The Tirtha Bowie or the Himalayan Toothpick

BTW Jake, did you ask for brass liners? The only ones I've ever seen on an HI knife as far as I know were on the first R-5 in horn. (I snagged the second, but alas, no liners. :() Just wondering if that was the default or a special request... ?

Thanks for any info.

Norm

P.S. Again: I've seen a couple of kukris cold blued by people that didn't really know what they were doing, that I later acquired and stripped. I'm sure you've got it down, but I've found that the best steps for me are to thoroughly degrease, heat the metal, and fast even application before it cools, then retouch. I use Brownells Oxpho-Blue for a high polish, and their 44/40 cold blue for a more matte look.

The nicest cold blue job I've seen is on the original Rod Allen Hanshee, and I think Danny in Japan did that work. Nice, even deep blue. :thumbup:
 
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Steely_Gunz said:
lol Bill you wouldn't want it. The guard is bent and the grip is coming loose. My 19 year old self thought it would be a fine throwing knife:foot:
Click to expand...

Ouch! Those bad boys are fetching a nice price these days.

Bill
Virginia
 
Svashtar said:
BTW Jake, did you ask for brass liners? The only ones I've ever seen on an HI knife as far as I know were on the first R-5 in horn. (I snagged the second, but alas, no liners. :() Just wondering if that was the default or a special request... ?

Thanks for any info.

Norm

P.S. Again: I've seen a couple of kukris cold blued by people that didn't really know what they were doing, that I later acquired and stripped. I'm sure you've got it down, but I've found that the best steps for me are to thoroughly degrease, heat the metal, and fast even application before it cools, then retouch. I use Brownells Oxpho-Blue for a high polish, and their 44/40 cold blue for a more matte look.

The nicest cold blue job I've seen is on the original Rod Allen Hanshee, and I think Danny in Japan did that work. Nice, even deep blue. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I didn't ask for the brass, Norm:) just a neat little detail that showed up. I dunno if the "original" had them or not, or if Tirtha was just being nice to me:D At any rate, it's a neat touch.

Also, I'm not a bluing expert, and I REALLY appreciate the info:) i have only used the Tru brand blue before because that is all I could find. I'm going to hit up Gouger (I mean GANDER:rolleyes:) Mountain Saturday to see what brands they carry. I have always washed the blade well, cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, and applied it hot, but most folks seem to recommend Brownells. I'll try to track some down:)

On a side note: I went ahead an stitched a halfway point on the belt loop of the frog. Man, that holds it high and tight. While it won't be a fast draw (the scabbard leather actually is so smooth that the whole thing lifts out of the frog unless it is drawn with two hands), it really hides the 17" monster. with a standard untucked button down dress shirt, only the tiniest bit of the chape (which I did "neuter" and round a bit) shows out the bottom. High and tight and no one is the wiser that I am packing clever of such extraordinary magnitude.

I really do hope to see it become a regular in the line up if y'all like it. I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I strapped it on today and didn't even worry about packing a pistol. HI knives seem to have personality...every one of them. This one is a protector. I get the same warm fuzzy feeling with it on my hip as I do a full size .357. That is not to say that I expect it to do the same job as a gun. That's silly. However, for my day to day risk and familiarity with large knives, I don't feel TOO outmatched in a pinch;) I just have a distinct....FEELING that this bowie was designed above all to protect its wielder. Drawn never in anger or hate, but if called upon it will preserve life and limb of the just in a dire and dark time.
 
The SGS ( Steely Gunz Special) Bowie.
At home in the urban jungle or the great outdoors.
A companion no true adventurer should be without.
Only from Himalayan Imports where our knives are made with honor and tradition.


I hope if one ever comes up that I have the chance to get one because it is truly an awesome looking piece of kit.
You are a lucky man to have such a fine knife.:thumbup:
 
Thanks, Joe:)

But I really can't take credit for it. This was all Tirtha's baby. I simply missed out on the first one to come down the line and was able to get one to spec (ie villager finish and wood handle).

I really look forward to the evolution of the design:)
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the pictures with us Jake. That is a fine looking knife indeed. It is good to see the new models from the kamis...it just makes it hard on the will and the wallet.

Rick

PS-Thanks for the pictures of Evey, too. She's looking happy family.
 
That is a stunning blade. My first khuk was a Tirtha and he also made my beloved M43. He is very talented and an asset to HI. I love this creative competition which seems to have poped up at Bir Ghorka. The kamis have really put out some interesting, as well as very useful, designs. They've also shown they aren't afraid to reach out and try something at the other end of the spectrum from their usual designs. This Bowie looks like it would have been right at home at the Alamo:thumbup:. Thanks for the review and take care.
 
Very good looking, and if I may, a handsome blade.

If I could stick in my two cents;

If you're dead set on cold blueing this blade, rather then getting the birchwood casey stuff, check out a product called "Oxpho Blue" from a company called Brownells. It produces a MUCH darker blue, and with a little trick, it essentially IS real blue. Here's the nitch - Run the blade under extremely hot water... say, a tea kettle full of boiling hot water. The water will heat the blade up and also be so hot it will evaporate in seconds. Then wipe on the oxpho blue [it's a liquid, so a old washcloth works great]. let it sit for 30 second, then, with another washcloth, begin to buff in circular motions. use some elbow greae, and REALLY buff on it. You may want a 2nd or third coat, depending on preferance. A third coat should get this about jet black. A sigle coat reminds me of old pre '64 S&W blueing. This stuff is AMAZING and I've reblued entire guns with it, and best of all, it holds up to real use!

Hope that helps!
 
Well no place had any of the good stuff to blue it with, so I picked up some Tru-Blue. Not my favorite results, but I am familiar with it. Besides, this is really more a maintenance blue over a bluing for for.

I wanted to blue it for a couple of reasons. Mainly, the villager finish will patina faster, but also tends to attract just a little more rust. Secondly, and related to reason number one, I'm carrying this blade high and tight to my humid body.

I finished bluing it about 30 minutes ago. Typical results. Got a nice even bluish color after a couple coats....and a lecture from my wife about how bad that stuff stinks in our kitchen:barf: Did the standard hot water bath (close to boiling, but not quite), alcohol wipe down, blue n buff.

There are a couple of places where the finish was too highly finished for the bluing to take as well as I would like. However, I'm not concerned:) Like I said, it's more for protection than looks. I plan on giving it a touch up sharpening with a good bit of stropping tomorrow at work. That should yield a nice medium blue body with a slightly polished edge.

I'm currently giving the handle a good oil soak. It should be pretty well done and ready for carry (and the eventual sheath once i get my supplies) after all this step:)

Pics should be up by tomorrow.
 
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