THE KHUKRI PROJECT- 06-05-2012

[Raghavachari]

U know I have this peice of pretty soft steel that was on a Tanto of a 3 peice Japanese Daisho I purchased. I'd love to see what U can do with it. I dunno if this is cool on the forum but buzz me sometime and we can discuss it. 9930542774.
PS. Don't beat yourself up...the finish is pretty damn good.

[Moin.]

U know I have this peice of pretty soft steel that was on a Tanto of a 3 peice Japanese Daisho I purchased. I'd love to see what U can do with it. I dunno if this is cool on the forum but buzz me sometime and we can discuss it. ************.

Sure !! Let's chat sometime, you'll have to edit your post I guess, can't post mobile numbers openly in the forum...

Regards
Moin.

[Raghavachari]

And another thing.....from my "tactical" and "mall-ninja" rant... I'd rather buy this from you than those POS's I was cursing! Again, calling all desi custom knifemakers .................PMed U.

[marthandan]

I have some very very old antlers too... some five or six huge ones, grandfather was into hunting etc... Hardly have the place for these things in tiny mumbai apts...
Regards
MOin.

let me help you. i will take them off your apartment at no cost. you can do with the extra space, especially since you have got into knife making. u will need more space to keep all the tools that u will buy in the future

great work on the lanyard

[Moin.]

BECKER BK7 PROJECT Enjoyed doing the Khuk, so will post the Becker Mods here. Started modding it as Marthandan really instigated me with his lovely padauk wood SAK scales Evil Man you !!!!!

Starting with the most common mod done to Becker Grivory Scales, stippling using a soldering iron. Brought the cheapest one I could find at the hardware store for INR 90/-. Took me 3 hours, lots of patience & two cigarretes to do one scale, will complete the second and then smoothen the rough edges with coarse emery paper. The stippling is done to provide more traction as the Grivory surface is very smooth. Used 3 layers of Abro Tape(used by carpenters, paper like tape which leaves no or very little sticky gunk behind) on the edge and a good big blob of tape on the point. Safety first I've cut myself several times before, koyle ki dalali main haath kaale











The difference between the two scales



The hot soldering irons tip is kept on the surface for about a second till you can feel the tip sink into the grivory. And trying this please focus on the task at hand . I poked myself with the hot soldering iron trying to grab a quick sneaky view of "Life is a Beach" I love the sea shore, the soldering irons tip was way hotter than the programme's content

[Moin.]

I have some very very old antlers too... some five or six huge ones, grandfather was into hunting etc... Hardly have the place for these things in tiny mumbai apts...
Regards
MOin.

let me help you. i will take them off your apartment at no cost. you can do with the extra space, especially since you have got into knife making. u will need more space to keep all the tools that u will buy in the future

great work on the lanyard

Yes right .

Thanks Marthandan, hope the becker turns out better than the khuk with lot less goof ups

Regards
Moin.

[Rajat]

Hard to imagine the amount of patience this would have taken!

Nice job, the scales look grippy enough for anything now. This immediately reminded my of how the handle of the Extrema Ratio Ultramarine looks. Although it is a different material.



Picture from knifeandtools.nl

BTW Do you recall my mentioning that the micarta scales on my Becker feel a bit slippery?

Well not any more , I sandblasted these and they look better and offer a better non slip grip.

[Moin.]

Hard to imagine the amount of patience this would have taken!

Nice job, the scales look grippy enough for anything now. This immediately reminded my of how the handle of the Extrema Ratio Ultramarine looks. Although it is a different material.

[ Image ]

BTW Do you recall my mentioning that the micarta scales on by Becker feeling a bit slippery?

Well not any more , I sandblasted these and they look better and offer a better non slip grip.

Thanks Rajat Yes, it's as abrasive as Emery Paper now. Just need a slight rubbing with a lower grit paper to soften it a bit....Wow, the ultramarine's handle look quite similar....

The handles are still a bit stout for my girlie hands , I'm thinking sanding off a few mm and adding thin white plastic liners ( have saved a nice thick plastic folder from where i will cut these out). I'm a bit skeptical of sanding the grivory with emery paper as I'm afraid the edge may not turn out entire flush with the tang after i try and reduce the tickness by a few mm....

Yes I remember, Sandblasting Micarta Sounds very interesting, Please poooooooooossssssttttt picsssss !!!!!!! How much does it cost to have stuff sandblasted. Should try and get a few blades done as well, specially the users.. Love the Emerson type sandblasted look....

Regards
Moin.

