Best HI for chopping

Revolverrodger

Revolverrodger

Joined
Jul 23, 2007
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Ok I'm thinking of getting a HI kuk to owrk in the woods.
I'm looking for the best tradeoff between chopping power and realistic portability.
Max blade length would be 13''
What do you suggest ?
 
12" ang khola, if you go by those limitations.

I misread - I thoght you said 13" overall length. for 13" blade - Chiruwa Angh Khola, M43 or Ganga Ram, dependin gon how you feel about handles.
 
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With a 13" blade as the upper limit, it sounds like a 17-18" model would be ideal for you. Some suggestions for you would be a 17-18" BGRS, WWII, AK, or a 16.5" CAK.

Bob
 
it all depends on what sort of chopping you’re going to do and what you consider to be realistic portability.... If you are going to be doing heavy chopping, cutting down trees or cutting large logs in half you’re going to want the longest heaviest knife you can get your hands on, such as an M-43 or CAK because of their heavy powerful design, though in that case a hatchet (or better yet saw) would be most efficient.... but we're talking about kuks here so....
if you’re going to be chopping saplings and delimbing things no larger than around 5" then an 18" Sirupati would be both very efficient and fairly lightweight because of its thin and fast design, but would not do well with larger logs/trees

In my experience, the longer the blade is the more efficient the cuts are and the heavier the knife is the more powerful each blow is, the best combination is going to depend on how much weight you want, so I would figure out how heavy you want the knife to be, then find the longest Kukri that has that weight
 
In my experience, the longer the blade is the more efficient the cuts are and the heavier the knife is the more powerful each blow is, the best combination is going to depend on how much weight you want, so I would figure out how heavy you want the knife to be, then find the longest Kukri that has that weight
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Issun, i would agree if the heavier the front of khuk the more powerful the blow is. Much like that of axe. I do feel at times too heavy of a khuk (to me anything more than 35Oz is crazy heavy; i'm 5' 10", 150 pounds) it will wear you down. In occasions like chopping branches/pruning i would prefer a stick tang over a full tang as the weight's focused at the sweet spot to tip. Anything larger i would go for full tang or an axe. My feedback would be bias as i favor wide belly (BC, Ghopte, YCS with stick tang) and weights at 25-28Oz. Stickfred would favors his Gelbu as a good chopper. It depends on your liking.

Now factor in the size vs the length. Anything too long won't be feasible. 12-13" inches in the wood, not far from civilization is ideal. Anything out than that i'm having a much robust, full tang khuk with me.
 
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I can say this without a seconds thought, the Bonecutter is one of the most awesome kukri made anywhere. Its big when you need it to be, small and nimble when you need that and doesn't need to be HUGE to get the job done. This is especially nice when you use it a lot. That kukri has been a constant companion since I got it and we have come to know each other well... It is an older, more traditionally sized one, not a giant with a 1/2 inch spine but the feel of it is electrifying. It chops side by side with much larger blades and always holds it own. The blade holds a very good edge and the traditionally sized handle is very comfortable.

Good luck on your search.
 
It depends on how much/ what kind of chopping as well as your size/condition. For instance, I'm 5'8"/175lbs. I'm in reasonable shape for 39 years old but I'm no health guru. My WWII (18"/28oz) is about the most I'd want to swing/carry for a few hours. If I knew I was going to be chopping all day, or hiking far, I'd rather have something in the 15"/20-24oz range. The 15" AK, CAK, BAS and WWII have been best sellers for years, for a reason. If you're going to go big, say anything in the 20"/40oz range, take a look at Cpl.'s baldric.

Frank
 
Here's the thing: every kuk chops differently even ones from the same model and same size. My smaller chitlangi at 18 inches outchops my 18 inch WWII. Dont ask me why as both have a near razor sharp edge that has been convexed nicely. My 20 inch Chit outchops my much thicker and heavier 20 inch gelbu special. Bigger and heavier isn't necessarily better. Technique on how you move the blade plays a big roll: i like moving my blade fast as opposed to letting its weight do the work- I seem to clear through wood faster that way for me. I find that a combination of LUCK (just landing a kuk that is ravenous for wood), speed (the ability to move the blade by flicking it), and length (longer kuks have bigger sweet spots), seems to work best for me. But alot of folks here swear by the big battleships as eaters of wood. Another consideration: is this a dedicated chopper that won't go on a hike and just be used around the ranch?? I would hate to bring on a chiwura Ang at 22 inch on a 15 mile hike and I would feel I would do better with a hatchet. I always compare my kuks to my gransfor bruk and wetterlings hatchets and ask myself how much wood I will really need to process on a camping trip. The other major factor for me is self defense and that is why more often than not my bigger Chit goes with me as it is very fast and a decent chopper on par with a good sized well-made hatchet.
 
You really cant go wrong with the khuks that everyone stated. The Bonecutter, WWII and the CAK are my favs. But have you looked at the Parang or the Bamboo Cutter, these are chopping monsters, both have great balance thick spines about 3/8" tapering just at the end of the blade, very stout and hard hitting. Before you decide check these out.
 
Personally, I'd rate the CAK and M43 at the top. Not only are they good choppers, but the pointier tips have good applications as wood tools, other than just chopping.
 
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