18" Chiruwa style AK Kukri thoughts.

[kgriggs8]

I recently got the above knife in horn and I have been trying it out around the back yard. I bought it form the Exchange and I thought it was a HI Kukri but then just now I went back and re-read the ad and found out that it is from Ghurka House. Because of this, I am able to give a unique review since I thought it was a HI but it wasn't. It changed the wat I looked at it.

At first I thought it was not as well done as the HI kukris I am used to. The full tang is nice but the fit is not great around the handle. It is also the only Kukri that wasn't snug in the sheath. If you turned it upside down, it would fall out. There is not a visable hammon line near the edge like on HI knives. The small knife and steel that come in the sheath are somewhat crude. The blade is 1/2" thick at the widest point and it makes the knife feel like a chunk of pig iron. In general it is not as well done as HI Kukris.

Now for the good news, it actually cuts better than any HI Kukri I have had yet. It works fine as a small brush clearer and it is a chopping machine. I have had a 18" HI AK before that was better balanced, better finished and better everything except working. It was not a Chiruwa style AK and I think that is the big difference.

So in short, the Ghurka House Kukri is one step below HI prodects in fit and finish but it doesn't seem to hurt function which is good. I have a feeling that Chiruwa style AK made by HI would work just as well but be better finished and probably have a better blade temper but I can't say for sure.

So for all you guys that have been thinking what a Ghurka House Kukri would be like, I can tell you. They are a little cheaper and it shows. You get what you pay for in this case. If you just need a beater, I think they will work but I have seen deal on HI Kukris that make them a better option. If you can't find a good deal on a HI Kukri and you need a worker, they are okay but I wouldn't consider them a bargin. Like I said, you get what you pay for. You pay a little less for them and you get a little less. They are not bad. I just thought I got a slightly sloppy HI AK. It wasn't like I would have even noticed if I didn't really look into it.

 

[Bladite]

a lot of the larger khukris like the C/AKs and GRSs are going to have big fat spines. like 1/2 to 3/8 won't be unusual. at all. so, yeah, big sharp prybars.

sheaths... i have some HI sheaths that are snug and perfect, some that are hard to extract, or get the blade back, and one or two that the blade just falls out if inverted. i think that's pretty much par for the course too, ya know?

the tools - i'd have to say, that maybe a few out of nearly two dozen as memory serves were very good. decent enough over all, i've seen worse. a couple in in kinda "eh". usually people worry about the blade more

use ... i'm with you on prefering chiruwa/full-tang style. i'm in the minority i guess :> and i'm guessing which KH you snagged there - there was a 20 and an 18... i think i tried hard for the 20 and missed. oh well.

performance. mmm. could be you're more used to or prefer the CAK balance to AK. it can be a hard thing to determine or figure out how to manage. i'd suggest trying both and figure out the nuances. there might also be an issue with sharpening/profile. i have a nice 18" GRS, that came dull and round like butter knife. with some effort, and time, and more effort and experience, i've gotten that thing to be SHARP and performing as well as i could desire. yah.

and there we are

bladite

 

[kgriggs8]

No doubt there are a million variations that can cause preformance to vary. I think a few things seem clear though.

1. The GH Kukris are not quite as well done as the HI Kukris.

2. The GH blades seem to work just as good as the HI blades.

3. The Chiruwa style AK seems to be a better preformer than the regular style.

There are a lot of other things that can be infered but I am not sure they hold up most of the time. For example, it seems that the heavier a Kukri is, the better it chops. That has been my experience but I wouldn't be surprised to find a light qiuck well balanced Kukri that will out chop a heavier one due to increased speed. My 18" Ontario Machete chops pretty deep for a thin light blade. In fact, in terms of cut per energy used, nothing compares to my 18" ontario machete. It will cut down a small soft wood tree (less than 6" dia) with less effort than anything I have ever used. It is only when you get to the big stuff that the choppers come into there own.