Thanks Nick
I've been itching to get out and off-trail to use this guy; I've only used it so far for some light scrub maintenance on my cousin's property. But I've already vowed to never lay hand on another machete again
The khuk would definitely be more effective for your purposes, especially with the woodsy Cali chaparral srub. The heft of the blade makes work so much easier in my opinion. The recurve and balance of the blade took me a little bit to get used to; as always, be safe and aware of what you're doing when using these beasties. Everyone here will strongly advise you to read the safety sticky thread. I do believe that ultimately I do less work - I let the blade do most of it for me. I love the recuve, your chopping power is so much more finely focused....outpaces hacking away with a machete by miles. I don't envy you , 1.5 acres of dense chaparral does not equal fun.
Since the chap tends to be so low to the ground, you might want to go with a longer blade (maybe even longer than 18" WWII) to go easier on your back, post a thread and other more experienced khuk users will provide you with some advice. I got this khuk as an all-around hiking/survival large blade, and it suits that purpose perfectly. Yangdu suggested this blade to me when I was initially lurking this forum, and apparently it used to be a favorite recommendation of Uncle Bill. I love it, it's attributes yield a good mix of tool and weapon. I'm sure if you started a thread with that question, you'd get good answers from users of the different styles.
Yes, you will not be disappointed by the quality of these tools. I only have one khuk so far, but I'm already plotting for more
The karda (small utility knife) and the chakma (blunt for burnishing your khuk) do come with the main blade (unless otherwise specified) and are stored in two smaller sheaths that are integrated inside the mouth of the main sheath, right next to the khuk. The karda is great and mine came shaving sharp, the chakma is invaluable as a steeling tool to bring back the edge of your khuk for normal maintenance.
The handle is water buffalo horn and is not slippery for general use with a secure grip. The shape of the handle seems to contribute more to the secure grip I believe, and i've found that over-grippy handles don't really seem to get along well with my hands during hard work anyway. I've never had to use it in really wet conditions yet, or with super sweaty hands, but I guess you could always throw on a pair of gloves if in doubt. My model is a villager fit and finish model, so I don't think the handle is as polished as a normal model; I think this helps out the grip. I've heard the wooden handles are more comfortable though, and I am planning on getting a wooden handle on my next khuk. Perhaps others would like to contribute on which grip they prefer and why. The flare of the handle produces a slight sharp point where the buttcap meets the handle material, but there are several easy methods to address this issue. (see Dashain Deals 8/29 thread)
Feel free to post any other questions you may have, though I don't have extensive experience using khuks yet, many on this forum do and are more than willing to answer questions
I appreciated the welcome the members of this forum gave me when I first showed up as a really green noob; I know they'll do the same for you
3:30am....damn, if you get up that early, you deserve pick of the litter