20" Sirupati or 20" Kobra? Please help me decide!

K

Kmark

Joined
Mar 21, 2000
Messages
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Hi, I've been bugging Uncle Bill for a bit now regarding the kind of Khukuri I want and I thought I might as well ask everyone else.

I'm looking for something in the 20" length that is suitable for martial arts practice...and for fighting.

I realize the 20" Kobra is excellent, but is the 20" Sirupati light enough to be used as a martial arts/fighting blade yet have more mass than the 20" Kobra, hence more power behind each blow? Anyone own both blades and can give me a personal testimonial?

How about blade thickness from the base to the tip? Just how 'thin' is the Kobra anyway compared to the Sirupati? Thanks in advance!
 
Kmark, I know this doesn't help you, but my flippant side says that ultimately you will want both. I don't have a Kumar Kobra, but it is definitely on my list. I do, however, have a very high quality 20" Chiruwa Sirupati made by an unknown village kami that Uncle Bill sold me. It is quicker than an AK, to be sure, but I have heard that Kumar can make a 20" Kobra that weighs only 1 lb. My Siru is about 7/16" thick (or almost) along most of the spine, which seems to be about the norm, and it is still quite hefty. It maintains its thickness throught most of the length of the blade, rather than tapering gradually from elbow to tip. I would imagine that if I had to face my evil twin with a 20" Sirupati, and he had a 20" Kobra, he would most likely get in the first blow, and from there on out (assuming we're both still alive) he'd probably get in 5 strikes to my 4, or 4 strikes to my 3. But of course, my blows would go deeper, **IF** I survived long enough to get any good ones in.

MHO-FWIW. Some of these guys here are martial artists and have both a Kobra and a Siru. They're more qualified to give advice on this topic than I am, although I offer what little I know.

Any of you Bando students out there, what is your khuk of preference, and what is the optimum blade length?

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"i have trouble with the persons with the signs
but i feel the need to make my own" --King's X
 
Thanks X-Head for your opinion, and I guess that kinda sways my decision.
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Ultimately I guess what I want in the next Khukuri I'm getting is speed, above all else. I already have an 18.5" AK which I use for chopping stuff. I most certainly do not want something that I cannot swing very fast or repeatedly.

Uncle Bill, say if I wanted a Kobra, could I get one that is a bit longer than standard length? Like 21 or 22", and NOT made from a file but from a block of spring steel?

Kinda like the one Bura made and someone on the forum posted about, but longer. If that is possible, what is the wait period on that?

I'll still send you email just to make sure you get this
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Uncle Bill, why use files instead of spring steel? What kind of steel is used to make files and does the HI guarantee still apply?

I just received an 18 inch kobra and 25 inch kobra. The eighteen inch kobra at first looked like a toy. It is weightless. The blade isn't much to look at because of the hatchmarks and the handle is thinner than I like. I was a little reluctant at first.

Once I took it out into the avocado groves I was very impressed. It slices through branches like butter. I'm used to heavier khukuris where I really have to aim by blows to avoid leaves and green growth and hit only wood but the kobra just goes right through. What impressed me was I can cut the tips off leaves and the rest of the leaf won't even move. The cuts are clean. It can't chop very well. I swung with all I have at a three inch branch and it did not penetrate too deeply but the edge still looked fine. Like I said, the blade is not much to look at but to really see the beauty of this kobra is to watch it fly at lighting speed through a mass of branches. I'm still trying to figure out if it is actually cutting the branches or if they are just dropping on their own to get out of the kobra's path. I got my 25 inch just yesterday and haven't gotten a chance to test it but can't wait to.

I'm no martial artist but I think a kobra is the way to go.
 
Kmark we got your email and will get back to you.

File make decent knives. Both my grandfathers and dad never threw away a worn file but recycled it into a very useable knife. In fact, I wish I had a couple of them today.

The file is heated, forged, and hardened and is not a file anymore but a khukuri and it is guaranteed.

I think we have Bura making 5 wood handled 18 inch Kobras from springs. He can easily make a couple more.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
I have a 20" Sirupati and a 20" Kobra. I'm a martial artist (of sorts), but I have ZERO experience with fighting with blades, and especially with Khukuris. Bando? I know it in name only.
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That said, here are my quick opinions of each:

Sirupati- The first thing that struck me was the heft. This is one damned heavy knife. Sure, its not AK heavy, but it is still beefy. My original thought on its use as a cutting/slashing instrument would be that the ER staff would think the victim got nailed with a helicopter rotor.

Speed? It is remarkably quick and agile for its size, but it is not lightning fast in and of itself. With work and training and more muscular wrists, I have no doubt that this could be a frightingly fast way to deliver horrific chops to a foe...wounds that do as much damage from sheer impact and shock as from the cut.

Kobra- If you lay my sirupati and my kobra side by side, they look nearly identical. Same dimensions on every scale except for handle diameter (kobra is smaller, a plus) and blade thickness (again, the kobra is skinnier). So, I expected the kobra to be slightly faster in handling.

I was wrong.

The kobra is PHENOMINALLY faster. Comparing it with the sirupati makes it look like a horse race betwwen Secretariat and Elsie the Cow- and the sirupati is fast. Everything about the kobra is quick. And it is still thick/heavy enough to do heavy damage from just plain old blunt trauma. And if its that fast all by itself with no training on my part, I shudder to think what this thing could do in the hands of an expert.

My answer too would be to get both and see. If you're on a tight budget you could buy one, then buy the next and sell whichever you don't like- someone here will 'help' you out and take it off your hands, I'm sure.
wink.gif
Beware, though- you'll end up keeping both
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If thats not an option, and if (as you seem to say) speed is king for you, then get the kobra.

mike


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"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." -Robert Heinlein
 
I don't own a Sirupati style (yet), but the 18.5" Kumar Kobra moves as advertised. It is very fast, and easy to get "on point" as well.

