3-in-1 Workhorse

B

Brian6244

Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
537
Well I got some really good preliminary information from replies to a post I left in the general blade forums and have read thoroughly through a couple of reviews as well as the FAQ at the HI website. Now I have been sent over here to explain my needs and get the opinions of the experts.

What I am looking for is an axe, a machette, and a knife all in one unit. Due to space and weight restictions I simply can not actually carry an axe, a machette, and knife so I really need the best 3-in-1 compromise I can find. My preliminary research has shown me relatively conclusively that the Khukuri is the blade/tool/weapon which will best fullfill my needs. My preliminary research has also led me here to the HI forum to get the details on which HI Khukuri will best serve my purpose. Please understand that this knife WILL see very hard use probably twice a week on average (often daily for weeks at a time) cutting everything from tall grasses to frozen hardwoods.

So what would be best? 15" BAS? 18" AK? or maybe the M43? or maybe something completely different???

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and share your opinions. I should add that the Khukuris do appeal to me also as a weapon and a piece of history however these are secondary appeals as this blade will be seeing actual, regular hard useage rather than hanging on a wall or sitting in a glass case.
 
Watch the forum next week for special deals and you'll likely get what you need at a great price. Some excellent villagers have been appearing lately.

Anything in the 15" - 18" range with a good, sharp karda should do the trick. Size preference largely depends on your own size, strength and comfort zone. For the work you describe, the 16.5" WWII is an all-around winner. Other good choices include the BAS, the AK in 15 or 18" size, chiruwa AK, 18" WWII and the Ganga Ram Special in 17-18" size. Happy hunting!
 
Welcome.

What Raghorn said.

What sized person are you? If tall, go up to 18 for ambling/hiking/stuff. AK is chopper, slimmer blades easier to work on foliage/brush.

Welcome.
 
Merry Christmas. Welcome to the Cantina Brian!
Good to see you found your way over to the nuthouse. ;)
I have a love for the Khuks in the 17" to 20" size range personally. I would opt for something like a nice M-43 or 18" AK. Although they will not make as good a machette as some other blades. Most of the larger HI khuks will have a Karda large enough to be a good utility knife.
At 5'8" you might find that a 16 1/6 Chiruwa AK to be a nice choice. Although an 18" Sirupati can be a kicken good all rounder also.
 
Another option might be the 21" GS. Its also considered a good all around khuk. It can chop pretty well for its size and weight, and with it being long and slender, it should do OK for a machette. The karda that came with mine was pretty good sized and I sharpened it to a good convex edge...there's the knife part. Can you give us a ballpark figure of how thick the hardwoods that you typically encounter are. If the hardwoods are on the thin side, you might consider the 21" Chitlangi. Its on the light side, but can be swung fast, enabling it to chop like a larger khuk. It should also do decent machette work. Hopefully a Chitlangi owner (Yvsa I'm looking at you) :p will offer some input. You might also want to look at the Sirupatis and Kobras.

Bob
 
Brian, in your axe/machete/knife scenario, what jobs are you looking for the knife to perform? Camp duties, cooking, other? You've got a wide range of requirements in that package, but if one of the kardas would do the job, you have a pretty good chance of finding a fit somewhere.
 
Welcome to the Cantina/Psycho Ward Brian!!!!:D I don't have a WW II but I have to agree with what Raghorn says as well. You won't go wrong with any of those khukuris.
You say you will be using the khuk hard several days a week from grass up to frozen hardwoods.
May I ask where you will be doing this at? General territory is fine.;)
Also about what is the ratio between the grass and the frozen hardwood?
The reason I'm asking is that the thinner, read narrower, blades work better as a Machete while the wider heavier blades work better as a chopper and it appears that a compromise is in order, almost always the case it seems.:grumpy:

If most of the use is going to be on grass and lighter material I would have to add a Chitlangi to the mix as the lighter ones are excellent for Machete use as well as use for heavier chopping if it has a proper convexed edge.
And a Chitlangi also cuts like a much heavier khukuri making it less effort expended for the amount of work done.:D

Also it sounds that even at 5'8" you are accustomed to hard and heavy work, with that being the case you will be able to handle a longer and heavier khuk than most folks your size.
I'm 5'7" since having 3 back surgeries, used to be 5'10-1/2" and still have the body size plus for the heighth so am able to swing the larger khuks with no trouble, just don't have much stamina these days so every stroke has to count.
One of the reasons I'm so high on the Chitlangi.;) :D
 
