Sirupati concerns...

Runs With Scissors

Runs With Scissors

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
Messages
3,002
Minor problem occurred a couple weeks ago when I was using my Sirupati. My buddy and I were at our favorite shootin' spot where I'd hoarded some firewood last summer/fall. I'd taken along the Sirupati for just cutting up a little bit of kindling and so forth. Well....to make a long story short, the truck got stuck, we got cold decided to make a fire.

'Lo and behold with all the freezing and thawing cycles we'd had this summer there were quite a few pieces frozen together, and quite a few that were pretty heavily saturated. So, I split a few pieces, and then went to pry some logs up with the Sirupati (bear in mind, I didn't have any other tools available)
Went to pry a couple six inch logs apart, and the blade bent nearly ninety degrees before I really put any amount of effort into it. Quite chagrined, I straightened it back the best I could, and it was usable to get a small fire going, albeit with a bit more inconvenience than I'd planned.

Then I got it home, and discovered about five large cracks running the length of the handle.

So here's my questions....

Is it normal for one to bend like that under relatively little stress? I admit, I'm a pretty big dude, but I truly think my rather petite wife coulda bent it with little effort. What can I do about it? can I send it somewhere and have it lightly tempered in the bad area? or just leave it alone, and throw it in the garage for a yard beater? I realize they are deliberately left soft in that area so they don't break, but this seemed much softer than I would have expected.

Is there somewhere I can send it to have it re-handled? how much would that cost? If I keep it for a boondockin' knife, I wouldn't be comfortable supergluing it.

I guess by now you get the point- many cracks in the handle, badly bent blade- I'm just wondering if this is normal stuff, and how to fix it. I don't believe sending it in to Uncle Bill is an option, since I bought it second hand off one of the regulars here. Heck, I don't know that it's not just the nature of the beast...

I'd hesitated awhile to post this, cause I quite frankly really like this forum,the people, and HI products. and I basically don't want to start a "Broken Cold Steel thread" or get lumped in with the jackass last week that wanted Uncle Bill to make a third party refund.

Anyhoo, advice, suggestions, perceptions would be appreciated!

Thanks!
 
How long is this khuk? How far did it bend before deforming?

I don't think the martial arts Sirup was the right choice as a crow bar. There are funny things happen where I live with cold and ice. YOu can't always break apart things stuck in ice. It's like cement or epoxy.

Having said this, I think you should email Bill and ask him. He knows stuff. Your blade may simply be badly tempered.


munk
 
Thank you for your honesty RWS. Don't really have a solution for you since it was bought used. Guess I would keep it as a beater and get an UBS. He has been offering some beautiful blades here lately at great prices. Hope that someone else can be more helpful than I.

Ice
 
munk said:
How long is this khuk? How far did it bend before deforming?

I don't think the martial arts Sirup was the right choice as a crow bar. There are funny things happen where I live with cold and ice. YOu can't always break apart things stuck in ice. It's like cement or epoxy.

Having said this, I think you should email Bill and ask him. He knows stuff. Your blade may simply be badly tempered.


munk
Click to expand...

It measures out at an actual seventeen inches. I straightened it out very, well, and no one would know anything had ever happened if I didn't tell them. I want to say it was around ten degrees when it lost all spring, but that's just a wild guess. All I know for sure is that I was using very little force.

Definitely a poor choice for a crow bar but...it's what I had, ya' know? Maybe there is something to be said in regards to that tempering. I know edge holding has never been it's strongest quality, but I've never been too critical, since it's a tool that regularly gets pounded against hardwood.
It's been this event that's made me decide on the Chiruwa AK for my next purchase. That whole "bend or break one get two free" spells out a heckuva lotta confidence in a given design.

Thanks for all the (rapid!) input so far! It is greatly appreciated!
 
Sounds like bad tempering. I was able to bend an HI katana about 3 inches in the middle without permanent deformation. I had to support the handle and tip, then stand on the middle.
 
That's another good question. The handle cracking is interesting too.