No question that it carries enough heft to do massive damage to an adversary, as well as serving as a reasonable replacement for a machete.

A very versatile tool.

FWIW, I like the look of the hatchmarks from the file. I just wish many of them hadn't gone all the way to the edge making mini serrations the length of the blade.

Blues

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Live Free or Die

Some Knife Pix
 
I've got Uncle Bill to ask Bura to make me a 22" Kobra from MB spring steel, with a wood handle. I can't hardly wait!
 
Bill, kumar makes the up to 20" kobras from files, and the 30's from springs. What does he make the 25's from?

Tom
 
Tom, Kumar does not always use files -- only when there are some worn out ones laying aournd. It is the philosophy of poor, third world countries -- don't waste anything! Nepalis do not understand our throw away society.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
I have a 20" village sirupati,a 20" BirGorkha full-tang sirupati, a 25" HI sirupati, a 25" Kobra and a 30" Kobra.

The 20" village model is very strong & tough, beautifully balanced, and quick as lightning. It's fairly weight-forward for its length, so it puts a lot of impetus on the centre of percussion

The 20" full-tang is massive, hard-hitting and quite slow. It has rather more handshock than I'd like. I suspect I'd have more use for this khuk if I was 6'4" and had an arm like a leg. It's too much khuk for a weedy dwarf like me.

The 25" HI sirupati is a sharpened prybar that cuts like a felling axe. It's pretty slow, even two-handed. It'd be my choice for felling and shaping timber, fighting men in full armor, cutting open Sherman tanks or killing slow-moving dragons. Again, too much khuk for a short, fat Englishman.

The 30" Kobra is undergoing surgery to change the balance and centre of percussion. It may turn out to be the best of all if everything works out. In its original format I couldn't really find a niche for it.

The 25" Kobra is my lightsaber. As OMRie pointed out when talking about its kid brother, it slides effortlessly through whatever it cuts, making up for lack of weight by its awesome handspeed. Against soft material such as vegetation (flesh would probably come in this category) it outcuts all my other khuks. Cutting into solid timber, thanks to its profile and handspeed it cuts deeper and more freely than the full-blown 25" HI model. So far the most vulnerable area, the tang, has withstood the extreme abuse I've handed out to it. Once it's moving through the air, it mostly cuts in its own weight. Physical strength is only needed for tasks like hacking through 4" saplings. HIU could market these suckers as their Ladysmith equivalent; even my wife could cut stuff with this khuk (she can't even lift the full-size 25")

The best thing about the 25" Kobra is the fact that I can work hard with it all day without pain or strain.

If I had to choose 2 out of these, I'd choose the 20" villager and the 25" Kobra. On the 'there can be only one' principle, I'd choose the 25" Kobra every time. It's even cured me of the dreaded HIKV, I swear; ever since I got the 25" Kobra, I've actually been able to look at the blems on this forum without my palms of my hands itching unbearably
 
Tom, you are hired -- again. I am having a field day. I think I hired two Toms same day, a record. Pala will go insane when he hears! He is complaining that Pradeep is reckless with his hiring practice and Gelbu is an irresponsible spendthrift when it comes to new equipment. Sounds just like the typical boss, doesn't he.


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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
I had originally wanted a 20" Kobra, but Uncle Bill was sold out of them so I asked about a Sirupati instead. We traded emails back and forth about the sirupatis, and I sort of decided that maybe I can live with a sirupati that's a tad heavy.

At the last second I changed my mind and repented my sins after learning that the sirupati is as thick as my AK along the spine, which means more weight than I want in a 'fast' knife.

I decided that a 20" Kobra is good, but a 22" would be better with only a teeny little bit more weight.

Plus it would be made by Bura, who is, according to Uncle Bill, the best Kami in Nepal and the Royal Kami to boot.

Now you can see why I'm hopping foot to foot in anticipation
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My first H.I. Khukuri wasa 20" Sirupati given to me by my wife last Christmas. At first I thought it was pretty thick and heavy. My Barongs and Sundang sort of spoiled me. As time went on I bought a variety of Khukuris from Uncle. My 25" Sirupat became my training Khukuri, and later on , my 19" Ang Khola made by Sher became my training blade. All my other 20" Khukuris (Sirupati, Chiruwa Sirupati, Gelbu Special) became light as a feather. My friend ordered a 20" Kumar Kobra and it was so light, I almost dropped it. Awesome blades! I'm not a large person 5'6" @ 170 lbs, but working out with my heavy weights made a big difference. Now, my heavy weights feel normal, while my other blades all feel very, very fast!
 
Quit fretting over it. Grab one.

If you have a soul, you will discover that there is magic in the khukuri that has chosen you.

All HI's are magic. Some just seem more magic than others at different times for different people.



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"They asked would I fight for my country, I answered the FBI, yea!
"I will point a gun for my country but, I won't guarantee you which way!"
Woody Guthrie


Himalayan Imports Website
 
K, listen to Rusty, you won't regret it.

I had a 20 inch sirupati and I feel it is more of a worker than an fighter unless you're able to land the first blow. It'll all be over and you'll win. If you need time to react you'll want the kobra. Mine is 18 inches and it doesn't feel too short. A 20 incher should be fine.

[This message has been edited by OMRie (edited 06-09-2000).]
 
DAMN IT! Now I got to get a Kobra....... I want to get a 50" AK next though......

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he likely knows how to use it.
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AOL IM: MSURifleman
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Om, if you need time to react, you need a 12 1/2" Sirupati. That thing has already taken care of business a second before you think of doing it.
 
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