checking out a Kukhuri

V

vespa

Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
7
coming off my last thread "Indian Kukhuries"

when buying a Kukhuri, how would you tell the difference between and Indian made Kukhuri and a Nepalese made kukhuri so that you know that you are getting the real deal ?

I noticed most Kukhuris are made from carbon steel ,
they don't stainless steel at all ?

what the advantage of carbon over stainless ?

some info woul dbe helpful, thanks
 
This is sort of a tongue-in-cheek answer and I know you were looking for a more expert answer, but....

buy an HI khuk and you know its from Nepal :D I own far less HI khuks than alot of guys here, but I've used them very hard for 5 years and they are TOUGH as hell, plus HI's guarantee is awesome!!
 
Our Maine Man is right; I've used some of my HI khuks very hard. Cutting through a dead dried Pine full of crystalized sap, is no work for the meek.
My khuks are trusted.



munk
 
I would add to my above post that you do have to make sure you are using the right khuk for the job--don't use a 20" Kobra (thin bladed, fighting style khuk) for the tree Munk just mentioned ;)

If you want my advice for a good first Khuk. I'd say go with a 18" Ang Khola or an 18" WWII--either with wood handles and you can't go wrong.

WARNING: you are entering into an addiction that can destroy your bank account, yet give you years of pleasure...sort of like marriage I guess :D
 
Carbon steel is generally used for a variety of reasons. I am NOT an authority on this, but there are a lot of smart guys here that are:)
First of all, carbon steel is easy to come across even in the poorest of countries. Most of the khuks you get from HI are made from the truck springs of Mercedes trucks.
Second, it is easier to forge the carbon steel using the basic handtools and forges that the kamis use.
This also means the carbon steel will stand up the the shock and strain an impact took like the khukri under goes when used.
Like the other guys have said, buy an HI khukuri. Then you know where it came from, who made it, what it's made out of, and that you have an honest to goodness warranty for life.

jake
 
cheers so far
i most certainly will look at the HI sites ;)

the main reason i am asking is that i will be travelling round the world , while in India and Nepal i hope to buy a Good kukhuri in addition to what i buy officialy through HI.

i love a good haggle in any market :)

so Carbon steel is easy to work with.
stainless must involve more work and may not be as strong as Carbon ?
 
The stainless steels of yesteryear certainly could not hold a candle to carbon steels in every category except rusting, of course. :D

But today's stainless steels are super-alloys that can be quite tough. None of them, however match carbon steel in longer knife blades (like khukuris). They don't have enough "spring" to them and tend to be more likely to snap, then to absorb shock.


And to dispell yet another myth...

I have sitting on my bench here a blade I forged out of ATS-34...and heat-treated it myself, quenching it in oil. So, there....:p :p (Rockwelled at 52, IIRC - not bad for an amateurish attempt and the hardness is higher than your typcial store-bought stainles knife, but not quite good enough for custom-knife buyers). No sweat for me...I did it for fun...and now have some neat practice blades. :D


Stainless is actually harder to grind than properly annealed carbon steels (because of the alloys).
 
vespa said:
the main reason i am asking is that i will be travelling round the world , while in India and Nepal i hope to buy a Good kukhuri in addition to what i buy officialy through HI.

i love a good haggle in any market :)
Click to expand...

Since you're going to be traveling and looking for a very well made serviceable khukuri that will do anything you ask of it I can simplify matters a great deal for you.
Just ask the vendor/kami trying to sell you the khukuri for "the bar." They will know what you are talking about even though they may fiegn ignorance. Don't let them get away with it. If they can produce a good khukuri then they will produce the bar, they are not ignorant.
If they don't produce a steel bar for you to test the khukuri on then it's a tourist model and not worth considering.:grumpy:

Now with that said let me tell you this. The excellently made and very serviceable khukuri is probably going to be uglier than homemade sin!!!! :barf:
It is probably going to be very discolored and have hammer marks along the top sides and maybe even on the spine itself.
But when you bring back your arm and swing at the metal bar it is going to cut into it with absolutely no damage to the khukuri!!!! I absolutely Love these kinds of knives no matter where or what part of the country they are made in!!!!:thumbup: :D

Also the handle is more than likely to be one that was put on quick and dirty by burning the hole into the wood with the red hot tang and then either pouring laha into the cavity to harden or heating up the tang to very hot and melting a plastic bag over it and inserting it into the handle locking it in place for several years.
Eventually the handle will fail because it isn't a full tang and is not pinned.
That's the gist of it. Follow what I've told you and you're good to go.

Don't get me wrong, many of the khukuri houses sell some very pretty as well as pretty decent well made knives. The reference to "the bar" still applies if you want to be absolutely sure of the khukuri you choose.;)
Several guys have bought these knives and found the quality to be very good.

Now if you want a fancy khukuri that has a wonderful fit and finish along with a decent well made scabbard then buy an HI.
The standard HI line of khukuris are the best in the world as far as many of us here are concerned, you just can't buy a better looking well made khukuri anywhere else.

I say, "Pretty is as pretty does." though and with that many of us here prefer what is called the village models.
BirGhorka's village models are way above and beyond the village models you will see in Nepal or India and they have the same full lifetime guarantee that the regular HI lineup has.
 
