Anyone have a 15" Chiruwa ang kola?

MauiRob

MauiRob

Joined
Nov 15, 2000
Messages
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Just wondering if anyone has a chiruwa ang kola, and if so what do you think? I want to order one with a wood handle and use it as my primary work knife/tool. I have a 20" AK and like it very much, but it gets heavy using it for a long time or carrying on the belt if hiking. Thanks!

Rob
 
I actually prefer the regular wood handles over the chiruwa.

Granted, my chiruwa is a cheaper village version, but it does seem to me that the kamis do better when dealing with a one-piece handle.

-Dave

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Rob, I have one and like it a lot. I think it would be perfect for what you want it for. I also think wood is the better choice over horn. I got mine with horn and that was probably a mistake. I've found that when using a khuk for long periods, the wood handled khuks seem to be better for some reason. At least that's been my experience.
 
VHD, it would see to me that the two-piece handled would be much less prone to splitting when you consider the reasons that wood splits in the first place. And my personal experience, both with khuks and with woodworking, bear this out.
 
Steven,

Thanks for the reply and advice. I also like the wood handles better. I've had only minor cracking with my recently purchased sirupatis, and knock on wood
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, none on my GS. I still only use the 20" AK with wood handle for heavy work---I just don't trust the horn handles to hold up. The 15" Sirupati handle cracked a little and the buttcap separated from the handle, but the handle torqued 20 degrees around the tang! Anyway thanks for the advice, I'll be getting the wood handled chiruwa for heavy duty work.

Rob
 
Then again the standard rat-tail tang set in a layer of Himalayan expoxy around which is natural material has changed vibrational characteristics.

The rat-tail damps and redirects vibrations;
so does Himalayan epoxy, an so does horn and wood. Hey, it's a Y-zero-K fix for carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Rob, your experience of having a handle actually turn on the tang is one that I've not heard of in regard to an HI khuk. Did you fix the problem or just return the knife to Uncle Bill? Also, I wonder if anyone else has had this problem?
 
Rib --- I have the 15" Chiruwa with horn handle. The difference to my 15" AK is the handle is a little bigger around on the Chiruwa. I might go with wood next time if I ever do.

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Steven,

I still have the 15" Sirupati. I recieved it right before Uncle left, and decided I might as well keep it and see if this is the extent to which the handle sustains damage with further use. Does anyone have a horn khuk, maybe a 15" AK that they use heavily? Curious to hear how the horn holds up. Is horn used on traditional khuks used in nepal, or did this originate when the export bus. started?
 
MauiRob -
I think it was said of the German immigrants to the US that when they killed a pig they used/ate everything except the squeal.

Same with Native Americans and the bison, and Uncle Bill has told of how he saw no litter his first trip there because the Nepails saved and put everything to some use.

Hit a pow-wow and you'll see the women dancers wearing highly ornamented dresses with tobacco can lids sewn to their outfits that would shake and clink like the things around the sides of tambourines. I understand there's one company selling just the can lids alone to indins. I've been off the rez too long and can't remember the words.

But yes, khuks were made with wood and horn as well as brass and deer antler and bone. Scabbards were of wood and usually covered with leather when available, except for certain regions.


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Rob,

Horn handles will stand up to heavy use. I have two horn handled 15" Ang Kholas, one a reject. The handles have stood up to heavy chopping. Both handles developed hairline cracks which were stopped with superglue after the initial outing.

The horn handle on the reject recently cracked after I took it outside. I had chopped up 2x4's and skids indoors without difficulty prior to putting it into my car. The temperature then is about -10 C.

The current handle problems seem to be due to moisture (cold) and possibly a bad batch of horn. Bill has stated he horn is tougher than wood, normally. Under normal circumstances I see no reason to doubt him.

I prefer wood handles mainly because the grip is more secure.

By the way have you considered an 18" Ang Khola.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 02-06-2000).]
 
