15" AK review

Don Rac

Don Rac

Joined
Oct 3, 2001
Messages
1,191
Mine has a horn handle, and it's a good small chopper. Not exactly sure on the weight but it seems alot like my 18" Sirupati. I have a "calamanci" tree (sorry I don't know what the english equevalent is, it's a tree that gives out small, sour, orangelike fruit) that was getting too big for it's own good. The branches started hanging over the fence and into the neighbors yard. One whack from this chopper into the "v" of the branch and the job was done. This brach is also about 2" thick. I expected a few more hits, but I walked away knowing that I saved me some time. I also tested the AK on my cat scratch log, and it bit in more than the Sirupati did. For kicks I tried using it against a 2 liter water bottle, but with the blades shape and profile, It only went 3/4 of the way before it just snagged the bottle and sent it flying. This is a definite chopper and not some finesse cut weapon. I lay down old copies of Maxim magazin in a pile of about 5, so I had a good 3 1/2" to 4" before hitting the concrete. One swing got me through about 2 1/2 magazines.
I like the convenient size, fits me well. The horn handle is nice to look at, but after using it for a while the sweat made it more slippery than the wood handle would be, so I started using gloves. I remembered an old thread about adding hatches to the handle with a file, so I looked it up and copied the technique. It feels alot more "grippier" than it used to before.
The sheath is excellent, no dings or discoloration. I kept the brass chape on this one because it has never poked me or caught on anything.
After using the khukuri I Flitzed the whole thing until it was shiny again, oiled it then put it next to my Sirupati. Overall it's a small, convenient size knife that's good at what it does. Now if I can just save enough for a Dhankuta....
 
Don Rac, am glad you like your new AK. My first Khuk was a 15" horn handled AK and I love it. It's a great chopper. I believe those little fruits are Cumquats or lowquats (Don't know the spelling). One is a little orange like fruit and the other is another tropical fruit that I used to raise in California.
 
Heber:

I think calamansi are different. Growing up in S. FL, several of the neighbors used to have them. They look like little round oranges, but are extremely sour.

Most folks didn't eat them. But, when us kids weren't throwing them at each other, we'd do dares and double-dares to eat 5 or more of 'em. Most folks didn't eat the mangoes or lychees that were all around us, either (including me). Stupid gringoes.

S.
 
Cool replies guys, yep wildmanh, spence has it right, these little suckers are really sour, I've seen my mother and father eat them straight but I never got into that. When me and my brother were little we'd toss them at each other also. They make great lemon juice substitutes when it comes to barbeque marinade however....
 
At the moment, my 15 inch Chiruwa horn handled AK is my favourite khukuri. I had better warn you though that my favourite seems to change from week to week (I can't work out if this is a symptom of the HIK virus or simply that all HI khukuries are great and there ain't much between any of them). As for my 15 inch AK, I love its compact size and relatively light weight, its versatility and strength (a mini crowbar), its chopping ability, and mine is very well balanced and very, very fast to swing in a defensive role compared to some of my other khukuries. My second favourite by the way is my 16.5 inch Chiruwa wood handled AK.
 
Congrats, DOn Rac. welcome to the AK table of the Cantina.

I have an 18" AK made by Sher, it's a bit over 2lbs. I love it! I just started cutting pennies and nickles with it, and it waded thru those coins as if the weren't there. the cuts thru the coins were polished shiny and smooth, and the blade showed no damage whatsoever.

Makes me think of the iron bar cutting mentioned in a thread a while back...AKs are bulldogs!

Keith
 
Hm, I'll bet we are talking about the same fruit (sour looks like a miny orange sounds right). The one I remember was about the size of a marble or maybe a little bigger, if the "calamansi" is then we are talking about the same fruit, and I just have the name wrong:confused::o

Cutting up Pennies and nickles? :O That is cool. Haven't tried that with my AK yet. But I have cut up spare ribs and such with out any problems. Didn't hurt the Edge at all. Now if you really want to see what an AK can do, get a 20" or 25" AK. Talk about a Heavy duty Chopper.:D
 
Originally posted by Don Rac
Geez, you gotta have wrists of steel to handle a 25" AK...:)
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That and being 6'4" really helps.:D Follow the link on the bottom of my post to see some pics of the 25" AK I used to have. Roger Smith has it now.
 
Has anybody tested how the 15" AK stacks up against the 15" BAS?
 
Different creatures for different purposes altogether.
 
Has anybody tested how the 15" AK stacks up against the 15" BAS?
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I've wondered about this too. I once owned an old BAS shop 1 or earlier. Very light and stubby--nothing like the BAS of Akabu's that I saw here at my place, which was heavier and much nicer all around.

My 15" Chiruwa by Murali is one of my favorites--neutrally balanced and pretty as all hell:D;)
 
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