Sharpening a Khkuri w/ Triangle sharpmaker

C

charles.k.terry

Joined
Sep 13, 2003
Messages
5
Hi, to all! I am brand new to this forum. I am also the new owner of 2 of HI wonderful Khukuri. A 12 in Sirupati and a 16.5 inc WWII. Made by K.M. HI was great!! I asked for a few things to suit my needs and from what I can see they did great. I do have a slight problem and need some advice. The Khukuri were not as sharp as I normally keep my knives, and I am attempting to sharpen them. Here is the kicker the only thing I have to sharpen them with is my spyderco Tri-angel Sharpmaker. I can't seem to get the correct angle. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. Also, HI thanks again for the nice knives.
Keith Terry
BAF, Afghanistan.
 
Charles, welcome to our looney bin, as if you didn't have enough craziness in your life as it is.

I think see your problem, the rods are too small and it's hard to put even pressure on the blade through it's whole length?

First check out the sharpening suggestions on the FAQ page of the HI site. The wooden dowels with sand paper might be your best bet in the field. I've had some luck with a chef's steel but I don't know if you have access to one. You need to grab the blade on the spine near the angle for really even pressure.

Are they letting you into large towns? There are probably some professional sharpeners in the markets.

The others like Sarge (who's been in Afghanistan) my have some better, field oriented solutions.
 
Thanks Red! Unfortunately here in Afghainistan things are still not easy to find or get. I brought my TRI angles with me to keep my knives sharp. I know that I have 2 choices with the sharpener 30 degrees and 40 degrees. I am not sure if I should use one or the other, or both. I am reading the FAQ stuff and learning.
Thanks again If you think of something else let me know.
Keith
BAF Afghainistan.
 
Not familiar with that sharpener,
but others I've seen allow the "stone" to be used
seperately from the mechanism.
If so, you can go freehand.
This is what most people do in one way or another.

That would be the simplest choice.
If not........

If you can get some fine sandpaper, just guessing here on grits
(I haven't used sandpaper to sharpen though I've heard it's great)
of 180 ---> 400 or somewhere in between.
If not you could maybe improvise a strop on a firm base.
And maybe sift some sand dust through a fine cloth.

High tech is great, but in a pinch--whatever gets the job done.

Lots of info in the threads here.
Search:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/search.php?s=
in Himalayan Imports Forum in Options, for:
sharpen OR sharpening
strop sharpen OR sharpening
sandpaper sharpen OR sharpening
mousepad sharpen OR sharpening
grit sharpen OR sharpening

You'll still have to search through lots of threads,
but it will help get you started.

I'm sure in the morning (here) someone can point you the right direction.

Maybe there's something you can adapt for sharpening
from you available materials.
Look for hard ceramic items maybe.

Often in Nepal they commonly have a good rock.

Best.

Oh.....And, "Remember the chakma, Luke."
But it's for maintenance, not first sharpening.
Search: sharpen chakma
 
Aha.

I've done this, so I know it's usable.

Use another blade as a scaper.

I've used one of those disposable break-point knives
to scrape an edge onto a dull khuk.

You have to use a -light- touch and get a feel for the technique,
but it can work to give you a better edge.
 
Welcome aboard Charles!!
Also, thank you for serving your country!!:D I have used a Spyderco Sharpmaker for most all sharpening since I got my first Police model when Spyderco first released them. It is a great tool although self limiting sometimes. A couple of tips that might help. First off I found that if you can clamp the sharpmaker to a table or such you can guide the blade with both hands and not even need the brass guards. A C-clamp will work and I include it in my sharpening box for just that reason. A great advantage to this is that you can apply more force to each stroke while having much more control of that applied force. You might even be able to drill a hole in the plastic base between the different angle holes and screw it to the top outer edge of a foot locker as a solid base.

