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Thanks guys.
I can't take all the credit for this repair.
My cuz is a welder and a day-umed good one too as you an see.
He wound up welding the tang twice.He is just like me when it comes to fixing things right.We both have had to put up with that "hurry" thing the boss (?) likes to put out. We are of the same mind that if there isn't time to do it right the first time,then where is the time going to come from to do it over.
The tang & blade gave him some problems in the way the metal welded.
He said there were small puddles of what looked like glass that would 'blow out' when it became molten.
He said in all his years of welding with acetylene that he had never seen anything like this. We still have no idea of what caused it. We have wondered that perhaps some silica had somehow been introduced in this area.
It didn't show up under magnification
,but you could tell this steel was very,very hard.Much harder in fact than what 5160 should ever be possible to get. In my experience it had the appearence of broken tool steel !!!
It would have been interesting to find out what the Rc was on it,but that wasn't possible.
I am just going to leave it as one of the mysteries of the Kamis.The steel didn't show any areas of porosity under magnificaton and the crystallization was magnificent!!
After he welded it the first time he wasn't satisfied with it and ground it completely out.
Bear in mind this was all done in over 102* heat,in a shop where the fans were blowing air that was registering 114* on the thermometer.
He welded it again and then heated the whole tang up to 'cherry red' and a little more and stretched it just a tad.When it had cooled to where he could handle it,he started beating on it with a 5 Lb. hammer.
He move it back and forth a few times a little and was satisfied that it would be okay.
That would have been fine for most people,but when he got home in the cool he started looking at in under magnification.
There was a small crack where the ground dent is.He told me to check it out and if I wasn't satisfied he would grind it out an do it again.
I checked it and it looked kind of like one of the fold lines that spook Uncle sometimes.
It spooked me and I deceided to grind it out as there was ample material.I found that it turned back on itself and it was indeed gone.
I took a pair of heavy thick gloves and proceeded to chop some hardwood chunks like the one in the pick except they are well seasoned and the one shown,although still hard is starting to go a little soft.
Chopping sets up a whole different set of vibrations in the blade and my cuz and me both figured if there ws any doubt,that the chopping would find it.
It done fine.I beat that blade every which way imaginable.I also done the hammer pounding on it like my cuz did.
I was able to grasp the blade with the gloves I have and beat the tang like I was chopping with it on the hardwood.
I knew after all this that the blade and tang was sound and would last for 10 lifetimes.
The handle was a whole different scene!!
For those of you that haven't had an opportunity to check out the Himalayan Epoxy,I can tell you that this is some tough stuff!!
I had read where Uncle had said that if boiling didn't release the tag from the handle in 10 minutes or so,to let him know and he would think of something else.
Well it took considerably longer to get it out than 10 minutes.
I boiled that sucker and the grasping it with a good sturdy well made hot pad I would pull out some of the sticky stuff.
It didn't take long before it was solid again and it had to go back to the boiling.
When I had gotten enough of it out I was able to bump the tang I had filed off to below where it was peened over enough to get a hold on the other end with pliers an it came right out.
The handle had a small crack about 1 1/4" long up the bottom and there were a couple of small chunks of the horn missing.
While my cuz was doing the welding I cleaned up the butt cap and the small diamond shaped piece of brass and the bolster and buffed them with the buffing wheel I have on my bench grinder.
I wasn't quite certain of what to do with the small crack in the handle
I finally wedged a tapered piece of metal about the size of the tang into it sideways,opening the crack up a
little.I put regular Super Glue in it because I knew it would run into all the unseen places.I took the wedge out and squesszed it together with a small clamp,being the right kind of material it set almost instantly.
There was another smaller crack I fixed the same way.
When this was done I had to clean out the inside where the tang was going to fit.I used a wood chisel and assorted files to clean out the excess epoxy.I believe this stuff could be used as a casting material and then finished using wood tools.
It might be a whole new form of sculpturing.
I used the buffing wheel again to polish the horn.This is where it gets a little tricky,because any kind of horn can 'burn.' (I have done this with my Dremel to and it is easier to burn with it I believe,because of the speed and small area.)
