Test Cutting: A *Productive* Question about the new warranty.

N

Nicholas

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Apr 1, 2009
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Here's a question that occurred to me recently: under the new, more stringently defined warranty, what forms of test-cutting are considered acceptable? After all, that which is considered "abuse" would void the warranty.
For example, we all know the time-honored approach of chopping plastic bottles filled with water. But I've heard somewhere (maybe here) that a more demanding approach is to freeze the bottle first. Would that be unacceptable? (I ask, because I have plenty of empty, plastic bottles.)

There's tatami mats, ballistic gel, water bottles, milk cartons, and plain, old wood, amongst countless others. Which methods, IYO, fall under "acceptable use"?
 
I would think cutting water bottles is ok as long as your swing's follow through doesn't intercept something like cider blocks, rebar, ect....
 
I've had little problems with any of the HI line, for the most part, they hold together well and don't require any 'soft shoeing' or white glove treatment. The edges have been dented and slightly rolled after extended sessions in the field, but the touch-up is no big deal and after all, if you are chopping somewhat wildly and not paying attention, you will scrape up against some rocks etc and damage the edge a bit. Chopping hard materials is somewhat hard on any knife, which is why I've always maintained that if you just HAVE to chop frozen bottles of Sprite, use an axe for God's sake. If you want a tough blade, get something in L6 and knock yourself out. You'd be amazed how incredibly tough the older kitchen knives were...those made before the advent of the dishwasher. That very household gadget is probably responsible for the so called 'stainless' revolution which flooded this country (and the world for that matter) within very recent history. Heck, I would not be shocked to find out that Jim Bowie's blade was nothing than a long, 1/8 inch butcher knife that could be very quickly deployed like a giant razor blade in flight, quickly outpacing the heavy kuk. The HI products should be good to go on all the mediums you've suggested as well as those that are harder than the HI metal. After all, these are touted as the finest kuks on the planet.
 
Stubai said:
Heck, I would not be shocked to find out that Jim Bowie's blade was nothing than a long, 1/8 inch butcher knife that could be very quickly deployed like a giant razor blade in flight,.......
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That's exactly what scholars think, as Wolf rightly points out. The knife Bowie used at the Vidalia Sandbar Fight (which was actually his brother's), was described as a butcher knife, and "a very ordinary affair."
 
HARPERSGRACE said:
I would say if a kurkri isn't designed to cut it don't, and IMHO no blade is designed to cut ice.
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Well stated, IMHO, cutting water bottles is kind of a mall ninja-esque practice. while it may be fun to some, it proves nothing.

Nicholas said:
Granted, but what's "too much" for the respective categories? Even the hardest-use category must have a limit.....
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Any use of a kuhukri, where the user Questions whether the khukuri may break or otherwise be damaged by the practice, would be the limit.

khukuri are primarily a Farming tool used to prepare firewood,fieldwork(such as clearing them for planting) build shelter,dispatch, butcher and prepare livestock or game for foodstuffs and personal protection.
Any of these practices should be suitable for an H.I. "Field use" khukuri.

The "General use" Khukuri, while able to perform some of the lighter duty tasks listed above such as preparing food(excluding butchering), would be used for Martial arts or personal protection.

The Finely crafted items with precious metals,stones, carvings or other such adornment should only be considered Ornamental and their use and care should be limited to very light or negligible use.
 
HARPERSGRACE said:
I would say if a kurkri isn't designed to cut it don't, and IMHO no blade is designed to cut ice.
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Ice is not hard on a blade, but it doesn't really "cut". And yes, there are blades for cutting ice- (Ice Saws.) Other than a saw, blades just break and chip ice- they don't cut it.

Test cutting with a working tool should be to ensure that it will not break while chopping wood. So go chop wood. If you want to buy one of the wall hangers with no warranty, the "test" should probably be testing how it looks on your wall. Or do whatever testing you want, as hardcore as you want. It is just not covered by a warranty.
 
Please understand, I didn't say that I intended to use ice blocks, nor that I was seeking approval for it. It was simply a "for instance" that I came up with.
 
Nicholas said:
Please understand, I didn't say that I intended to use ice blocks, nor that I was seeking approval for it. It was simply a "for instance" that I came up with.
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Don't worry about it, Nick. That's just Rat's Style of posting. Sometimes it comes across like catching a sliver under your fingernail.
 
Didn't some ship in the history books sink becaues it ( made of metal ) hit a large iceberg ( made of ice ) or something like that. Metal is still ony metal.
 
Nicholas said:
Please understand, I didn't say that I intended to use ice blocks, nor that I was seeking approval for it. It was simply a "for instance" that I came up with.
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I was mostly saying that Ice will not hurt a Khukuri. . . unless it melts and makes it rust.

You can hit an iceberg with a khukuri, it won't hurt either one. ;)
 
IRON HEAD said:
Didn't some ship in the history books sink becaues it ( made of metal ) hit a large iceberg ( made of ice ) or something like that. Metal is still ony metal.
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Sounds like an interesting story. Somebody should make a movie of that
 
Technically, the Titanic sank for a lot of reasons:

A) The iceberg scraped across its hull, tearing a gash, rather than poking a simple hole. This exploited a crucial flaw in the ship's "unsinkable" design, which was only designed for punctures.

B) The metallurgy of the time couldn't make the ship's steel strong enough to support the design, anyhow.

C) Even at that, it was a freak, giant iceberg, that would have sunk anything.

Sorry to get off topic, but I've been waiting to give that lecture for years.....;)
 
The real lesson to be learned with the Titanic, is don't EVER get on a boat that someone says "Even God couldn't sink it!"

He might just set out to prove them wrong.
 
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