Wood or Horn?

Jetblack

Jetblack

Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
543
Im about to buy my first Khukuri knife from HI, and was leaning toward the Chiruwa Ang Khola. However, I am undecided as to which handle I should get, wood or horn ? I just wanted to get some pros and cons from the experienced HI owners on this great forum. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to help the new guy.
 
Welcome to the Forum!!
There are alot of good folks here that will be glad to answer any question you may have.

Please take time to read This:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601448

and especially this:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269016

That being said.
It is a matter of user preference. Some people feel that wood is grippier and provides more shock absorption on the Churwa models, some people don't notice much difference, if any. A horn handle can be made more grippy by sanding or steel wooling it slightly. Both style handles are prone to some shrinkage, but the horn seems slightly moreso, it depends on the climate you live in.
Pick one whose appearance you like and calls out to you and you will know you have the right one.
 
Don't know where you live, but I think the wood handles changes in humidity better.

It's really a preference thing.
 
Hi there Jetblack, welcome:)

I find the horn handles get nice and grippy when it's wet or covered in blood, (like when removing a hide, for all the smarty pants out there ;) ). Yet it gets much colder to the touch when ice fishing.
I do like the un-polished villager horn on my Pen.
The Satisal wood on my CAK is warmer in colder or wetter weather, for me.
I like them both though and am happy to have different handles for different times.
The whitish Neem wood on my Seax has a nice smell and is warm to the hand.

Hope this helps, though all it may have accomplished is to make you want many styles of handles...muwahahahahaha...

Have fun and Khuk safe
Mark
 
For me, my preference is wood. In the dry Arizona air I've had issues with horn cracking. But I always have epoxy handy for repairs. Either is fine.
 
For me, it's a color matter. In the first place, I live in Central Texas, where black (the usual color, it seems for horn), and other dark colors are uncomfortable to handle or to wear, because of the heat. I sometimes even have problems with brown shoes around here!

Second, I have a tendency to misplace anything black, when I put it down. This is a real problem for me, since so many things are made in black: wallets, belts, kitchen knives & cooking accessories, flashlights, etc.

Last, I've had problems when carrying or wearing any large, black object (for example, carrying a black Mag-Lite, or wearing the black wallet on my belt), and having it mistaken for a gun. I've been stopped by armed police officers, while walking a friend's dog, just for carrying a black, retractable dog leash, and I don't want to experience anything like that again!

Needless to say, I'm looking at a wood handle for my M-43. Satisal still might be a bit dark, but it looks nice, so I'll risk it. ;)
 
Thanks for all great info, I have alot to think about. I live in south Texas by the water, so Im thinking the wood might be a better fit for me. Again thanks to everyone and I will post again if I have any more questions or when I get my knife.

Thanks
 
For a long time I preferred horn. Then one day I noticed what looked like chips in my horn handle khuks. It turns out that the chips were caused by tiny bugs that love to eat buffalo horn. Ever since then I've had wood as my handle material of choice.
 
mahsah said:
Woah kamagong, didn't know that.

You know the name or species of the bug? I'm curious.
Click to expand...

The Dermestid Beetle: more commonly known as the carpet or larder beetle.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=592853&highlight=dermestid+beetle

http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/bugs036.txt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_beetle

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/dermestids08.pdf

Various ways to remove/kill them. But around here after your khuks are infested the best way seems to be to put scabbard and khuk separately into a freezer for a couple of days to kill adults and larvae.
 
Jetblack said:
That is great to know, Im going with wood.
Click to expand...

Welcome Aboard!

There is another wood that sometimes get used on HI Khuk's: Hill Walnut!

The grain in this wood can be beautiful and responds well to refinishing with any of the gunstock products commercially available or good old fashioned boiled linseed oil. :thumbup:
 
b.c.molin said:
Welcome Aboard!

There is another wood that sometimes get used on HI Khuk's: Hill Walnut!

The grain in this wood can be beautiful and responds well to refinishing with any of the gunstock products commercially available or good old fashioned boiled linseed oil. :thumbup:
Click to expand...


Sounds delightful. Does anyone have a picture?

And for that matter, how many woods does HI use? Our list now includes Satisal, Neem, and Walnut.......
 
11 June 2009

JETBLACK:

I have both Wood & Horn handles on my KHUKURI's. I live in a very dry area of Southern NEVADA. I also treat my Wood handles and blades with "PROLIX", a non-petroleum product. I hope that this helps you out in some way.

Donald,
BLADESWEST
 
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