Clearing vines with the AKB + Bonus Reti action!

S

SingleGrind

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Jun 15, 2015
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I've had it for a little bit now, and it's been fondled quite a lot, but that's not the (only) reason I get these blades. I carry my Mini Micro Bowie every day, and I wanted to know what it's pappy could do!

Here's the pics of my 15" AK Bowie fresh outta the box:

First thought was, "Wow! This is a little bigger and heavier than I thought!"


Then I took it out of the sheath...


At which point I said "This is MUCH bigger and heavier than I thought!"


But it was love at first sight, since these fullers are to die for


Beautiful marks by Lachhu


Fits perfectly in my hand, despite the large size.


And take a look at that distal taper! Not to mention spine thickness.


This week I was finally able to get my AK Bowie out for it's first workout. Vine clearing. I do it about 2 or 3 times a year, both at my parents house and wherever they grow. But these aren't any ordinary vines.

Up here in the Northeast, we have this vine called Mile a Minute. It's an invasive species, and can grow up to 6" per day. This stuff will climb 10-15' straight up before it finds the first branch to grab, then it starts going right up and around the tree and itself and anything else it touches. What's worse, it runs, and the root system stretches out in a web shooting new sprouts up everywhere.

The vines can get to be inches thick and they'll twist around each other too. Cutting these vines doesn't do much to stop the overall infestation, you have to pull up all the roots. But that's no fun, and chopping them up with a big blade is :)

So far I'd tested my Kobra, a KLVUK, BAS, and Baby Hasiya on these same vines, but mainly the smaller ones. I found a nice patch of big beefy vines, and decided it was the perfect task for a big beefy Bowie

Here is the patch of vines in question


Don't look that bad you say? How bout a Bowie for some scale..


And so the chopping began


I hacked and slashed my way through, but finally the vines were defeated. Take a look at the size of the one under my foot! Also note, the knife is stuck into the vine at hip-height, not sitting on the rock


There wasn't any good way of photographing the aftermath, since it just looked like an open area. But I will say that all of those vines that are vertical in the first picture are now horizontal :)

All in all, I'm not sure I'd use the AKB for that task in the future, as the Kobra and KLVUK are much better at it. I will try out the Dui Chirra on those vines one day soon, and definitely the Tibetan Short Sword as well. My Tamang will have its day as well.

BONUS CONTENT!!

Last week I was finally able to get my hands on a Reti. This one is 15" 9oz with Neem wood handle, made by Kumar, and feels like a lightsaber in hand. Don't have many proper pictures, but I did a little testing.

Here she is


Got this here box that my skis came in. The skis are great, but the box is just too big to fit in the recycling bin.


What to do, what to do...hmm..OH, I have an idea


Reti is able to take down boxes MANY times it's own size. Scary to think what it could do to a chunk of meat.


Eventually I'll try out the Reti on some plants, so I can get an idea of what it can really do. It'll definitely find it's way into some food prep as well. Til then, I'd love to hear if anyone has used a Reti outside the kitchen, to do more than cut cardboard for fun, or cat-houses :p
 
I like the recurved edge on the AK Bowie, and the deep double fullers.

Was this one made by Lachhu Kami? It's hard to make out the kami mark because of reflection.
 
David, those deep double fullers are what drew me to Lachhu's bowies, and the recurve was the nail in the coffin. I much prefer this style to the ones with a more "traditional" AK-fuller on the back. These are more Dui Chirra Bowies than Ang Khola Bowies in my opinion, seeing as AK and DC describe the physical traits. My MMB actually is more Micro DC Bowie than Micro AK Bowie. But I digress.

Bawanna, I like where you're going with that. It would look fantastic all checkered up, though my real longing is for wood handles. Like snakewood or neem or something like that. I really like the light, grainy woods. Either way, I think I'll use it a bit more and perhaps rough up that horn a little before changing it much. Still not a huge fan of horn, especially on a non-khukuri style handle. It's a bit slippy without the flare at the bottom.
 
Great photos and write up Singlegrind! I have a Lachhu 15in Bowie that looks identical to yours except that mine has red wood handle scales. My balances sooooooo nice for its size. You would think a blade of that size would be cumbersome, but it's not.

