Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Uncle Bill - at last, I've got the M43 I wanted!
I originally bought a Murali M43 about a year ago. That particular M43 was a bit straighter than I really like and was one of the slimmer versions, very sirupati-like, and it just never quite grabbed me - except I loved the grip. As it turned out, we weren't meant to be together. Within a few weeks, I accidentally wrecked the blade when I chopped into a branch that was full of embedded nails. The blade resembled the waves on a stormy ocean and had actually split in one place before I realised the damage had occurred. No blade could have survived those multiple hits on multiple large embedded nails. As I later found out, a previous occupier of the yard had built a cubby house for his kids on that particular branch. He pulled the cubby house down years ago but never removed the nails and the tree just grew over them.
It's been a year now and I knew it was time to try again. There may be other khukuri styles that are more functional - probably can't chop as well as an AK, probably too forward heavy and slower than a WW II - but there is something about an M43 that I can't resist - to me it's the epitome of what a khukuri should look like.
I've been on holidays for about a week and knew it was time to try for a replacement M43. I have been getting up early trying for one of Uncle Bill's specials, but it had to have just the right curves in just the right places (I think my wife is getting jealous). I tried for a beauty on 4/17/03. But someone beat me to it as I was writing my email. I learnt my lesson on that one. I made up a draft email waiting to go at the push of a button. I missed another beauty by Bura on 4/18/03. On that day I got up early and didn't see an M43 on the first group of Easter specials. I forgot that Uncle Bill sometimes puts up more than one group of specials on the one day - that day he put up three groups of specials and the second group had a magnificent M43 - somebody was lucky but it wasn't me. I checked out the Cantina after mowing the lawn and nearly cried when I saw I had missed a Bura beauty. I made a resolution then and there that I would never mow the lawn again.
Ahha, but this one - I got up at 2.45am Australian time to try again - something told me Uncle Bill was going to put up another M43 - and this time success - you wonderful, wonderful man, Uncle Bill. This M43 is probably a little bit heavier than I wanted but it has all the curves in just the right places - I can't wait to get it - but I tell one thing - I may one day mow the lawn again - but I ain't ever again going anywhere near any of the trees in this backyard.