[Rajat]

Thanks Rajat Yes, it's as abrasive as Emery Paper now. Just need a slight rubbing with a lower grit paper to soften it a bit

To tell you the truth I was thinking about it. To slightly sand it off with paper somewhere in the grit range of 320 or lower. This will make it smoother and easier on the hands while still offering a non slip grip.

The handles are still a bit stout for my girlie hands , I'm thinking sanding off a few mm and adding thin white plastic liners ( have saved a nice thick plastic folder from where i will cut these out). I'm a bit skeptical of sanding the grivory with emery paper as I'm afraid the edge may not turn out entire flush with the tang after i try and reduce the tickness by a few mm....

Dont! If you have taken off the grivory handles you must have noticed that these are not solid. Sanding off a few mm will make these very thin and affect the strength and most likely make then crack under heavy usage.

Sandblasting Micarta Sounds very interesting, Please poooooooooossssssttttt picsssss !!!!!!! How much does it cost to have stuff sandblasted.

I will try to post pictures soon. Well, it cost me nothing to sandblast these but usually it will depend on the place you are getting it done. My guess will be somewhere in the range of Rs. 50 to 100 for the scales. Not more.

Should try and get a few blades done as well, specially the users.. Love the Emerson type sandblasted look....

You are talking about bead blasting and not sand or shot blasting. Do not sand blast the blades. Trust me you would not want this.

If you do it then you are going to spend a lot of time buffing the blade to reduce the sand blasted look

The blade will also be hard to clean, susceptible to rust and will get a dull rough grey colour after it is sand blasted.

[slingshot]

Awesome work as usual. I have added some bicycle tube rubber to my BK2 handle. Just a small portion of the handle close to the blade has it. The rest of the handle still sports the smooth grivory. Works like a charm as i need maximum traction between the first two fingers and the thumb. Also, the retaining strap on the sheath closes easily as the handle scales are not thicker.

Though, your solution looks so much sexier lol. BTW, Why doesnt KaBAR fix this problem? I am sure they arent blind. Why dont they offer a G10 or Micarta handle as standard feature. If not...change it to a cheap grippy alternative. My only grouse against them.

[TC]

Moin .... I wish there was a standing ovation smily on the list here..

GREAT JOB






TC

[Moin.]

Dont! If you have taken off the grivory handles you must have noticed that these are not solid. Sanding off a few mm will make these very thin and affect the strength and most likely make then crack under heavy usage.

You are talking about bead blasting and not sand or shot blasting. Do not sand blast the blades. Trust me you would not want this.

If you do it then you are going to spend a lot of time buffing the blade to reduce the sand blasted look

The blade will also be hard to clean, susceptible to rust and will get a dull rough grey colour after it is sand blasted.

No, I meant taking a few mm off where the handles meet the tang, please see the pic below. I wanted to try and rub it on say 150 grit emery paper but then was hesitant if after sanding the edge is not perfectly perpendicular to the tang it will look hideous.



Sorry my bad, I assumed sand blasting and media/bead blasting was the same thing....

[Moin.]

Awesome work as usual. I have added some bicycle tube rubber to my BK2 handle. Just a small portion of the handle close to the blade has it. The rest of the handle still sports the smooth grivory. Works like a charm as i need maximum traction between the first two fingers and the thumb. Also, the retaining strap on the sheath closes easily as the handle scales are not thicker.

Though, your solution looks so much sexier lol. BTW, Why doesnt KaBAR fix this problem? I am sure they arent blind. Why dont they offer a G10 or Micarta handle as standard feature. If not...change it to a cheap grippy alternative. My only grouse against them.

Thanks Chief .. Send me your beckers I'll do this for you as well, I will though not have the heart to give these back you will have to take these over my dead body

Kabar's micarta scales sell for USD 45,bloddy expensive, will put the Beckers in the same league as the Esee's and that's why these grivory handles to keep the price down I guess.

But like Rajat mentioned the traction on the Micarta is not that great either, he had his sand blasted. The micarta scales look so pretty...

Regards
Moin.

[Moin.]

Moin .... I wish there was a standing ovation smily on the list here..

GREAT JOB






TC

TC, you are too kind and generous with your appreciation. Many thanks

Regards
Moin.

[Rajat]

No, I meant taking a few mm off where the handles meet the tang, please see the pic below. I wanted to try and rub it on say 150 grit emery paper but then was hesitant if after sanding the edge is not perfectly perpendicular to the tang it will look hideous.

Ok, I understand now.

Your hesitation is not unjustified. Do NOT try this. Although you might be able to do it right in the first shot but it is unlikely.

This is best done on a flat disc / plate sander ( not a grinder) or belt sander running over a flat bed.