I have a 15 inch Chiruwa AK with horn slabs on the handle. So far, it has stood up pretty well to the use that I've put it through, but then again, I've babied this khuk with extra care on the handle(hoof lubricant weekly) and use of Marine TuffCloth on the exposed metal of the tang. One thing though, I did need to do a bit of sanding and filing on certain parts of the handle to eliminate any rough spots prior to cleaning up the finish.

I have no preference as to wood or horn as long as they are properly seasoned(hope Uncle Bill is able to get some improvement in that department).

Harry

 
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I believe that Will is right on target here. Uncle Bill has stated too many times about the horn cracking because it was monsoon season in Nepal and high and dry in Reno causing the horn to crack. Even his beloved Ivory handle cracked because the knife wasn't kept in a humidor.

Out of the even dozen I have so far, 8 of them have horn handles. Out of those 8 only one has some minor cracking and I believe it is because the horn itself wasn't of that good a quality.
It is on one of the little 13" balance models and it has some color to it in the form of some greys and a bit of white and that's where the cracking originates too.

On the other hand Every one of them has shrunk due to the dryness that we have had the last few months here in Oklahoma. ( WE have had fire bans several times in the last 9 months because it has been so dry. Very unusual for here.) Like I have stated before I have taken a file and putting it at about a 45* angle filed the intersection at the horn and butt cap. I recently bought some new files and there were a couple of 3 cornered files in them that work wonderfully for the purpose with much better control. Some of mine had shrunk as much as 1/32" to a bit more on each side of the butt cap. I had to file the brass even with the horn before putting the groove in. It makes for a real nice looking fix and removes the burr from under the butt cap so even if it does shrink a bit more the edge is still nice and smooth and won't cut your hand.

Ghost was always right when he talked about the black horn being the strongest.
We may have brought some of this on ourselves because the striped horn is prettier and that's what we were wanting. I can just imagine Gelbu deliberately looking for the striped horn for HI's crazy American customers. I love the striped horn too, but will ask for the solidest black horn that Uncle has availible from now on!

You can bet that Uncle Bill will get to the bottom of any problem and will get it corrected. Not only that, he will exchange the knife for another one if we wish. I sure wish that some other companys would let me exchange a knife just because I didn't like the one I got. I would most certainly have returned a few by now and they sure aren't HI khukuri's!!
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I have to face up to the fact that I like messing around with them anyway. What would I do if they were absolutely perfect? hehehe.
( Although there have been a couple that were. The Hanuman Special for one. How long does it take to polish one away anyway?)
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Thanks to all for thoughful replies!

Will,
Thanks for feedback on horn handles-its good to know that if the horn is well cured it will stand up to hard use. I do however agree with you--I like the "grip-ablility" of the wood better. I have a 20" AK and love it, it weighs in at just under 3.5 lbs. I also have a GS that is 1lb 14oz ,and a 20 inch sirupati at 2 lbs. I am looking for a slightly more compact yet extremely tough khuk, which is why I thought the 15" chiruwa with wood handle would be the way to go(after considering feedback from other forumites).

Yvsa,

Thanks also for the feedback concerning horn's durability--its even more informative coming from someone with a large collection that contains old and new khuks. Also, thanks for sharing the file idea. Two of my horn handled khuks have a gap between handle and buttcap, and that sounds like a good easy fix that even I could pull off(hopefully!
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).

Uncle Bill just emailed me and said he will have my chiruwa made while he is there!! He never ceases to amaze me--with everything else he has to do he's going to push my project through! What a guy! Thanks again uncle
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Howard I said a few days ago that I hadn't had any problem with the horn cracking and didn't think I had. I bought 2 more of the little 13" balance models from Uncle Bill and they were made by a visiting kami that wasn't real honest and both of them have blades that are too soft. I had them in a drawer and found the one cracked yesterday or the day before. Time seems to run together for me since I retired.
I really hate to mess with the little knives, but If I replace the handle I may go ahead and try to harden the blade using oil instead of water. Each time I have tried using water to harden steel the blades have cracked straight from the edge to the spine.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ
 
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