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Is the Chainpuri closer to the GS than the Siru in handeling and physical attributes. Is it a thicker blade than the Kobra and Siru?
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Chainpuri?
- Thread starter lizzardbone
- Start date
Nice timing for that question, I was looking at this:
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/physics/Khukuri_Dynamics.html
but since the chainpuri is not there, it's not a lot of help
By look I would say the siru, but maybe someone who have them all could answer better.
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/physics/Khukuri_Dynamics.html
but since the chainpuri is not there, it's not a lot of help
By look I would say the siru, but maybe someone who have them all could answer better.
I have never owned a sirupati, but I do own both a 15" chainpuri (a 21" on the way) as well as a 18" gelbu. They both have quite different geometries. The chainpuri has a slimmer blade and is more narrow and does not have the fuller like the gelbu does. The handles on them are also different. The gelbu has the standard handle, while the chainpuri normally have slimmer handles with a bell pommel and used to (haven't seen it recently) carvings in the handle. The chainpuri also don't come with butt plates, only keeper.
They both handle quite different from each other. The chainpuri is a light cutter (at least my 15" one is) while the gelbu is more of a medium cutter. Personally I find the gelbu to be better all around, but my opinion may change once I get the 21" chainpuri.
They both handle quite different from each other. The chainpuri is a light cutter (at least my 15" one is) while the gelbu is more of a medium cutter. Personally I find the gelbu to be better all around, but my opinion may change once I get the 21" chainpuri.
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Skyler's right: a chainpuri has a very narrow blade, maybe the narrowest I've seen on a full-length H.I. khukuri. I would not call it a chopper, and wouldn't even recommend using it for chopping, and especially not for prying. Actually, I think I read something on another manufacturer's website that suggested that chainpuris are more ceremonial than "user" knives; maybe someone here can provide more information. One issue that can arise in this context probably results from the way hand-forged khukuris are hardened/tempered: I understand that the kamis take the red-hot blade and hand-pour water over the edge at, and distal to, the curve, stopping before they cool the tip much. Now, I figure that this is tricky enough when you've got a two-inch-wide blade to hit with the water. But if the blade is a lot narrower--let's say an inch (I forget just how narrow the chainpuri blade is), it may be very hard to get any water at all near the tip of the blade, without getting water all over the tip and maybe hardening the tip to where it will snap off on any impact. In my one experience with a chainpuri khukuri, the area in the last inches before the tip was very surprisingly soft. (I will take this opportunity to sing the praises of Himalayan Imports: when I mentioned this to Yangdu she very, very graciously permitted me to swap out the chainpuri, which was in danger of becoming an unused "safe queen", for a heavier-use khukuri, better adapted to tough use on the hard woods common in the desert where I live. That non-chainpuri replacement has withstood considerable beating and leverage, and I intend to pass it along to one of my sons when he comes of appropriate age. I am grateful, and humbled by Yangdu's generosity--and also happy to have had the chance to spare that very comfortable-handled and beautiful chainpuri from a miserable existence in a safe, and get it back out into the hands of someone who will appreciate it more.)
Anyway, that's my experience with the chainpuri style. It may be that some have stiffer tips; I don't know.
I have never handled a Kobra, and can't compare either thickness or width of those blades with the chainpuri, Gelbu, or sirupati. The conventional wisdom on this forum is that the Kobras aren't designed for anything like prying; they're more of a fast, maneuverable martial-arts blade. Which might also be said for the chainpuri; it certainly can be maneuvered with ease at high tip speeds.
By contrast, both the Gelbu (I may have also seen these called "Udhaipur" style, but my memory is foggy) and the sirupati can do the chopping quite nicely, and I have confidence in both of them for tough use. The big difference between the Gelbu and the sirupati is the fullered shape of the Gelbu blade--in other words, the two varieties look fairly similar from the side, and it's in cross section that the difference is most pronounced. The Gelbu is thicker at the spine, usually, but is hollowed out with a pretty substantial fuller. Of course, all of these things vary from knife to knife, especially when they're hand-forged, and I've seen a couple of Gelbus that had shallower fullers than the one pictured on the H.I. site, and one Sirupati that was forged in such a way that it almost seemed to have a Gelbu's distinctive wide fuller--if you held it up to the light just right, it looked like the Gelbu does.
You might also have a look for Cliff Stamp's review of a couple of Himalayan Imports sirupatis--it was these reviews that first led me both to BladeForums and to Himalayan Imports. These are truly tough knives, and, in my opinion, plenty light enough nevertheless to be comfortably maneuverable.
Just my two cents.
Anyway, that's my experience with the chainpuri style. It may be that some have stiffer tips; I don't know.
I have never handled a Kobra, and can't compare either thickness or width of those blades with the chainpuri, Gelbu, or sirupati. The conventional wisdom on this forum is that the Kobras aren't designed for anything like prying; they're more of a fast, maneuverable martial-arts blade. Which might also be said for the chainpuri; it certainly can be maneuvered with ease at high tip speeds.
By contrast, both the Gelbu (I may have also seen these called "Udhaipur" style, but my memory is foggy) and the sirupati can do the chopping quite nicely, and I have confidence in both of them for tough use. The big difference between the Gelbu and the sirupati is the fullered shape of the Gelbu blade--in other words, the two varieties look fairly similar from the side, and it's in cross section that the difference is most pronounced. The Gelbu is thicker at the spine, usually, but is hollowed out with a pretty substantial fuller. Of course, all of these things vary from knife to knife, especially when they're hand-forged, and I've seen a couple of Gelbus that had shallower fullers than the one pictured on the H.I. site, and one Sirupati that was forged in such a way that it almost seemed to have a Gelbu's distinctive wide fuller--if you held it up to the light just right, it looked like the Gelbu does.
You might also have a look for Cliff Stamp's review of a couple of Himalayan Imports sirupatis--it was these reviews that first led me both to BladeForums and to Himalayan Imports. These are truly tough knives, and, in my opinion, plenty light enough nevertheless to be comfortably maneuverable.
Just my two cents.
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Thank you all for your thoughts, and Merry Christmas!
