Boomerang Chiruwa Ang Kholas: What are They Like?

R

Return of the J.D.

Joined
Nov 29, 2005
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I'm curious about these "boomerang" chiruwa ang kholas. What are they like in use? They look like they'd tend to be even more chopping-oriented (as opposed to other-use-oriented) than your usual chiruwa ang khola, given the more aggressive curve.

Their looks, I think, are very good in an exotic, serpentine way.

I'm interested in comments from those of you who've used them, and can compare them to other khukuris--especially to more garden-variety chiruwa ang kholas.

Oh: am I to assume that they are the same as the regular chiruwa ang kholas with respect to warranty?

Thanks! And thanks to Yangdu and the kamis for this very interesting new model!
 
JD,

Yangdu sent me one with my last order to review. I was thinking about spreading the karma around and after I review it putting it up for a passaround/free raffle if the Bladeforums mgmt will allow it. You would "pay" for your slot in the raffle by taking it out and chopping stuff with it and then posting your review in the thread.

I haven't played with it much yet but the handle is really comfotable and the blade is really sharp:thumbup:

I have a buddy coming in from out of state to hang out drink beer and listen to tunes Sat. If it's nice Sunday I'll do my review and then see if I can get the go ahead to do it.

That way anyone who was considering buying one could actually handle one and one person would get a shot at winning one.:thumbup:
 
I'd be interested in that. The models I have seen lately vary quite a bit from Buras design shown on the HI site.
 
so mine is not the only eye caught by those boomerang ak's lately. i'll be waitin for that review.
 
Me too Hollow. I'm very interested in handling and possibly getting one of these from HI.

Thanks,

Norm
 
I'm interested, too. I don't have the wherewithal to post pictures, but I've got my trusty old H.I. khukuri-testing eucalyptus block in the back yard--would certainly be happy to try the "chop the khuk into it and lean back and forth on it hard" test to make sure the tang won't snap.

Ilbruche, I think the "Bura boomerang" on H.I.'s website under "special runs" is a very different knife from the "boomerang ang khola" we've been seeing lately. The boomerang ang khola looks like a chiruwa ang khola with a more-pronounced forward bend to the blade, and a little curve to the spine where it emerges from the handle, and maybe a little fuller work or something around the same place. (From some pictures, especially yesterday's second picture, it looks like the kami continued the "back valley" fuller around the curve and back along the spine, all the way to the bolster. That, combined with the little curve to the spine between the bolster and the bend, and the slightly-greater curve from the handle to the blade, gives it kind of a snakelike, curving look that's really interesting.) Also, I think I've been seeing three handle pins instead of the usual two.

Actually, it looks kind of like the key difference might be the substitution of some extra fullering for the ordinary sword of Shiva. As I think about it, hammering a fuller into the blade in place of a sword of Shiva would probably tend to bend the blade forward, with the result being kind of what we see with the boomerang ang khola.


It looks a little like a natural evolution of the chiruwa ang khola. I do have one ordinary ang khola, bought as a blem some years back, that had an unusually-pronounced forward bend. It doesn't have the interesting shape to the spine (scoliosis?), but otherwise seems like a missing link between the regular chiruwa ang khola and the boomerang variety.

I really like the looks of the boomerang ones--though I have had to admit to myself that a really-pronounced forward bend makes a khukuri a bit harder to use as a general-purpose knife. Still chops nicely (though it tends to want to land the point in whatever you're chopping, instead of easily delivering the "sweet spot" of the blade, just proximal to the tip, into the chopping zone). I'm curious to hear what everybody else experiences with the boomerang variety.
 
Hi guys,

I had a chance to go out and play with it today:thumbup:

My impression of this one is that it is very well tempered. It came very sharp. The 15" Chitlangi it came with wasnt' well sharpened the two sides of the edge not meeting in the middle. This one was very sharp and held an edge too.

It chopped really well and the handle is really comfortable. I did quite a bit of work with it and it stayed sharp.

My only complaint is on the really thick hard parts I feel the extreme curvey ness and full tang transmitted more shock to my arm. I could feel it up to my shoulder.

