Wanted to introduce myself

[KPierce]

My name is Kevin. I'm from Southern Indiana, and a casino dealer by trade. Been a lurker here off an on for a couple of years as a guest. Finally signed up a bit back. Main reason I did was in my research on Kukri's I kept getting pointed back here. Have loved the reviews and decided that I had to have a HI Kukri. I noticed the dotd that Auntie Yangdu posted on a somewhat regular basis. I count myself lucky that I was able to get to buy my first HI Kukri just this morning. I got the Chitlangi by Tirtha that was listed on 3/29.

Auntie Yangdu was great to deal with and I really appreciate the patience shown me in the buying process. Can't really wait to get it. I have read up on info about blade care but I am always open to learning new things, so please feel free to post links or point me in the right direction, so that I can learn more about blade care of these fine blades. I know some about knives, but this will be my first experience with a Kukri. But as I said, I did a lot of research trying to find out who made the best ones, and I kept getting pointed to HI. So here I am.

I look forward to learning more and hopefully I will be able to contribute more in the future myself.

 

[Ramil839]

Hello,taking care of a kuk isnt much different than a normal blade,the only difference i found is the handle,most handles on my blades are either micarta,paracord or some sort of plastic so they dont need much care,on HI kuks you will need mineral oil,not a lot and not often so no point in stressing over that.What i found somewhat necessary is to epoxy/glue the little cracks or gapes(spaces,im a bit out of it today....)between the handle and the blade just so that rust doesnt get it,i did it on my kuk,sprayed WD40 in there,cleaned it as best i could and then epoxy'd it shut,im also thinking about blueing the whole blade.All this might be unnecessary because the HI does a very good job on their kuks but im the kinda guy that hates failure or even a chance of failure,so i double up on everything,hope this helped.

 

[arbiter]

Greetings Kevin and welcome-The chitlangi you scored has a wood handle,so I would recommend taking a clean cloth and a little mineral oil and lightly coating the handle,allow to sit about 10 minutes then wiping dry.You will likely notice the wood is fairly dirty and the oil will lift that out of the pores,protect and give a light sheen.Next,comes 2 coats of quality furniture wax(minwax,etc.)in the yellow can is what I use.This will provide some lasting protection that can be repeated when necessary.After sharpening the blade,if yours requires it,you will need to do something to protect it from rust as these blades are carbon steel.My blades get 2 coats of wax,just like the handles.NOTE-If you wax the blade,use EXTREME caution because one misstep and you are going to the emergency room for stitches.I degrease using an aerosol gun cleaner such as Tetra,etc.,allow to dry,and apply first coat,buff to shine and repeat.This also will give some lasting protection. Thereafter each time I handle the blade it gets a wipedown with a silicone gun cloth for added protection.Check the blade frequently if you store it in the sheath.Keep in mind this is the minimum treatment-often,the kuk's I purchase here get 1-3 or more hours of fit and finish work in my shop. Please read the safety note at the top of the H.I. forum page for information on handling. Congrats to you and welcome to a fraternity of very kind fellow enthusiasts.

 

[KPierce]

Thanks for the info. Will definitely see about picking up some paste wax.

While I have been sharpening knives for many years this will be a new venture for me. Arbiter can you recommend a good and safe way to sharpen my Kukri ? Any info on this would be appreciated.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Well howdy, neighbor

I'm as southern as southern Indiana gets Welcome to the forum

Learning to sharpen a khuk is half the fun. I don't use powertools to sharpen, so I have found that maintenance is the key to saving yourself headaches. My favorite way to sharpen is as follows:

I used a couple different grades of stones to get a basic edge on a very dull khuk. I'm not looking for razor sharpness here, just a general chopping edge that might scrape hair. The key to a sharpening a khuk is to just let it be what it is. If you notice that your stone is not going to fit in the wasp-waist recurve...just don't sharpen it up there. You probably won't use that part of the blade most of the time anyway

Next I use a mouse pad or one of those sanding sponges and tape various grits of medium to fine sand paper to it and strop away.

Once I get it to my liking, I move on to a piece of leather that I have smeared with a bunch of jewelers rouge and give the edge a final buff.

When I am done, my khuk will generally shave hair or at least be sharp enough what a khuk is used for

Once again, welcome

 

[arbiter]

Thanks for the info. Will definitely see about picking up some paste wax.

