CAK - Horn or Wood Handle?

GlennS1956

GlennS1956

Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
24
The Chiruwa Ang Khola is calling me. I watched all of the "Himalayan Imports Ang Khola 12 Inch Destruction Test" YouTube videos, and the guy in them did a lot of chopping. His main complaint seemed to be that the horn handle was too slick, and slid around in his hand. To those of you that have both horn and wood handles, does the wood have more friction to keep the knife from twisting around in your hand? Is this even a problem?
 
Welcome Glenn !!!

Don't take everything you hear from Noss4 as gospel. He was wearing gloves.
Wood is a little more grippy, but horn isnt as bad as he made it out to be.
Horn can always be made more grippy by putting a "Villager" finish on it.

I have Khuks with both handles and i love both wood and horn, YMMV.
 
Noss4 made the horn-handled khuk sounds like a soap-opera. He refused to test a wood-handled Chiruwa AK.
How would he consider a war blade that most Gurkhas tested and abused less tough than what he put into the testing?

Some horns have exquisite texture...have fun hunting them!
 
Glenn,

One of the interesting things is that the horn actually feels soft and warm. It doesn't make sense but it is the truth. Horn is of course a natural material that has warmth and character and is much less of a slippery demon than it is made out to be. Having a knife with a buffalo horn handle is also something of an oddity here in the states. Everyone has wood handled knives but how many people do you know that have one with a buffalo horn handle?

I love both horn and wood handles and can say that I heavily use both and see no big advantage or downside to either. One other thing is that because the kukri is not well known in many knife circles, their use and handling are not well known. To many new users, the kukri handle is oddly shaped, awkward and uncomfortable but with some studying (HI library) and use you will appreciate that the handle is made that way for a reason, and it works.

You should check out the "Himalayan Imports Link Library" and read about the proper way to use, swing, handle, sharpen and store your kukri. Lots of great info there.
 
I haven't found slipperyness of horn handles to be an issue. I usually chop with bare hands though so gloves may make a difference.
 
Gloves off with Khukuri's. I loose too much control and can't change grip position with gloves and that makes a 2 and a half pound razor too dangerous. Wood or horn makes no difference. You can rough the handle up with 320grit sandpaper but I don't know if it will make much difference.
 
I'd go for wood.

I have pondered on this issue. In the olden days the khuks were not as thick or as heavy like what seen today. Thicker and heavier blade have more momentum compared to the khuks of old and that's why the users in the olden days felt that horn was ok.

In addition the trend of thicker/heavier blade results in lesser material left in the horn or wood handle especially in hidden tangs. Can't help it, there isn't much real estate to play with in a human's grip. This brings by itself some potential problems due to the reduced material in the handle. Not so much of an issue with chiruwa handles I think.

I had a friend who showed me an antique khuk in horn handle. I'm no fan of horn but was surprised of the balance/grip though the blade was very wide and long. Basically what I'm saying is that as times change to favor stronger blades there is a trade off in other areas. :)
 
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