New Arrival, a GRS

[Pianoman]

Well, Saturday was the big day. I went to the P. O. and picked up my Ganga Ram Special by Bura. It's my second khukri (the first is a 15" AK by Kesar).

It is 20 1/2 inches long, but I'm not sure how much it weighs. It makes my AK look dwarfish, which I didn't think was possible. I can't say enough about the fit and finish. The brass fittings fit perfectly, the wood handle is well-made, and somewhat larger than my AK, which fits my hand better. And the blade--oh my, the blade...it sings to me as I run a crock stick along its edge. It has that lovely forward curve and the extra width along the chopping area. There is no fullering, just a smooth, even taper down to where the secondary bevel begins.

I took it out in the back yard and it went through a 4x4 with a minimum of effort.

The only possible flaw (which some might not see as such) is that the scabbard is loose enough for the khukri to fall out if it is turned upside down. I know there are some threads which talk about shrinking the scabbards slightly, I'll just have to go find them.

Anyway, my HIKV is slightly allayed for the time being. Hopefully, a dose this large will fight it off for a while.

rf

[Steven F]

Unfortunately though, not for as long as you may think! It doesn't take long for HIKV to mutate and come back even stronger than before!

[Nick7]

I had a good chuckle reading this. I guess it is proof that nothing in life is perfect.

I bought a GRS (Bura) for my 19 year old son and the sheath is so tight that it sometimes feels like one with the blade. The kid put on my cowboy hat the other day and was playing Crocodile Dundee for me and the wife ("now that's a KNIFE"!!!!!!!). Of course the withdrawl from the sheath was so slow that everyone had a laugh.

As the weather is changing in Florida and patience is a virtue, we are waiting to see if it has any effect on changing the sheath grip factor. We also read the "wedge" posts on making the sheath wider, but will take a wait and see approach before construction begins.

We don't feel qualified to post a formal review of the blade, but the chopping and handling ability is amazing. Even my wife was impressed as some of the Florida weed trees (Brazilian Pepper) were taken out with two controlled swings. An amazing blade!!

[Bill Martino]

A small piece of leather glued into the mouth of the scabbard will do the trick. Or, you can do it the hard way, soak the scabbard in water for 30 minutes and then wrap it very tightly with a belt or rope.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)

[Dan K]

Nick,
Try taking the extras out first.
Dan

[Rusty]

Or go down to the bowling alley and get some of those sticky backed cork or rubber finger or thumbhole inserts.

[Bill Martino]

The scabbards are alive. Here in no humidity Reno they shrink. They come in from Nepal where the monsoon is just drying up now and are humidity logged. Then they dry out here in three days. I've watched the stitching on the back go from no gap to 1/8 of an inch in 3 days. They fit fine when they arrive and tighten up in 3 or 4 days. I get feedback from the field that it takes them 3 about a week to get back to normal when they hit someplace that has some humidity. If it stays tight for more than a week then the scabbard needs to be stretched.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)