BA chopping bamboo. Pix.

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Mar 5, 1999
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Here's pix BA sent of his bamboo chopping. I'll let him do the commentary. Good pix.

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Great Pix!!!!!
I forget sometimes how big that stuff grows since its cousin here in OK doesn't get Near that big, more like a bunch of one of the big plants.:D

And there's thousands upon thousands of Flute material growing there and does that species of Bamboo make the Bamboo shoots that we eat?
 
I have to second Yvsa on that one.
That looks like a Gelbu Special. Very cool knife!

Bob
 
I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the pictures.

*Top picture - I'm holding my 18" Chiruwa G.S. in front of my sister in laws summer house.

*Middle pic - I'm posing with the property owner of the bamboo forest. He was surprised that a blade this short could cut the thick bamboo with ease. He usually lets sword practioners practice on the bamboo also. I let him try out the Khukuri and he was impressed! Next time I go back to Japan, I'll get him one.

*Bottom pic - I just finished cutting a 2.5" bamboo with one cut! I thought I missed, but the blade just sailed through without any drag!!

I was able to practice on 12 thick bamboo plants that ranged from 1" to 4" thick. My H.I. Khukuri didn't get dull at all. A good day indeed, even though the mosquitos had a free lunch on me!! :D
 
Yvsa,

Actually, the property owner was collecting the young bamboo for sale and consumption. He had two basket fulls of the young ones. Great tasting with miso soup also!
 
Great Photos BA, I recently received a G.S. that was made by Bura I've been looking forward to putting her to the test. Very encouraging test. I can't wait. Have fun.
 
Cool pix BA!! You made me homesick for Maui:( I used to go to a bamboo forest to cut didj bamboo. I used a saw though, not nearly as much fun as a khuk I'm sure:D In Hawaii there are quite a few different types of bamboo, probably alot of them brought from Japan I imagine? Some types have VERY thick walls. For example, I have some in my basement that I brought with me when I moved that have an exterior diameter of 4" and a wall thickness of at least 1"!! The interior bore is no bigger than an inch/inch and a half. Don't imagine I could have cut through that stuff with any of my khuks when it was green, and now that's its dry, forget it!
 
Man, that looks like fun, BA! Even though the mosquitos may have drained a quart or two you probably didn't notice in such a target rich environment! :D :D :D A GS is high on my wish list. How does it handle compared to a Malla? Just curious;) !

-Craig
 
Will,

These pictures were taken when I went to Japan. I was able to do this the last day I was in Japan. Even though my family stayed for five weeks, we still didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted.

CC,

My Chiruwa G.S. feels pretty good compared to my Malla. WrongFriend held my Khukuri and he can give his impression on my blade. I did some contouring on the handle to fit my hand better. I personally like the Chiruwa handle khukuris. My 20" Chiruwa Sirupati is also one of my favorites.
 
The Chiruwa handle has some fans and BA is one of them. My guess is due to MA training the Chiruwas feel more familiar when he swings the khukuri.
 
I also like the standard handle for its shock absorbtion qualities. On the Chiruwa style handles, I like to see the tang. The extra weight in the handle seems to balance the khukuri more in my hands.

The khukuri that I'm using feels very neutral. The G.S. style blade with the Chiruwa handle was ideal to me. Maybe a little longer blade would change things, but there could be some modification done to even things out again. At times, I should of bought that 21 inch Chiruwa G.S. that Uncle offered several months back. :(
 
The customer who got that knife was well pleased with it, BA. Maybe you missed one but there will be more.
 
BA:

Thanks for the info. Good to hear the pros and cons of different handle styles and how they affect POB. It's great to see and hear about successful test drives! :D :D :D Now I'll have to locate some bamboo to give the Malla a thorough wringing out. Of course in GA the only bamboo I'm likely to find is in the furniture dept. at Pier 1 imports. ( I might refrain if that is the case!! ;)

-Craig
 
Most of the stuff I've seen at Pier One looks like it's more suitable for cutting practice than sitting.

Somehow, though, I don't think the sales staff would agree, particularly if someone with a large curvy knife reduced half their inventory to toothpicks. ;)

 
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