What's a Crow Knife For?

Yes...13" and perfect as is.

I have every faith in the partial tang...
 
You men of faith are beginning to get on my nerves. ARe you corruptable?
Need to find a chink in there.


munk
 
You should see the backyard; it's a mountain.
Always been a dream of mine to someday have a Konvention here.
Khuk heaven, where a Khukuri never has to say its sorry, and a revolver or khukuri or both on the belt is not an outrage but a nod of approval.



munk
 
Does Murali have the flags now?

Whoever does, made this one hard edge.
I finally got fed up and took the belt sander to it.

Still not as sharp as I'd like, but it's sharp enough.

I don't think I own another HI product with an edge this hard.

Kinda like it.


munk
 
Great pictures and review, thank you Munk
 
munk said:
I can't get over how good the handle does feel. You can reverse it- edge out and thumb up at Crow's head- the grip favored by knife fighter and martial artists, and it still feels right. An example of a simple, elegant, good looking design that also works. I think a very wide variety of hand sizes would find this grip fit.

munk
Click to expand...

Good unbiased review Munk, thanks. I am happy with the partial tang on the 13"er, and as you correctly point out the handle is wonderful. The rear on mine, the "crow's head" part is a bit turned outwards in alignment with the blade as you also mention, but that really does not bother me. That is somewhat common anyway on khukuris, and it has no affect as to how it feels or handles in the hand.

The guard on mine is hopelessly out of square, but again no worries. A little work with a file and belt sander and it will look just like the guard on Danny's new fish / crys knife that he snagged the other day.

So far so good. Unfortunately the blade is the problem on mine, with a distinct "S" shape to the spine that drives me nuts. The edge itself though has only a slight curve to the the left at the front 2", so most of the curve is on the spine. I do not want to lose the gorgeous white feathering in this horn though, so am thinking about trying to heat it with MAPP gas (all I have) and straighten it and reharden the blade.

I half suspect this will loosen the handle at a minimum, but don't know. I have PM'd a couple of guys here who might know, but they are not responding for some reason and I don't want to make a pest of myself. At the very worst it will make a good learning blade that will evolve over time.

As you say, it is extremely well hardened. This is one I tested by chopping hard, and slapping the sides of the blade against a log, and not a peep out of it. It is very strong, and very well-built with a beautiful handle, but obviously our new Kami Vim is working on keeping his lines straight. Once he has perfected that, I will definitely be in the market for a 15" model like you have.


Norm
 
Norm, I don't know what I'd do if I were you. If the thing was strong, nary a peep, as you say, and the handle wonderful, it would break my heart to risk losing it, but the slight curvature would drive me batty.


We mortals really are silly folk. The knife doesn't know it's bent, does it?

Oh, wanted to add....my own Crow is by my desk, I can't keep it out of my hand. The guard is not square with the rest of it, I've no idea how to fix that. Probably should round off the corners.

But I love the thing. It deserves a place next to the Cherokee Rose.


munk
 
munk said:
Norm, I don't know what I'd do if I were you. If the thing was strong, nary a peep, as you say, and the handle wonderful, it would break my heart to risk losing it, but the slight curvature would drive me batty.


We mortals really are silly folk. The knife doesn't know it's bent, does it?

Oh, wanted to add....my own Crow is by my desk, I can't keep it out of my hand. The guard is not square with the rest of it, I've no idea how to fix that. Probably should round off the corners.

But I love the thing. It deserves a place next to the Cherokee Rose.


munk
Click to expand...

Thanks Munk. Yep, I would guess that just rounding off the corners and sides of the guard would make it look much better and still be very functional. But that's the funny thing as you say, the guard IS very functional as it is, it just looks funny and that's the big deal to us, or at least to me. The knife cuts well and fits the scabbard perfectly, but the crooked spine offends my sensibilities. It's purely esthetic, and if I were less picky I would simply enjoy it as is.

Laying on the desk the whole knife looks great. I think I'll bite the bullet and see if I can straighten it a bit. If I screw it up I'll send it to Dan and see if he can undo my tinkering.

Still, flaws and all, this is a great blade, and I believe my experience is unique. Other folks have reported that their blades are straight for the most part, so I'm sure Vim has already improved his technique. He has got his hardening procedure down very well, that much is certain.

Norm
 
Agreed...sitting next to the Rose *would* be appropriate.

I would live with a *lot* of twist on a good blade with nice handle...
 
I'm glad to hear you say that, Nasty. The Crow really does like perching next to the Rose. Both are fine blades. There is a trust factor they exhude. That a word? Now I want to handle the Rose.

There IS a place in this world for zombie busting honkin killer knives.



munk
 
...by God...Life's Cheap Out Here on the Brazos....

The sun is hot overhead, Spring is turning to summer, and the waters in our streams and rivers carry away the blood of our enemies and loved ones.
The sand is bright, and no one wants to hear it watered with the Cut, but instead watch it glisten, lie in the warmth, shaping castles from our compressed palms to delight our hands and eyes and hearts.

Bunch of river of unconsciousness nonsense, huh? But I can see this clearly: as awful as the Crow or Rose would be in the hands of a Beast, how wonderful they would be used for our defense by a Just Man.

I think I'd learn to love a slightly twisted blade if all else were above par, as Norm's seems to be.

munk
 
I don't know what's going on Norm, would'a swore on a stack of bibles I answered your PM. Anyhow, my answer, in a nutshell, was learn to live with it or else send it back.

You'd need more than a MAPP gas torch to straighten a blade that size, not to mention what you'll be doing to hardness/temper. Going to have to remove the blade from the handle entirely, bring it up to forging temp, and use a hammer and anvil to true it up. 'Course once that's done, the blade would have to be re-hardened and re-tempered.

A less troublesome "fix" if the "S" curve you're describing ain't too dramatic, would be to camouflage it somewhat with some decorative filework along the spine ala Sgian Dubh/Scottish dirk. Ain't hard to do (practice on some scrap metal first), and the spine should be soft enough to file easy. Could be rather groovy.:cool:

Sarge
 
Norm,

Here's a magazine Sarge was referring to on another post and has the perfect article for you in the current issue.
http://www.backwoodsmanmag.com/
A Way to Fix a Bent Knife by Charlie Fox..
At times remaking a knife is the best solution.
 
tedwca said:
Norm,

Here's a magazine Sarge was referring to on another post and has the perfect article for you in the current issue.
http://www.backwoodsmanmag.com/
A Way to Fix a Bent Knife by Charlie Fox..
At times remaking a knife is the best solution.
Click to expand...

It ain't what you think though. In the article he describes buying a nice old antique butcher knife at a yard sale, that was in great shape other than the last two inches of blade being bent. Rather than try straightening it and risk it snapping off, he just cuts the blade down and reprofiles it with a new point. Title of the article is a bit misleading, but the point he was making is don't pass up a bargain because it's flawed, it can be made to serve. Charlie's a rather practical sort. ;)

Sarge
 
Thought I'd throw in that, I recieved my Crow knife yesterday, and like munk said, I can barely keep the thing out of my hand. I love the handle, and the weight on it. Feels like the kind of blade that's not going to give up on ya. The partial tang doesn't really bother me, hopefully that won't bite me later.

Definatly one that'll be on my belt for a good while, at least until I get me a Cherokee Rose. Of course, since it's about the largest knife I've ever had on my belt (I keep the khuk on my rucksack) I have to let it sit partially in my pocket so the tip doesn;t peek out under the uniform. No biggie tho.
 
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