If any of you have read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' you may have a slightly different definition of the word 'quality' than those who have not. Pirsig used the word to denote anything of inherent beauty and functionality, and quite a wide definition it was.
My wood WWII has 'quality'. Oh my, yes. I had the pleasure of turning a waste tree into sawdust over a very enjoyable couple of hours, and came in to the house to make dinner. I used the kukri (with no interim sharpening) to slice the garlic into matchsticks for stir-frying, and I would not have believed that a nearly 2lb knife could be controlled with such precision, nor retain such an edge.
I've always been brought up to believe that tools (and I firmly believe that the kurki is a tool first and a weapon second - the one definition fits inside the other) should be bought with quality uppermost in mind and that you buy the best you can afford.
My kukri feels so 'right' in the hand - it's almost an organic extension of my hand and arm, whether hacking through wood or used with a controlled tap of the spine to shell crab claws, which incidentally, created quite a spectacle for the neighbours - me sitting cross-legged in the back garden with a pile of crabs to one side of me, a dirty great kukri in one hand, and a pile of shell fragments growing to the other side - the kids were riveted. *laughing*
My wood WWII has 'quality'. Oh my, yes. I had the pleasure of turning a waste tree into sawdust over a very enjoyable couple of hours, and came in to the house to make dinner. I used the kukri (with no interim sharpening) to slice the garlic into matchsticks for stir-frying, and I would not have believed that a nearly 2lb knife could be controlled with such precision, nor retain such an edge.
I've always been brought up to believe that tools (and I firmly believe that the kurki is a tool first and a weapon second - the one definition fits inside the other) should be bought with quality uppermost in mind and that you buy the best you can afford.
My kukri feels so 'right' in the hand - it's almost an organic extension of my hand and arm, whether hacking through wood or used with a controlled tap of the spine to shell crab claws, which incidentally, created quite a spectacle for the neighbours - me sitting cross-legged in the back garden with a pile of crabs to one side of me, a dirty great kukri in one hand, and a pile of shell fragments growing to the other side - the kids were riveted. *laughing*