AK bowie arrived today

Steely_Gunz

Steely_Gunz

Got the Khukuri fevah
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May 9, 2002
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Hey all,

The AK bowie that i ordered from Uncle Bill a few days back has finally come:) All i have to go on is a few first impressions for now, but i plan on giving it a workout at my dad's house over the weekend.

First of all, this bowie is made by Bura (nuff said:D). However this one might fall into Rusty's idea of a "pocket battleship" because it about 1/2 an inch off spec as it comes in around 15". Likewise, the thickness of the blade is only 3/8" as compared to the roughly 1/2" they are said to run. the rest of the specs seem to be up to code. This really is no major concern to me as i bought this knife for my motorcycle trips and actually thought about getting a 12" siru or a Penknife to go along with me. I decided against this because i figured that an American bike like my Harley would be suited better with a bowie style knife that could be tucked into my saddle bags easily. That said, the length or thickness is not an issue.

The blade on this knife kind of supprised me as when you think "AK" you think obtuse bevel. This knife has a really thin edge profile. I actually prefer a thinner edge because i think it makes it easier to sharpen than a wedge. Plus, i wanted this knife to be able to do food prep and the like. It wasn't scary sharp out of the box, but a few licks with a steel and chakma brought it to shaving sharp. The edge has a very slight hiccup in the profile. the edge actually dips very very slightly towards the tip as you get past the sweet spot. Its almost like you can see where the sweetspot starts as it sticks out ever so slightly. you can feel it when you run your nail over the blade and can even see it when you hold it up from 10" away. This really doesnt concern me either as its just another of the knife telling me that it is meant to be used and servicable when i'm on the road, not gussied up and hung on a wall. The point on this blade is about as strong of one as i've seen on any clip-style bowie that i've handled. It's not as strong as a Khuks, but I have no doubt that it will stand up to anything that i throw at it. Looks like i could run a rhino through with this thing.


The next thing i tried was a few comparitive chops between the AK bowie and my CS Trailmaster. Mind you, this is in no way scientific, and i am in no way Cliff Stamp or the like. However, i did try both knives on an old piece of 1/2" particle-board style material (piece of an entertainment center) to see the outcome.
I did 5 3/4 force chops into different parts of the edge of the particle board. The TM bit deep and buried half of width into the wood. All five trials had the same outcome give or take a little bit.
The AK bowie on the other hand sank in about 1 1/2" to its fuller. It did this 3 times in a row. On the 4th trial it sank as deep, but split the board another 4 inches, so i decided that it was the clear winner and didn't want to make any more of a mess with the little bits of wood flying all over my apartment:) it was pretty clear that the AK's weight had bested the trailmaster. Again, NOT scientific or controlled by any means.

All in all i'm very impressed with this knife. The only real problem that I have found with it is that the frog is a little to big and the sheath and knife go falling through if i move too much. This could be a problem if i take it camping, but i think i might just epoxy the frog to the sheath and tie a leather lanyard from the knife to the little leather loop at the top of the frog when i'm riding or hiking around.
Besides that i'm very impressed with this knife. Thank you very much Uncle Bill, Bura, and everyone else at HI. I'm sure i will carry this knife with me on many adventures. This is THE knife to bring along if you want a workhorse bowie with major attitude:)

Thanks again,
Jake
 
Might not epoxy the sheath right away as someone else on the cantina should have a good fix. The epoxy should look alot better than OD 100 MPH tape! (looks like crap but works)
The specs sound like mine and the edge bevel is very similar too. The kamis tend to do what they want to do and I have found that most of the time what they did is better than what I would have thought to do.
Enjoy!:D
 
Steely_Guns: the specs you describe fit my AK Bowie ( or HI Bird and Trout knife as I call it ) by Sher. The kamis seem comfortable making them to that size.

And it's somehow balanced. The knife to carry when you can't have a khuk. I've been thinking that one of these days I might rip off the handles and add a guard and some other grip scales. In the meantime I'm content with the feel I get from taking tang and scales down to fit my hand. Next to some of the other HI products it do seem a bit puny, don't it. On it's own, though, it seems purty capable. I ain't giving mine up.
 