Mine feels amazing as I bet yours does. Love seeing the NE woods, reminds me of home. My house in Ipswich is surrounded by bike, horse, walking trails along with some pretty dense stuff. Thanks again for the write up.
 
I'm in agreement with SG and GB, the Lachhu AKB's are especially beautiful. His interpretation of handle design and the perceived tang to blade angle are impeccable. I also have the same made by Kumar, one is not better than the other, just different in ways equally appreciated. I was lucky to get Sadan Wood on my AKB by Lachhu which makes it special for my personal tastes. Now, the BGAKB is a completely different animal. At 20" and 49oz it's a formidable beast unlike I've ever held before.
 
Great pics man! Thats a good looking AKB! Gotta love the feel of them eh? They are monsters. They do best on stationary chopping where you have something to back up the subject at hand like something on a stump. Or the stump itself. Man them vines look like some kinda Medusa horror movie! Great job on them. Purdy Reti too!
 
Thanks for the review. I had sort of viewed the AKB as a curiosity or collector's piece, but it is cool to see it used. I have added it to my "want list". Those vines look gnarly, and I am super supportive of attacking invasive species with large blades. Good job!

I use my Reti on a native, but still invasive due to fire suppression, species here it the Texas hill country. It is the best thing I have found for taking the bark off of "cedar" (really ashe juniper) posts. The stuff is taking over, shading out native grasses, and sucking up all the water. I like to cut it down with large khukuris and peel it with the Reti and then make random stuff out of it. Really, I just like to cut it down.
 
Awesome pics:)

The AKB might be my favorite knife HI makes. Oddly enough, I don't have one in 15" anymore. My old man needed a camping knife some 8 years or so back, and I wanted him to have the best...so he got my AKB:D I need to replace it one of these days. I'd love to get my hands on one by Kumar, actually.

As for the reti, man they are sweet aren't they. I just got done making a high and tight sheath for mine, and I mean HIGH. The belt loop sits at about the belly of the knife. It's so balanced, it rides just fine with that much handle above the leather. I wanted to make a sheath that would conceal it. At that level, an ordinary flannel shirt hides it since it is pressed so tightly against my side. You look a little apish trying to clear leather, but it still comes out pretty fast and should loosen up with use.
Love what Kumar can do with an old worn out file:D
 
GB and Ndog, that blade feels amazing in hand. The balance point is about an inch or 2 forward of the handle, right past the cho, and when you move the blade around that point, like a sword, it becomes weightless in hand. All I can say is that it handles like a blade half it's size.

Khukoo, here's how I think about it: to 99% of the people out there, ALL of HI's blades are pretty much curiosity/collectors pieces. But these blades are workhorses disguised by their beauty. Like a lumberjack putting on a tuxedo. Long as he ain't afraid to scuff up that tux, he'll still be cuttin wood all day!

Honestly I grew up with a strong aversion to Bowie style knives and blades. Closest I got was a KABAR, and I never really like that. Not til I saw these Bowies did I even considered a large one, and even then, it wasn't til I saw one of Ndog's in action when I became convinced of their utility.

I wanna reiterate the fact that the AKB was certainly not the best tool for this particular job, my KLVUK, Tamang, Dui Chirra, and even Foxy Folly would have definitely worked better and been easier/faster. However, on something like a car-camping trip where you won't encounter downed trees or real heavy-chopping, the AKB has, IMO, a distinct advantage over a khuk: it's more knife-like. It's easier to do things like food prep with a straighter blade, unless you have a good amount of experience with a khuk. That, combined with the chopping ability of the Bowie, would make it a wonderful camping blade, able to tackle any task, and looking good the whole time.

Steely, could we see a pic of that sheath pretty please? You got me curious now
 
SingleGrind said:
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Steely, could we see a pic of that sheath pretty please? You got me curious now
Click to expand...
Yeah me too! Sounds interesting.

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Here is one I had made for a friend for his birthday. It rides super low for motorcycle carry.

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Mine is Baldric but can be carried horizontal as well but im afraid if it ever came out of the sheath it would cut my leg off:eek: Thats a Vim Super AKB. Dont think i'll ever part with this one:p
 
Great pix and post
Deepa with Super CAK

 
Perhaps none of us should comment about an excessive weight Kuhkri after viewing this picture. She's tiny and appears quite undaunted.
 
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