December 31st I grabbed one of the special deals that arrived now. It is a Kumar 16.5 chiruwa AK (wooden handle) and it is perfect as Yangdu said in the offer. WarrenR requested a review and here it is. Have fun with the metric system...
EDIT - OK I try to "translate" it...
The AK is intended to be a gift for my father, so I cannot really test it the hard way but the first impression is great.
WEIGHT:it weights about 800 gramms = 25.7 ounces, which is quite heavy compared to my own chiruwa by Bura (660 gramms=21.2ounces)
LENGH: it is about 5 millimeters (=0.2 inches) longer (43 centimeters=16.9 inches) than my Bura-chiruwa (16.7 inches).
HANDLE: The weight is higher, because of the above mentioned 5 millimeters and because of the tang. The handle slaps are beefier and the tang is quite a bit thicker (4-4.5 millimeters = 0.16-0.18 inches) than the Bura-tang (2.5-3 millimeters = 0.10-0.12 inches).
EDGE: The "almost convex" edge came quite sharp, little sharpening was necessary to get it to shave.
THICKNESS: The fullers on the Kumar chiruwa are deeper, at the fuller the spine is 6 millimeters = 0.24 inches (Bura: 7 millimeters = 0.28 inches) at the bolster it is 10 millimeters=0.39 inches (Bura: 11 millimeters=0.43 inches).
FEEL/BEAUTY: The feel is a bit more tip heavy than the bura blade and the kuk itself is a bit prettier than the Bura-AK was when it arrived.
Two different Khuks. The thing that struck me is that Bura`s chiruwa has the thinner tang by far but the shorter and thicker blade while Kumar`s has a more slender blade but a massive tang and slabs. I found it strange that the 5 millimeters (=0.2 inches) in lengh (compensated by the thicker and heavier handle/tang) make such a difference in the feel. From measuring and weighing I would have guessed that they were about the same or that the Bura-Ak would be tip-heavier. It is the other way round, the Bura-AK is more lively, the Kumar AK is more massive - he seems to work in features his brother Sher is known for.
The cutting-ability (as far as I can say from the limited testing) is about the same but with my old AK it feels as if I will get tired later.
With it arrived a Pen-knife by Bura, cute knife, very light in the hand but not as light and sharp as my Sher 12"-AK. It is 30 centimeters = 11.8 inches long, the grip is VERY short (8.5 centimeters = 3.3 inches). The leather on the scabbard is rougher than on the other HI-scabbards but with a bit of Ballistol looks quite similar. Chops well, stabbing and shoveling possible, maybe it will replace the 12" AK as my camp-knife. I chopped into the triangled box and it cut 20 centimeters (=7.8 inches) with a light chop. The small AK (properly sharpened, the Pen knife is not yet) cut 35centimeters (=13.7 inches) with the same amount of force. Now in winter the Pen-knife will be used in the kitchen. I will take away karda and chakma and the loops as I did with my small AK because with these "small" khuks the accessory knives are near useless in my eyes. I like a flatter scabbard too.
All in all great quality, knives with their own personality and feel and very useful and for little money (172.50 US$ + 20 US$ shipping all in all) I like the strong Euro - it saves about 20% of the price in US-dollars.
Thank you Yangdu and Uncle Bill!
Andreas
EDIT - OK I try to "translate" it...
The AK is intended to be a gift for my father, so I cannot really test it the hard way but the first impression is great.
WEIGHT:it weights about 800 gramms = 25.7 ounces, which is quite heavy compared to my own chiruwa by Bura (660 gramms=21.2ounces)
LENGH: it is about 5 millimeters (=0.2 inches) longer (43 centimeters=16.9 inches) than my Bura-chiruwa (16.7 inches).
HANDLE: The weight is higher, because of the above mentioned 5 millimeters and because of the tang. The handle slaps are beefier and the tang is quite a bit thicker (4-4.5 millimeters = 0.16-0.18 inches) than the Bura-tang (2.5-3 millimeters = 0.10-0.12 inches).
EDGE: The "almost convex" edge came quite sharp, little sharpening was necessary to get it to shave.
THICKNESS: The fullers on the Kumar chiruwa are deeper, at the fuller the spine is 6 millimeters = 0.24 inches (Bura: 7 millimeters = 0.28 inches) at the bolster it is 10 millimeters=0.39 inches (Bura: 11 millimeters=0.43 inches).
FEEL/BEAUTY: The feel is a bit more tip heavy than the bura blade and the kuk itself is a bit prettier than the Bura-AK was when it arrived.
Two different Khuks. The thing that struck me is that Bura`s chiruwa has the thinner tang by far but the shorter and thicker blade while Kumar`s has a more slender blade but a massive tang and slabs. I found it strange that the 5 millimeters (=0.2 inches) in lengh (compensated by the thicker and heavier handle/tang) make such a difference in the feel. From measuring and weighing I would have guessed that they were about the same or that the Bura-Ak would be tip-heavier. It is the other way round, the Bura-AK is more lively, the Kumar AK is more massive - he seems to work in features his brother Sher is known for.
The cutting-ability (as far as I can say from the limited testing) is about the same but with my old AK it feels as if I will get tired later.
With it arrived a Pen-knife by Bura, cute knife, very light in the hand but not as light and sharp as my Sher 12"-AK. It is 30 centimeters = 11.8 inches long, the grip is VERY short (8.5 centimeters = 3.3 inches). The leather on the scabbard is rougher than on the other HI-scabbards but with a bit of Ballistol looks quite similar. Chops well, stabbing and shoveling possible, maybe it will replace the 12" AK as my camp-knife. I chopped into the triangled box and it cut 20 centimeters (=7.8 inches) with a light chop. The small AK (properly sharpened, the Pen knife is not yet) cut 35centimeters (=13.7 inches) with the same amount of force. Now in winter the Pen-knife will be used in the kitchen. I will take away karda and chakma and the loops as I did with my small AK because with these "small" khuks the accessory knives are near useless in my eyes. I like a flatter scabbard too.
All in all great quality, knives with their own personality and feel and very useful and for little money (172.50 US$ + 20 US$ shipping all in all) I like the strong Euro - it saves about 20% of the price in US-dollars.
Thank you Yangdu and Uncle Bill!
Andreas
