Khukuri advice required

[Leon]

Hi All,
I have a Khukuri that was given to me as a gift by a friend returning from Nepal. It came in KHHI wrapping so in theory a decent working model. The handle is a full tang affair with hardwood scales, pinned by two largish rivets.
The first time I used it to do some very lightchopping, the scales slipped upwards by a couple of mm. I peened the rivets a little which helped but put it away for when i had time to sort things out more permanently.
Having found some time I was about to ask advice about removing the scales and refiiting so took some pictures. whilst doing that I noticed what appears to be a worrying flaw in the tang at the point the bolster is fitted, on the bottom edge behind the cho. At first I thought it was just a nick from a file but on closer inspection it seems like a section of the tang is actually skewed out of line and may be cracked but it has clearly been filed and blended into the bolster in that position.
This is the only Khuk I have handled but if I saw this kind of thing in any of my billhooks I would be worried.
Just looking for thoughts from more experienced knife makers / khuk owners really. Salvageable or destined to be a 'conversation piece'?
Obviously as a gift it has value to me either way.
Thanks for looking.

 

[Stew]

That's quite odd and hard to work out what's going on in the picture.

Is it actually a full tang or a frame tang?

I think if it is an actual flaw you have two options:
1) Conversation piece, as you said.

2) Dismantle it
---> From that it may either be salvageable (most things are but with some potential heavy modding) or a bin job.

It depends on how much value it has to you, both as it being in it's current form and also it's possible function. If you want to use it look to fix / modify or if it has more value as the original gift then leave it.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I too have trouble working out what is going on from that photo. I can't tell whether the yellow band on the guard/bolster is a continuation of the blade/tang steel, or a lighting reflection. If the former, it suggests that the bolster is two pieces of metal attached one to each side of a full tang, and if the latter, it suggests the guard has a slot in it for the real tang, and the metal seen between the handle slabs is a frame tang, just a steel filler between the two bits of wood.

I think the latter is most probable. Much easier for a local smith to make and uses less of the higher grade blade steel.

In either case, it could well be possible to salvage the blade, but maybe not the handle in its current form. Like Stew says, what you do depends on whether you want to maintain the whole connection with Nepal, or whether you would be happy to just have a working tool with a Nepalese blade.

 

[Leon]

Hi fellas,
Thanks for responding so quickly. I have to confess I had to google frame tang.
The yellowish band is indeed the blade/tang and not a reflection. The bolsters appear to be two separate pieces of metal, one (brazed??)to each side of the blade. I've added a couple more pics, one of which shows the top of the blade progressing into the handle. I've also taken the butt plate of for a better view (it was very flimsy).
I think it's fair to say from the finish this not a show piece. I am tempted to take the scales off and have a look at what's under there with a view to making it useable.
Thanks again.

 

[Stew]

Iwoukd be tempted to make it a stick tang....

 

[C_Claycomb]

Great minds think alike!

Turning it into a stick tang what what I was thinking too. It means grinding it down to a smaller tang starting right where that crack is, so the crack goes away, be sure to do it so there aren't any sharp internal corners that could cause a new crack. Then needs a slotted guard to be fed up along the tang, and a solid block of wood (or three or four piece laminate) with a rectangular hole for the tang. Whether the tang goes all the way through and rivets to a butt cap, or stops inside is up to you.

Those pictures look like they applied the same methods to a full tang that would be applied to a hidden tang, only with a full tang the result is rather sub par. Strange

 

[Stew]

Here's a full tang I converted, though with this one the bolster was in good condition so was left in place.

http://www.stewartjlight-knives.com/2014/07/a-kukhri-rehandled-in-bog-oak-cocobolo.html

 

[Leon]

Chris,
Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to have a shot at this. I have made and fitted a couple of billhook handles which gives me a bit of confidence. How sent had to bring that much metal before, though. Would a standard 4 1/2 inch angle grinder be suitable? Obviously being careful not to let the blade itself heat up.
Cheers!

Stew,
Wow! Great job with that one. Thanks for showing those. Inspirational indeed.
All the best.

