Sharpening the harder blades...

The harder blades are great! I do not really like the real thin edged AKs as that hard thin edge can chip easily when chopping which is what AKs do best! Several compaines offer ceramic, diamond or hybrid ceramic/diamond hones. These are cheaper than a belt sander like Yvsa uses. Can't really get a convex edge with normal hones but can still get a decent usable edge. Just practice and stay with it and you'll get the hang of sharpening and will be able to put that razor edge on your khuks. Its worth the effort.
 
Vicks, the grit should come off the stone, as Tohatchi noted it is essentially a large block of sand glued together. The bits of sand (usually SiC or AO) will both break free of the glue and break into places during sharpening creating lots of grit. If this didn't happen the stone would quickly go smooth and become useless. The best cutting stones actually break apart very quickly which gives maximal cutting speed. I have to lap my japanese waterstones on a constant basis to keep them from developing a hollow. Lee Valley sells two small waterstones (1000 & 4000 grit) which I use to maintain the convex edge on my khukuris. They are small (1x4") and thus easily worked over the edge, they are also quite cheap. After the stones I strop a little using some CrO paste (10 000 grit, ~0.5 micron) .

-Cliff
 
Cliff, I just saw an ad in a gun magazine by Cold Steel that showed a muscular individual slicing through what appeared to be 4 rolled up carpet or cloth material bundles. The knife was blurry, but kinda looked like a Khukuri. Cold Steel has a new video;

"Our competitors use gross exageration to suggest high performance, but Cold Steel backs every claim with horrendous torture testing and graphic demonstrations. See the evidence for yourself. We have nothing to hide, and that's a lot more than we can say for our competitors!"

Cliff, does Cold Steel have a Khuk? How do HI stack up against them?
almost forgot, at the top of the ad, the byline says:

"Cold Steel makes the World's strongest, Sharpest knives."

munk
 
munk :

How do HI stack up against them?
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The same way that a nice t-bone steak stacks up against lean ground beef.

"Cold Steel makes the World's strongest, Sharpest knives."
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They do a decent job on sharpening. They are easily the equal of the better factory jobs and better than a lot of custom makers. I would bet strongly that they would come in sharper initially than the HI ones. However there is a lot more to a knife than sharpness, and they don't have any sensible claim to being the strongest or overall most functional.

The Cold Steel khukuris are problematic for several reasons, the lack of a convex grind, no differential hardening, kraton handles (start abrasive - go slick with use), hollows in the initial edge, and poor warranty (attempting to duplicate any performance claims voids the warrenty - yes even trying to do the carpet cuts) to name a few.

Will Kwan has used them more than I have, but my experience with a few of there other blades, plus the "we can test ou blades - but you are not allowed to confirm anything we say", turns me off strongly. They are light wood workers at best, machete class blades and for that use you can get a quality blade much cheaper from Barteaux or Martindale.

The do make some nice folders though. I have a large drop point twistmaster that works really nice for light use.

-Cliff
 
..so, instead of Cold Steel, which suggests the Conan line and power, a more fitting label might be; slightly cool steel, tepid steel, room temp steel, lukewarm steel.. tepid metal?

munk
 
Lightweights by comparison. Their Kukris(sic)don't carry a bend it or break it get two free warranty. If you get one you'll see why they don't back their knives with a better warranty. Like it was said in another thread they have no personality either.
 
Originally posted by Cliff Stamp
Even 60+ RC steel is butter soft compared to SiC or AO, the two most common abrasives. Use decent hones, not the ones with heavy masking bonds like the India stones.
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I assume that you're using AO as an abbreviation for Aluminum Oxide, not the chemical forumla Al2O3. It just sort of threw me for a second.

I've been curious about how sharpening stones are made. Most of the man-made stones are ceramic, so I assumed that they just took ceramic grains and heated them up until everything fused. But apparently some stones use glue or some other binder to attach the abrasive grains together. I know that the DMT stones (and I assume other diamond hones) embed the diamonds in a layer of nickel metal. Anybody have any further insights on how a hone is made?
 
Most of the modern hones use a vitrified bond process which was developed by Sven Poulson in the 1870's who fired a mixture of emery and clay. Lots of other bonds were used at one time, shellac, animal gules and even vulcanized rubber. Modern verions even have glass based ceramics as bonding agents. The other many type of bond is the resin bond popular in Japanese waterstones. This isn't as strong, the hones break down much faster, but this makes them cut much faster and gives a better finish. Ceramic hones are just sintered, the diamond ones have crystals bonded to nickel platex.

-Cliff
 
Cliff, do you have any financial interests in the knife world?

I'm just curious. You know so much- you ought to be employed.

munk
 
Cliff, you write well, with an open intelligence. The Reader always wants to hear more. I don't care what experts say, that's the real test of writers.

You should be published. "Stamp's Edge" Could be the title of your opinion/test section.


munk
 
I don't think you would like the CS khuks. Only the heaviest is 3/8ths at the spine. the others are 1/8th. The blades have a saber grind which isn't bad for the 1/8th blades. They say the heavy one has pretty much a straight taper. That in itself reduces the weight. They may cut rope and rugs but I'm betting the they won't cut trees like a 17" HI khuk would. The biggest complaint that I have heard about using them to chop wood is they get stuck too much of the time. You spend more time getting the blade out of the wood than you do chopping. I have read this in more than one write up.
 
For field expedient sharpening I use a two sided Norton on severely dull knives to set an angle. Then I use sharpening sticks for want of a better term.

Sharpening sticks are about 1x1, 2x4, etc. I either glue or use the rubber that already had adhesive on the back on the 1-2” opposite sides. On one side use rubber cement with various grits paper to your satisfaction. On the other side epoxy a strip of leather and load with compound. I’ve used automotive rubbing, auto polishing, Flitz, Brasso, etc. using a little kerosene or JP to help certain compounds permeate the leather. A 90-95% solution to the sharpening problem.

The CS Kukri (I have my 2nd) the handle doesn’t last. It doesn’t take Deet or other POL products well and other wise melts. It abrades quickly and wrapping it w/para cord is only a partial solution. Not nearly as impervious as wood, horn, micarta or steel (Project 1). The edge itself as Cliff points out is a hollow grind. Works good in some situations but not others. The sheath actually works out real well strapped to a pack, in my spare time J I’ll try and get functional equivalents for my HI Khukris.

On the overall hardness a number of Marines could use the ones with harder points. Less abrasion when using the points to undo metal strapping or digging.

S/F, Mike
 
I saw some of your pictures of Marines with Khuks, and some of the blades appeared to be darkened while others looked left in the white. Do you folks apply blueing to them out in the field or leave them as is?
 
Cliff,

Just the lack of camera ability on my part. A number of Marines and Sailors do darken their blades and shiny metal parts with everything from paint to Mnu to rubbing with citrus fruit or onions to a little bluing using naval jelly or toilet bowl cleaner.

S/F, Mike
 
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