And so seeks a brash youth a first khuk

Now it seems that my third khuk is to arrive Monday. This is somewhat comical, in light that my "first" khuk is still in Nepal. A couple of questions abound.
1) What the heck is cho creep?
2) What is the best intro to sharpening my khuk? I have some experience with putting a working edge on knives, but I have very little experience with finishing a blade. For all intents and purposes, let's just say I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to bringing an edge back.
3) What maintenance does a khuk regularly need, besides sharpening? Again, let's just start from square one.
 
The Japanese blood in my veins is satisfied when my Katana slips effortlessly through the training targets.

But the very core of my soul quivers when my Tarwar chops through absolutely anything before it. It is a juggernaut, a tank… a sharpened armored tank.

Bring on the zombies. The Tarwar awaits.

:)

I am infected with the HI virus and I have no desire to be cured anytime soon.
 
MagenDavid said:
Now it seems that my third khuk is to arrive Monday. This is somewhat comical, in light that my "first" khuk is still in Nepal. A couple of questions abound.
1) What the heck is cho creep?
Click to expand...
Not sure

MagenDavid said:
2) What is the best intro to sharpening my khuk? I have some experience with putting a working edge on knives, but I have very little experience with finishing a blade. For all intents and purposes, let's just say I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to bringing an edge back.
Click to expand...
From the HI website: Sharpening a kukuri

MagenDavid said:
3) What maintenance does a khuk regularly need, besides sharpening? Again, let's just start from square one.
Click to expand...
Keep the blade fairly clean and oiled or wiped down with a silicone cloth to prevent rust. You can also patina the blade to help prevent rust. If it has a Chiruwa handle, you may have to file the tang to match the handle until the handle stabilizes in size for your local environment.

Oh, yes, I believe they are female: they get lonely and restless. You need to take it out of the sheath and hold it and talk to it, and it really gets happy when you take it out and chop some wood with it. also like women, they get real happy when you buy them nice clothes:
IMG_6780.jpg
 
It seems the good Cpl has provided the answer to my last question over in the Cantina. Thanks. I didn't even know that stuff was linked to the HI website.
 
Over the recent years, the kamis have moved the cho further away from the bolster. Old style H.I., and Nepalese, khuks have it closer to the handle.
 
Use it.

other methods involve vinegar, lemon juice, tomato paste/sauce...etc.
 
Folks around here stick their pocket knives into a tater and leave them overnight. Not sure where you'll find a tater large enough to stick a khuk into though.
 
My third khuk just arrove today. I'd post a pic, but just look at the 11/20 DOTD at the M43. This thing is a mammoth. The only thing more glorious than this is the fact that my girlfriend things my newfound khuk habit cool.
 
MagenDavid said:
How does one go about putting a patina on the blade properly?
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I used mine until it had a sort of fan-shaped patina area at the sweet spot. Then I soaked paper towels with lemon juice and mashed them against the blade and left them overnight. In the morning I took them off, scotch-brited the blade to remove the flaking rust. Did this two more times and them applied cold blue to cover the areas that had not taken the patina.
 
Does a patina diminish the performance of the knife at all? Is it worth pursuing?
 
MagenDavid said:
Does a patina diminish the performance of the knife at all? Is it worth pursuing?
Click to expand...
Nope, a patina won't affect it's performance at all.
Wether or not it's worth pursuing is all a matter of point of view.
Using it and then not cleaning it is the natural way to a patina.
 
No downside to a patina, unless you just don't like the look. It does help prevent real rust from forming. It really doesn't do anything else.
 
MagenDavid said:
The only thing more glorious than this is the fact that my girlfriend things my newfound khuk habit cool.
Click to expand...

Lucky!

Oh, another household option for patinating any blades is mustard. Smudge a coat on the blade, leave it for about half an hour or so, and the khuk should be a darker, mottled pattern of colour.

I typically don't etch my HI blades deliberately, since the kamis seems to put so much effort in the mirror finish. I let 'em patinate naturally, which can take a long time if a blade is mostly used for wood chopping. The wood can even polish the blade in places during use. Other blades that I do patinate, however, are usually given the ferric chloride treatment. It's not something you're likely to have just lying around, but etches faster and darker than most of the acidic foodstuffs that populate the average western kitchen.
 
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