Another Bilton thread

O

olpappy

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Dec 6, 2004
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How do you all use your Biltons? I've had a Bilton for some time now, but really haven't used it much for anything. The fit and finish are excellent, it's very pretty, but it's so different from a conventional knife of that size, I basically am not sure what to do with it. The handle seems a bit small to fit the hand comfortably, the brass buttcap pokes the palm of my hand. Is there a better way to grip it?

The blade seems too short to chop effectively, therefore the additional thickness/weight doesn't add to its cutting power, compared to a "regular" knife and may in fact may detract from its sharpness.

Yes, it can be sharpened with a nice convex edge, but wouldn't it be even better to have a convex edge on a knife with a thinner blade?

I don't mean to stir up anything, but I'm just not getting the concept here in the smaller size, the kukri shape doesn't seem to have the advantages over a conventional knife that the large sized kukris have. Can a few of you, who really like them, explain to me why you like Biltons so much? Hopefully I'll find more use for the one I have. Thanks
 
As you noted, they're too small to chop anything, so they're knives plain and simple. Useful knives once you get a feel for 'em, I used a well honed and stropped one in Kuwait once to freshen up my haircut (shave my head). They work fine as general utility knives, pretty much hold their own in the kitchen, and I'm fond of using mine for pruning/weeding. Some folks are leery of their partial tangs, but I batoned up a bunch of 2 x 4's one afternoon to see what would happen. No ill effects that I could see.
Play around with different grips/holds until you find one that's comfortable for you. And, if anything's digging in or poking you, just take a file and some sandpaper to it.

Sarge
 
I like mine okay. I got one for my wife's cousin for christmas, because he appreciated HI's products (he's a cabinet maker and a tool fanatic). I agree that they are less useful than other HI products, though. I prefer my Kumar Karda and my JKM for cutting chores.

I just happen to like my Khurkri's in the 17-20 inch range. I just think that they are most useful. My 12" and 15" AKs seems a little small for a real chopper. My 21" chainpuri is just about on the outside edge of what I can handle.

That's not to say I don't like my kagas katne or my 30" sirupati or everything in between.
 
My bilton draw cuts pretty well, and it's easy to make fuzz sticks. Works in the kitchen too.
 
I had a little pocket sheath made for mine. I use it as a general utility knife. I do think that I would prefer one with a thinner blade, though. On the other hand, I think that it would be well-suited to some emergency prying tasks.
 
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