What did i just buy? :)

tonydahose

tonydahose

Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
742
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=692462


hi everyone. i am a diehard spyderco fan but for some reason lately i have been lurking in this forum and checking out the knives. hopefully i did pick the correct knife (with the inlays). i don't know why i want one, but i do. maybe becasue of spydie khukuri i have been using (it is a great lil knife). this knife will just be a display piece (i know these are supposed to be great choppers but i live in the city and i use my ax at work do to chopping :)) i like the fact that it helps some of the locals (even thought i bought it used) and it is a hand made knife. so what can you tell me about this knife?? can i get a sheath made for it from one of the knifemakers out there without sending the knife back to Nepal? any and all info is appreciated.
 
You bought a very nice knife at a bargain price, thats what you bought. :D

Its a design by forum member and fixture YVSA. YCS= Yvsa Cherokee Special.
It's a very nice model with gorgeous fullers and inlaid handle. Meant more as a collector item due to the inlays, they are purported to be quite able choppers. Comes with two YCS kardas(which have become quite popular on their own in a larger size) and an awl. The prototype awl Yvsa sent to Nepal was damaged in shipment and blunted. For quite a long time the Kamis kept making us blunted awls to go with these and were probably wondering what the hell we use it for. :D
 
That's a kumar made YCS. Looks to be from the special run about 5 or so years ago. If not from that run, a close copy:) You got a hellova deal. I think I paid $250 for mine, and its worth every penny:D As a matter of fact, I used mine to cut the cake at my wedding....of course, i need to find and castrate the SOB who used it to chop up something and then put it away wet. Completely trashed the blade:mad: Guess that's what I get for leaving MY property in MY work truck that occasionally gets used by our braindead, slack jaw, gutless, miserable idiots that we hire from time to time....I'm still a lil' pissed. Can ya tell;) If any Cantina folk would like to take on a restoration project for me, please lemme know. I've been stewing about this for about 2 years now. To disgusted with my workers and myself (for leaving it in my truck) to touch the thing.

Anyway....
Kumar used to work for HI and was my favorite kami. You got a great knife there. As far as a sheath goes, pretty much any leather worker would be more than able to make a flat pancake sheath. Really, a job like that shouldn't take more than a few hours. I would offer to make you one of tough as nails yet ugly as sin sheaths at the cost of materials and shipping, but I'm swamped with work right now.

Regardless, you got an awesome, awesome blade. Enjoy it.:thumbup::D
 
thanks for the info, sorry about your knife, i too work with idiots sometimes so i know how it is.
 
tonydahose said:
thanks for the info, sorry about your knife, i too work with idiots sometimes so i know how it is.
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It's OK. Ce la vie, right;) However, if I knew who did it (and of course no one would pony up:rolleyes:) they would have a shovel, a bag of lime, and a shallow hole in the river bottoms in their future:eek::D
 
I miss Kumar too... and I just got here. ;)

He and Bura are the ones that have made the Khuks and knives I have that I like the best with Dil (who is still with us thank goodness) coming in a very close second/third depending on how you work ties for first. :D

Jake, I think I can fix up your blade for you... I am pretty good at rust and making things shiny again and I live near you too...
 
I appreciate the offer, Warty:) Maybe we can touch base in the future. Basically, there is rust up and down the blade and an edge that looks like a steak knife:rolleyes:
 
Well, like I said, if I can, I will...

I am pretty handy and the edge is the easy part, making the rest of it shiny again is the harder part. Especially if it is pitted and really messed up. I will know more when I see it. ;)
 
i dont know if you guys like pics but i do, so here are some:). a little info first. When i got the knife it was pretty dull. It wouldn't really slice at all and it was a lil dirty. I figure i would buff it out while it was still dull just in case. I then took out the paper wheels to get it sharpened up. i am new at it so it isnt a perfect grind edge and it took me a few times to figure out to deal with the curves but i did it finally. i am trying to upload a vid of it slicing some used sandpaper (thats all i had downstairs at the time) ill post it up when it finally uplaods. here are some before and after shots (the damn thing was to big for my ghetto light box..lol):

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nice clean up! I wasn't able to take any pix of my YCS yet, it came today. I was raining cats and doggies though. I take all m pictures outside, under the sun, otherwise I can't seem to make them look good.
 
Very nice work indeed! :thumbup:

You have inspired me to get to work on a few less severe rust spots needing removal on two 'blem' Khuk's I got last year! ;)
 
thanks...it really wasnt hard. if you are using a buffer. just be careful, the kurks weigh alot and if the buffer takes it for a ride it will be hard to hang on to. now for a question. i checked the faq but i must have missed it. where can i find out what the engravings mean on the knife. i know one will be the maker and the shop he is from but what about the rest. thanks
 
The K M and six-pointed star represent Kumar kami. The star is his symbol and the letters his initials. The circle with outward marks at 3,6,9 and 12 is a symbol for HI. The engraving close to the spine and close to the bend of the blade are the Devengari language representations of H and I. Kumar is a good kami and hasn't been around for a while. Nice blade and really good work on your part bringing its beauty back.
 
stickfred said:
The K M and six-pointed star represent Kumar kami. The star is his symbol and the letters his initials. The circle with outward marks at 3,6,9 and 12 is a symbol for HI. The engraving close to the spine and close to the bend of the blade are the Devengari language representations of H and I. Kumar is a good kami and hasn't been around for a while. Nice blade and really good work on your part bringing its beauty back.
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thank you:)
C.S. Graves said:
Your sharpen-fu is much stronger than mine, Tony! :thumbup:
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it is all the paper wheels. check out this thread. it is like 30 pages long but trust me these wheels work. i have had the japanese water stones and i sold mine. i think it took 5 minutes to sharpen the khukuri and that was with me learning how to do it correctly. i regular knife without alot of curves takes 30 seconds.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787
 
tonydahose said:
it is all the paper wheels. check out this thread. it is like 30 pages long but trust me these wheels work. i have had the japanese water stones and i sold mine. i think it took 5 minutes to sharpen the khukuri and that was with me learning how to do it correctly. i regular knife without alot of curves takes 30 seconds.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787
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Ah yes, Richard J's paper wheels thread. Many have reported hair whittling results using his method, but I've never taken the trouble or tracking down the equipment necessary myself. Impressive testament to the efficacy of the wheels nonetheless! :thumbup:

Waterstones are indeed a bit of a high-maintenance piece of kit... I have a few that I use only on my straight razors. They'd do no good on the recurved portions of a khuk!
 
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