Cold Steel Kuk's

S

simonmcg

Joined
Aug 9, 2001
Messages
6
Hi,
I have just bought a Cold Steel Kuk, actually I bought it last week, it cost me or there abouts.

I knew about HI before I bought it. I plan to buy a HI next, probably next week.

What I want to know is this. Are the cold steel kuk's worth anything, I mean, are they any good? Or are they useless?

The HI ones seem to be nicer and more accurate, while cold steel is an americanised one. But forget about that, is it a good knife, thats what I want to know?

Also, why are the HI knives so cheap? Surley custom knives and thats what they are, should be more expensive. At lest $400 or more.

If you ask me HI are selling them too cheap.

Simon
 
Welcome to the Cantina Simon, others will be along shortly with more info but I can tell you what I know. Cold Steel I have no experience with and therefore can't comment. HI knives are fantastic. They are cheap because the cost of labor in Nepal is cheap due to the great differences in our economy and theirs. This does not mean the kamis (the craftsmen who make the knives) are being exploited. They are actually very well paid and taken care of by HI. HI is a family owned and operated business and Bill Martino does his best to strike a fair balance between cost and price for all involved. I agree and so do others that Uncle Bill could charge a lot more for these knives, but that just goes a little way towards illustrating his character. When you buy from him and see the level of service you get, you will see even more of it and understand that HI knives are the best deal on the face of this earth.
 
What Bob said, tripled, in spades. This is not just a win-win enterprise. It is also a "nobody loses" enterprise.

I gave you a sort of long-winded opinion on Cold Steel vs. HI over on KF - Cold Steel is a good knife, and the company is well-run and reputable. They are not, however, Khukuris. Khukuris are made in Nepal, out of a hot forge by men whose families have made blades for centuries. Both are good, but they ain't the same, no way no how.

Welcome to the Cantina, Simon - I think you'll like it here :D
 
Cold Steel has a good rep. They use quality steel. Personally I have never liked them for two reasons, (1) With the exception of their original tanto line, they don't have any style (I think most of there knives are ugly) and are over priced for making simple designs with little detailing. (2) Being production line manufactured the blades are one hardness. So they would tend to be less hardy than a zone hardened blade, MMMMMMM, LIKE HI KUKS, which are INDESTRUCTABLE. (3) They don't have any LIFE. OK three reasons. Simon check out the HI web site and take some time to read about the company and the people, you'll get a good feel for what they're about. Click on any of Bill Martino's postings and at the bottom you will see the web address for HI you can click on.
 
Welcome to the Cantina simonmcg :)

Everything said about HI's khukuris and the integrity of the company is true. Of the three co.s manufacturing or retailing Nepalese khukuris (HI, KH and GH), HI's ARE the most expensive. You also get MORE than you pay for with HI :) HI's khukuris are the finest being made in Nepal today.

With regards to CS products, you didn't mention which one (kukri, lt. kukri, mini lt. kukri) you bought? While it cannot rightfully be called a Khukuri, I feel their 'kukri' model would be a fine outdoorsman's knife. The other two models I don't particularly care for :( And yes I am a fan of CS products and have been for a long time.
 
The Cold Steel khukuris aren't real 'khukuris', they would be more accurately described as 'khukuri-styled knives'. They don't have a cho (that little notch at the base of the blade) and their blades are not differentially hardened. The kraton handle is hardly traditional, but it serves its purpose quite well (that is, to keep the knife from flying out of one's hand).

I have their light ghurka model and it does well on wood targets, including small trees, but it has a tendency to stick due to its thin cross section. It will do very well on soft targets though, and I think that is what it was designed for.

HI Khukuris, on the other hand, are hand forged and fitted, and differentially hardened by master smiths. The quality in these fine blades are evident when you pick them up. My 22" Kobra, made by Bura, is quite thick on the spine but very sharp at the edge and is extremely well balanced. It has sufficient mass to lend momentum to the cut, chop or slice, yet the weight distribution is such that swinging it is a joy in its own right.
 
Originally posted by Black Bear
(3) They don't have any LIFE.
Click to expand...
:eek:


( voice over loudspeaker ) "Paging Doctor Frankenstein..." :D


Sorry Gewi, I can resist anything but temptation.

Simonmcg, I'm teasing Blackbear - but I agree with him that there is a spirit, a life, even magic ( whatever that is ) to the handforged blades that come out of Birghorka. You have to handle them, maybe several before it happens, but there will be one that speaks to you. Factory knives just can't have that special "something" to them.
 
Well Rusty when you are right... you are right. I still reach for my 20" sirupati first...every time :)

I think that cold steel are great knives. But the cold steel khukri is a bit of a misnomer.

