Sharpening chips out of a British Army Special

JG Custom Metal Works

JG Custom Metal Works

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Nov 27, 2013
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I received a Himalayan Imports British army special the other day in trade and it has a couple chips in the edge. The guy told me it was new and sometimes they just come that way. It doesn't look like it's been used much if at all as the finish is fairly scratch free. Either way, I'm trying to figure out the best way to sharpen out these chips. I've read of the sharpening techniques using sandpaper and a phone book(to hit the recurve) and of course mouse pad. I'm thinking that would probably take a long ass time and effort to remove enough steel to fix the chips.

I'm a knifemaker and have a couple dozen knives under my belt but am by no means a master. The main thing that is holding me back is that I haven't really worked with recurves or this particular edge bevel. I have a 2x42 belt sander and paper sharpening wheels. I was thinking maybe a slack belt or a leather backed platen with a belt cut to 1in. Anyone have ideas?
 
Sounds like the chips are fairly substantial if it would take a lot of sharpening to remove them. I doubt very much that HI sold it that way new. Even the HI khukuris sold as "blems" on this forum have cosmetic issues, not chips. I can't remember HI ever selling a blade with chips. On the contrary, if a new HI blade develops significant chips through normal usage (without being abused), HI will normally take it back under the warrantee.

If you can post pictures of both sides of the blade, showing any lettering or engraved marks, we can at least tell if it's a real HI blade. There are people on the forum who can advise you about removing chips, but it would be best to see a picture of them.

Generally speaking, belt sanders are not recommended, especially since you are not experienced with recurves and the edge bevel on the BAS. A belt sander can mess with the differential hardening and the bevel shape.
 
personally I say sharpen the chip, you now have a saw tooth khuk-- my oldest bura has several chips in it from me chopping bones and hardwood, I had them sharpened out ( by bro), after rolling the edges that remain, and it does just fine. (hand sharpen, no sander like david99 said)
 
Highly doubt the chips are "original equipment". It'd help to see them, as the best bet if they're not huge is to use the thing, and gradually sharpen them out over time. Only reason to take them out all at once is if they adversely affect performance (which for chopping they shouldn't) or if they're driving you nuts.
Sharpening khuks on power equipment is pretty much something to undertake when you've done A LOT of slack belt grinding-easy to ruin the blade, and easy to get the blade yanked by the belt and end up crawling around the shop floor playing find-the-fingers.
 
I wonder if they're not "chips". I experienced this once straight from Reno, but it was the wire edge from the kami sharpening. It looked like small chips at first. Maybe that's what you're seeing. In any case, sharpening should solve the problem. Khuks can be sharpened with just about any method. I would pick your favorite non-powered method to start with and have some fun with it. Trial and error should quickly help you get the hang of the curves. The belly is easy and the area near the cho can be sharpened by wrapping sandpaper around a tubelar object (maybe even a papertowel cardboard roll thingy, though I've used a plastic tube since it's stiffer) and work with the curve. I'm not an advanced sharpener by any means and I can get it going. The steel isn't like sharpening D2, so it's easy to work with. Good luck.
 
If you've made a couple dozen knives with the belt sander you should know how to use it by now. Were I in your position, and the chips were interfering with my use of the knife, I'd just grind them out with the power equipment.

Of course, all the caveats mentioned above apply. Don't hurt yourself, and don't burn the blade.
 
As another forumite suggested, posting pictures of the chips and any markings would be very helpful. I also agree with others that HI would not have "originally" send a blade with "chips", not even a blemish DOTD.
 
If the chip is on the recurve id just file it out with a small flat needle file. Its not in the hardened area anyway. Polish it out with a used 1" belt if you feel comfortable with slack belt.
edit: forget the belt sanding. Not big enough.
 
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Took some pics but it was hard for my camera to focus on the chips due to the reflective finish on the knife. The main one is about an 1/8th of an inch wide and the other is probably half that. Not terribly bad but I'd like to be able to take care of them. Also, what kind of an edge should i be putting on this thing? Should it be able to slice paper? Because right now it definitely won't. Not that sharp at all really. I know it's a chopper and it's not meant to have a thin shaving sharp edge but right now it's pretty dull.





 
Unless those are interfering with how the knife chops I wouldn't even worry about 'em.
 
Keep the convex edge, if already there. If not, a convex edge works best.

Looks like those chips will come out with regular sharpening, may take a few rounds, but they'll disappear after awhile, in the meantime, it gives character to the blade.
 
Gehazi said:
who is the kami on this blade?
Click to expand...

The kami is Rajendra. He was with HI years ago, but I don't recall seeing anything by him posted here in recent years. The "U.B." on the right side of the blade means it was made no earlier than 2005.
 
Depending on the edge, it can be shaving sharp, but doesn't have to be. I think it can be risky, but there are folks with razor sharp khuks just as there are plenty of razor sharp hatchets around. Are you sure those are chips? They look like waves or dings to me because the light makes it look like the metal has moved beyond the edge into the bevel and chips would just be part of the edge removed. At least that how I understood it. If they're dings or waves, then steeling may move metal back to where it needs to be without removing it. This is a much better situation (and not too uncommon with Nepali khuks as they're hardened a bit less by design for ease of fixing). Good luck.
 
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