Rehandling a Khukri

[drbarnes]

I got this Himalayan Imports Khukri at a discount because it had a cracked handle :

The handle rattled a little bit and felt like it was moving when I swing around the blade, so I need to fix it. The handle is really cool and I wanted to salvage it to use it on a walking stick or something...

So I drilled out the pin holding the handle on, but the handle still wouldnt come off

I found out that the makers of these khukris use an epoxy to help hold the handle on. The epoxy can be weakened by putting the handle in boiling water. So I did that, made a little mess in the kitchen but was quick to clean it up before the wife saw

This is what I'm left with:

I have about 4" of tang to work with, the original handle was about 6" overall. So I have a couple ideas bouncing around in my head. One idea is to use a replacement hatchet handle, cut it down to size and drill out a V to mount the tang in and pin it. Or get some horse stall mat like they use on competition choppers and shape out a comfortable handle with that.

Let me know what you think?

 

[DaKruiser]

I would probably go with the horse stall mat if your wanting to beat on it. If you want it to look somewhat original I would go with some stabilized wood. I would definatly use some good epoxy/adhesive to help hold the new one on.

 

[Dtrap]

I think it going to be a pretty small handle if you go with the rubber mat. I would probably try to get a block of wood or micarta and shape it. Micarta isn't to hard to work and would look pretty sweet. I also like dymondwood. It comes in tons of colors and works like regular wood pretty much. Jantz has a ton of option to check out.

 

[BLA]

Me and a friend bought some project khukris and we basically made modern combat/survival knives out of them. they are neat knives with many practical uses

 

[Claddagh]

If you're going to use it hard and don't mind it looking 'non-traditional', I'd go with Micarta, Dymondwood or Desert Ironwood. All are H-ll for tough and extremely durable.

I'd clean all of that residual black gunk out of the brass guard piece and use both a pin or a slightly countersunk cutler's rivet and a good two-part epoxy to secure it to the tang.

 

[actaeon277]

 

[tyler34]

With it not being a full tang I wouldn't use horse stall mat, it is probably the most comfortable handle material around and maintains it's grippiness in any sort of wet environment. But without a full tang there will be a lot of flex and be more wobbly then using a harder material. Although it would work if you welded a piece of metal to the tang, shaped it to a grip shape of your liking then throw the santiprene on there and chop the hell out if stuff.

 

[drbarnes]

With it not being a full tang I wouldn't use horse stall mat, it is probably the most comfortable handle material around and maintains it's grippiness in any sort of wet environment. But without a full tang there will be a lot of flex and be more wobbly then using a harder material. Although it would work if you welded a piece of metal to the tang, shaped it to a grip shape of your liking then throw the santiprene on there and chop the hell out if stuff.

Great minds think alike Tyler! I am planning on using some 1/4" aluminum with the tang shape cut out and JB welded onto the handle, shape that up about right and use horse stall mat all the way around for a hidden tang.

I chose aluminum because it has more shear strength than wood but is lighter than steel.

I'll update the pics as I go, I am picking up the aluminum tomorrow

 

[drbarnes]

I got the piece of 1/4" aluminum from a local industrial supply store

I traced the tang on with pencil, which worked ok, but got erased by WD40.

Then I used the original handle as a template because I really liked the shape.

I went to the garage and clamped it in, original plan was to use a dremel and cutting disk - didnt work well. Next plan was a sawzall which worked awesome because it saws...all It was easy and alot faster to cut with the sawzall. It shouldve been my first choice - I thought it would be hard to control and would be a rough cut but it was easy to control and left a great cut. I used WD40 to lubricate which is like an eraser for pencil and sharpie. Maybe a crayon would work?? Or lay it out with tape?

This was the initial rough cut

I came in and checked with the khukri- I made the cut for the tang a little big. my plan here is to use some aluminum as a "shim" when I JB weld it on or make start over and retry a second time. I have 3' of the aluminum.

I sketched a more precise handle shape I am going for.

I cut it more to the shape I was wanting and cleaned it up a little bit with 40grit sand paper and a metal file. The sandpaper doesnt work too fast, and the old metal file I had seems worn out.

At this point I am leaning towards redoing the handle for a second time. After having a bit more experience with cutting the aluminum I feel confident that I can make a better handle cut the second time, especially if I have better lines to follow, and a decent metal file.

Any input/comments/criticisms are appreciated. This is a learning experience for me. Lots of trial and error ... mostly error

thanks for looking! David

 

[grunt soldier]

looking good brother. I'm sure the next cut will be even better.

 

[DaKruiser]

Looks good Dave, I would do it again, with what you have learned from this one will make your next one better. If you get it to fit tight I think your jb weld will work better.

A course file works best on aluminum in my experience, they won't clog up as easy.

 

[drbarnes]

Dave - thank you for your advice on the coarse file, it helped so much...

Well, its been a while but I wanted to update the thread with the finished product.

I used GFlex epoxy to attach my aluminum tang extender to the stick tang because I was afraid of JB weld being too brittle. The GFlex is supposed to have some give and still have a very strong bond. It feels very solid.

For the handle material I got some 1/2" neoprene from Grainger - I went with some softer stuff Durometer 50 Shore A. It was easy enough to cut with a utility knife

I used a dremel tool with a high speed cutter to bore out the handle shape.

It worked extremely well!

Next I used the same GFlex to put the neoprene on the handle, I put it in the vice and left it over night.

I went used a belt sander to shape the handle, I still have more work to do, but it is in useable condition right now so I couldnt resist!

The handle looks big, but it is very comfortable and with the soft neoprene handle, and it chops like a beast! I didnt have much time tonight but I took a piece of firewood today and did a little chop comparison between my custom David Wesner chopper which is awesome, my benchmade 171 chopper and this AK. 25 chops for all.

 

[DaKruiser]

Very well done Dave! That neoprene looks really good!

You have a Wesner and a Benchmade 171!

 

[drbarnes]

Very well done Dave! That neoprene looks really good!

You have a Wesner and a Benchmade 171!

Thanks Dave! You'll have to try it out sometime, very comfortable and it would fit your hands well.

The Wesner is pretty sweet, its got the best balance of the 3 and is about .28" thick and 10.5" blade, super sharp and very sweet

The 171 hits hard! being 0.3" thick its a beast of a cleaver!
I got it used and the edge still looks factory fresh, I'm not gonna lie - its pretty sweet

BTW, whens the next chopin?

 

[DaKruiser]

BTW, whens the next chopin?

I will be getting one going soon, I'm thinking late spring, but we might need to do some testing before the event!

Wesner sure does make some sweet choppers, the one PaddlinMan has is a laser!

 

[drbarnes]

I will be getting one going soon, I'm thinking late spring, but we might need to do some testing before the event!

Wesner sure does make some sweet choppers, the one PaddlinMan has is a laser!

Sounds good to me!

and yes, he does make sweet choppers, I wanted one like PaddlingMans but telling him about what I wanted and seeing some of his recent stuff that he did for his Journeyman Bladesmith test we went with this design and it was the first time he put horse stall mat on one of his blades.

 

[grunt soldier]

nice work dave. you got some sexy sexy blades sir

 

[Caleb]

*drool*

 

[Cpt Caveman]

Slather that kukri blade with mustard for an hour and it'll look about right.

 

[drbarnes]

Slather that kukri blade with mustard for an hour and it'll look about right.

Yea I agree, its a bit shiny for my taste... I have a smaller WWII that I forced a patina on with vinegar.

or at least dull it with a scotchbrite pad like my Bonecutter: