I received my 21 1/2" villager Chainpuri Sirupati on Friday & had the opportunity to play with it a bit over the weekend at my camp. As I promised Bill, here are my initial impressions...
First, I really like the way the Chainpuri style handle fits my hand. The diameter is a bit smaller than that of my 18" WWII but not so small as to be uncomfortable. I have medium-sized hands and the tips of my middle & ring fingers wrap completely around the handle, making light contact with the ball of my thumb. At about 6" from the front of the bolster to the end of the handle, I have the choice of choking up my grip for better balance or holding further back for more chopping power. The cap-less large swell at the rear of the handle is very comfortable and adds to the sense of security during power swings.
The blade is also very nicely done with a fairly good finish -- better than my first villager but not as polished as that on the Shop 2 villager that I got a few weeks back. I made the mistake of first sharpening it to a hair-popping edge and then using Scotch Brite to bring it up to a satin finish. (I'm almost there.
) Unfortunately, the Scotch Brite dulled the edge a bit, but it was easy to bring back. BTW, a Lansky system set at 30 degrees works great for putting edges on both this and my 18" WWII. Judging by the amount of time needed to re-profile the edge, I have the feeling that the edge on the Sirupati blade may be somewhat harder than that on the WWII.
At 15 1/2", this blade strikes me as more of a short sword than a large knife. Although my taste in fighting knives runs more to the Bowie style, like the Bauchops I posted in the African Knives thread http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum26/HTML/000394.html , the Chainpuri Sirupati rocks! Relative to its size, it is a fast blade and it was fairly easy to change direction in mid swing. After some practice, I got a series of figure eights going in which the blade was not much more than a blur. It made my wife a bit more nervous than usual. I'm not sure if she was fearful of a mishap with the blade or afraid that I was losing my last shreds of sanity.
IMO, its utility ability is not on a par with the WWII. I tried splitting a few pieces of 18" firewood into kindling. Although it handled some smooth grained pieces well enough, it only made it about half way through others that ended in a knot. (I say "only" but I don't think any of my large "camp knives" could have equaled this performance.) By comparison, the WWII went right through the pieces that had defeated the Sirupati. Since the day was one with 90+ degree heat & matching humidity, I didn't go in search of wrist/forearm-sized branches on which to test its chopping ability.
The sheath is fairly well constructed and holds the blade securely while still allowing for a fast draw. However, the leather is stretched tightly and does show some gaps between stitches. Also, the color is not as deep as I like, with some brown showing through, but this is very easily remedied. The chakma & karda are roughly finished and a bit of a mismatch. Although the karda's blade is only a 1/4" or so longer that the chakma, the handle is nearly 3/4" longer and somewhat thicker. I'll probably thin it out a bit to get a better fit in the sheath, but I do like the better grip afforded by the longer handle.
Overall, I am delighted. Village models of this quality are definitely a great value.
------------------
Cheers,
--+Brian+--
First, I really like the way the Chainpuri style handle fits my hand. The diameter is a bit smaller than that of my 18" WWII but not so small as to be uncomfortable. I have medium-sized hands and the tips of my middle & ring fingers wrap completely around the handle, making light contact with the ball of my thumb. At about 6" from the front of the bolster to the end of the handle, I have the choice of choking up my grip for better balance or holding further back for more chopping power. The cap-less large swell at the rear of the handle is very comfortable and adds to the sense of security during power swings.
The blade is also very nicely done with a fairly good finish -- better than my first villager but not as polished as that on the Shop 2 villager that I got a few weeks back. I made the mistake of first sharpening it to a hair-popping edge and then using Scotch Brite to bring it up to a satin finish. (I'm almost there.
At 15 1/2", this blade strikes me as more of a short sword than a large knife. Although my taste in fighting knives runs more to the Bowie style, like the Bauchops I posted in the African Knives thread http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum26/HTML/000394.html , the Chainpuri Sirupati rocks! Relative to its size, it is a fast blade and it was fairly easy to change direction in mid swing. After some practice, I got a series of figure eights going in which the blade was not much more than a blur. It made my wife a bit more nervous than usual. I'm not sure if she was fearful of a mishap with the blade or afraid that I was losing my last shreds of sanity.
IMO, its utility ability is not on a par with the WWII. I tried splitting a few pieces of 18" firewood into kindling. Although it handled some smooth grained pieces well enough, it only made it about half way through others that ended in a knot. (I say "only" but I don't think any of my large "camp knives" could have equaled this performance.) By comparison, the WWII went right through the pieces that had defeated the Sirupati. Since the day was one with 90+ degree heat & matching humidity, I didn't go in search of wrist/forearm-sized branches on which to test its chopping ability.
The sheath is fairly well constructed and holds the blade securely while still allowing for a fast draw. However, the leather is stretched tightly and does show some gaps between stitches. Also, the color is not as deep as I like, with some brown showing through, but this is very easily remedied. The chakma & karda are roughly finished and a bit of a mismatch. Although the karda's blade is only a 1/4" or so longer that the chakma, the handle is nearly 3/4" longer and somewhat thicker. I'll probably thin it out a bit to get a better fit in the sheath, but I do like the better grip afforded by the longer handle.
Overall, I am delighted. Village models of this quality are definitely a great value.
------------------
Cheers,
--+Brian+--
