Quite sorry this has taken so long to update guys! Things have been a very hectic and finding time has been difficult. I'll add updates with posts like this as I find time... then, when I can hammer it out, I'll add the refined product to the opening post of this thread.
First off, pictures of my modest collection thus far - the frogs have all been flipped as I'm Left-handed. Left to right:
18" Vojpure by Sher (t), 18" m43 by Sher (y), 15" AK by Sher (t), 15" BAS by (??), 13" unsigned AK
Here's the blemished 15" BAS that Aunty Yangdu generously contributed for this How-to (MANY THANKS!). I've never seen this Kami mark before and am somewhat curious as to who it belongs to (anyone know?). Seems pretty well built and the great detail in the scroll-work really caught my eye.
The blade felt reasonably sharp - comparatively, I would say it was a bit sharper than previous khuks I've received from HI straight out of the box. It is definitely sharp enough to hack through wood, but that's not the point of this particular tutorial. Cutting paper, it did fairly decently in some areas of the blade, but only caused tears in others. Specifically, the sweet spot seemed to cause these tears whereas the belly allowed for decent (albeit un-smooth) cuts
Now, comparatively, here's what my 15" AK by Sher the Tiger is currently capable of... Even with it's Sher-style 1/2" thick spine and comparatively stout bevel, it can definitely slice given the proper sharpening job. This is the sort of edge we'll be putting on the BAS with this tutorial - and hopefully what others who try it themselves will be able to do as well
Yes - I'll probably look like I have mange by the end of this tutorial... I've accepted this as a necessary sacrifice
Now here's what we'll be using for materials. A block of wood for a base, part of a mousepad taped to that, some double-sided tape, sandpaper, some regular old cardboard and an HI khukri of course. The purple pack of sandpaper is 120grit and the assorted pack ranges from 220 to 1000. You'll be able to find all of this in the Automotive section of just about any big store (I found my stuff at Fred Meyer). I also decided to switch out my usual leather strop/compound - seen in the first post - for a regular old piece of cardboard to show that a shaving edge doesn't require as much work or money as people think
The total cost of this setup is probably less than $15 - and that's if you don't already have double-sided tape and a mousepad lying around.