 

[Stew]

Chris,
Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to have a shot at this. I have made and fitted a couple of billhook handles which gives me a bit of confidence. How sent had to bring that much metal before, though. Would a standard 4 1/2 inch angle grinder be suitable? Obviously being careful not to let the blade itself heat up.
Cheers!

Stew,
Wow! Great job with that one. Thanks for showing those. Inspirational indeed.
All the best.

Yes, an angle grinder will work - it's what I used for a bulk of the removal of that one I posted. You'll have to make sure you're not going too narrow by the holes already in the tang for the bolt holes and as you said be careful about over heating. When you're doing anything close tot eh blade end, just wrap the blade in a damp rag before clamping it and it'll act as a heat sink. Check it as you work though and don't assume it's staying cool enough. Just draw your tang and cut a bit over sized to then thin after - flap disk would work for tidying it up. I would be tempted to try a hand file on it and see if it cuts. If it does then that'll be good for getting a nice clean curve at the tang to blade transition.

Hope that helps somewhat and isn't trying to teach you to suck eggs!!

 

[Leon]

Absolutely it does. All help gratefully received.

 

[Leon]

Hello again.
I managed to remove the scales today and got a bit of a surprise:


The bolster was one piece of metal brazed along the top edge on one side, bent around under the lower edge, fitting into a recess, then back up to be brazed at the top on the reverse side like a belt. The section of the bolster that fitted into the recess appears to have been made to look like the tang. File marks matched the tang, not the rest of the bolster and that narrow strip matched the colour of the tang. Odd.
Still, this means no flaw in the tang. In fact the internals of that recess are all rounded off nicely.
I guess this means attaching new scales and keeping it full tang is now an option but that in turn comes with problems re guard/bolsters. Decisions, decisions.
Thoughts most welcome.
Cheers.

 

[Robbi]

a question for the knowledgeable if I may.....

what is that "goats toe " shaped cut out for ?

 

[Leon]

a question for the knowledgeable if I may.....

what is that "goats toe " shaped cut out for ?

Hi,
There are many theories for the 'cho'...some more outlandish than others. From my research a few years back the most common and plausible suggestion was that it is purely religious symbolism.
Cheers.

 

[Stew]

Well that was surprising, though perhaps makes more sense. The ferrule looks the same quality and thickness of material as would normally be expected on a stick tang kukhri.

It certainly increases your rehandling options now though. What are you thinking of doing?

 

[Janne]

Will you grind the bolster away?
I would. You never know if it is soldered properly, and it would not feel good to spend a lot of time and effort to make a perfect, beautiful handle and the bolster comes away after a few chops....

 

[Leon]

Hi Stew,
I'm torn now. Stick tang is closer to my limited comfort zone having put handles on billhooks and fitting a guard would be easier.
Still, nice scales with liners and some attractive bolts has a strong pull too. Haven't done a full tang handle before and wondering how I would manage the bolster/guard. If not too much of an imposition to keep asking, what would you do?

Hi Janne,
Yes, I agree with you. That bolster was a bit flimsy and has already been consigned to history.
I'm not much of a metal worker though so pondering what to do with that bit.
Thanks for your comments.

 

[Janne]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Badger74]

I'd stick to the full tang. I'd have thought it was easier to do that than try and do all the grinding/cutting filling/drilling for a stick tang without damaging the blade.

This is a full tang large Nessmuck Stew did for me.

IMG_3017 by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

IMG_3018 by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

 

[Stew]

Hi Stew,
I'm torn now. Stick tang is closer to my limited comfort zone having put handles on billhooks and fitting a guard would be easier.
Still, nice scales with liners and some attractive bolts has a strong pull too. Haven't done a full tang handle before and wondering how I would manage the bolster/guard. If not too much of an imposition to keep asking, what would you do?

Does the shape of the tang give you enough grip roughly as it is or is it too small? I would be tempted to just round out the hard corner of that little recess and now just treat it like a full tang.

Similar in idea to what I did here - you can see there was a step where the old guard was but I just reshaped the tang to ignore it.

http://www.stewartjlight-knives.com/2012/09/a-re-handled-lofty-wiseman-survival-tool.html

 

[Stew]

If you decide you want to add a bolster to your build you either need to drill another hole or two in the tang so it can be bolted to the side in two parts or convert it to a stick tang so it can be slotted on from the back.