I picked up this Bagh Bhairab from the Fourth of July DOTD (7/03/06). I have not used it much, but today was the day it got it's review.
Blade - The blade on the Bagh Bhairab is fairly slender and pointy, however it's fairly thick. The blade has a lot of presence, you can certainly feel that you are holding it when you go to pick it up. The blade has very little if any tapering to it, it's the same thickness all the way up to the point. The blade came with a great edge on it, very sharp with some convex to it. The lines of the blade are very well done, they are all even and crisp with very little hammer marks or grind marks showing. The finish is near mirror and is very even over the entire blade.
Handle - The handle on the Bagh Bhairab is very well done. It is clean and smooth without any rough spots or hot areas. The handle fits nicely, with the tang being perfectly even with the handle. The rivets are flush with the handle with nothing protruding. The wood is very nice on this one, it has a reddish / orangeish glow to it. The fittings are white metal and are very well done. The bolster is the traditional style and it fits great. The butt plate is even and smooth with the rest of the handle and came with a very nice finish on it.
Chakma and Karda - The chakma and karda came extremely well done. They both sport the same near mirror finish and beautiful wood handle that the kukri has. The chakma came fairly sharp, not quite shaving sharp, but plenty sharp enough to get the job done. Both the chakma and karda came large enough for me to use comfortably, the handles on them are 3 3/8 with blades of 4". The handles on the tools are smooth and evenly finished just like the kukri.
Scabbard - The scabbard on the Bagh Bhairab is very well done. It came with softer leather then on most other Himalayan Imports kukris. The leather is very well done with nice stitching on the back. The chakma and karda fit perfectly into the scabbard. The kukri fits great into the scabbard, however when fully sheathed about 1/4" of it protrudes out the top, it's as though the scabbard was not made quite long enough. This is a minor problem though, since everything is secure I don't find it to be problem some. The chape is also white metal like the rest of the fittings on the kukri and fits the scabbard great. The chape has a clean and even solder line, the chape is also not overly pointy, so it does not stick me in the leg.
Chopping - The Bagh Bhairab is not considered be to be pure chopper like an Ang Khola or a Ganga Ram, however it can still hold it's own if you take into consideration that it does have limitations. I used a fairly soft wood that was fresh to do my chopping with the Bagh Bhairab, I feel that it could be to much for the kukri if it was going against a hard wood of similar size. All that being said, the kukri still chops decently, it's around a 15" Ang Khola. The area that the kukri likes to chop at is much further back then on other kukris. The area that feels the best chopping is about 5 3/4" away from the tip. The Bagh Bhairab is also a fairly finicky chopper, it does not like it if you move even an inch away from it's chopping area. The kukri does decently at limbing, and due to it's reach it can really get some high up limbs. Batoning is fairly easy with it, it sticks a little at first, but after it gets going the log feels like butter. Where the Bagh Bhairab really excels at is it's ability at downward strikes. When striking strait down with the Bagh Bhairab you can really feel the power of the kukri. It cuts so well at downward strikes that is by far the best at this out of all of my kukris (18" Ang Khola included). With a half power strike into a log, the Bagh Bhairab was able to penetrate about 1/2" past it's width, and it made about a 4" crack down the log past the cut.
While the Bagh Bhairab is a fairly finicky chopper, it can be devastating in downward strikes. The kukri would also be a beast at soft targets (read living), however it's weight will severely limit it in it's recovery time. Since in Nepal the Bagh Bhairab is used in Dasein for dispatching the sacrificial goat or water buffalo, this could explain why it's powerful at downward chops. Like the rest of my kukris from Himalayan Imports, I love it, and I don't see it going anyplace quick.
A belated thanks to Yangdu for such an interesting and wonderful knife.
Here are the stats of the Bagh Bhairab.
