- Joined
- Aug 11, 1999
- Messages
- 1,111
Got a 15" Sirupati a few wks ago. It arrived *very tightly* lodged in its scabbard. Finally pulled it out after much effort, and not w/o damage: the tip pierced thru the back of the scabbard's wood spine on its way out, leaving a 3/4" (18 mm) tear in the leather just below the bend or "hump." Thereafter, it was impossible to resheath the Sirupati -- tip would consistently pop thru the tear rather than follow the spine towards the tip of the scabbard.
Uncle Bill told me to use the "old Gorkha trick" by soaking the scabbard in water, then whittling a wedge slightly bigger than the khukuri itself. Call me lazy, I just oiled the blade, wrapped the lower (tip) half in a sheet of paper, wrapped the upper (handle) part of the blade in three sheets of paper, then wrapped it all in tough, clear packaging tape.
Scabbard definitely loosened up w/soaking. I resheathed the wrapped blade, left it on a chair in the shade on my patio deck all day, turning once (does this sound like cooking, or what?). It worked! The wood did also split a little at the mouth of the scabbard while drying, but remains strongly bounded together by the leather. It was a *little* looser than I wanted, but was a major improvement over the initial "do not enter" wolftrap problem.
That was a little over 3 wks ago. Since then, however, the scabbard has tightened and loosened noticeably, depending on whether the climate has been hot and dry (it reached 100 deg w/nil humidity 2 wks ago) or cooler and damper (68 deg w/fog till midday for the past wk). How noticeable? When it was hot/dry, it felt as snug as kydex, and I had to give a gentle yank to pull it out. Last week, the Sirupati would literally slide out on its own if I turned the scabbard upside down. Right now, it's somewhere in-between.
In contrast, my 15" AK has shown no significantly noticeable change during the same period. No doubt the wood crack at the mouth of the Sirupati's scabbard plays into this, but I still wouldn't expect such widely varying "behavior"; the scabbard appears to loosen or tighten throughout its entire body, after all, not just at the mouth.
Any one else have similar experiences? Or is my Sirupati scabbard possessed? (Or, maybe, my *Sirupati* is shrinking/growing?!)
Curious --
Glen
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The piano has been drinking -Tom Waits
Uncle Bill told me to use the "old Gorkha trick" by soaking the scabbard in water, then whittling a wedge slightly bigger than the khukuri itself. Call me lazy, I just oiled the blade, wrapped the lower (tip) half in a sheet of paper, wrapped the upper (handle) part of the blade in three sheets of paper, then wrapped it all in tough, clear packaging tape.
Scabbard definitely loosened up w/soaking. I resheathed the wrapped blade, left it on a chair in the shade on my patio deck all day, turning once (does this sound like cooking, or what?). It worked! The wood did also split a little at the mouth of the scabbard while drying, but remains strongly bounded together by the leather. It was a *little* looser than I wanted, but was a major improvement over the initial "do not enter" wolftrap problem.
That was a little over 3 wks ago. Since then, however, the scabbard has tightened and loosened noticeably, depending on whether the climate has been hot and dry (it reached 100 deg w/nil humidity 2 wks ago) or cooler and damper (68 deg w/fog till midday for the past wk). How noticeable? When it was hot/dry, it felt as snug as kydex, and I had to give a gentle yank to pull it out. Last week, the Sirupati would literally slide out on its own if I turned the scabbard upside down. Right now, it's somewhere in-between.
In contrast, my 15" AK has shown no significantly noticeable change during the same period. No doubt the wood crack at the mouth of the Sirupati's scabbard plays into this, but I still wouldn't expect such widely varying "behavior"; the scabbard appears to loosen or tighten throughout its entire body, after all, not just at the mouth.
Any one else have similar experiences? Or is my Sirupati scabbard possessed? (Or, maybe, my *Sirupati* is shrinking/growing?!)
Curious --
Glen
------------------
The piano has been drinking -Tom Waits
