I picked this hanshee or bura boomerang up from the DOTD 11/13. It was delivered today, and man what a wonderful delightful of a kukri this thing is.
Blade - The blade on the "Bura Boomerang" is very curved, so much so I would call it a hanshee, but who am I to argue with Bura. The blade finish is one of the best on any kukri I have ever seen. The lines are crisp and even with a seemingly higher polish then what a HI kukri normally comes with. The blade has very very little showing of hammer marks (can only be seen if using a ruler). The fullers are a bit to be desired however, in the previous photos posted for the boomerang I thought it only had one fuller on each side, however this is not the case. The boomerang has two fuller directly next to each other. The ones on mine are not very straight and on one it almost disappears before reappearing again. The finish on the fullers don't take away from the piece, however they are noticeable. The edge is well formed with very little convex to it (almost a flat edge). The edge is fairly sharp along most of it, however there seems to be about an inch of rolled edge close to the point of percussion. The spine of the kukri is also well formed and quite even with the main central ridge straight in the middle. The cho has some creeping to it, and I feel Bura could of pushed it closer to the bolster another 1/4" or more, but where it is currently at has no affect on the blades ability.
Handle - The handle on this kukri is quite interesting compared to other HI I have. The handle finish is the same as on a villager model, while it is smooth and without hot spots, it lacks the higher polish that accompanies normal HI kukris. The handle finish certainly isn't a problem, in fact I like it on this kukri. It gives it a certain feel and grippy ability. The handle is also much more curved then on other HI kukris, which I find much to my liking as it feels as though the handle was made just for my hands. The curve in the handle keeps the kukri secure and prevents my hand from sliding down even on hard strokes. The bolster on the kukri is the traditional style in white metal and it is very well done. The bolster fits the kukri very well with only a small gap of laha visible. The butt cap is also very well done, it came without any sharp corners and fits the rest of the handle nearly perfect.
Chakma and Karda - The chakma and karda on this kukri came with the same blade finish and handle finish as on the kukri itself (high polish blade and villager handle). The chakma is the sharpest I have ever received by HI to date, with the edge able to shave with. The chakma and karda are also around the size that I find that I can comfortably able to use (I prefer to be able to get 4 fingers around the handle, however these allow 3 and are still quite comfortable). The blade on the chakma is 3 1/8" with the karda being 3 1/4". The handle on the chakma is 2 3/4" with the karda also being 2 3/4".
Scabbard - The scabbard on the Bura Boomerang is extremely well done. The leather on the scabbard is the standard thick leather of high quality and the same for the frog. The fit of the kukri inside the scabbard is perfect. The kukri fits inside like a glove, once the kukri is placed inside the scabbard you can tip the scabbard upside down and shake without the kukri coming lose. While the kukri is held firmly in place inside the scabbard it remains quite easy to draw with just a little pressure. The chape fits nice and snug against the scabbard with very little glue showing, the solder line on the chape is fairly clean and even, however the only down side to the chape are two small dents at the back of the scabbard.
Chopping - The Bura Boomerang chops a little different then most other kukris, it sort of slices while it chops, much like the Movie Model and the Munk Bowie. The slicing ability at the end of the chop helps prevent the blade from sticking as well as it makes chopping more compterable and less tiring. The boomerang's ability to chop is quite similar to my 18" AK and 16" BGRS with the AK being the better of the three and the BGRS being the least (though not by much). The boomerang can also handle more whippy things like saplings better then the 18" AK, though not quite as good as the 16" BGRS. After an initial edge check on some logs to see what the kukri was capable of doing, I took it to a good size log which the kukri made quick work out of. While the AK may be a little better at penetration, and the BRGS being slightly better at whippy stuff, the boomerang is however the best at downward strikes. Once I had cut the log in two I chopped one section in to halves, once strike from the kukri was able to split the log in two with the pieces going flying. Once I gathered up the two halves again I cut them in half once more to form 4 pieces.
Overall I could not be happier with this kukri. The handle feels as though it was made for me and the blade is more then adequate enough for some serious tasks. While swinging this kukri it feels wonderful, even with it's fairly far out point of balance it handles like a dream. While it handles a little differently in chops then other kukris, it is nothing that can not be overcome with a little practice.
Thank you Yangdu for such a wonderful knife at an unbelievable price. :thumbup:
Here are the stats to the knife.