This will be a chopper first and foremost. Lots of hardwoods. Frozen hardwoods are only common in my area (N TX) for a couple months out of the year but I often travel to colder regions. I'm actually typing this reply from 6000' up in the Sierra Nevada mnt range. I should also add that this Khuk will need to be able to handle chopping bone. Mostly bone around the size of whitetail deer with occassionally larger bone of bear and elk. Second to chopping it will be used as a knife for carving. Not any intricate carving, just the occasional hand drill set. As far as the diameter of woods chopped... probably nothing thicker than 6". The secondary use will be as a knife, mostly for carving these same types of woods. The third and least important (and least frequent) useage will be as a machette. I'm not trekking through South American rain forests :) but I do have to make my way through 30' - 60' patches of thick briars often enough.

I suppose that first and foremost this blade needs to be an effective chopper. I'd like to be able to go through hardwoods and even some bone without damaging the blade. Everything else is secondary although it will be used for everything you can possibly imagine within the realm of camping, hiking, general bushcraft. Shelter building ... yes. Food prep... yes. Quartering large game... yes. Making me feel a little less helpless the next time (yep its happened before) I get closer than desired to a W TX mnt lion... yes. I often take off on multi day hikes with little more than a blade so honestly just about anything you can think of I will probably do with this blade. That's why it's so important to get the best blade I can find, of course without spending so much money that I can't afford to replace if it ends up as the bottom on a large body of water. That too has unfortunately happened to me before. But I digress... you don't need my life story...or do you? :D

I also had a question about the small knives (Karda?) that usually come with the Khuks. How are these carried? Is there a place for them in the sheath or is some other method commonly used?
 
Random thoughts while digesting Christmas dinner:

> "bone"? I would seriously consider a bone saw. Machete and bone cutter is a tall order.

> I backpacked in the SN for fourteen years. I remember a lot of evergreens -- fir and pine mostly -- and not much hardwood at all, just some scrub oak in low places and lower elevations.

> Even a "small" khukuri is a really "big" knife.

> Saws are really useful for getting firewood and some (e.g. Gerber "pull-out") weigh less than many lock-blade knives. Such a saw, a "small" khuk, and a SAK would make quite a kit and weigh less than an 18" AK.
 
Brian with your further clarification I would recommend the BGRS also known as an 18" Ganga Ram Special. If the edge doesn't have the required hardness, test it thoroughly before going trekking, send it back to Bill and get it replaced. Any khuk you get will Absolutely Need a Convex Edge!!!! The convexed edge is the only one that will hold up on bone as well as frozen hardwoods.
The BGRS IMO will be the best compromise you can make. The WW II would also be a good contender from what I've read the other guys writing about.
It's just that the BGRS is a favorite of mine.:D

The karda and chakmak are carried in small pouches behind the khukuri scabbard that are made into the scabbard. Personally I would prefer a really good small sheath knife like a 52100 Marble's Fieldcraft or the like. Small and unobtrusive and lightweight. Shouldn't add a hardship by carrying it extra.
Too many times the karda and chakmak can fall out since they're only secured by friction.:(

Edit:
You can go to where the pix of my Foxy Folly are and check out the frog made with the sheaths for the two kardas I made to get an idea of the best carrying system but it's something you have to have done or do it yourself. Rerry Sisco made mine....
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/yvsa@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=d68b&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/yvsa@sbcglobal.net/my_photos
 
I would skip the 15" size for this first one. You said chopper formost. I would stay at around 18" and get a reg AK, or a baby Ganga Ram. The Ganga Ram might be 17" or 18" but not to worry. You might consider a 16.5 Chiruwa AK favored by many and said to equal the chopping ability of a 18" AK.
Until you know how these khuks ride on your body it might be worth thinking about a 17" Ganga Ram or 16.5" Chiruwa AK. I like the 18" sizes but think past that length it becomes less easy to carry a lot. I'm 5'11", or was, and find the 18" no problem to carrry and I have short legs. The 18's swing better for me. Everything being relative, the longer the blade the more force. But there's a tradeoff with weight and length only you can decide.

