Surface Hardening Wear

[munk]

I read in Faqs the way in which the Khukuri's are hardened means eventually with wear you will reach the softer core of metal and the Kuk will need sharpening more often and wear quickly. Has this happened to anyone?


munk

 

[Art S.]

The pictures I've seen show the kamis hardening the edge back to the start of the edge grind, which is 3/8 to 3/4 inch, depending on model.
That's a lot of steel to wear away, but if you did you'd take the blade to the nearest kami and ask him to re-grind and re-harden the blade. Barring unusual damage, I think it would take several generations to use up that much steel.

 

[Pappy]

With all of the khuks you have a chakma to work that blade so you do not file or stone away much of the blade.
The napal people can't afford to buy a new khuk often, so they want the thing to last as long as possible. That's why the blade is worked with the steel a lot more than stones.

 

[Howard Wallace]

In Nepal the khukuris are usually made less hard at the edge than the HI khukuris, and are easier to sharpen. They wear quicker and see a lot more use than the average US khukuri. A frequently used khukuri will usually go back to the village kami every 5 years or so for a new handle and rehardening of the edge if necessary. The shape of the khukuri will change over the years after many such treatments.

 

[Bill Martino]

Figure about a half inch of wear before you start running out of edge. That's a lot of hours of chopping. I don't think even your grandkids will have much to worry about.

 

[munk]

Sounds like I could start with a WWll and my grandchild could end up with a cobra.

OK by me, as long as Himilaya Imports grandchildren, Bill's and Bura's, are around to do the work.

munk