Broken Tangs

Art S.

Art S.

Joined
Jul 1, 2001
Messages
143
Several of the Forumites have sent me khuks with broken tangs.
Just a note to tell you that I haven't forgotten you. I ordered a new arc welder and expected it to arrive last week.
I e-mailed the company's customer service yesterday and finally got an answer today -- the welder was shipped week and should be here by the middle of next week.
Sure makes me appreciate Uncle Bill's ways of doing business.
Thanks for your patience.
 
It's not easy. The only way to do it is to get one the kamis have accidentally hardened when they get it a big hurry. Then it's pretty easy.
 
Now we're on the subject, I read your section on testing the blades. Would my Khukuri's stand that? I don't know I'd want to do that to anything. You know, there's also something called respect for the tool. Khukuri's are not responsible for holding people on the flat of their edges, are they? Just seems like an awful lot to expect.



munk
 
I got a Model 40388 Arc Welder from Harbor Freight. It's an inexpensive 115/230 Volt machine. Small machine, but tangs are the heaviest welding I do so it should work fine for me.
Made in China, of course. Friends keep telling me that most of today's power tools are made in China; they just use different paint and labels for the different brands.
The prices are good, but as I said before the customer service is nowhere near Uncle Bill's standards.
 
It should do fine, Art, and once you have it you'll find more stuff to do besides tangs. They are handy to have around.
 
I can't break or even bend the properly soft HI tang on my 15" AK with just my body try though I might. And I tried. I supose I could if I used a "cheater" bar, but what's the point. A soft stick tang is strong enough for anything I'll do, and helps to cushion the impact of chopping. A chiruwa tang is stronger, but what's the point of stronger when the stick tang is already stronger than I need.

An improperly hardened stick tang is easy to break. Any of you could do it without effort. Just a few real chops and it will fracture.
 
Art,
What are you doing with a stick to get 100% penetration without burning the steel? How are you heat treating the tang/blade junction post welding?
Dan
 
Art, meet DanK, another old welder and shop hand who has fixed up a few khukuris -- including one I destroyed myself. Welded a new tip on it and you couldn't see the weld or tell it had been reworked. Pick Dan's brain. He's got good ideas and knows his stuff.
 
Dan,
None of the breaks are right at the tang/blade junction. One is back near the butt and all the others are 1/2--3/4 inch behind the junction. I'm grinding both sides of the break to form a "V" or "trough" for the weld to fill. I'll pre-heat the area with a small torch, then weld it. Then I'll use the torch to heat the welded area and junction to temper them back some. The blade will be wrapped in wet rags.
After welding and heating, I'll lay the blade across an anvil and hit the tang near its end with a hammer. If the tang doesn't break, it will be ready for re-assembly.
 
They always break 1/2 or 3/4 inch below the junction.

Sounds like you've got the right idea, Art.

Any suggestions, Dan? You've done more welding than any of us.
 
Hi All,
Looks good to me, except that Art isn't tempering or retempering the area (for those reading this that don't understand all that's going on...not ment to be a "put-down"), but rather he's annealing the steel to even the grain and toughen the steel.
The only thing I would add here, and I don't know if Art is doing this: Grind the area smooth and leave no latteral marks to prevent any fractures from developing later. I fixed one tang that broke because the Smith left nicks in the tang.
Dan
 
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