Blade - 18"
Handle - 5 3/4"
Point of Balance - 5 3/4" way from bolster
Blade Thickness - 11 mm
Weight - 44oz
Kami - Sher
Blade - The blade on the Bagh Bhairab is fairly slender and pointy, however it's fairly thick. The blade has a lot of presence, you can certainly feel that you are holding it when you go to pick it up. The blade has very little if any tapering to it, it's the same thickness all the way up to the point. The blade came with a great edge on it, very sharp with some convex to it. The lines of the blade are very well done, they are all even and crisp with very little hammer marks or grind marks showing. The finish is near mirror and is very even over the entire blade.
Handle - The handle on the Bagh Bhairab is very well done. It is clean and smooth without any rough spots or hot areas. The handle fits nicely, with the tang being perfectly even with the handle. The rivets are flush with the handle with nothing protruding. The wood is very nice on this one, it has a reddish / orangeish glow to it. The fittings are white metal and are very well done. The bolster is the traditional style and it fits great. The butt plate is even and smooth with the rest of the handle and came with a very nice finish on it.
Chakma and Karda - The chakma and karda came extremely well done. They both sport the same near mirror finish and beautiful wood handle that the kukri has. The chakma came fairly sharp, not quite shaving sharp, but plenty sharp enough to get the job done. Both the chakma and karda came large enough for me to use comfortably, the handles on them are 3 3/8 with blades of 4". The handles on the tools are smooth and evenly finished just like the kukri.
Scabbard - The scabbard on the Bagh Bhairab is very well done. It came with softer leather then on most other Himalayan Imports kukris. The leather is very well done with nice stitching on the back. The chakma and karda fit perfectly into the scabbard. The kukri fits great into the scabbard, however when fully sheathed about 1/4" of it protrudes out the top, it's as though the scabbard was not made quite long enough. This is a minor problem though, since everything is secure I don't find it to be problem some. The chape is also white metal like the rest of the fittings on the kukri and fits the scabbard great. The chape has a clean and even solder line, the chape is also not overly pointy, so it does not stick me in the leg.
Chopping - The Bagh Bhairab is not considered be to be pure chopper like an Ang Khola or a Ganga Ram, however it can still hold it's own if you take into consideration that it does have limitations. I used a fairly soft wood that was fresh to do my chopping with the Bagh Bhairab, I feel that it could be to much for the kukri if it was going against a hard wood of similar size. All that being said, the kukri still chops decently, it's around a 15" Ang Khola. The area that the kukri likes to chop at is much further back then on other kukris. The area that feels the best chopping is about 5 3/4" away from the tip. The Bagh Bhairab is also a fairly finicky chopper, it does not like it if you move even an inch away from it's chopping area. The kukri does decently at limbing, and due to it's reach it can really get some high up limbs. Batoning is fairly easy with it, it sticks a little at first, but after it gets going the log feels like butter. Where the Bagh Bhairab really excels at is it's ability at downward strikes. When striking strait down with the Bagh Bhairab you can really feel the power of the kukri. It cuts so well at downward strikes that is by far the best at this out of all of my kukris (18" Ang Khola included). With a half power strike into a log, the Bagh Bhairab was able to penetrate about 1/2" past it's width, and it made about a 4" crack down the log past the cut.
While the Bagh Bhairab is a fairly finicky chopper, it can be devastating in downward strikes. The kukri would also be a beast at soft targets (read living), however it's weight will severely limit it in it's recovery time. Since in Nepal the Bagh Bhairab is used in Dasein for dispatching the sacrificial goat or water buffalo, this could explain why it's powerful at downward chops. Like the rest of my kukris from Himalayan Imports, I love it, and I don't see it going anyplace quick.
A belated thanks to Yangdu for such an interesting and wonderful knife.
Here are the stats of the Bagh Bhairab.
Blade - 18"
Handle - 5 3/4"
Point of Balance - 5 3/4" way from bolster
Blade Thickness - 11 mm
Weight - 44oz
Kami - Sher