Use plenty of compound and go quickly,taking short burst of touching the wheel and getting off of it.I have found the wood Micarta burning the same way.I imagine it would apply to all the Micarta and similiar products.
When I had everything as close as possible to'new' or better condition I put it in a plastic bag to keep the brass from tarnishing.
This also works on silver jewelry and is an
'Old Indin Trick'(,just tzn.
) we use to keep from polishing what silver jewelry we might have.One of my friends the Silversmith that still hasn't got my ring done told me about this.
When I got the blade all cleaned up,which was a chore in itself I thought what is the best way to proceed now to get this all back together?
The first thing was to make sure
everything went together well and looked as it should.
Everything was in the same kind of condition as to when it was first put together and fit nicely.
Then I ran into a problem.I knew I had some time because I wasn't using the quick set Epoxy,but there was one helluva gap between the bolster and blade.You can see this one your Kuhkuri and it is filled with the original product.
I pondered on how to fix this to where the American Epoxy wouldn't run out that gap!!
Duct Tape!!! It fixes almost everything!!
I put some on one side of the bolster
about 1/2 way up where there was about 1/4" tape below the bottom of it.
I then put it on the tang where it needed to go and pressed the tape to the blade and carefully wrapped it around the other side.This formed a very nice neat,even pocket that centerd the bolster and anchored it to the blade.I carefully covered the whole bolster anchoring it even tighter!!
Then I covered the blade with tape knowing how I am around glue.It always goes everywhere I don't want it.
The next step was to cover the handle with the tape everyplace it wasn't going to be glued. I put a small piece over the top so I could pour the epoxy into the handle without it running out.The butt cap was done the same.
I mixed the American Epoxy and poured the bolster almost full knowing there would be some displacement.I filled the handle the same way and turned it over onto the tang.What a mess. There is no one quick enough to keep it from running.The tape on the top of the handle remember?
Okay !! That hurdle was crossed!!
I filled the butt cap and had a little problem with it too,because of the same thing.
I got the diamond on and there was enough epoxy to set it.
Then I centered everything and left it to cure for a while.
I watched it carefully and when it had set enough to be pretty solid,but with some softness to it,I took the tape off very carefully not to pull or move anything out of place.
This was the most nervous time I think.
The endeavor was successful and I trimmed the excess epoxy away from the bottom of the bolster and around the butt cap.
The handle itself came out perfectly with no glue on it at all.
I cut and cleaned the excess off the blade too.
Then I left it to cure completely.
Almost done!!
I cleaned all the small spots I had missed and polishd the blade with Scotch Brite removing all traces of the work done.
I then put it on the Buffing wheel.
!!!!!!!!
I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of watching what you are doing if you try polishing a blade like this on a power grinder!!!
I used to do a lot of buffing when I first started in the machine shop.
This was done on a huge grinder and I have lost the small aluminium parts and almost lost my Cajones from getting Zapped with them!!
I have literally layed on a dirty grinding room floor gasping for breath when I got nailed by one of these small aluminium 'toe stops'for roller skates.
Guys if a Kuhkuri got loose from you on a grinder it would be much,much more serious than when the Kami hit that Kuhkuri wrong a while back and it went flying. You are going to be standing way to close !!!!! You may lose more than your Cajones.
Being as careful as I warn you to be I polished the Sirupati to perfecton.
I probably does look a little better than new,because I wanted to do it up 'Proud.'
Having it apart I was able to clean and polish some places the Kamis would have a hard time getting to and I had some tools they don't.
It wasn't because I did anything better,that's for sure!!
That is the story of the resurection of the 20"Sirupati Kuhkuri.
What happened to it??
Well,ya see my cuz and me is the 'Black Sheep' of the family and we are more like brothers than cuzins.
I saw that gleam in his eye while he was admiring it even before it was fixed and he said,"This ain't no ordinary knife.It has a spirit."
Well,what else could I do?
He did the important part of the job and I love him.
He is ecstatic to be the new posseser of this Kuhkuri.
I thank Uncle Bill and H.I. for being able to get this fine piece of art back to what it should be.
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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
The civilized man sleeps behind locked doors in the city while the naked savage sleeps (with a knife) in a open hut in the jungle.
[This message has been edited by Yvsa (edited 14 August 1999).]
