- Joined
- May 18, 1999
- Messages
- 15,395
:
Barb and me went out gathering some Oklahoma Sage today for use in our Sweatlodge.
I had just received an old nasty somewhat rusty Full Curving WW II khukuri from our friend John Powell and thought I would give it a workout.
The blade is soft compared with the HI models and I expected that, but it took a nice shaving edge with a file and a set of crock sticks and then strops. The old knife may be softer than what we're used too, But It Is Tough!!!
We gather the Sage along the road side in the rural areas close to home and some of the banks are steep. I used the knife as a lever to help me up some of the banks by stabbing it in the ground and pulling myself up, naturally this dulled the edge toward the point something terrible.
I used the recurve in the blade to pull the Sage stems toward me then when I had a good hold on the Sage I would pull the blade through the stalks useing the still sharp recurved edge to cut it. I had never used a khukuri for this before, but it sure won't be the last time as it made the work go much easier And much faster!!!!
Then to top it all off I stumbled on one of the banks and went for a tumble. There was No Way I could keep from falling and with the khukuri in hand it was sorta a frightening moment, but I was able to keep the knife clear by stabbing it in the ground once again and useing it as a pivot to help control the fall, and managed to roll although it was the side of a gravel road and some of the rocks along the side were fist sized and dayumed hard!!!
I am now paying for that, but the medicine will take effect in a while. I am really thankful our old gym teacher taught some of us some martail arts techniques with one of them being able to fall without getting hurt to badly.
I credit the khukuri with saving me from a really bad fall. And that's one of my biggest fears with 5 fused vertabrae(sp?) in my low back!!!!
Then we went down another back road and found a really nice patch of Sage. When Barb crossed the side of the road she noticed some large animal tracks and didn't think much about it. I walked down the road a bit and gathered an arm load of Sage and was walking back to the truck when Barb pointed out the tracks and commented that they looked like cat tracks. They were!!!!
There have been reports over the years about a panther being seen in some of the areas we were frequenting today, but we haven't heard anything about the panther in quite some time.
Barb and me were down by a reservoir just a couple of miles from the house about 3 years ago looking for Sage and saw where the panther had taken a walk around the edge of some wooded areas there. And that's where the Sage grows.
Anyway I have no desire to tangle with a large cat on a good day and knowing just how slow I am and How Fast they can be we got back in the truck and left the Sage for another time.
Then we stopped at a local supermart and while Barb went in I checked out the old khukuri.
Naturally the edge had rolled badly and dented a bit in a couple of places. I had my Marbles Woodcraft with me as usual and started working the edge of the old war horse with the back of the Marbles.
I now understand even better the value of the chakma!!! Especially on the softer khukuris!!
I kept working the edge and after a bit it started rolling small burrs off the edge as if I was useing a file on it!!! That amazed me as I had never seen anything like it before. The old war horse came back shaving sharp with just the Marbles used as a chakma on it!!
I won't abuse the old WW II Khukuri as it has earned its rest, but I may use it to cut Sage with now and then instead of some of the knives I have used in the past.
That gives the old knife Sacred Work to do and it seemed to enjoy being useful once again as well as being cared for.
I would most certainly stake my life on the old blade as some proud Ghorka must have done in the past.
It also gave me a brand new experience and learning with a softer blade. I am impressed!!!
------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®
"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."
...............Will Rogers......
Khukuri FAQ
[This message has been edited by Yvsa (edited 09-10-2000).]
Barb and me went out gathering some Oklahoma Sage today for use in our Sweatlodge.
I had just received an old nasty somewhat rusty Full Curving WW II khukuri from our friend John Powell and thought I would give it a workout.
The blade is soft compared with the HI models and I expected that, but it took a nice shaving edge with a file and a set of crock sticks and then strops. The old knife may be softer than what we're used too, But It Is Tough!!!
We gather the Sage along the road side in the rural areas close to home and some of the banks are steep. I used the knife as a lever to help me up some of the banks by stabbing it in the ground and pulling myself up, naturally this dulled the edge toward the point something terrible.
I used the recurve in the blade to pull the Sage stems toward me then when I had a good hold on the Sage I would pull the blade through the stalks useing the still sharp recurved edge to cut it. I had never used a khukuri for this before, but it sure won't be the last time as it made the work go much easier And much faster!!!!
Then to top it all off I stumbled on one of the banks and went for a tumble. There was No Way I could keep from falling and with the khukuri in hand it was sorta a frightening moment, but I was able to keep the knife clear by stabbing it in the ground once again and useing it as a pivot to help control the fall, and managed to roll although it was the side of a gravel road and some of the rocks along the side were fist sized and dayumed hard!!!
I am now paying for that, but the medicine will take effect in a while. I am really thankful our old gym teacher taught some of us some martail arts techniques with one of them being able to fall without getting hurt to badly.
I credit the khukuri with saving me from a really bad fall. And that's one of my biggest fears with 5 fused vertabrae(sp?) in my low back!!!!
Then we went down another back road and found a really nice patch of Sage. When Barb crossed the side of the road she noticed some large animal tracks and didn't think much about it. I walked down the road a bit and gathered an arm load of Sage and was walking back to the truck when Barb pointed out the tracks and commented that they looked like cat tracks. They were!!!!
There have been reports over the years about a panther being seen in some of the areas we were frequenting today, but we haven't heard anything about the panther in quite some time.
Barb and me were down by a reservoir just a couple of miles from the house about 3 years ago looking for Sage and saw where the panther had taken a walk around the edge of some wooded areas there. And that's where the Sage grows.
Anyway I have no desire to tangle with a large cat on a good day and knowing just how slow I am and How Fast they can be we got back in the truck and left the Sage for another time.
Then we stopped at a local supermart and while Barb went in I checked out the old khukuri.
Naturally the edge had rolled badly and dented a bit in a couple of places. I had my Marbles Woodcraft with me as usual and started working the edge of the old war horse with the back of the Marbles.
I now understand even better the value of the chakma!!! Especially on the softer khukuris!!
I kept working the edge and after a bit it started rolling small burrs off the edge as if I was useing a file on it!!! That amazed me as I had never seen anything like it before. The old war horse came back shaving sharp with just the Marbles used as a chakma on it!!
I won't abuse the old WW II Khukuri as it has earned its rest, but I may use it to cut Sage with now and then instead of some of the knives I have used in the past.
That gives the old knife Sacred Work to do and it seemed to enjoy being useful once again as well as being cared for.
I would most certainly stake my life on the old blade as some proud Ghorka must have done in the past.
It also gave me a brand new experience and learning with a softer blade. I am impressed!!!
------------------
>>>>---¥vsa---->®
"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."
...............Will Rogers......
Khukuri FAQ
[This message has been edited by Yvsa (edited 09-10-2000).]