One gets the impression this blade was fubar from the beginning.




munk
 
Runs With Scissors said:
Maybe there is something to be said in regards to that tempering. I know edge holding has never been it's strongest quality, but I've never been too critical, since it's a tool that regularly gets pounded against hardwood.
Click to expand...
Runs with S's I think the fact that the edge holding was never its strong point is the deciding factor here. The Sirupati like every other khuk ought too be able too hold an edge cutting mere hardwood.
I'm betting the hardening was defective as well and would do like the other guys have suggested and contact Uncle Bill.
One of our friends in Germany bought a Sirupati and it was impacting when cutting frozen birch limbs off at the trunk.
This can often be a very hard spot in trees. I simulated the cut using steel wire and mine did the same. The blade was still hard but did impact after a heavy cut which was too be expected.
I was able to use the chakmak and get it back to where you could never tell.
I don't belive it would've bent under the same circumstances you described.
 
After reading this i see now why to never buy one second hand. Only buy new from H.I. because at least you have a warranty.

Second having a Safe Queen may not be a good idea since you would not know if the knife was defective or not. :eek:
 
sharpetoys said:
Second having a Safe Queen may not be a good idea since you would not know if the knife was defective or not. :eek:
Click to expand...
That's why when upon receiving a new khuk you take it out back and at least beat on a piece of firewood with it.
If you don't have a yard then take it out too the country the first chance you get and beat the hell outta it.
If the khuk doesn't fail then you know that you're good too go.
Then if you're fortunate enough to own a nice buffer you can polish it better than new and put her back in the safe.

When testing the knife beat on it from every angle and direction possible. Hit it hard and then put it between two sturdy trees and try to bend it, within reason of course, if it doesn't bend or bends and then returns too true you know you have a good khukuri.
Uncle Bill used too have a pic of him trying to bend an AK in the center of a large wire spool. If everyone tested their khuks fully upon arrival there wouldn't be any question of whether it is a good one or not.
 
sharpetoys said:
After reading this i see now why to never buy one second hand. Only buy new from H.I. because at least you have a warranty.

Second having a Safe Queen may not be a good idea since you would not know if the knife was defective or not. :eek:
Click to expand...

I've purchased a couple HI khuks secondhand, and would do it again. Both were users, though, from people well-known on the forums, who I know used the blades hard enough to proof them for me.

If I were going to depend solely on a khuk (i.e. wander further than the backyard with it), I'd test the blades several times. So far, most of mine have been "tested", in that they haven't fallen apart while chopping or getting smacked around.

Jeremy
 
Who did you buy it from? If it's someone here I'm sure they can return it for you, as it sounds to me like a defect as well. I got an UBBB that wasn't properly tempered once, and it was replaced immediately. Your situation is different since you bought used, but it still sounds like a defective khuk to me so I think you should have some recourse. Either way, best of luck getting it fixed somehow. :)
 
I'm by no means an expert here and won't pretend to be one, but bending a Siru that easily doesn't sound right to me. I really gave my 20" a thrashing last week (including, but not limited, to some pretty good prying) and did nothing to it other than loosening the buttcap. I'm guessing that there was a problem with yours.
 
OK-Raghorn did it. Get the word out. Those of you who favor passive aggresive red squares may want to discharge them now.






(just kidding)

munk
 
I have a 17" Kumar Villager Sirupati. It is a nice knife, but the blade is thinner than some...it is only about 5/16" thick and has some distal taper.
Is yours a villager, and if so, how thick is the blade? A much lighter and thinner blade may not be as strong.

I still would not expect a Sirupati blade to bend.
 
That's why when upon receiving a new khuk you take it out back and at least beat on a piece of firewood with it.
If you don't have a yard then take it out too the country the first chance you get and beat the hell outta it.
If the khuk doesn't fail then you know that you're good too go.
>>>>>>>>>>> Yvsa

Darn straight. Even my Hanshee, my Hanuman, everything gets wacked and scuffed.


munk
 
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