As for finding the right angle, Get a magic marker or sharpie. Rub it on the edge angle area you are trying to match. By adjusting the angle that you hold the khuk at try to sharpen off the the black mark. Using the marker over and over will tell you where you are on the edge and allow you to adjust your holding angle until it matches what you want. I hope this makes sense to you. That is about the easiest way I can think of to make full use of your Sharpmaker. A set of the diamond coated rods would make it easier and WAY faster also. They are small and light, so maybe you could have a family member pick a set up stateside and mail them to you.
Good luck to you! I hope a little of what I typed made sense. Take Care!
 
Keith, welcome to the cantina. I know the problem you are having. I use a set of ceramic rods. They came stored in a small wooden box which has two sets of holes drilled on top. You can place the rods in these holes to give you two different angles and it works pretty well. The only problem is that sometimes the blade is very hard and needs to be worked a little more before going to the ceramic rods. In this case I use a diamond rod or a diamond stone to work the edge first. It produces very good results. Please keep in mind that I am no expert compared with some of the other forumites. They know how to put on a convex edge, polish it down and make it sharp enough to cut you if you just look at it too hard.

My edges work well enough to chop up sizable mesquite logs for the smoker with no problem and keep the trees trimmed. A couple of passes with the chakma during the process and the edge is fine. You will be able to tell after a while if the chakma you have is hard enough to do the job. Some are a little soft for the blade they're matched with. Best of luck and thanks for your service. We do appreciate it.
 
Some things to keep in mind:

The Sharpmaker was made to put a small, secondary bevel on knives who's blades are much thinner and shorter than a khukuri. Part of the problem is that your khukuri was intended to be sharpened like an axe, and not a pocket knife.

However, the Sharpmaker can still be used. You need to set it to the widest bevel possible. Use a marker to highlight about 1/8" of the edge so you can see where it's making contact. Since you'll be grinding away a heckuva lot more steel, plan on it taking about 10 times as long as you would need to do a small pocket knife.

Start by sharpening the "sweet spot" only. Don't bother with the tip, or within 2-3 inches of the cho.

Frankly, you might find it easier to "let the tail wag the dog". That is, turn your khuk upside down (edge up) on a table and run your sharpening rod back and forth on it. If you are using the "magic marker technique" you should have no problem teaching yourself how to keep the rod steady.

I have sharpened khukuris and machettes using the technique described above and I still prefer sandpaper in my hand over all of them. :rolleyes:

Give it a shot and let us know your results.

Dan
 
Welcome to the asylum. I have used & still use one of the triangle sharpeners on ocassion. Take it out of the base holder & use one of the sharpeners like a file. I start with the corner, instead of the flat side, since it will make the angle at the sweet spot. Start in front of the cho & go to the tip. If you run into a spot that needs atention, like where you turned the edge slightly, you can ude the flat side of the sharpener & work that out. I generally carry a small file with me if I am working a good ways from the house & this will touch up a blade that is going dull fast. The little 6" triangular file work well as do some of the small flat files. I don't worry too much about how they look, or if they will shave hair. For using, I go for a steep angle between 30 & 35 degrees or even a little more, so that there is plenty of steel to back up the cutting edge. Even used a piece of a broken brick a few times. Just don't let your fingers get to close to the cutting edge you are sharpening!
 
WOW! What a respose. I didn't expect so much help. THANK YOU!
I read the FAQ last night and along with all of the suggestion I think I can get it where I want it. I assume it is possible (if you wanted) to make a Khukuri able to shave.

Thanks again!
Keith Terry
BAF Afghanistan
 
Probably can't send you one of my sharpening CDs, so instead, check out the results in this lil' video: (everybody else has seen it already, and they're probably way sick of seeing it - so this time it will be just for you.) :D

Bowie Cut

The knife shown is a H.I. product = the AK Bowie.

Somewhere in this country there is an Axe shaving competition. IE. you start with a dull axe and the first person to get it sharp enough to shave with it wins. ;)

Keep, er..., your chin up...