While I have been sharpening knives for many years this will be a new venture for me. Arbiter can you recommend a good and safe way to sharpen my Kukri ? Any info on this would be appreciated.

Kevin-As for sharpening, I begin with diamond "paddles",which are a small diamond flat attached to a colored plastic handle.This is to get the edge geometry correct.Then,similar in spirit to what Jake noted,I use a leather strop glued to a piece of wood,with green compound on the leather.You don't usually need a kuk to be scalpel sharp,but I prefer mine that way,and that is how I do it. Just do a search for sharpening supplies on the web.

 

[sweetcostarica]

2 coats of quality furniture wax(minwax,etc.)in the yellow can is what I use.

I heard furniture wax is good too but I use Renaissance Wax.
It is 20 USD on Amazon, so it costs some.

But it is probably the best food grade wax out there.
If you use you Kukuris for food preparation this is the one to use and it last a long time.

Note: After you use your Kukri make sure you draw blood before Sheathing!
...I'm joking. I'm joking

 

[KPierce]

Thanks for the welcomes and the info. I think I will take some advice a friend gave me once and pick up a couple of really cheap hunting knives to practice convexing on. That way I won't ruin one of my better knives. I got a couple of blackjacks a few months ago and really like the convex edge. And I have a barber strap so it's not hard to keep then pretty much shaving sharp. But I think I should practice on some bigger sized blades first. Also I see I will need to get a few supplies together so I can strop larger blades.

Jake, I am from Jeffersonville myself. Nice to know that I have some neighbors here

 

[Ramil839]

Barber strop is good,but the ideal way to strop would be imo to glue a piece of leather to a block of wood(size depends on the blade,small for kuk since curved),and i think its better because the belt w/o wood will round the edge,if its on wood it will not.

 

[Yangdu]

Welcome to the HI and forum, KPierce

 

[leebrewer]

Barber strop is good,but the ideal way to strop would be imo to glue a piece of leather to a block of wood(size depends on the blade,small for kuk since curved),and i think its better because the belt w/o wood will round the edge,if its on wood it will not.

I glued pieces of an old boot tongue leather to a paint stirrer stick. Rub it down good with green polishing compound. One stick has lasted about six years. Works great on Khuk blades. I made another at the same time with leather from a belt I got at Good Will. I've still got it too, just keep it in another bag somewhere. I use the smooth side of the leather.

 

[Ramil839]

I glued pieces of an old boot tongue leather to a paint stirrer stick. Rub it down good with green polishing compound. One stick has lasted about six years. Works great on Khuk blades. I made another at the same time with leather from a belt I got at Good Will. I've still got it too, just keep it in another bag somewhere. I use the smooth side of the leather.

I got 4 pieces of wood,2 small,1 medium and 1 about a foot long and 4 inches wide for bowies and machetes,i rubbed red polishing compound on it and pretty much all my blades are hair popping sharp,it works a lot better than just a leather belt.

 

[leebrewer]

I got 4 pieces of wood,2 small,1 medium and 1 about a foot long and 4 inches wide for bowies and machetes,i rubbed red polishing compound on it and pretty much all my blades are hair popping sharp,it works a lot better than just a leather belt.

That's cool. Paint stirrer sticks are wood. If you think wood is better than leather that's fine too. But I think Kevin's barber strop is gonna work great. Barber strops are cool, I wish I had one. Heck, I never even stropped a blade for my first 40 years, except maybe on my pants or hand. Never needed to. Sharpening is just sharpening. Kevin, just wait till you get it, you'll be able to do the same with it as all your other knives.

 

[bargs]

i cut my finger attempting to sharpen my kukri and my tanto kit knife,boy have i got a lot to learn.welcome to the forum..

 

[Ramil839]

That's cool. Paint stirrer sticks are wood. If you think wood is better than leather that's fine too. But I think Kevin's barber strop is gonna work great. Barber strops are cool, I wish I had one. Heck, I never even stropped a blade for my first 40 years, except maybe on my pants or hand. Never needed to. Sharpening is just sharpening. Kevin, just wait till you get it, you'll be able to do the same with it as all your other knives.

I dont think you understood correctly,i meant for the 4 pieces of wood they have leather glued on top of it,it doesnt round the edge if it has a hard surface underneath it,a barber strop does it and its a hastle down the road to get the same hair popping sharpness,at least for me it is.Personally i prefer very sharp knifes,hate having anything other than razor sharp.