Blade - 12 1/2"
Handle - 4 1/4
Overall Length - 16 3/4"
Point of Balance - 4" away from bolster
Blade Thickness - 11mm
Weight - 25oz
Kami - Bura
Blade - The blade on the "Bura Boomerang" is very curved, so much so I would call it a hanshee, but who am I to argue with Bura. The blade finish is one of the best on any kukri I have ever seen. The lines are crisp and even with a seemingly higher polish then what a HI kukri normally comes with. The blade has very very little showing of hammer marks (can only be seen if using a ruler). The fullers are a bit to be desired however, in the previous photos posted for the boomerang I thought it only had one fuller on each side, however this is not the case. The boomerang has two fuller directly next to each other. The ones on mine are not very straight and on one it almost disappears before reappearing again. The finish on the fullers don't take away from the piece, however they are noticeable. The edge is well formed with very little convex to it (almost a flat edge). The edge is fairly sharp along most of it, however there seems to be about an inch of rolled edge close to the point of percussion. The spine of the kukri is also well formed and quite even with the main central ridge straight in the middle. The cho has some creeping to it, and I feel Bura could of pushed it closer to the bolster another 1/4" or more, but where it is currently at has no affect on the blades ability.
Handle - The handle on this kukri is quite interesting compared to other HI I have. The handle finish is the same as on a villager model, while it is smooth and without hot spots, it lacks the higher polish that accompanies normal HI kukris. The handle finish certainly isn't a problem, in fact I like it on this kukri. It gives it a certain feel and grippy ability. The handle is also much more curved then on other HI kukris, which I find much to my liking as it feels as though the handle was made just for my hands. The curve in the handle keeps the kukri secure and prevents my hand from sliding down even on hard strokes. The bolster on the kukri is the traditional style in white metal and it is very well done. The bolster fits the kukri very well with only a small gap of laha visible. The butt cap is also very well done, it came without any sharp corners and fits the rest of the handle nearly perfect.
Chakma and Karda - The chakma and karda on this kukri came with the same blade finish and handle finish as on the kukri itself (high polish blade and villager handle). The chakma is the sharpest I have ever received by HI to date, with the edge able to shave with. The chakma and karda are also around the size that I find that I can comfortably able to use (I prefer to be able to get 4 fingers around the handle, however these allow 3 and are still quite comfortable). The blade on the chakma is 3 1/8" with the karda being 3 1/4". The handle on the chakma is 2 3/4" with the karda also being 2 3/4".
Scabbard - The scabbard on the Bura Boomerang is extremely well done. The leather on the scabbard is the standard thick leather of high quality and the same for the frog. The fit of the kukri inside the scabbard is perfect. The kukri fits inside like a glove, once the kukri is placed inside the scabbard you can tip the scabbard upside down and shake without the kukri coming lose. While the kukri is held firmly in place inside the scabbard it remains quite easy to draw with just a little pressure. The chape fits nice and snug against the scabbard with very little glue showing, the solder line on the chape is fairly clean and even, however the only down side to the chape are two small dents at the back of the scabbard.
Chopping - The Bura Boomerang chops a little different then most other kukris, it sort of slices while it chops, much like the Movie Model and the Munk Bowie. The slicing ability at the end of the chop helps prevent the blade from sticking as well as it makes chopping more compterable and less tiring. The boomerang's ability to chop is quite similar to my 18" AK and 16" BGRS with the AK being the better of the three and the BGRS being the least (though not by much). The boomerang can also handle more whippy things like saplings better then the 18" AK, though not quite as good as the 16" BGRS. After an initial edge check on some logs to see what the kukri was capable of doing, I took it to a good size log which the kukri made quick work out of. While the AK may be a little better at penetration, and the BRGS being slightly better at whippy stuff, the boomerang is however the best at downward strikes. Once I had cut the log in two I chopped one section in to halves, once strike from the kukri was able to split the log in two with the pieces going flying. Once I gathered up the two halves again I cut them in half once more to form 4 pieces.
Overall I could not be happier with this kukri. The handle feels as though it was made for me and the blade is more then adequate enough for some serious tasks. While swinging this kukri it feels wonderful, even with it's fairly far out point of balance it handles like a dream. While it handles a little differently in chops then other kukris, it is nothing that can not be overcome with a little practice.
Thank you Yangdu for such a wonderful knife at an unbelievable price. :thumbup:
Here are the stats to the knife.
Blade - 12 1/2"
Handle - 4 1/4
Overall Length - 16 3/4"
Point of Balance - 4" away from bolster
Blade Thickness - 11mm
Weight - 25oz
Kami - Bura