However it was a great cutter and I could sever 1" limbs of the sugar maple with a single swing:thumbup: I thought the cutting power was fairly impressive because it was a smaller khuk;)

I'm awaiting approval from BF to do the passaround giveaway on the rules and such so be looking in the Wilderness and Survival forum for my full review and to sign up. As soon as they email me I'll post it. I figured I'd post it there cause maybe some people there have never known about what a great deal khuks are as far as chopping power versus price.

Anyway here's a couple pics from the review:
boom1.jpg

boom8.jpg

boom9.jpg
 
Nice review and pictures, thank you hollowdweller
 
WVHILLS said:
Are they just posted at random in the forum? that's the only place I have seen them. Or do you just call Yangdu and ask for one?
Click to expand...


Most things come up in deals of the day, but you can always email Yangdu and ask if either she has any or can have one made for you.
 
One question: how does khukuri zone tempering work with a blade that curved?

Here's what I mean. Most H.I. khukuris are hardened so that the edge is very hard right at the "sweet spot"--i.e., the part of the blade just to the far side of the curve. That is where a traditionally-shaped khukuri ordinarily impacts what you're chopping with it, more or less naturally.

With the steeper angle of the boomerang (and of other knives with more-pronounced curves, like the balance model), it seems to me that you end up impacting what you're chopping with the tip, rather than the "sweet spot", more often than with a less-curved khukuri. Anyone else have this experience?

If so, I'd wonder if you'd end up with a dinged tip a little more quickly with a boomerang khukuri than with, say, one of the more-traditional models--just due to an increased percentage of tip impacts, with a lot of resulting wear and hits to the softer steel nearer the tip.

Those of you who are toward the end of the passaround list might watch for this, and see whether it's more of an issue than with the less-curved knives, or not. Just a thought. Ideally, it'll be no problem at all.
 
Return of the J.D. said:
One question: how does khukuri zone tempering work with a blade that curved?

Here's what I mean. Most H.I. khukuris are hardened so that the edge is very hard right at the "sweet spot"--i.e., the part of the blade just to the far side of the curve. That is where a traditionally-shaped khukuri ordinarily impacts what you're chopping with it, more or less naturally.

With the steeper angle of the boomerang (and of other knives with more-pronounced curves, like the balance model), it seems to me that you end up impacting what you're chopping with the tip, rather than the "sweet spot", more often than with a less-curved khukuri. Anyone else have this experience?

If so, I'd wonder if you'd end up with a dinged tip a little more quickly with a boomerang khukuri than with, say, one of the more-traditional models--just due to an increased percentage of tip impacts, with a lot of resulting wear and hits to the softer steel nearer the tip.

Those of you who are toward the end of the passaround list might watch for this, and see whether it's more of an issue than with the less-curved knives, or not. Just a thought. Ideally, it'll be no problem at all.
Click to expand...

While I haven't done a lot of chopping with one just yet, I have noticed that my stone tends to bite almost the same at the tip as the sweet spot. The tip is probably a little softer, but i would rather ding the tip than break it off. This khuk that I have at hand has a pretty acute edge. It's not delicate by any means, but it does come to a nice point rather than a wedge like the older styles did. YMMV:)
 
Great!

The one H.I. khuk that I ever sent back was a chainpuri--with a REALLY narrow (top-to-bottom) blade. I was chopping some thumb-sized sticks with it, put the tip into a crack in the middle of a thumb-sized stick, twisted the blade to split the thumb-sized stick, and, to my surprise, the steel bent. Yeah, I know: it's not a prybar. Still, it surprised me that any steel would be soft enough to twist if you're merely trying to enlarge a crack in a thumb-sized stick. It was a beautiful knife, and great in the hand, but I realized that it wasn't going to see much use around my house, where most khukuri use is on pretty-hard desert wood in a camping / outdoor context. After keeping it as a "safe queen" for a while, I asked Yangdu if she'd be open to taking it in a trade. She was. Courtesy of her and of H.I.'s over-the-top-great customer service, I ended up with a very robust ang khola, which I intend to give to my third son. (Thanks again, Yangdu!)
 
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