No more blade only orders until further notice. Sorry.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
I got in the first two blades for Yvsa today, a Hanuman style and a Chainpuri style and I am not happy with them. The size and shape are okay and the Chainpuri made by Kumar might be okay but the Hanuman made by Sanu seemed too soft. It is hard to tell until you get the edge ground down but I don't want to take any more orders for blades only at the present time. If Yvsa finishes these up and finds they are okay we will take some more orders. If after he gets the edge worked down he comes to the same conclusion I did then this is an experiment that failed. I am not sure the kamis know what we want.

Bro, do you want to hand carry these back with you or do you want me to send them so they will be waiting for you when you get back?

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
Sorry to hear.

Just do it like another khukuri. When it comes time to put the handle on and finish it, throw it in the box and send it to the crazy Canadians and Americans.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 08-22-2000).]
 
:
Sorry to hear there might be a problem Bro.!!!!
Hang onto them and I will carry them back. No sense in spending postage.

Another reason is that a few minutes with a file will tell if the edge is soft under the slag. Any knife that's hardened the way the kamis do with water or oil will have a soft layer of iron over the hard edge.
If a file will skate on the steel underneath the soft part then we are alright.
I can check that at your place or when we get back to Phoenix and it will also give me something to play with until we go back
home.
cool.gif




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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
Don't worry too much! If these come right out of the forge, are hardened and then sent to you in the raw state (without further grinding) it's normal. You have a zone of up to 3 mm which remains soft even after hardening because of carbon loss during forging. I work a lot with mercedes truck springs (which should be the same stuff the kami's use) and at the beginning i thought that there was a problem. Grind it to shape and test it again. Its like grinding away a protective layer of soft steel to get to the hard core.

Achim
 
Thanks, all. I'll hang onto them, Yvsa.

Achim, I know you are right and I wanted to put the Hanuman blade on the grinder but the blade is not mine so I thought I'd better not start playing with it. When Yvsa gets here I will loan him my grinder and files and maybe we can get an evaluation on the blade before he leaves.

The Chainpuri blade was cleaned up better with less rust and slag and felt better to the file but we will see about that one, too.

If these blades are not 58 Rc or better we don't want them.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 08-23-2000).]
 
:
We went to a local home improvement store last night where I purchased a new Nicholson 10" Mill Bastard File and a nice handle just for the purpose of checking out these blades.
biggrin.gif

I am anxiuos to see them and check 'em out!
I do hope that's what we find and it shoulkd be expected on an uncleaned blade. You are right Bro anything less than 57 Rc is not a desireable hardness.

An added plus while we were there my sweet wife started looking at the router bits and found a 1/2" radius round over bit with a 1/4" shank that I had given up on finding. This will help expedite making Flutes when I get back to that!!!! The larger bore makes for deeper toned instruments.


------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
Yvsa, we may be okay after all. I did some more checking and filing and I think the Chainpuri is in the 59-60 Rc range. This was made by Kumar. The Hanuman style blade was made by Sanu and it was not as cleaned up as the Chainpuri so I filed more of the edge and the farther I dug in the harder the blade got. I think in final form it may be in the 58-59 Rc range. Bro, if your file tells you the same thing mine tells me then we will go ahead with the blade only offerings. But I want to be very sure the kamis don't slack off just because the blade is in unfinished form.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
:
That's great news Bro!!!!
I am pleased that you checked them further although I almost knew the blades would be fine.
I believe the kamis are beginning to understand thier worth to the world and are beginning to take a real pride in thier accomplishments at the forge.
The bonuses given for quality work helped to bring some of that about imo.
When people are thought of as being the low of the low all thier lives and then start getting appreciated for the job they are doing by all thier customers then most people will show you just how dayum good they are.
Human nature is the same all over the world.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
Some time back Sanu sent an exceptional khukuri -- can't remember what it was but it was the best work I had ever seen him do. I advised Gelbu to give him a thousand rupia bonus for the knife and the excellent work and put it on my bill.

Stop work, give the bonus to Sanu in the shop, in front of everybody, and make sure everybody knows what it is for. From that day forward the quality of all khukuris by all kamis has been improving by a surprising amount. I think the recognition worked as well or better than the money but I do know that money talks.


------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
Uncle Bill, I agree with you that recognition, in and of itself, is important (not that money isn't). Every good manager knows that people work harder when they feel that their extra effort is nocticed and appreciated. Many years ago, as a 2nd Lt., I was given these sage words of advice by an old warhorse of an NCO I befriended, "Praise in public, criticize in private, -- but praise only when it is really deserved because empty praise is insulting, and when you criticize a man do it in such a way as to make him stronger -- if you break his spirit it makes smaller men of both of you."
 
Steven, as a proud enlisted man it seemed to me that NCO's had more integrity and honor than the officer's and gentlemen. No personal offense meant. Your post makes me think your old NCO pal should have been a general and confirms my suspicions that I was never all that wrong about my observation.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
:
Say Bro.
Do you think it might be a good idea to post a pic of the 2 blades to let people see what they will be getting when ordering blades only.

That is if you think the blades are okay and I am betting they will be.
I am looking forward to finishing them out. It will dayum sure give me an incentive to get caught up on my obligations.
biggrin.gif


------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
:
Like I said in the post with the pix of the blades, "These are both Great!!!!!"

The Chainpuri is 95% finished from the forge and would only need an edge and handle put on it. I am still Absolutely Amazed at the talent the Kami's have!!!! The Chainpuri blade is almost Absolutley flat and the edge bevel is very even, almost a forged hollow grind, only not as deep. Laying a file from the edge to the top of the bevel you can see a slight dip in the edge bevel all the way down. Kumar did a wonderful job!! That sorta tells me that he and I are sorta alike, lazy with a consience, the more you can do on the forge, the less you have to do on the grinder.

And though the fullers are forged into the Hanuman blade they will take quite a lot more work if I was to finish them out. Only the edge bevels and spines will be finished on these blades before they get handles.

When I got up this morning and had coffee the 1st. thing I did was get the blades and the new Nicholson file out. With just a bit more fileing on the blades I figure that they will go 60-61 Rc!!!!
The new 10" file will not cut the sweet spot any longer. It just skates over the
blade.
biggrin.gif


I am Very Pleased!!!!

------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
So, Uncle Bill, when can we start placing orders and can you give us some ballpark figures regarding prices?
 
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