- Joined
- Dec 28, 2003
- Messages
- 4,791
I wouldn't have blinked at 31 oz. The M-43's I've owned were:
17" 26 oz. (Kumar, hill walnut)
17" 27 oz. (Kumar, USA antler)
17.5" 31 oz. (Vim, grey buffalo horn)
18" 33 oz. (Vim, unfinished neem wood)
18" 28 oz. (Kumar, satisal)
18" 29 oz. (Amtrak, buffalo horn)
31 oz. is right in there. I still have the newer Vim's because of their balance and excellent handles.
Back in the day most of us considered an 18" 2 lb. knife to be perfect for chopping, and the Bura Baby Ganga Ram was the epitome of that ideal, and along with the 18" WWII was widely considered to be HI's best chopper back then; and that was with the regular full tang, not a chiruwa tang. A 2 lb. Chiruwa tang knife would be a great combination of strength and balance IMO.
And I disagree that over the years HI's have gotten heavier, I think generally the opposite is true for most models. 10-12 years ago HI sold AK's and CAK's that could run 3 and 4 lbs. Uncle Bill would warn people requesting 20" AK's that they were a handful that could easily top 60 oz.
Over time he got them to adjust the weight downwards. I had a Sher 26.5" CAK that ran 73 oz., and an original series Foxes Folly that was 21" long and 49 oz., so things have improved. Uncle Bill used to say that the kamis must think we were supermen to wield kukris like that.
The kamis try to get requested weight and proportions right, but doing it by hand introduces variances obviously, and I'm amazed they are as consistent as they are. The few SO's I had (they were on hold for a couple of years) I just asked for a 17" whatever, and let the kamis work it out and was never disappointed.
BTW, that rounded pommel would be a plus for me personally. I'm not the SO requestor, but personally I think asking for a 25oz. blade is pushing it at that length. In reviewing my listings the only HI's I can find close to those specs are the Sher Attitude model (later HI Razor), an 18.5" Malla, and a Bura (Boomerang) Hanshee, and all 3 of those blades are quite a bit shallower than an M-43. There is also a one-off 18" Berk's Special (Dui Chirra), at 26 oz., but it gets its weight savings from fullering not found on the M-43.
Norm
17" 26 oz. (Kumar, hill walnut)
17" 27 oz. (Kumar, USA antler)
17.5" 31 oz. (Vim, grey buffalo horn)
18" 33 oz. (Vim, unfinished neem wood)
18" 28 oz. (Kumar, satisal)
18" 29 oz. (Amtrak, buffalo horn)
31 oz. is right in there. I still have the newer Vim's because of their balance and excellent handles.
Back in the day most of us considered an 18" 2 lb. knife to be perfect for chopping, and the Bura Baby Ganga Ram was the epitome of that ideal, and along with the 18" WWII was widely considered to be HI's best chopper back then; and that was with the regular full tang, not a chiruwa tang. A 2 lb. Chiruwa tang knife would be a great combination of strength and balance IMO.
And I disagree that over the years HI's have gotten heavier, I think generally the opposite is true for most models. 10-12 years ago HI sold AK's and CAK's that could run 3 and 4 lbs. Uncle Bill would warn people requesting 20" AK's that they were a handful that could easily top 60 oz.
Over time he got them to adjust the weight downwards. I had a Sher 26.5" CAK that ran 73 oz., and an original series Foxes Folly that was 21" long and 49 oz., so things have improved. Uncle Bill used to say that the kamis must think we were supermen to wield kukris like that.
The kamis try to get requested weight and proportions right, but doing it by hand introduces variances obviously, and I'm amazed they are as consistent as they are. The few SO's I had (they were on hold for a couple of years) I just asked for a 17" whatever, and let the kamis work it out and was never disappointed.
BTW, that rounded pommel would be a plus for me personally. I'm not the SO requestor, but personally I think asking for a 25oz. blade is pushing it at that length. In reviewing my listings the only HI's I can find close to those specs are the Sher Attitude model (later HI Razor), an 18.5" Malla, and a Bura (Boomerang) Hanshee, and all 3 of those blades are quite a bit shallower than an M-43. There is also a one-off 18" Berk's Special (Dui Chirra), at 26 oz., but it gets its weight savings from fullering not found on the M-43.
Norm