What we have here is a failure to communicate ...

[Howard Wallace]

Yesterday I came home at lunchtime and found that Red Flower had a dinnertime soup full of meat simmering in the crockpot, and a hard winter squash on the counter waiting to be cut up. It was the opportunity I had been waiting for! I retrieved the w-49 and easily snicked through the squash, reducing it to large but soup-sized pieces. Never went back for a second cut. Much easier than using a lightweight kitchen knife to do the job. The thin (compared to most khukuris) blade profile made good cuts. Some of my larger khuks tend not to track straight through the cut when cutting squash, but the w-49 produced nice straight cuts.

Best way to pick up one of these for those interested is to give Yangdu a call.

 

[ndoghouse]

On the steel, from the post I referenced above -

The WESTERN W-49 was chrome vanadium, it was closest to the steel known as 0170-6c, from Camillus, I have THE EXACT CHEMICAL RUNDOWN of a Western W-49, in my book KNIFE TALK 1 and KNIFE TALK 2 by Ed Fowler, he had some knives tested, including a W-49, Cold Steel (Trailmaster I think)"CARBON V steel", and the CARBON V is VERY close to 0170-6c, hence also close to the steel in the W-49. The famed CARBON V is a dead ringer for the 0170-6cA

I got a note from Yangdu that she is already getting e-mails and calls about these, so if you want one you may call. Don't know if they will all get snapped up before any get posted. I'm not sure what she's asking, but be aware these blanks were purchased in the US at US prices, and handcarried to Nepal before the finishing process ever even began, so that may influence the asking price.

I can definitely attest to the hardness and durability of these knives. Depending on how hard you temper them they can be very very hard. I would suppose they would make great kitchen knives and hold an edge very well. I have some Khukuri blanks made from "carbon V" [0170-6 (50-100B)] from when the Camillus factory went out of business and sold to United. I think they call it "SK5" now. It is some excellent steel with carbon content near 1%. My opinion is CS doesnt temper it down to soft enough for chopping and it will chip before you roll and edge making it a boat anchor if damaged. For kitchen work however it is great stuff let hard. For reference 5160 is about 0.6% hence the 5160. Camillus also had a boatload of those sheaths that were used by HI for Kami relief fund. Some say they were modified to be used for HI product but I dont know what that entailed? One note of reference is that if you ever find a CS Khuk sheath of Kydex or the old Camillus sheath they will fit most KLVUKs perfectly. Dont know about the availability of the W49 sheath? There may still be some available on auction to go with these knives but like any of the old Camillus stuff its getting pretty rare.

 

[Steve Tall]

...Camillus also had a boatload of those sheaths that were used by HI for Kami relief fund. Some say they were modified to be used for HI product but I dont know what that entailed?...

The HI fundraiser sheaths had the simple modification of an added snap on the closure strap, to allow it to fit the typical 3/8"+ spines on HI khuks.