after reading the FAQ and forumites talk about shaving forearm hairs. I got a leather strop on a piece of wood. It came with some metal/fiberglass polish from Germany called Flitz. Seemed odd to me how metal polish on leather was supposed to sharpen anything (my last sharpening experience was a pocket knife with a whetstone when I was a boy scout - I think I ended up dulling the blade). Tried what the FAX said to do on the karda for practice. Back and forth on the strop around five times. Nothing special. Maybe the blade was getting polished, but sharper? Then tested the blade on a sheet of paper. WOW! It did get sharper. Not bad for leather and metal polish.
Let's see how far this could go. As suggested in the FAQ, I got some 600 sandpaper. Couldn't find styrofoam, so I got some velcro and used it to stick the sandpaper on the flip side of the "leather on wood" strop. The velcro gave enough padding to be styrofoam-like and was a lot handier and easier to use on the strop. Two to three light swipes on the sandpaper, then a paper test. Wow, again. Amazing what such little work can do. Tried sharpening the BAS khuk. Felt like magic . . . again.
I had to run off to do something before I could get the khuk and karda sharp enough to cut forearm hairs. Somehow I get the feeling that might take a lot more practice. But I am impressed and grateful for all the contributions made in the forum and the FAQ.
Many thanks, folks! It's great help for someone new.
