First HI, is this normal?

StrangeDaze

StrangeDaze

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Mar 20, 2016
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just got my first HI, and was really impressed. Until i noticed that A good portion of the blade leading to the tip is unground, as in flat. Is this normal for HI? Or should i talk to @Yangdu? I think this is beyond what i can correct currently.
icWkLB6.jpg
 
I wouldn't say it is normal, but it is very easily fixable. I have had a couple blem knives that came like that. I would use a tiny file and follow the angle of the sharpened part of the edge. Very carefully move the file away from the spine and toward the tip at the same time and alternate sides almost every stroke. The tip is usually soft enough to sharpen up pretty easily. Or just leave it as is. The khukuri will probably still function good as it ever will. The tip doesn't get used much and when it does it has so much weight and force behind it, it will still do the job. If it is important to you to have it all razor sharp, and you can't do it yourself, I'm sure she would take it back and replace it. Might cost you a little $ shipping though.
 
I’ve nicked and dinged the tip of my kukri a lot by accidentally hitting rocks and stuff, so taking a file to it was normal.

That said, mine was a cheaper one than yours, made in India and purchased from Atlanta Cutlery about 15 years ago.

Still, I would not have been happy if my cheap kukri came with an edge like that. Not sure if it’s normal for an H.I. or not, someone else will hopefully chime in.
 
It's not normal for HI. I have quite a few HI blades and never got one with that kind of issue. Can't tell from the picture what model this is, but most HI khukuris have soft steel near the tip, so it might be possible to fix with a small, fine file, if you feel comfortable trying that. Did the rest of the blade come well sharpened?

If it were mine I would try the fix first, but if that proved difficult I would send it back. If you can fix it yourself, that's a good feeling. I got a big HI Seax (18.5" OAL, 26 oz) a few months ago. It was beautiful, but the blade came with a bit of a sideways bend near the narrow tip. I gave the Seax two or three dozen hard sideways whacks against a piece of wood and it straightened out just fine. It's this one:

Seax18.5in-Kumar26oz-01cr.jpg
 
Ive never seen any like that at the tip. I have had a few like that at the Cho tho. No biggie for me. Id just file it down to sharp but if your not comfortable doing something like that id definitely send it back. The tip gets lots of use on my blades so id definitely fix that one way or another.
 
Pretty easy fix. If you are equipped or comfortable, send it back.

I have a belt sander, and diamond stones. You could fix ir with a few sheets of automotive sand paper in a multi pack. Edge trailing strokes on sandpaper on a flat surface would fix that lickitty split.

I've done it on knives with much harder steel. The tip will be softer than the belly, because of how they heat treat these.

Is it direct from HI, or from another owner?
 
It was direct from HI.
Got it back today with the VUK.
It was still unground in a small spot (but overall much better), i was able to use a medium-coarse sharpening stone to fix it. No big deal and Yangdu was very pleasent to work with, she even offered to pay return shipping. However, while i was working on it i noticed a crack in the blade
sbrerri.jpg

Its bigger/deeper than it looks in the picture. My fingernail catches pretty good on it. It goes from the side to the flat of the blade. Is this something to worry about? I’d hate to be chopping with it and the tip break on me.
I dont want to be a complainer or seem like im being unfairly harsh to HI, but i feel like maybe i got a lemon? I understand these are hand forged. The VUK I recieved is perfect on the other hand.
 
This doesn't make you a complainer. Not at all. I would just return the blade for a refund, replacement or credit. There's no way to tell how deep that crack goes, and it will be a rust magnet. This knife now has two strikes against it, and there's no reason to wait for a third. No cause for hard feelings on either side. Hand forged blades are rarely perfect, but this one is way off the chart for HI.
 
davidf99 said:
This doesn't make you a complainer. Not at all. I would just return the blade for a refund, replacement or credit. There's no way to tell how deep that crack goes, and it will be a rust magnet. This knife now has two strikes against it, and there's no reason to wait for a third. No cause for hard feelings on either side. Hand forged blades are rarely perfect, but this one is way off the chart for HI.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reassurance.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about HI so i was a bit surprised, but figured that these things happen and i must have just been unlucky.
 
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