A khukri is a weapon and a tool. The CS might make a great weapon, but I can't really see it doining the work that many of my HI khukris do on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong here CS makes good stuff, some things they can do better than HI. But Khukris are not one of those things.

BTW: the service is much better here than any other place in the world. (at least the bits of it that I have traveled) I mean have you ever tried to get anything from thier website? What a pain in the BUTT!!
 
Just gotta jump in here too...:)

Cold Steel makes some great products,several of which I was known to carry as back-up weapons when I worked the streets. :eek:

But now when it comes to khukuris...

HI products are made by master craftsmen... who make them pretty much the way that they have always been made...WHERE they have traditionaly been made. Translation - they have it down to an art, and flat know what they're doing! In my case, it's kinda' like that with Bowies too...I have yet to handle a foreign made one that feels quite like one made here in the States. To me, my Livesay Sandbar or a good ol' Western or Case just feels different then a Sheffield or some of the others. Maybe I'm crazy :rolleyes: but it's just that way with me.

Plus...when you buy a HI khukuri, you are buying the best product...from a great man... at a bargain price...helping a lot of people in Nepal...and joining the best bunch of folks on the knife forums. Works for me... :D
 
Welcome to the cantina, Simon! My 2 cents worth is that you have to look to the source for particular knives. Where better to get a Khukuri than from a man who's family makes them? Not only does his family make Khukuris, but makes the Best!

No matter how great a CS Khukuri is it is lacking the vital element only you can add: Pride of ownership!:D This is something you will come to realize when you compare a HI Khuk and CS's offering side by side. HI Khuks perform as advertised and swinging one is believing.

Check the HI website for product performance comparisons between CS and HI.

-Craig
 
Simon, to echo what Cuttin Craig said, today I pulled out my whopping Ang Khola to trim a downed tree at my church. There was another man there who has a terrible back but I couldn't keep him from chopping away until he'd worked up a sweat. Then I started cutting limbs as thick as your leg while he stood there saying "I couldn't do it that fast with an axe!" It is a truly beautiful knife, polished until it looks chromed, perfectly straight and put together so well I am in awe.

BTW, do NOT buy a 20" Ang Khola unless you mean serious harm to large objects. It will lead to thick wrists and constant fondling...

Stephen
 
Well, thanks so much for all the replies, I never thought I would get so many replies in just one day.

Well, my Cold Steel KuK arrived today. Its a nice knife, good steel, very sharp and looks like it keeps an edge, dident do much with it though. I got the largest model. Although there are only three. Its a 12 inch blade.

You guys are right when you say its not a real kuk, its more of an 'americanised kuk' or an american knife based on the kuk designe.

Sure, it LOOKS like a kuk, basic shape ect..to the causal observer, but those of us that know what a real kuk is know the difference. And I ain't no expert, I am totaly new at this and even I see the large differences between cold steels kuk and a real one.

I still like it though. I like it for what it is.
I like it for being a good knife, I would rather a good knife than something that is 'authentic'. Sure, authentic knives are nice if you collect, but in the feild it doesent matter.

Not that the HI authentic kuk's would have problems in the feild, I am just making the point that I am not mad about authentic knives, doesent mean all that much to me, except for collecting value.


The cold steel handle, well, it is crap. I would imagine it falling off at some stage!
The sheath, well, its crap, its some cheap leather that would surley rot with the jungle heat, the sweat and dirt ect..

Its a heavy knife. Its 1/4 inch spine, about that anyway. Maby more actually, not sure, so dont quote anything I wrote here!

I will get a HI soon. I like the fact that the HI look real and actually are real. They are very nice looking, thats what attracts me, the designe, the lovleieness of them.

While the cold steel hunch-backed feind sits in my bottom drawer my sexy HI will sit on the mantel peice!

Yours
Simon mcglynn
 
:
I have a Cold Steel LTC or light terrain chopper that's about an 1/8" thick.
I call it my bent machete and it's really a good little knife that does what it's designed for in a very good way. I'm still pleased with it and give it the respect it's due.
It has earned that much.
But it's obviously not a real chopper in the sense that the H.I.Khukuris are, but I got it on a close out and didn't pay much for it.

But since I have been buying H.I.Khukuris I haven't used the little knife.:)
I used to cut willow every year or so for building a Sweatlodge and always used the LTC for cutting them.
It will take about an 1 1/2" willow down in a couple of chops.
The H.I. models will take a willow that size in one good swipe.:D

I don't believe you will be sorry or disapointed when you get a H.I. model, but I will almost bet you won't get just one.;)
 
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