Kukri for Deployment

[Gabriel James]

So i have a marine buddy whos deploying in June and i need to get this bad boy finished. There's a different kind of pressure when youre making something for someone who's life may depend on your weapon, so im being overly analytical on this one. I started from 80CRV2 1/4" bar stock and got to this point so far.

 

full length is 14.5" and is 2" wide at the sweet spot

 

 

 

I have had terrible luck determining the angle of the broken back portion - so ive assumed there's no set rule. I sway on the straighter side for sheath and potentially carrying ease reasons(assumption)

 

Ive never done a fuller before of any fashion do not have a spring fuller -- can my 8" contact wheel make a decent fuller on this piece without losing strength?

 

any other tips or advice before i finish rough grinding stage would be much appreciated!~

 

Gabe

[R.W. Deavers]

As for the blade angle, I don't really think there's anything really set in stone, so I'd stick with what you're doing. As for the fuller, again, it depends on if you want a narrow fuller or a wide one. When I set my fuller in my khukuri, I laid out the fuller with a sharpie on both sides then used my fuller groove tool. Somewhere in the tools section is a thread for the groove tool. Other than that, you look like you heading in the right direction. Looks good so far.

[Alan Longmire]

An 8" wheel is gonna give you a very wide shallow fuller. I use a 2" or a 4" for most things.

[Gabriel James]

thanks guys. Alan i was planning on using a cut off wheel or something for the smaller fuller in the spine -- was wondering if my contact wheel would work for a secondary fuller-- i want increased functionality and ditch some weight if i can. If he has to hump 15 miles i dont want him to be burdened any more than he has to be as well with it in use. Very carefully with layout fluid? Or would you not suggest trying it with my wheel? My second option would be take some thickness off the entire project and incorporate some taper ? Anyways thanks for the encouragement this one has got me stressing a little- Have yet even use this steel type. Aldo was out of 5160

[Timothy Artymko]

Well, if you want to cut some weight but keep it usable, you really could taper the tang for a nice look as well as the still blade-heavy knife. As far as 80CRV2 goes, it is almost identical to 1084, jsut with some Vanadium and a few other alloys added for grain refinement, etc. It is just as easy to HT as 1084, but that V that was added helps a lot with refining the toughness! This next part is just my opinion, but I would say add a small fuller for ascetic appearance, but otherwise add big hollow ground bevels to really take out weight and make it easier to sharpen and help it cut.

[Logan Shenk]

There's not any set angle for the blade or even how big the belly needs to be, as far as the kukri's ive seen and used there is usually a slight bit more angle where the tang transitions to the blade. Are you planning on doing a full size historical kukri? Or a slightly sized down one? Historical kukri's were often around 2 pounds and more the size of a parang

[Gabriel James]

Slightly undersized i have this heat treated now awaiting final grind. Im around 15 total inches. Toying with pinning a pommel out of wrought and using african blackwood scales.

 

 

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[Gabriel James]

 

im prepping to start browning. I want to have a non reflective surface. Hot blue maybe? I still need to nail down what im doing with the handle. Any suggestions?

[grpaavola]

Let it rust!

 

After it rusts all over get a bunch of oak leaves and boil them in water...

 

then add knife and let it boil for a bit.

 

-Gabriel

[Gabriel James]

I was thinking something similar Gabriel, however would have never thought about the oak leaves. High in tannin? I boiled old tea via someone's advice on here. Hopefully i can achieve a uniform rust this time unlike last time

[grpaavola]

It's something about the tannin in the oak leaves. I haven't tried it with anything else, but I have to strongly suggest the oak leaves. It's how they did it way back when and it works as a great rust protectant, so why mess with perfection?

 

-Gabriel

 

and to get a good rust coat try spraying white vinegar...

[Gabriel James]

I read somewhere to boil in hydrogen peroxide -- which i tried before. I got banding sections that would NOT rust. it was the weirdest thing. Im trying nature's recipe at the moment i dont mind spritzing a few different techniques. Ill keep the oak leaves in mind, thats good info thanks!

