Why are my handles cracking under extremely light use?

C

chrisbrogden

Joined
Apr 8, 2003
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209
I got my new 16.5" WWII in the mail a week or two ago, and I just got around to testing the tang the other day. I hit the flat side against a tree twice with a moderate amount of force, and I noticed afterwards that the handle had an inch and a half crack running down from the bolster. I checked out my 15" AK, and it, too, had a small crack just under the bolster.

I'm pretty sure the crack on the WWII wasn't there when I got it, and I didn't even get a chance to use it for chopping wood.

Photos here: http://www.mts.net/~cbrodgen/

Is it normal for horn to crack this quickly and this much, or did I just get a defective handle? Is wood better at resisting cracks than horn? I assume this crack will enlarge with time... at what point will it affect the performance and/or safety of the khuk? I don't want to have it fall apart in my hands in a few years.

If horn handles tend to crack like this, I'd rather just sell them and buy wood ones instead. If this crack is not typical and will only get worse, I'd probably feel better just exchanging the khuk for a different one, possibly still in horn. I'm open to trying some easy home repairs, but I don't want the handle to keep cracking on me in the future, especially since I haven't even used it for chopping yet. What's the deal? Am I expecting too much?

:confused:

chris
 
Typical it seems...get a tube of super glue and let some seep in to seal the crack. If the appearance bothers you, learn to love a satin finish (it will provide you a better gripping surface to boot!). A satin finish can be applied to horn with one of those green scrubbies found in most kitchens, so whenever a crack appears, apply more super glue, re-scuff the horn with the green pad and move on. If pretty is what you want, wood may be a better choice, but it can split too.

The test you did BTW, was for the strength of the tang...horn cracks are just a routine side effect. The good news is that your tang is solid!
 
The horn for a khukuri handle should be cured (aged) prior to manufacture and assembly. When I last saw Kami Sherpa he told me that there was some difficulty getting horn from India. If there are supply problems with the horn they may not be getting cured properly. An improperly cured horn handle will crack. I might tend to order wood in a climate like this where the horn might not be well cured.

I doubt that the horn handle will fail even if it does have a crack in it. The laha is pretty strong stuff. I'm not sure if I've heard of a handle failure. Tangs occasionally break if there is a heat-treat problem, but the handles seem pretty durable, even if cracked.
 
Thanks for the info. I'll give the superglue a try. I'm not concerned with aesthetics here; I just don't want the handle to fall apart on me. If it's not likely to do that, then great... bring on the glue. :)

My Chiruwa is still going to be my primary chopper, but it's nice to know that this cracking isn't likely to affect the performance of the blade. I'd rather keep the sharp part aimed for the wood, not my face.

chris
 
Howard Wallace said:
When I last saw Kami Sherpa he told me that there was some difficulty getting horn from India.
Click to expand...
In addition to curing,
It may also be a probem of thickness of the horn.
I'm inclined to think that difficulty obtaining horn
also translates to lower horn quality in general;
including not getting a thick-walled horn.

Has anyone noticed horn thickness specifically?
Older vs Recent?
 
I have cracked both wood and horn in almost exactly the same place as you after fairly heavy chopping. On both wood and horn handles.

I think it is a combination of not letting the horn or wood cure enough and not having the handle extend enough up in the bolster or fitted well enough.
Since there is that big space there between where the blade ends and the handle begins filled with Laha or nothing inside the bolster when you come down on something hard it forces the tang back against the handle and stress cracks it.

I think the handle cracking thing is getting to be such a common thing that Uncle Bill needs to address this with the company. It is such a pain to have something you just bought mess up. It seems to be happening on the majority of khukuris now. I know 100% of my horn handled HI khuks and the 1 wood one from HI I have all have cracked. The only HI I have without cracks is my 12" ak villager and my M43. I have a few other wood and horn khuks from other places and no cracks.
 
I had some cracking in two Sirupati with horn handles. I treated both (12 Bura Villager & Amtrak 15") with Watco Danish Oil, after a recommendation by a bladesmith (Estus). Of course, I filled any prior cracks with superglue before starting this. I used three days of treatment with the Watco, and it seems to have worked. I did see a 1/8" microscopic crack appear on the surface at the bolster of the Amtrak a couple of weeks ago, but it was so small that I might have missed it earlier. It could have been a small scratch.

Before using the Watco finish, I lightly sanded the surface of the horn with 2000 grit paper. For each daily application, I let the stuff soak in for more than 1 hour, wiped off the excess, and then applied some more. I let the stuff soak in again (perhaps another 15-20 minutes more) before wiping completely dry. I did this for 3 days, and it has worked for a few months. No more cracking.
I would not rule out horn, but would be sure to seal it with Watco upon arrival. Next time, I'll use 4 treatments.
 
We've been talking about cracking horn for a couple months now. It would seem they have a supply of uncured horn. My older horn khuks are fine- the last two small horn handled khuks have both cracked.


munk
 
If the crack is deep enough to let superglue down to a void, or a buttcap is loose enough, get severa tubes of the thin kind. Squirt as much as you can get down in there. Cyanoacrilates seem to heat up as they cure and seem to melt the laha, bond, and set back up.

Those I've done this to have been very solid since. Only thing better is to stick it in boiling water, pull the handle off ( after filing the tang end and removing keeper and buttplate ) clean the old laha out and reset the handle back on using a good 24 hour epoxy. Messy.
 
hollowdweller said:
not having the handle extend enough up in the bolster or fitted well enough.
Since there is that big space there between where the blade ends and the handle begins filled with Laha or nothing inside the bolster
Click to expand...
From various comments heard here
seems like too often too, especially more recently,
that there is just a big void inside the grip--
unfilled with laha or anything else.

That makess for problems.
 
Thanks for looking into this, Bill. It sounds like a common problem, and I'd like to hear what the kamis think about it. I'd expect some light cracking over time, but if I'm seeing deep cracks after only a couple of strikes, then it would seem to me that there's something wrong somewhere.

chris
 
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