Bowie or Khukri?

R

Racerx2oo3

Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
174
I suspect that this is going to be mostly a matter of personal preference, but that's kinda what I'm interested in.

I do a fair bit of simple camping during the summer, nothing serious, but that said I don't like the idea of being "under knifed".

I'm looking for a knife that can fill the heavy chopping role. I generally will have a small folder (Leek G10), and a Medium Fixed blade Buck 119, but I'm looking for something that can perform some serious outdoor work. That said, the thing that attracts me most about the khukri, is low price for what you get. I really don't want to spend more than around $50.

What are others personal perference for this type of knife?

Sean
 
Both the Bowie and Khukuri are great all-rounders. You really have to try them to decide, I like both. My khukuris are better choppers, but then again my largest bowie is around 10 inches or so. Since bowies are more common (at least where I live) you might want to post this question at the HI forum. They are great folks, and they will give you a straight answer.
 
If you want an all-rounder that can handle chopping, Leukko's would be worth looking at too. Could carry a larger one and ditch the Buck fixed blade, because their design usually lends them well to "small knife" type of chores.
 
Something you may want to consider is the Kabar Kukri machete. It is made of 1085, so it is easy to sharpen. It can perform all the tasks associated with the Kukri, but its lighter weight and thinner profile allows it to perform some 'bowie' tasks and is more comfortable to carry than a 'real' kukri. I literally forget that it is hanging from my belt. I got mine for $30.00 at a gun show. Pair it with a good collapsible or folding saw and you are prepared for anything.
 
for a straight up chopper i'd have to go with the kukri. you seem to have all the bases covered with your other knives. just my .02, ahgar
 
Goto Himilayan Imports board on this site and look around...I have several of there products and couldnt be happier...

The 15" AK is what I would suggest if you want a Khuk for chopping
 
look at cold steel khukri machete. cheap and durable. I'm sure that a khukri will out chop a bowie any day. But for an all around knife for chopping and regular cutting chores a bowie should be alittle better.
 
Look at Beckers, cant beat them for the price.

Another, cheaper choice is a 12" machete like that from Ontario or Tramontina. Both very versitle blades.
 
Two words:

Himalayan Imports




edited to add:

I have to add, if you get an Ang Khola, you can pack away your hatchet for good. These Khuks come with a smaller utility knife and a burnisher which both ride in the sheath. The utility knife on mine is quite useful. Kind of small, but useful and holds a good edge.
 
I asked myself the same question, and my answer was BOTH

A bowie AND a khuk, not a kukri machette, a real khukri, I'm looking for the perfect deal here in HI. Then I'll try to get a BK9 or something similar.
 
I tend to prefer versatility. To me the Bowie is more versatile. I would say for some serious chopping and cutting brush the Bowie would be behind in this match up but the Bowie could certainly do some of that and well enough to get by. Even though you'd about get laughed out of the deer camp to walk in with a Bowie as your skinning knife the fact is you could actually get by with it for that much easier than Khukri IMO. Doing any delicate work with either is not easy but its at least possible to get by with some of it with the Bowie. So, for this reason I'd go with a Camp Tramp, or Trail Master Bowie or Recon Scout over a Khukri.

STR
 
Heavy machetes are more for brush that thicker woods, the penetration is high but they can bind heavily unless the wood is really soft. I for example have seen them easily get trapped so bad they had to be cut out due to the wood wedging on the flats. Similar a Leuko is for lighter chopping, even a small bowie will generally have several times the chopping ability on thicker woods and there is the same issue with binding because it has the same grind as a machete.

Khukuris come in many shapes in sizes, some of them are very long and slender and approach the make of bowies which are basically small parangs. Some however are massively thick and heavy and mainly useful for much thicker woods such as the Ang Khola from HI.

-Cliff
 
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