Yvsa said:
Since you're going to be traveling and looking for a very well made serviceable khukuri that will do anything you ask of it I can simplify matters a great deal for you.
Just ask the vendor/kami trying to sell you the khukuri for "the bar." They will know what you are talking about even though they may fiegn ignorance. Don't let them get away with it. If they can produce a good khukuri then they will produce the bar, they are not ignorant.
If they don't produce a steel bar for you to test the khukuri on then it's a tourist model and not worth considering.:grumpy:

Now with that said let me tell you this. The excellently made and very serviceable khukuri is probably going to be uglier than homemade sin!!!! :barf:
It is probably going to be very discolored and have hammer marks along the top sides and maybe even on the spine itself.
But when you bring back your arm and swing at the metal bar it is going to cut into it with absolutely no damage to the khukuri!!!! I absolutely Love these kinds of knives no matter where or what part of the country they are made in!!!!:thumbup: :D

Also the handle is more than likely to be one that was put on quick and dirty by burning the hole into the wood with the red hot tang and then either pouring laha into the cavity to harden or heating up the tang to very hot and melting a plastic bag over it and inserting it into the handle locking it in place for several years.
Eventually the handle will fail because it isn't a full tang and is not pinned.
That's the gist of it. Follow what I've told you and you're good to go.

Don't get me wrong, many of the khukuri houses sell some very pretty as well as pretty decent well made knives. The reference to "the bar" still applies if you want to be absolutely sure of the khukuri you choose.;)
Several guys have bought these knives and found the quality to be very good.

Now if you want a fancy khukuri that has a wonderful fit and finish along with a decent well made scabbard then buy an HI.
The standard HI line of khukuris are the best in the world as far as many of us here are concerned, you just can't buy a better looking well made khukuri anywhere else.

I say, "Pretty is as pretty does." though and with that many of us here prefer what is called the village models.
BirGhorka's village models are way above and beyond the village models you will see in Nepal or India and they have the same full lifetime guarantee that the regular HI lineup has.
Click to expand...

What metal is 'the bar' made of? Iron?
How hard should you swing the khukuri? Just a gentle snap, or a full bore swing? You would not want to cut right through the bar and into his table!!!
How thick is the bar also?
This is to test the hardness, right??? So I would guess you have to be sure to test the blade on the HARDENED part, or you would damage ANY khukuri...
 
If you are going to buy a new khukuri "on the ground," in Nepal the khukuri are most likely made there (coals to Newcastle and all that). In India, "Lion butts" aside, it will be harder to say -- especially near the border with Nepal.

As suggested, the gooduns will very seldom be in velvet scabbards with faux jewels and with a blade covered with punched decorations.

Anywhere you go as a tourist, the liklihood is that you will be offered "tourist" khukuri. Perhaps in Nepal you could ask were a young man joining the Indian or UK armed forces would go to get a khukuri for serious business.

How are you going to get it home? Have you considered legal issues?
 
jamesraykenney said:
What metal is 'the bar' made of? Iron?
How hard should you swing the khukuri? Just a gentle snap, or a full bore swing? You would not want to cut right through the bar and into his table!!!
How thick is the bar also?
This is to test the hardness, right??? So I would guess you have to be sure to test the blade on the HARDENED part, or you would damage ANY khukuri...
Click to expand...

James the magazine article I read about this said the bar was mild steel, I imagine something like 1018 mild carbon.
The bar was reported to be about 1/2" square the best I recall. Yup, to test hardness and to see if the edge rolls or chips.
It wasn't said how hard to swing into the bar but I'd swing pretty damned hard and yes, into the sweet spot of the blade.
I'd want to know the knife wasn't going to fail me.;) :D

I read another account of a fellow getting a khuk made from a piece of Willy's Jeep spring and the kami used the plastic bag in place of the laha.
If I were there and going to have one made then I'd specify a full tanged khukuri.
 
Anywhere you go as a tourist, the liklihood is that you will be offered "tourist" khukuri. Perhaps in Nepal you could ask were a young man joining the Indian or UK armed forces would go to get a khukuri for serious business.
Click to expand...

That is good advice indeed. Ask any young fit man and he will have tested for induction as a British Army Ghurka. Few make the grade, but if they do they know it is financial security for their family for life. I have a brand new kuk that was given to me by a retired ghurka major who went there on holiday to see a doctors surgery he had paid for. It is small, medium weight, plain but extremely good quality.

How are you going to get it home? Have you considered legal issues?
Click to expand...

No problem as long as it is in hold luggage. Vespa should not try and carry it on the streets of Liverpool though. The police have guns up there :D
 
Daniel Koster said:
The stainless steels of yesteryear certainly could not hold a candle to carbon steels in every category except rusting, of course. :D

But today's stainless steels are super-alloys that can be quite tough. None of them, however match carbon steel in longer knife blades (like khukuris). They don't have enough "spring" to them and tend to be more likely to snap, then to absorb shock.


And to dispell yet another myth...

I have sitting on my bench here a blade I forged out of ATS-34...and heat-treated it myself, quenching it in oil. So, there....:p :p (Rockwelled at 52, IIRC - not bad for an amateurish attempt and the hardness is higher than your typcial store-bought stainles knife, but not quite good enough for custom-knife buyers). No sweat for me...I did it for fun...and now have some neat practice blades. :D


Stainless is actually harder to grind than properly annealed carbon steels (because of the alloys).
Click to expand...


Daniel, is it true that stainless steel cannot be hardenned (via heat treatment ) or at least not to the same degree as carbon steel ? So the edge of the carbon steel blade is harder than the stainless one ?

What is the carbon content of ATS-34 ? :)
 
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