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- May 9, 2002
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Well after a few months of shipment delays and national political turmoil in Nepal, my 14" Trisul finally arrived some time over the last couple of days while I took a needed break from the daily grind. I have to say, it was worth the wait
I had a trisul for about a week a few years ago. Sadly, it was hardened too much at the edge and developed "phantom chipping". Basically, I would sheath the knife, pull it out the next day, and the edge was full of chips. Of course, Yangdu being Yangdu was more than happy to replace it. At the time, she was out of stock of the Trisul so I settled on a Juri...which my step brother latched onto, and I have never seen it again
So, long story short...I've been wanting a 14" Trisul for quite some time now.
This is going to be more of an initial impressions review until I can get a few pictures taken. That might not be for a few days as the wife says that the pics of the trip MUST be downloaded before I start messing with the camera and possibly delete any precious irreplaceable photos....of exotic Newport Kentucky
. At any rate, if my wife the procrastinator ever gets them on the computer, I will have free reign to actually take a pic or two of this beauty
The Trisul was made just for me (even had a sticker with my name on it wrapped around the handle) is 14" (and a smidge) long an right around 14oz. It was made by the new Kami Shaila who once upon a time was a helper to Bura...Yes, THE Bura He now has the go ahead to make his own knife. I have to say, Bura taught him pretty well:thumbup: The grip is black buffalo horn and the blade and guard are mirror polished and sharp. There was a slight burr along the edge, and my "good" sharpening tools were at work. However, with just a butcher's steel and a loaded strop I was able to get the burr removed and revealed a nice convex edge that would shave hair from my arm without any trouble.
For those of you that handled the Trisul a couple of years back, this is a little bit different animal. It still has its shallow belly, its wicked point, and an integrated guard as well as a slab style handle. However, there are two noticeable differences to this new version compared to the older one that I handled.
First of all, the guard seems to be hammered out from the thickness of spine (at a guess I'm going to say about 5/16") so that the guard/blade/handle junction is maybe 3/16"-1/4" thick. While this does make the knife less likely to survive being put in a vice and cranked over with a steel bar, it is basically a non-issue. What it does do is to give a fairly basic sticker design some of the best in hand balance I have ever experienced. The thinning at the guard swelling up to the thickest part of the blade about 3" up and then the tapering down to the point and counter balanced by the grip gives the knife a very good heft. It doesn't keep all of its "junk in its trunk" but isn't tip heavy by any means.
This is just not a knife designed for utility. For lack of a better term, I'm going to call it a "fighting knife" or a "combat knife" or, probably a more fitting term, an "assassin's knife". This knife is sharp. You can cut all manner of things that you might cut with any edged object. But once you grip this bad boy, you know that its special purpose in life is for offense/defense. Kept in a deep boot or on a belt this would be quite a formidable tool were you backed into a corner.
The other difference about this knife compared to the older model is that the grip now comes much more blocky and angular. If I had to make one criticism of the knife, it would be the grip right out of box. It basically feels like gripping a block of wood. However, never fear my tender-fingered friends A quick trip to the grinder hogged off the horn edges and a little buffing with steel wool smooth it out nicely. Now, I'll have to go back and polish the horn back to a sheen...if I feel like it, but the knife is nice and comfy now. Maybe 2 minutes of work on a cheap Chinese grinder from Harbor Freight:thumbup: One positive of the new grip is that the knife (once de-toothed) now lends itself to being gripped in both a standard grip as well as a downward stabbing grip. My old one only felt "right" when the it was held downward.
One of the things that I love about this rig is the sheath. Normally, I like to fashion my own sheathes to sort of personalize the knife. However, this one was done just right. The trisul sheath throat is wide enough for the guard to fit down inside. I guess they did that so that the knife would be less likely get snagged and slip out as you were ninja crawling through the bushes to take out a corrupt Shogun. My particular specimen has an audible and quite strong >click< when you insert it. Almost like Kydex! Very cool. I might end up making another sheath anyway, but this one was very, very well done.
All and all, I have to say that I am most pleased to finally have a 14" Trisul again. I know they have been offered in 18" versions from time to time, but IMHO, this is one knife that really shines in the under 15" and over 12" range. Our new kami friend Shaila is shaping up to be a fine worker. A big thank you is in order for him. Of course I also must thank Yangdu for her fantastic kindness and service as always. I guess I should also be polite and thank US customs for allowing the last shipment into the country.
