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18" Bura Gelbu Special review (pics)

K

Kmark

Joined
Mar 21, 2000
Messages
320
My 18" Gelbu Special, by Bura, arrived just 5 business days after I ordered it, and I didn't even have to pay customs its pound of flesh for it either! Thanks Uncle Bill...your customs trick really does work wonders ;p

I unsheathed it and I knew right away that the GS was meant to be a weapon. The balance is exquisite...not *too* blade heavy, but not neutral either. It's fast, yet has enough mass to do serious damage. It is both lighter and less blade heavy than my Bura 18" WWII...probably because of the fullers, blade width and curvature of the GS pattern. Of course, you're talking Bura here...the Royal Kami of Nepal.

In short, it is a marvel of weight distribution, reach and cutting power. Now I know why a lot of owners of GSs say that the knife practically screams "I'm a weapon!" when you pick it up.

I took a pic of all 3 of my Bura khuks together. Top down are my 22" Kobra, 18" WWII and the 18" Gelbu Special.

bura-trio.jpg
 
Pala may be right Uncle Bill. That GS just looks like a weapon and I haven't heard any one complain about it's usefulness. For some reason that WW11 doesn't look like 18 inches next to the GS. Must be the angle of the drop.:)
 
It appears to be shorter, but it really isn't. I went upstairs and checked for myself. The angle of the blade on the WWII is steeper, more designed for chopping. The GS's angle is less acute and would appear to give it that extra bit of reach.
 
Nice comparison pics Kmark
What do you guys think is the best weapon grade kukri? The WWII or BAS probably has the most actual combat experience, but seem like the kobra, GS, and Chitlani and the seripati are the longest and fastest ones. I remember reading a comparison review between a GS and Chitlani, and the reviewer mentioned "The GS seem to be perfectly at home chopping sugar canes and the Chitlani has a more business like appearance..." or something like that. Well, which one would the Scorpion king prefer:)
Also, what would be an good way to size a weapon grade Kukri. For katanas, the right length is having the tip slightly off the ground when you're holding the handle, for most people, it's about 25-30 inches. http://swordforum.com/swords/nihonto/choosinglength.html
Seem like the siripati and the kobra are the only ones that length. The GS, Chitlani are only 18-21.
 
The 18" khuks are more than long enough to take a limb off, or decapitate in one hit. There are accounts of Ghurkhas in WWII removing arms and heads with a single blow from their khuks, and I don't imagine their khuks were any longer than the ones you see now. If anything, they were probably shorter.

Trust me, longer is not always necessarily better. Khuks are meant to be in the 15" - 20" range, give or take 2" either way. The katana sizing guide does not apply to other weapons.

At this moment, if I had to pick up a khuk and go into a fight with it, I'd grab the 18" GS.

If you see an 18" GS as a PGA (which I assume is "Pala Give Away"), snap it up quick. You may not get a 2nd chance.
 
I've probably said this a time or two before, but my second HI khuk purchase was an 18" Bura GS and it still remains my alltime favorite blade. I also really like the handle on the GS, they seem to be longer than other designs and fit my hand perfectly.

Originally posted by Abear
Nice comparison pics Kmark
What do you guys think is the best weapon grade kukri? The WWII or BAS probably has the most actual combat experience, but seem like the kobra, GS, and Chitlani and the seripati are the longest and fastest ones. I remember reading a comparison review between a GS and Chitlani, and the reviewer mentioned "The GS seem to be perfectly at home chopping sugar canes and the Chitlani has a more business like appearance..." or something like that. Well, which one would the Scorpion king prefer:)
Click to expand...

The quote above came from my relative comparison between my 21" GS and Chitlangi. Based on my limited exposure, my personal choice for best weapon would be (1) an 18" GS or (2) 15" Sirupati.

For me, an 18" khuk is the maximum length I'd be comfortable dragging through the brush on my hip for any extended period of time and the 18" GS has the perfect combination of weight and reach for me.

The 15" Siru just happens to fit perfectly into my briefcase and mine was scary-sharp right out of the box. In this case, the shorter handle just means that much more blade. :)

Aesthetically as weapons, all khukuris appear to me to be capable of provoking involuntary biological response from those who would face a squad of approaching Gorkhas with blades drawn, but the 18" GS, 18" WW2 and Malla, in my mind, evoke that more than others.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I read from a cold steel catalog that the advantage of a Kukri is that there's a continuous curve running through the blade, so that no matter where you hit, you always cut at an angle. Looking at all the HI varieties, it seems that at 18-20 inch, the blade is continusly curved, but beyond that, there's a definite straight flat region.
 
I don't think I agree with that statement. It all depends on the angle of contact rather than the curve of the blade.
 
The advantage of a khukuri is in its forward curved blade, which allows for a harder blow to be struck with less effort used, compared to a conventional straight or swept-back curved blade.

The curve of the blade is not unique to the khukuri as you can see the same curvature on shamshirs and katana. What makes the khukuri so devastating for its relatively smaller size is that forward curving blade.
 
Originally posted by raghorn


The 15" Siru just happens to fit perfectly into my briefcase and mine was scary-sharp right out of the box.
Click to expand...

:eek:
You carry a khuk in your briefcase?!
 
Why not? The only drawback is that you have to open the briefcase to get at the khukuri. The upside is you can use the briefcase as a shield.
 
It's a soft briefcase with a zipper across the top and a large flap that folds over and latches near the bottom. The sirupati is positioned horizontally inside across the top of the briefcase, setting on top of my day planner.

If I leave the zipper open about four inches, I can draw the siru with my free hand in about a second. The scabbard stays in the case and the blade pulls free.
 
I have a 19 inch 21 ounce Chitlangi. Of all my khukuries,it is the one that is most likely to be found beside my bed at night. It seems very quick compared to my other khukuries. I don't own a Gelbu Special but have been tempted to buy an 18 inch one a few times. Their specifications seem very close to the Chitlangi and that has kept my HIKV under control. However, quite often opinion on the Cantina has been that the Gelbu Special is the preferable weapon. Uncle Bill has mentioned that Pala feels that these would be the best issue weapon to the Ghurkas. How do the two differ in this regard, length and weight seem similar, the general blade outline from photographs appears similar.
 
I've been trying to figure out which would make the perfect weapon, the GS or Chitlani, or cobra. Although the cobra seem to be the lightest one, people mentioned that the Chitlani has a special balance to it, so that it actually feel a lot lighter. Maybe it's the large handle which shifts the weight backwards. Are the fuller cosmetic, are they made to shift the balance point? Can the GS be used like an ax, or is the hollow ground meant for clearing brush and cutting soft stuff.
 
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