Try soaking the frog in water for a minute or so. Then slip it back onto the sheath. It should shrink a little ater it dries. If that didn't work I'd probably glue or sew a piece of leather onto the inside of the frog to take up the extra space.

I'm sure there are a dozen other ways to fix this, but I'll let the experts answer this.

Lemme know how this thing works for kitchen stuff. I might gets me one myself. :)
 
Thanks for all your input guys. I'll see what the other fellas come up with to snug up the frog. I really don't want to epoxy it unless i have to because my track record with the stuff usually ends up with a big mess and my fingertips glued to a piece of leather or a buttcap:) Does anyone know how much leather will draw up when soaked and let dry? i think this frog needs to go a ways before i trust it to hold a heavy knife strapped to my side as i go 60 mph down the Hi way:)
Bruise,
i haven't used the bowie for a lot of things in the kitchen yet, but i just used it to cleave some chicken breasts and thighs into pieces. they didn't NEED cleaving in any way, but it sure was fun to smash that blade through the poor chicky's leg bones:) i also used it to open up a soup can with no damage to the knife...although i must mention a 9 1/2" blade is not the best tool to gain access to canned soap:) I think you'd really like it as a kitchen tool. It's not hard to control at all since its a tad smaller than the specs lead you to believe. Sure you could get a nice cutlery cleaver for less money, but the look on company's face's when you start hacking meat to bits is gotta be priceless:)

Thanks guys,
Jake
 
The leather will shrink "a little". Not much but it's worth trying as it's the simplest of all the solutions. If it doesn't work you won't have to worry about the frog stretching anymore or getting bigger.

From what I've seen, It'll make a frog that slides too far up the sheath to one that slides up not as far up the sheath.
 
well, Barring Terry Ciscos work, you might be able to tighten the lacing on the frog to snug the whole thing up. I bet Terry could make a mean tactical sheath for the Bowie.

Keith, another proud owner of the AK Bowie...
 
I'd try Bruise's technique first. Get some contact cement, and if necessary, layer leather on the inside of the frog. It should reduce the interior of the frog and grip nicely with no fear of "permanent" damage.

If you want additional insurance, keep in mind that the sheath is wood covered with hide, and will take a small upholstery tack or two.
You could put a line of leather with contact cement, then use a few small tacks to add insurance. Won't show, and will provide security.

Nice report by the way.
 
Thanks for the idea Keith.
I tried it and there was just too much give in the frog. I soaked it like Bruise said and then dried it with a hair dryer. it drew up some but not enough to offer too much security. I thought about contacting Terry for an estimate of his work, but i think i'll just figure out something to tighten the frog. I don't think i could bear to ship it off for any length of time:) After spending the day with the bowie not more than 6 inces away me at any given time, i can see why those of you that own one fancy them so much:) I guess we're two Hoosiers that are to should not be messed with;)!

Kismet,
Thanks for the great idea. I think you and Bruise are right on the money with tacking some leather to the inside between the frog and sheath and snugging it up. I should have a few old pieces lying around here to try it out. Oh, and i'm glad you liked the review. I could have written another page and been more specific, but who would want to read all that:)


Thanx!
Jake
 
Well, sorry that didn't work, Steely, it would've rewuired no mods. I thinnk Kis's suggestions are spot on! I like the tack idea, and I may use that on the Falcata scabbard...

Keith
 
Kismet's idea worked like a dream. I took some of the extra leather i tripped from around the keeper strap and cut it into two small strips. Glued these on top of each other then glued and tacked these to the sheath. It's really snug now and with the extra insurance of a leather lanyard from the butt of the knife to the leather loop on the frog i'm sure that the bowie isn't going anywhere:) Thanks again for all your help. BTW, Uncle Bill, thanks for your generous offer to swap out the frog. It had crossed my mind, but i think it'll hold now:)

Thanks

Jake
 
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