Welcome and lucky you, to be looking for the first.


munk
 
your choice. I wouldn't waste an edge on chopping bone. Axe, maybe; khuk, no.
 
I have chopped lots and lots of bone in my life and an axe is what I currently use on bone. But carrying an axe (or saw) is simply not an option in the situations for which I am wanting a good "3-in-1" knife solution. The hardwoods I was referring to were mainly Elm and Oak which are very common in TX.
 
I believe I have this narrowed down to either the Chiruwa AK or the regular 18" AK. Both seem to be effective for my purposes. What I think might make the difference is their respective prying abilities. Which is a more effective prybar? I must say that the description of the Chiruwa AK on the HI website sure is appealing. :)
Between 16 and 17 inches overall, 3/8+ inches thick, about 1.75 pounds. Heavy duty knife. If you can break it we'll send you two free. A good chopped and substitute prybar.
Click to expand...
Also the Chiruwa AK appears to be a full tang (as opposed to tapered tang) based on the way the handle is fastened. Is it a full length and width tang?

I guess I'm finding the Chiruwa AK appealing due to the very confident desricption of it on the HI website (which I quoted above) but am finding the regular AK appealing due to it being listed as being almost 1/2" thick as opposed to the 3/8" thickness listed in the description of the Chiruwa AK. I'm thinking about prying which is something else this blade will see its fair share of if it is up for the task.

What do you guys think of these two blades? Equal in chopping ability? Equal in hardness(thinking about a lot of hardwood and a little bone chopping)? And then finally, what about prying? Is the Chiruwa AK a full length and width tang? Which blade will hold up to the aforementioned tasks the best and with the least damage to the knife (and hopefully no irrepairable damage at all)?
 
I'm not convinced, or at least not concerned, that the Chiruwa tang is stronger than the reg tang, and the reg absorbs vibration better.
The Chiruwa AK is probably a better cro bar, though.


If you want to cut more get a 20" AK or a heavy 18"


munk
 
So the Chiruwa is a full length and full width tang rather than the tapered tang that is used on the other HI Khuks?
 
Brian6244 said:
So the Chiruwa is a full length and full width tang rather than the tapered tang that is used on the other HI Khuks?
Click to expand...
Yes, but that doesn't mean it is stronger as it is thinner than the standard stick tang. Either one will serve you equally well. The problem that I and others have with the chiruwa tang is more vibration when chopping, and especially when chopping a great deal of hard substances.
Personally I don't care for the chiruwa tang although there are guys here that swear by them.
I have an 18" AK and when I first got it I thought it would be my forever rough and tumble khuk, but for everything I've needed too do so far my BGRS has excelled.
It cuts better than my AK and is lighter to carry, something you might want to think about when trekking over the SN.
 
Late to the discussion,
but a few thoughts to throw in the soup
more questions will get you more detail

decide on a max weight / & carry style
ie belt / web / pack / etc

general all-around -->
chitlangi (18"+)

prying -handle- durability --> chiruwa ( fullwidth) tang
--> chiruwa AK (18") & M43
The M43 is a military service / all-round design
& the HI version thicker heavier than original
Excelent chopper
I'd lean to the m43 myself

I think d koster had pix of exposed chiruwa tang recenbtly

choppers won't slice vines so well
unless chop at ground level

You describe need for -toughest- chopper
Any 18" +/- chopper khuk will serve most purposes
frozen wood & bone ???

What you really need is a proven khuk (for your specific purpose)
from a current owner
but rare someone with sch a khuk wouuld part with it

a lot depends on the individual khuk
they -can- vary widely in every physical & feel atribute
even the same size of the same style

Test any blade severely before you trust it in extreme conditions
(which surely you're already aware)

karda / chakma are carried in pockets behind the khuk,
but I don't always trust the security as the scabbard is delivered
but fairly easy to modify slots into pouches for extra security
Some people have other carry option,
including custom sheath systems
many options

some carry substitutes for the included karda / chakma

For what I gather of your intention / environments
I guess I'd suggest a main khuk plus a much lighter/smaller 2nd khuk
(maybe a 15"-18 sirupate/kobra)
in a custom carry system
including what you need as side -tools
karda/chakma/sharpening/awl/?????

two khuks are affordable
custom carry availability depends ............

best / welcome

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top