[Gabriel James]

So here she is almost finished minus the final edge. Rust blued, took about 2 weeks and a pinned rear bolster of wrought and brass pins that have been blued as well. The pins didnt turn out as well as i had hoped but it adds to the grip. My main concerns were function function function. Final weight of 18.5 ounces

 

 

[Wes Detrick]

How are you peening your pins?

[Gabriel James]

i pain stakingly fit them all and ground them to where i thought they should be. Some were leaner than others leaving the difference in sizes. But the only way i know how to peen pins is placing the pin directly on the horn or my vice and go nuts.... well alot of light hammer blows. I tried using the actual peen side of my hammer some but mostly was the rounded side.The fatter looking pins had more meat standing proud before the peening started despite my efforts

[Wes Detrick]

Are you looking to have domed pins? It can take a little work, having a few tools to do it makes it a lot easier. I use a method that JS Nick Wheeler put out there and it works pretty damn well. Let me know if you want to give you a run down on it.

[Gabriel James]

Yes i was trying to have the pins be slightly domed. they are standing proud still, some more than others but its comfortable in hand. Id love to get the details!

[Wes Detrick]

I will get it together for you tomorrow. I need to take a few pictures of the tools I use, so you know what I am talking about.

[Gabriel James]

thanks wes, Ill need to finish putting the edge on this booger and get him shipped out for someone special to make the kydex dress-- then off to the teufel hunden

[Gabriel James]

 

 

total weight came in a bit heavier than i wanted. I forgot to drill the center gaps in the tang to lighten it a bit more. Or maybe the rear bolsters are too thick. 19.5 oz

 

i really like this steel, chopped 3 pesky bushes down and a tree as big around as my thigh... But im biased, what do you guys think? My buddy did NOT set a price limit when he ordered this. He just said "i trust you make me a bad ass Kukri" My shipping + kydex will run about 75 bucks whats a fair price to ask for this piece?

Edited April 21, 2016 by Gabriel James

[Wes Detrick]

Here you go Gabriel.

 

http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=33380

[Gabriel James]

thanks!

[James Spurgeon]

Gabriel,

Glad to see you tested it hard before thinking about sending it off.

Just curious if you did any hardening sequence tests with extra pieces of the same steel before heat treating the final blade?

 

As to pricing: It's hard to put a price on someone else's work, but since you are asking, I will tell you what I did when making knives for close friends when I was relatively new to the craft. By "relatively new" I mean I could make a reliable blade, but my "fit and finish" were best described as passable.

I would make the knife they wanted and give them a minimum price that I felt covered my costs plus a little bit for my time. Then I asked them to use it for a week or so and then pay me what it was worth. If I were pricing this knife in this way, I would have charged $90 - $100 + whatever they thought it was "worth". I can't say I got as much $ as the custom or semi-custom knife market would bear for the same knife by an established maker, but given my skills at the time, I never felt gypped with the "+ whatever".

This only applies if you look at yourself as a hobbyist that sells stuff to offset the cost of your hobby, professional smith's have to look at the bottom line and charge enough to keep their shop going for the long run.

James

[Gabriel James]

Hey james, thanks! I wound up charging 200$ for this. I still owe the sheath maker his cut and shipping it twice so I maybe gave him a deal? I dont know. I hammer out a small test knife that i tried first. It's a different kind of pressure when someone's life more likely than not might depend on your weapon for survival. I was paranoid at every step! Im at ease now and Ive had a few people want a kukri similar to this one for future orders. 1 of which wants a Book of Eli rendition! Im comfortable charging the + whatever currently as long as its fair. I know my stuff cant rival most of you makers on here.... yet But im gunnin for yas!

[Dustin Stephens]

_{Hey Gabe, nice kukri, but totally off the subject, that is one handsome pinscher you have there. Love those dogs, I have the mini version of him, but he thinks he is full size}

Edited April 29, 2016 by Dustin Stephens