Questions about past projects

F

folderVSfixed

Joined
Dec 21, 2000
Messages
498
I was going through the old posts (all the back to the beginning), WHEW!! and saw some threads about a "kit" khukuris. In one of my other posts Lt. Dan was telling me about the video and knifemaking in general and since I am in to knife making I thought I would get one of these blades (I am assuming just the handle needs to be made) to get a grip on one that I could do myself. Craig, I went to the GH websight and didn't see this offered. Was it a one time deal or did it ever even make it out the barn?
 
Folder: We sold about 15 or 20 kits, and they were very popular. I just haven't ordered any more lately. If you want a "kit" - call me at 703-536-5555, ext 101 and I can send you out a SN1 blem - you can "boil" the handle off and that can be your kit? Same goes for anybody else. I have a couple of smaller blems around that can be used in this way.

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Folder,

I've done a little research through the old threads and come up with a few that you may want to read. There have been several forumites who have tried their hand at making handles for Khukuri's. Among the most famous is Ray, aka Maddog_2020. The below listed links will take you to the info he made available to us. His work is beautiful and the bottom link will take you to pics of some of his finished products. I happen to be the proud caretaker of the cherry handled SN-1
smile.gif
.

BTW, take heed to Maddog's advice about boiling the handles to remove them. There are rules that you MUST follow:

* DO NOT use a good pot when performing this task
* DO NOT attempt this task in your kitchen.

Official Discalimer:
Violation of either of these simple rules will surely bring a violent end to marital bliss in your household. Wives have NO SENSE OF HUMOR when someone stinks up their kitchen or screws up their good pots. You have been warned
smile.gif
.

Now for the Links:

Maddogs WW2
Maddogs SN-1
Maddogs Panawal
More Handle info
Photos of the above handles

Blackdog
 
One thing I need to add here on the subject of handles. Our own Lt. Dan has been experimenting on Khuk handles. He's presently working on, among other things, handle finishes.

Hey Dan, hows about a couple of pics of the work in progress? BTW, did you get that Tung oil/naptha solution perfected yet? That'll be some good info to pass on to those like myself who are somewhat "chemically challenged".

Blackdog
 
Hey there, Blackdog! I'm not holding back any info on finishing, but just that the gears are moving slooowwly. You know, my family has a history of varmint hunting for a few generations (it's in the blood), and I'm trying to make up for some lost time from my nonshooting years. I've been reading up on gunstock finishes on the Varmint Hunters Association website. My finishing experience has been with stringed instruments and basic woodworking, so this is fun.

There are some good recipes out there for finishes, and I'm mainly interested in Tung oil, which is boiled Linseed oil and mineral spirits. To recap, the mineral spirits have evaporated out of the Tung oil, leaving behind the Linseed oil. The drying time has gotten way too slow, so the plan is to try and reconstitute the stuff.

Well, I decided to use Naptha instead of the Mineral spirits in various concentrations. I've been doing 2 handles lately: a paring knife for the wife, and a 25" AK Panawal handle that has been re-engineered (as per the thread). The little knife has done great with a mix of 3 parts old Tung + 1 part Naptha. But the big AK has been very slow in drying, and it could be because the mix was closer to 4 + 1. Once this is no longer tacky I'll go to weaker concentrations. I might try the mineral spirits mix later just to see what happens.

The recipes on the VHA site call for less oil in the highly acclaimed Linseed / Mineral spirits / Polyurethane mix of EQUAL parts (I'm not using this because I don't want a glossy finish). This tells me I've got too much oil in it. I do all my mixing in plastic syringes in small amounts to be exact, and the Naptha makes the rubber plunger sticky. I doubt this affects the chemicals, but it's a little strange.
Another odd thing is these drying and penetrating agents can escape thru plastic containers over time, which must be why my Formby's bottle has been sucking in and the level getting lower much faster than the usage.

Sorry about the lack of pics, as I'm somewhat computer challenged...and maybe a little chemically deficient, too!

Thanks for asking, and I'll post again....Dan
 
Hey Blackdog
Yes I have looked at MD's handles and they look good. Gives me some insperation to give it a go. I just wonder if anyone makes a chunk of micarta big enough for what I want to do. If not I will have to experiment.
 
And just so you guys know, Scott at Edgeworks has the remaining WWIIIs and his trying like the dickens to find a handle finisher to complete the project.

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
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