*groan*

:D
 
pendentive
Sorry but I could not see the video. I take it that it is more than possible! I plan to try the magic marker free hand thing first. I must admit that I am a little unsure about it. I got the Sharpmaker because I screwed up several knives with an AK. stone before. I like the idea that the Khukuri is more like an ax than a knife. I'll check out the other links you sent.
Thanks
Keith
 
I've sharpened khuks on crock-sticks (like the Tri-angle, only round rods) and it works - just takes forever. If you can't match the angle with the blade perfectly vertical, then I've tilted the blade a bit to one side or the other to increase or decrease the angle.

Removing the stones from the base and using them like a file also works. Stroke from the back of the knife toward the edge. You can also focus more on "trouble spots" - typically toward the tip and cho - that aren't really sharp. You might want to rig some sort of guard out of cardboard and duct tape.

Best of luck with the khuks and mission.
 
Welcome to the Cantina Keith, hope things are well there in Bagram. Never saw the wisdom in knifesharpening "kits" with their jigs and guides and thing-a-ma-bobs. All you need to sharpen a khuk is a regular old sharpening stone, some practice, and some patience. Prop the blade on something to steady it with the edge up and carefully sharpen by moving the stone along the edge of the stationary blade. Don't fret about trying to hone the entire length of the edge with every stroke, in fact it's easier to sharpen a portion of the blade at a time and then move on until you've got the whole edge sharp. Scrounge up some fine sandpaper, as fine as you can get, if you can't get superfine then make it superfine by scrubbing it on a rock until it is. The sandpaper's good for removing, or at least evening out the scratches left by sharpening. Final touch, that "moon dust" that's so plentiful around Bagram, especially down by the air cargo area (unless they've finished gravelling it)makes great polishing compound. Wet a rag, dip it in "moon dust" and have at it. Good luck and stay safe.

Sarge
 
Well thanks to all of your help I have sharpened both Khukuri. They now are scarry sharp. I have not had a chance to take them out yet but I hope to in the next few days. I used the magic marker and Sharp-maker sticks seperatly and it worked great. Thanks to all of you that responded and helped me out. Sarge there is still plety of moon dust here. It was so windy yesterday that you could not even see the moutains any where. I had not though of it as a polisher but I will try it on something else first then if it works I might try later.
Uncle Bill I did some reading and I think I have learned the Chakma.
Thanks again to all of you. I am forming some specific Questions about the 2 KH I have. Will post them later.
Keith Terry
BAF Afghanistan
 
Sylvrfalcn said:
Don't fret about trying to hone the entire length of the edge with every stroke, in fact it's easier to sharpen a portion of the blade at a time and then move on until you've got the whole edge sharp.
Click to expand...

I've had to do this too, since the sharpening stones available are typically to small to accommodate larger blades with a single stroke.

A guilty confession, I use the Sharpmaker too, one of those thing-a-ma-bobs!

With my AK, I had to do a lot of work with the diamond speed sleeves first to get the bevel I wanted (I will usually add an additional tilt to the blade if I want something other than the preset 20 degrees) then moved on to the ceramic.

I'm afraid I'm still not good enough at getting a good angle freehand. I typically have to "cheat" with sharpening rigs, or a piece of paper folded diagonally so many times to the angle I need as a guide (for use with a belt sander or waterstones for example).
 
Hmm...responding to a thread more then 3 years old.

Just to comment...it's a waste to force a flat grind onto a full convex blade and counterproductive to boot.

The forum has learned a lot in three years I guess.
 
Nasty said:
Hmm...responding to a thread more then 3 years old.

Just to comment...it's a waste to force a flat grind onto a full convex blade and counterproductive to boot.

The forum has learned a lot in three years I guess.
Click to expand...

Yep, but sometimes you know I still use the sharpmaker or plain ceramic rods for a quick pass after convex sharpening. Just 3 or 4 swipes and I'm done. Just gives it a quick micro bevel and cleans up anything left on the edge. Not sure how durable it it, but it seems to give it an extra sharp edge for a time. May be totally wasted on a chopper though?

Norm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top