hmong knife from French Guiana

blue lander · 9th October 2014, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert

Blue Lander, Very nice knife and great information as well. Could you post a few more detailed photos of the knife showing the blade and hilt in a better light? Having the knife with its original scabbard, the story behind how it was acquired as well as all the other information you have been able to put together is what makes our hobby/passion/addiction meaningful and then to be able to pass this all along to its next caretaker so important. My congratulations.

Best,
Robert

Thanks. Once the knife arrives I'll take better pictures. The wood ought to be snakewood, but it's hard to tell what it is from that picture. The seller says the knife was never used, but it looks like it wasn't stored very carefully. That other guy etched and polished the blade on his Hmong knife which revealed a very nice edge quench, I'll probably attempt to do the same.

blue lander · 21st October 2014, 11:03 PM

It just arrived. Man is this thing a beast. The blade was coated in some dark grease, sort of like what you find on old military rifles and bayonets. I've wiped it off and gave it a quick once over with windex in order to take a picture.

The blade's really thick like a khukri. There's a split in the wooden hilt I'll need to seal up.

In the picture I've attached there's also a Brazilian pocket knife I bought from the same guy. No brand name on it, it just says "stainless Brazil". He was also selling a Dutch pocket knife from Bequia, Grenadines which I didn't buy. So perhaps the previous owner was some sort of aid worker in that part of the world.

blue lander · 22nd October 2014, 07:59 PM

Better pictures.

The seller said the knife had never been used, but there's a couple minor dings in the edge so somebody used it at some point. The edge towards the tip was a bit dull, but further down it's still sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm.

The black bits holding the sheath togeather are some sort of plastic. They slide off fairly easily, allowing you to disassemble the sheath. I'm not sure what the rope is made out of but it doesn't feel synthetic to me.

blue lander · 24th October 2014, 08:46 PM

I etched the blade. I used citric acid rather than FeCL this time, and it worked a lot better. It takes much longer for the acid to work, but you have much more control over the process and the results are better.

Interesting that nearly 1/3rd of the blade seems to be hardened especially around the belly. I wonder if there's some advantage for having so much hardened steel behind the impact point, or if it's just so you can sharpen it more times before you hit the soft stuff.

Edit: You can't really see it in the pictures, but I think there's another quench line much closer to the edge. Perhaps the cutting edge is tempered extra hard with somewhat less hardened steel behind it, followed but unhardened steel for the "body" and spine of the knife.

Ian · 26th October 2014, 12:38 AM

Hi Blue:

Interesting knife. I think it was quenched in a fairly deep container of oil to get that extensive line of hardening. Not surprising that it would take a keen edge.

Ian.

blue lander · 26th October 2014, 04:11 PM

It's definitely sharper than any store bought knife I've owned. I'm tempted to take it out to the yard and trim some branches but that crack in the hilt worries me. Snakewood is supposed to be one of the hardest/densest woods in the world, though.

kronckew · 27th October 2014, 05:04 PM

curiously, i just order a pair of enep/hmong knives from aranyik, thailand within the last hour

a 12.5 in. bladed enep one with a wood scabbard with braided rattan bands, 20 in. overall, the blade is 6 mm thick at the grip, distal taper down to 3.5 mm.

a 10.25 in. hmong/enep , in. 16 in. overall, 6mm blade tapering to 3mm. with a folded bamboo basket scabbard.

both 5160 steel with partial tangs. edges are convex ground & advertised as razor sharp. i have a pair of daab swords from the area that were differentially hardened in oil and have a distinct 'hamon', maybe these two will be as well.

look very much like yours above. your crack looks a bit big for filling with std superglue, maybe a high viscosity (gel) superglue, or a slow cure epoxy mixed with a bit of similar coloured sawdust may be better. if you turn it into a heavy user, it might be worth drilling a hole thru the bolster & inserting a steel pin thru it and the tang stub, which is likely quite short.

21st October 2014, 11:03 PM	#2
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	It just arrived. Man is this thing a beast. The blade was coated in some dark grease, sort of like what you find on old military rifles and bayonets. I've wiped it off and gave it a quick once over with windex in order to take a picture. The blade's really thick like a khukri. There's a split in the wooden hilt I'll need to seal up. In the picture I've attached there's also a Brazilian pocket knife I bought from the same guy. No brand name on it, it just says "stainless Brazil". He was also selling a Dutch pocket knife from Bequia, Grenadines which I didn't buy. So perhaps the previous owner was some sort of aid worker in that part of the world. Attached Images

22nd October 2014, 07:59 PM	#3
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	Better pictures. The seller said the knife had never been used, but there's a couple minor dings in the edge so somebody used it at some point. The edge towards the tip was a bit dull, but further down it's still sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm. The black bits holding the sheath togeather are some sort of plastic. They slide off fairly easily, allowing you to disassemble the sheath. I'm not sure what the rope is made out of but it doesn't feel synthetic to me. Attached Images

24th October 2014, 08:46 PM	#4
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I etched the blade. I used citric acid rather than FeCL this time, and it worked a lot better. It takes much longer for the acid to work, but you have much more control over the process and the results are better. Interesting that nearly 1/3rd of the blade seems to be hardened especially around the belly. I wonder if there's some advantage for having so much hardened steel behind the impact point, or if it's just so you can sharpen it more times before you hit the soft stuff. Edit: You can't really see it in the pictures, but I think there's another quench line much closer to the edge. Perhaps the cutting edge is tempered extra hard with somewhat less hardened steel behind it, followed but unhardened steel for the "body" and spine of the knife. Attached Images Last edited by blue lander; 24th October 2014 at 09:32 PM.

27th October 2014, 05:04 PM	#7
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,227	curiously, i just order a pair of enep/hmong knives from aranyik, thailand within the last hour a 12.5 in. bladed enep one with a wood scabbard with braided rattan bands, 20 in. overall, the blade is 6 mm thick at the grip, distal taper down to 3.5 mm. a 10.25 in. hmong/enep , in. 16 in. overall, 6mm blade tapering to 3mm. with a folded bamboo basket scabbard. both 5160 steel with partial tangs. edges are convex ground & advertised as razor sharp. i have a pair of daab swords from the area that were differentially hardened in oil and have a distinct 'hamon', maybe these two will be as well. look very much like yours above. your crack looks a bit big for filling with std superglue, maybe a high viscosity (gel) superglue, or a slow cure epoxy mixed with a bit of similar coloured sawdust may be better. if you turn it into a heavy user, it might be worth drilling a hole thru the bolster & inserting a steel pin thru it and the tang stub, which is likely quite short. Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 27th October 2014 at 05:33 PM.

26th October 2014, 12:38 AM	#5
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,399	Hi Blue: Interesting knife. I think it was quenched in a fairly deep container of oil to get that extensive line of hardening. Not surprising that it would take a keen edge. Ian.

26th October 2014, 04:11 PM	#6
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	It's definitely sharper than any store bought knife I've owned. I'm tempted to take it out to the yard and trim some branches but that crack in the hilt worries me. Snakewood is supposed to be one of the hardest/densest woods in the world, though.