Blade Length

[dobhal87]

well thankss for the info i will surely suggest it to my friend. but he told me that en45 is quite hard and idle for rough use ... is that true .... please enlighten which steel is good for what kind of knife and specially for khukris

thanks

[m24]

If you're friend can find and invest in 440A stainless steel, nothing like it. It would work on any kind of shape and size. The problem is that en45 is cheap and probably readily available. Hence everyone in India uses it. Read through these threads and you may be amazed at the range.

http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7579
http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=8780
http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=453

By the way, I am in no way belittling your friends efforts. It's people like him who can give a boost to this neglected sector in our country. My best wishes to him.

Regards

[Yaj]

Leaf springs are used to make the best of khukris even in Nepal. As long as the forging and tempering is done by a skilled smith you can get a world class product. No space age steels are required to make a good khukri.
The problem is most of these "handicraft" manufacturers in Dehradun and Rajasthan manufacture "wall hangers" and not "users". If they paid more attention to the forging and tempering they could easily manufacture good stuff.
Regards,
Yaj.

[winnie_the_pooh]

m24,

I am sure the makers that you mention make good knives.At the same time,while they may not have the same sort of finish as these knives,there is nothing wrong with the local knives made from old truck leaf springs.I have a 14 year old khukri that I use occasionally and it will keep its edge and is easy to sharpen.I am sure that if I decide to chop off a head it will gladly do that Also keep in mind,they come at a fraction of the cost and their acquisition is hassle free.

Many of the exotic steels are not that easy to sharpen.Simple rule the better the edge retention the harder to sharpen.Eventually a blade will become dull no matter what it is made of.

[professor]

winnie_the_pooh,
almost all of the blades become dull after some days, no matter, of which steel they r made.....the major problem of purchasing Gerber, Spyderco or Ek & Ka-Bar like premium knives is their unavailability in India....secondly their high prices. Comparatively Nieto knives are spanish made 440C steel grade, easily available in most of the Arms Shops at reasonable prices
Thanks dobhal87 for ur suggestion....would be hghly obliged if u send some pics of the knives made by ur friend recently......would like to purchase too...but I am not sure about their finish.....regards


professor

[Remington]

Hi Dobhal,

Whats the difference in both the kinds of Khukris you've mentioned. Donth know much but like collecting blade. I own a baby Khukri from Nepal- The blade length is about 5 Inches, wooden Handle, Bulky sheath.

Remington

[shooter]

Leaf springs are used to make the best of khukris even in Nepal. As long as the forging and tempering is done by a skilled smith you can get a world class product. No space age steels are required to make a good khukri.

I know im gonna get crucified but a good leafspring (cars 20 years ago had even better quality steel than some today) are better than most antique blades.

The fact that katana wootz etc had so many man-hours invested in them is that there wasnt good quality steel available then. Leaf springs will hold their edge and retain a degree of flexibility thw two main qualities one needs in a blade.

[Subal das]

I made heat treatment for one local made machete made of leafspring - 2 times one hour at 250C in backing oven, after that it was possible to make it incredible sharp, cutting A4 size paper page easily. Any of those handicraft kukri can be treated in same way, then fix handle back and what you get very sharp and functional knife.

[Rajat]

Yes, I agree. You can make some fairly decent knives with leaf springs and these can be put to hard use without any problem.

The " space age steels" are...well space age steels with different properties but the good old leaf spring blades are great too!

[prasanjit.baul]

Can anybody post pics of any knives made out of Leaf Springs??? will be helpful...

Thanks
Prasanjit

[Rajat]

prasanjit,

The pictures will not really help as you cannot make out looking at a knife if it is made out of leaf springs or some other type of steel. It all depends on what you want to get made from leaf springs and the shape you desire.

However since these will be locally made these will not look or be finished like the pictures of the imports you must have seen here

[Biren]

Here is mention of blade length, one story published in HT today. Here is the link

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Court-acq ... 23655.aspx

In yet another incident of policemen fabricating a case, a youth faced a six-year-long trial for possessing a knife, a crime that was never proven. The court termed the case a “cooked-up” story, as the policemen could not prove that the knife was recovered in their presence. Metropolitan magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma was in for surprise as policemen, who recorded their statement in the case, were giving different versions of the incident and were never consistent.

The court observed that the weapon could have been allegedly planted on the accused.

Moreover, the lack of documented facts in records raised suspicion about the circumstances under which the police registered an FIR against the accused.

According to the prosecution, around 4.30 pm on April 28, 2004 at Shyam Lal College, which falls under the jurisdiction of Shahdara police station, Suhail was held with a 24-cm-long knife. The weapon was found to be in his possession without a license or permit in contravention of a notification issued by the Delhi administration. Subsequently, he was booked under Section 25 of the Arms Act.

The judge said, “The prosecution has failed to bring any such material on record, which would have gone to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, holding him guilty for the offence alleged to have been committed by him, resulting in his conviction and sentence.”

The court also noted that the policemen deposed that they had asked public persons (eye witnesses present in a case of recovery at a public place) to join the investigation, but the latter had refused. Despite that no written notice was issued to those who refused to join the investigation.

Regards
Biren

[goodboy_mentor]

Can anybody post pics of any knives made out of Leaf Springs??? will be helpful...

Most of the choppers and knives used by butchers are made of leaf springs of truck and car used to suspend the axles. Choppers and other wide/thick bladed instruments are usually made from truck leaf springs. Knives and other lesser wide/lesser thick bladed instruments are usually made from car leaf springs. You will not find anything special in their appearance. Since they are made from leaf springs, the blades do not break easily when put under stress.

[Subal das]

Can anybody post pics of any knives made out of Leaf Springs??? will be helpful...

Thanks
Prasanjit

here is screen shot from great knife making movie Knifemaking Unplugged

===================

The weapon was found to be in his possession without a license or permit in contravention of a notification issued by the Delhi administration.

so, actually, there was some notification I presume that was fixed blade.

[prasanjit.baul]

so can we make a Knife by just takin that Leaf Spring (say of Cars) to a Blcksmith???... Coz i intend on a knife... a strong one.... that will be useful to serve me on Trekks n other outings to forests n all...

Thanks & Regards

Prasanjit