I had a trisul for about a week a few years ago. Sadly, it was hardened too much at the edge and developed "phantom chipping". Basically, I would sheath the knife, pull it out the next day, and the edge was full of chips. Of course, Yangdu being Yangdu was more than happy to replace it. At the time, she was out of stock of the Trisul so I settled on a Juri...which my step brother latched onto, and I have never seen it again So, long story short...I've been wanting a 14" Trisul for quite some time now.This is going to be more of an initial impressions review until I can get a few pictures taken. That might not be for a few days as the wife says that the pics of the trip MUST be downloaded before I start messing with the camera and possibly delete any precious irreplaceable photos....of exotic Newport Kentucky
. At any rate, if my wife the procrastinator ever gets them on the computer, I will have free reign to actually take a pic or two of this beautyThe Trisul was made just for me (even had a sticker with my name on it wrapped around the handle
) is 14" (and a smidge) long an right around 14oz. It was made by the new Kami Shaila who once upon a time was a helper to Bura...Yes, THE Bura He now has the go ahead to make his own knife. I have to say, Bura taught him pretty well:thumbup: The grip is black buffalo horn and the blade and guard are mirror polished and sharp. There was a slight burr along the edge, and my "good" sharpening tools were at work. However, with just a butcher's steel and a loaded strop I was able to get the burr removed and revealed a nice convex edge that would shave hair from my arm without any trouble.For those of you that handled the Trisul a couple of years back, this is a little bit different animal. It still has its shallow belly, its wicked point, and an integrated guard as well as a slab style handle. However, there are two noticeable differences to this new version compared to the older one that I handled.
First of all, the guard seems to be hammered out from the thickness of spine (at a guess I'm going to say about 5/16") so that the guard/blade/handle junction is maybe 3/16"-1/4" thick. While this does make the knife less likely to survive being put in a vice and cranked over with a steel bar, it is basically a non-issue. What it does do is to give a fairly basic sticker design some of the best in hand balance I have ever experienced. The thinning at the guard swelling up to the thickest part of the blade about 3" up and then the tapering down to the point and counter balanced by the grip gives the knife a very good heft. It doesn't keep all of its "junk in its trunk" but isn't tip heavy by any means.
This is just not a knife designed for utility. For lack of a better term, I'm going to call it a "fighting knife" or a "combat knife" or, probably a more fitting term, an "assassin's knife". This knife is sharp. You can cut all manner of things that you might cut with any edged object. But once you grip this bad boy, you know that its special purpose in life is for offense/defense. Kept in a deep boot or on a belt this would be quite a formidable tool were you backed into a corner.
The other difference about this knife compared to the older model is that the grip now comes much more blocky and angular. If I had to make one criticism of the knife, it would be the grip right out of box. It basically feels like gripping a block of wood. However, never fear my tender-fingered friends
A quick trip to the grinder hogged off the horn edges and a little buffing with steel wool smooth it out nicely. Now, I'll have to go back and polish the horn back to a sheen...if I feel like it, but the knife is nice and comfy now. Maybe 2 minutes of work on a cheap Chinese grinder from Harbor Freight:thumbup: One positive of the new grip is that the knife (once de-toothed) now lends itself to being gripped in both a standard grip as well as a downward stabbing grip. My old one only felt "right" when the it was held downward.One of the things that I love about this rig is the sheath. Normally, I like to fashion my own sheathes to sort of personalize the knife. However, this one was done just right. The trisul sheath throat is wide enough for the guard to fit down inside. I guess they did that so that the knife would be less likely get snagged and slip out as you were ninja crawling through the bushes to take out a corrupt Shogun. My particular specimen has an audible and quite strong >click< when you insert it. Almost like Kydex! Very cool. I might end up making another sheath anyway, but this one was very, very well done.
All and all, I have to say that I am most pleased to finally have a 14" Trisul again. I know they have been offered in 18" versions from time to time, but IMHO, this is one knife that really shines in the under 15" and over 12" range. Our new kami friend Shaila is shaping up to be a fine worker. A big thank you is in order for him. Of course I also must thank Yangdu for her fantastic kindness and service as always. I guess I should also be polite and thank US customs for allowing the last shipment into the country.
then it goes up to a full 1/4" thick about 3" up from that, and then goes back to 1/8" right before the termination to the point. I would say that with mechanical leverage and determination you could probably damage the knife in this area. 
:thumbup:
