Kailash Blades- Show off your knives!

[meboz]

Several months ago, I added some turk's head knots and self-fusing silicone tape to my socket khukuri.
Someone around here had shown their handle wrapped with self-fusing silicone tape, and it seemed like a great idea to combine with the turk's head knots I was already toying with.

The cord is some general utility cord from a rigging manufacturer. Nothing special. 550 paracord is too big, but might have worked if gutted. I wanted the finger grip narrower though.
Two pass turk's head at the base and a single pass for the finger grip.
The self-fusing silicone tape is just some basic stuff that costs a few USD for a roll at Walmart or Harbor Freight or most tool supply places in US.

Apologies... the lighting in the pictures isn't great, especially with the black tape.

Spoiler: Socket Khukuri with Turk's Head grip

Spoiler: Close-up of grip

Spoiler: Close-up of Turk's Head knots before covering with tape

I also ended up using the self-fusing silicone tape to wrap an angkhola style khukuri from another manufacturer. I got it cheap due to a severely split horn handle, which I repaired. The silicone tape made the handle more comfortable since there were a few hotspots and it was slightly short for my hand. (It also meant that I did not have to re-polish or coat the repaired handle.)

 

[russhw]

It carries well

 

[Kailash Blades]

Super interesting modification on the socket khukuri. We've suggested wrapping the handles in the description for the entire time we've been making it but these are the first photos of someone actually going for it. How does it feel? James Helm does epoxy soaked turks head wraps for his socket handles and those are quite popular. He puts the knots at the very edge of both ends of the handle to act as stoppers.
Bhura is looking good especially with that aftermarket clip!

 

[meboz]

Super interesting modification on the socket khukuri. We've suggested wrapping the handles in the description for the entire time we've been making it but these are the first photos of someone actually going for it. How does it feel? James Helm does epoxy soaked turks head wraps for his socket handles and those are quite popular. He puts the knots at the very edge of both ends of the handle to act as stoppers.

James Helm's wraps looks very nice. I feel like some of the thin cord wraps might have inspired the wrapped handles on some custom pig sticker knives the team made a year or two ago?
It looks like most of the paracord is gutted for the main handle portions. Some of the turk's heads look gutted, some don't.
I'm not sure how well a turk's head would work on the socket khukuri due to the shape where the handle meets the blade, but I might be able to try adding one. It looks like James shapes the handle to hold/catch the turk's head knots at either end.

I really like the silicone tape on the socket handle, even without the turk's head knots underneath. Nice added grippyness and slight cushion to the metal handle.
With the turk's head knots, it feels like it registers well in the hand. I enjoy the finger ridge knot, maybe because it amuses me a lot. The spiral thread between the knots, I probably would not do again, but the jury is out on that... it doesn't bother me, but I would need to test more in left hand instead of right.

This is a pic of my first test with paracord, before I put silicone tape over it:

Spoiler: Socket Khukuri with paracord Turk's Head knots

I tested that (with silicone tape over it) by roughing a mallet from a log.
The finger ridge with the paracord was just way too big for comfort.

Bonus pic of the silicone tape over a normal style khukuri handle:

Spoiler: Self-fusing silicone tape over a more normal khukuri handle

 

[Kailash Blades]

For those survival dirks the inspiration was coming from historical african baldes that have a wire/rattan/cord wrapped handle. Now that you mention it though the final result is near identical and I'm definitely familar with those wraps he does on non socketed handles. In terms of handle shaping he does have a little flare at the front and rear but I think the main thing is that they're epoxy soaked so everything kind of holds itself in place even if the handle tapers.
It looks quite classy on the khukuri- I wonder if there's a positive/ negative effect on the long term condition of the wood/horn underneath?

 

[meboz]

The epoxy part is interesting, but I'm not willing sacrifice my socket khukuri to try it. I do have a cheap mass produced socket knife I could sacrifice as a test thought.
I suppose using epoxy to coat it means you could also use a less stable knit/weave. Like a standard round knit sleeve or rough round macrame/crochet sleeve. (Or maybe standard cord sleeving.)
A socket bowie is on my list of things to get next time I put an order in... Maybe I'll order another socket khukuri to toy with on a more permanent handle addition too.

 

[razorburn]

Just received my first blade from Kailash. Have not had a chance to use it yet. It is really nice and feels light and balanced.
Sirupate 12 inch blade with rat tail, orange micarta handle, satin finish, performance grind and an oil quench. Got a traditional dap and thought about it and was able to add a kydex sheath. Glad I got the kydex, the traditional dap is going to take some breaking in and mainly practice getting it out as it kind of locks in.

