Okay, I'm Traumatized

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Dec 16, 2003
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I once had a plain sheath kothimoda that I bought from one of you gentlemen on ebay. (Thanks for the addiction by the way).

Anyways I loved how it felt and look. Which lead to my buying more khuks.

Now the problem. One day, I took the kothimoda into the back yard and decided to cut some palm tree branches. During one of my cuts, the blade hit a rock and the bone handle broke straight through.

I contacted UB and brought it to him to send back to Nepal to fix. It came back beautiful as when I first got it.

Now the problem. All of my Khuks sit on a stand in my room. I'm afraid to take it out and use it because I'm not sure the horn handles (BAS) will be able to handle it if I accidently hit something hard. Is wood a more sturdy material? Does HI make a full tang handle with maybe just horn pieces on the sides?
 
Bone and horn are not the same thing. I've had no problems with my horn handles. HI does make a full tang version with horn (and sometimes wood) handle slabs--the Chiruwa AK or the M-43 both feature full tang construction. Sometimes you can even find a chiruwa WWII.
 
From my personal observations...

Horn is squishier than bone. It has a little give or squishiness to it if you keep it moistureized. Some folks say if cured right, bone is good for handles. Dunno. I only have one bone handled knife and it has a lot of little cracks in it (bought as a blem). I tested it and it seemed ok. I keep it "gooped" with the handle in a plastic bag.

Maybe I'll send it to Pen for some fixin'. :)
 
I'll chime in as well. Your horn handled khuks should do just fine.
As has been said, "there is a lot of difference between bone and horn."
Bone is much more brittle and more prone to breaking when not very well cared for.:(
However if you have never used any mineral oil, lanolin, or other moisturizer on your horn handled khuk's then personally I would soak the horn handles down good for a couple of weeks before I used them hard.
Any natural handle material is subject to cracking if not taken care of.
Wood is the least likely to crack but horn is much more durable and rot free over the long run if taken care of properly.
Horn holds up much better in high humidity and wet conditions than any other natural material, it is good stuff and is what I would use and recommend in the deep southern part of the USA!!!! :cool: :D
 
The Chiruwa style is "full tang" - the metal follows the profile of the handle, with horn pieces on the side.

Wood and horn are both good working materials. Occasionally, you can get a piece with a fatal flaw, but I'd say those are less then 1%. I've put my khuks through heavy use and no handle failures. Bone is a bit more delicate material - it's hard, and doesn't come in solid blocks that are easily shaped into knife handles. Horn and wood are both pretty fibrous, which makes them very tough.

Proper care for wood - just like furniture. Use a furniture oil every once in a while, just be sure not to use too much and wipe off the excess to keep the handle from getting too slippery. A step up from that is the forum favorite "Woodchuck" treatment - scrub handles with Murphy's oil soap, coat with many layers of linseed/Tung/Tru-oil type product, and finish with a coat of furniture wax. Other threads have more details.

Horn - "Hooflex" a hoof treatment for horses and livestock is the popular choice here. Available in tack shops, some feed and grain stores. Any greasy type skin or nail treatment should also work - suggestions have ranged across Chap-stick, lanolin, vasoline, etc.

Properly cared for (a couple of times per year, depending on climate and use) most khuk handles will outlast you - witness poorly cared for stuff on ebay, etc. that may have been neglected for many years but still has useable handles. And work shouldn't hurt things.

Moral - GO USE YOUR KHUKS!!!! (as if you needed an excuse) :D
 
Bone is much more brittle than horn. Horn can take the impacts that bone just won't handle. Another thing that adds to the problem is that bone is pretty much hollow. And the hollow on the bone is filled with laha, the "epoxy" that they use to attach the handles. Horn has a much smaller hollow.
 
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