Tricks.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
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Since we have had some good tips on different tricks here lately I thought a thread on them might be in order.

Cougar's trick with removing rust from blades with a pre 1982 penny really came at an opportune time for me.

My contribution for now is aging any carbon steel knife blade. I haven't done a khukuri yet, but the day is coming.
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Take a jar of mayonaisse or salad dressing in a pinch and smear a goodly coat (1/4") on the blade and let set overnight. Put a couple of paper towels under it if you don't want your mate upset with you. If you us a thick and thin coat the blade will usually come out with a mottled effect.

The reason for doing this is to help prevent rusting somewhat as a well aged blade usually doesn't rust as quickly as a new blade unless it is left soaking in water.



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

If you mix milk of magnesia with vodka and orange juice do you get a phillips screwdriver?

Khukuri FAQ


 
Thanks Yvsa, I like to age my blades too. Not only to help prevent rust but just cause I'm one of those that don't really like a shiney blade. Cutting high acidic fruits or meat will also put a little bluish patina on a new blade, it always feels to me that the true personality of the blade starts to come out when the color starts to show.
 
Thanks, Yvsa. I have heard of using onion juice to age a blade, but didn't want to try it for obvious reasons. I am going to give the mayonnaise a try.

--Mike L.


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Real men ride Moto Guzzis!
 
Thanks for more great advice. As I've said before, just reading the posts here you get more knife info than you could get going thru 10 years of your life without the forum!
I found out by accident that sugar cane and Eucalyptus wood will also color the blades--esp. the cane! Being the newbie that I am I was in quite a panic after my first cane cutting session--until someone told me to use Flitz to remove them. I since stopped worrying so much about that stuff, as its an endless battle on any khuk you plan to use. Thanks again Yvsa.

Rob
 
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Ice I don't usually like shiney blades either. Some I find are best kept polished though. A higly polished blade is less apt to rust also. I have an old Cattaragus 225Q that I bought at the last G & K Show here. I was amazed to find that these knives served in many theatres during WW II without being parkerized or something. I keep it polished with Flitz®. It has earned the right to be kept as is. I like it so well that I am gonna try and find another one or two at the next show. I believe that they are one of the most well designed straight all around blades ever made!!

Mike: I can understand the reluctance to use onion juice.
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Rob: Your alternative may just be to rub your blades with a piece of cut sugar cane. I still buy a chunk of that about every two years to remind me of our old neighbors in FL. He always grew a small crop of cane and had it squeezed and cooked off into molasses. The juice was delicious without having to chew it and I got on one of my best sugar highs ever as a kid on that stuff.
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Another trick is for using "Hot Glue"
Some times when you are using a glue gun and you want something
to be nice and flat.The trick is to have a bowl of ice cubes setting next to your work. You can put a layer of glue down and use the ice cube to smooth it out without burning your fingers. My sweet wife came up with that trick when I was making a feather dance fan.

So if you have any tricks that others may benefit from, share 'em with us here. It doesn't have to be about khukuris. Sometimes the simplest thing to us can be of good use to someone else.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

If you mix milk of magnesia with vodka and orange juice do you get a phillips screwdriver?

Khukuri FAQ


 
Back in Sulu I have seen blade smiths put lime/ citric juice on the Kris and Barong knives. This turns the blades a dull gray. When the edge is sharpened the blade really looks scary! The sharpened edge contrasts real good with the gray colored blade. I have personally used lime juice as well as ferric chloride to get the same effect.
 
Vasoline seemed to help the horn handles. I put it on my hands in the winter, that's how I found out.

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I just tried cold gun blue on a cheapie kukhri. You all know the type... 20$ and made in India. With the blue on it the knife actually looks good. It was also very simple to apply, almost idiot proof. I wanted to try this out on a "beater" before I tired it on a good kukhri to see if I would really like the look. I do.
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Nothing says love quite like a sharp knife... Now if my wife only believed that.
 
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I went to the neighborhood all products Lumber Yard the other week and bought some "Rottenstone." Or Diamateceous(sp) Earth. It's another name for the Tripoli compound without the compound.:0

The "Diatremeseous(sp) Earth is sold for getting rid of cockroaches,ants,earwigs, and other pesty insects. And that's what you need to ask for. I got a 2 Lb bag for about $5.00. This is enough to last a lifetime!!

I had made another leather strop and glued it rough side down on a piece of wood with handle and all.
If I was to do it again I woul put the rough side up for this product. It is very fine and doesn't adhere well to the leather by itself.
I finally mixed some oil and beeswax and put it on the leather and stuck the Rottenstone onto that. I still didn't like the results.
Today I mixed some up with some Johnson's Paste Wax and after removing all I could of the beeswax mixture I coated the strop with this new mixture.
I believe it is going to work okay. It doesn't look as if there is anything in the paste wax, but it dries to a nice even white color if the coat is even. Extra coats just builds it up and then comes off when you first use it so that's a waste of time.
It will start turning a grey color as it is being used and the steel get rubbed off of the knife blade, but that doesn't hurt anything and it shouldn't need charged again for quite some time.

Just another little trick for those of you that want to make a strop that's finer than Jewelers Rouge..

I think Jon and maybe some others was expressing some interest in the Tripoli Compound.



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ
 
Originally posted by Yvsa:
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The "Diatremeseous(sp) Earth is sold for getting rid of cockroaches,ants,earwigs, and other pesty insects. And that's what you need to ask for. I got a 2 Lb bag for about $5.00. This is enough to last a lifetime!!

Uh oh ... I'm afraid that's probably not going to work very well. Polishes have to have all the particles very nearly the same size to work well, and since what you bought wasn't intended for use as a polish it's probably random sized particles, including some big chunks that'll scratch your blade.

This is my fault ... I said tripoli is the same as diatomaceous earth ... I should have mentioned jeweler's rouge is the same as rust and aluminum oxide is the same as clay, too ... doesn't mean you can scrape some rust off your khukuri and use it to polish the blade, not unless you grind it to a fine powder first and then separate out the finest particles....

You can get tripoli compound at hardware stores -- not every hardware store, but the bigger ones. It really isn't expensive -- a little brick of it costs a couple of bucks and it'll last you the rest of your life -- if you only use it on a strop, it'll last for your great-grandchildren.



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-Cougar Allen :{)
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This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.
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Au Contraire Cougar.
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It is the same stuff. You sure don't want to sneeze when you have the bag open with this stuff. It would fly everywhere. The other thing it does is get all over everyting and is so fine that if you try to rub it off with your hands it just sorta smears.
It has to be very fine in order to penetrate the insects little breathing holes or whatever else they use for breathng apparatus.

I finally came up with the paste wax while I was waxing a khukuri handle and thought it worth a try. I know it puts a greater polish on an edge than the jewelers rouge. I imagine it is the same grit size as what you buy in the tripoli compound. The tripoli compound would be much more convienent though.

You did good by relaying the info about the earth made from the shells of very wee tiny oysters.
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Dayum-ed wireless keyboards anyway!! I keep hittin the key and the keyboard doesn't put the lette(r) in.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Yvsa (edited 02-12-2000).]
 
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