Kailash2165 by Scooter, on Flickr

kailash2163 (2) by Scooter, on Flickr

kailash2158 (2) by Scooter, on Flickr

I really like how there's a pattern on those micarta handle.Exactly like mine.

 

[Kailash Blades]

I really like how there's a pattern on those micarta handle.Exactly like mine.

Yeah it's one of the accidental benefits of the wrapping process!

 

[bigeard09]

My Mk1 just arrived friday and of course first thing I needed to hack something with it. So I went after a large Bush Honeysuckle - I had no idea that is what it was called until just now but it came up volunteer in a convenient spot so I left it until it got out of control - and some of the streaks from that are visible in the pics, but it came clean and well oiled so just ignore that.
I got the medium handle length, performance grind, satin finish, 13" blade, and steel bolster. Initial impressions are amazing. Great work guys!

looks quality for sure , beautifull piece of kit

 

[bigeard09]

My Mk1 just arrived friday and of course first thing I needed to hack something with it. So I went after a large Bush Honeysuckle - I had no idea that is what it was called until just now but it came up volunteer in a convenient spot so I left it until it got out of control - and some of the streaks from that are visible in the pics, but it came clean and well oiled so just ignore that.
I got the medium handle length, performance grind, satin finish, 13" blade, and steel bolster. Initial impressions are amazing. Great work guys!

Fantastic looking kukuri

 

[erik7181]

 

[Crusty_Otter]

It looks nice but which model did you get? What blade length?

edit: just saw your thread, you got the MSI. I hope it serves you well.

 

[erik7181]

I want to get the HSI one next. There fit finish and heat treatseem better then more expensive ones that iv bought.

 

[Crusty_Otter]

I want to get the HSI one next. There fit finish and heat treatseem better then more expensive ones that iv bought.

I just looked at your photo again... you're not a tiny fella, are you?
At first I thought you had a Mini!

 

[HJA]

Definitely get the HSI — such a huge improvement to a (non-kailash) MSI I once had. Bonus points if you post a thread or vid comparing the two.

 

[bigeard09]

I'll start things off.
My personal favourite knife from Kailash is this Regent long knife of mine. It's been used to baton through rafters, butcher goannas, and at one point was chopped at full force into the edge of another knife, necessitating a partial regrind. Really nice hamon on it I got through a balsamic vinegar acid wash.

How do you carry out a balsamic vinegar acid wash Andrew ?

 

[Kailash Blades]

It can be any vinegar really- I used balsamic once and had good results so have stuck with it. This may be because it has higher water content (straight diluted vinegar is more aggressive than straight) or maybe because it is a little thicker and so sits on the surface more nicely. Polished blades will take longer than satin. You can give a rougher finish with steel wool, scotch brite or fine wet sandpaper beforehand to help speed up the process.

Start by cleaning the surface of the blade to remove any oils and dirt. Soapy water or rubbing alcohol is good for this. This is needed to ensure an even and smooth finish.
I get a worn, barely usable dish scrubbing pad and a small bowl of vinegar. Dip the scrubbing pad in the vinegar and then gently rub the blade all over. There will be spots where it forms droplets- the edges here will be more defined so to get an even finish break them up as they form with the scrubber. Every few minutes re-dip and gently scrub. Make sure that everything gets a little scrub including spine, cho etc otherwise red oxides may start to form (rust) rather than black oxides (patina). Continue for as long as you can be bothered- it's a good job for watching a boring movie at night time before bed.
Once you're ready to call it quits give it a big wash with soapy water- making sure you get any crevices. Give it a wash again with soapy water. Any acid left on the knife may go rusty red by morning unless it is removed.
Brass or copper hardware may have changed colour from this process (usually brighter, pinker). This can be left to darken up again naturally, polished to original condition or hit with scotch brite to provide a satin finish.
Wipe dry with a towel that won't leave lint on the blade. Give it a light oil with your preferred blade oil.

Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash

 

[bigeard09]

Have you had any practical use with the MSI at all ?

 

[bigeard09]

Got to get out and test my Panawal out today. This is an 11 inch model with satin blade and rosewood grips. Did a really good job chopping and limbing out these fallen trees. Very sharp and cuts deep!!

This Panawal has the MSI blade I believe , some people dont like the current shape BSI / MSI blade but I am of the opinion it lends itself to a decent working style blade

 

[Kailash Blades]

The blade shapes are super similar- our old falo had the same pattern too. The smiths like it for carving as well-not too much tip drop helps to keep it controllable when rough cutting wood to shape for handles.