I first heard of the Bonecutter from a forumite, Hollowdweller, who had a blade from another manufacturer he liked approximately best amongst his collection. I say approximately because I take no stand on his likes and dislikes and have no idea whether or not his old Bonecutter is still tops....maybe it's sunk into disrepute and is currently in some Hong Kong Bar....maybe he's long since sold it on Ebay for 10,000 dollars...maybe it's in a museum or gas station....
I don't particularly believe that one khuk is 'better' than another, though I do believe some individuals think so and some blades fit some people better than others... Regard for chopping ability beyond the norm has been gifted to the M43, the Ganga Ram, the Chiruwa AK, etc etc. The 'Bonecutter' was the newest on the block to gain high status. I recieved mine about a week ago and it is a fine blade. Mine is 16.5" and weighs approximately 32 or 33 ounces. I think. The house scale is missing so I can't try one more attempt at a most accurate measurement. ( I suspect foul play is involved in it's disapearence but that's another story...) This is my first blade from the good Sgt. Yangdu told me for the time being all Bonecutters will be his to offer and that HI Kamis will concentrate on other models. What is very nice about this chiruwa deriviation is that the weight forward feel to the khuk is close to that of a standard tang. The Bonecutter has a tang that thins as it nears the end. I think this is the story with this blade, more than shape, which is leaf-like and does not have the more pronounced bends of other khuk types, but there are certainly many similar blade shapes. The story really is in the handle. Will it hold up? I'm sure it will, though it does get pretty slender; almost a blade in itself by the time the handle is peened, a 1/8th inch. This blade widens to 7/16" above the handle's bolster and maintains about 3/8ths most of the length until narrowing to the tip. The blade seems to my diamond hones to be hardened the entire length.
I do chop wood with HI khuks every year, and carry them about in the wilderness in Montana. A full length hardened blade was available in another manufacture and forumites here requested it for HI. In a martial blade I can understand that, though I do have questions. But in a wood chopping, work blade, the tip should be left soft. Because of the forward bend the blade will contact earth eventually, as it's used to de-limb trees and other tasks. Bill Martino used to say the a hardened tip was a danger if it struck rock or another hard surface and chipped or loosened a chunk into space. I chop with my sons around me and have never been more conscious of this. Perhaps a strictly combat blade could or should be full length hardened, but in a work blade I think this an unneccesary risk to health. Does HI continue to full length harden all models, or some? You tell me.
Though this blade is short and heavy, it balances well, and that's because of the graduated metal handle. My congratulations to the designer and design.
Does one get the percieved strength of the chiruwa style with the balance of the traditional tang? Does this model impart shock to the arm in the same way as the standard chiruwa?
It felt the same as my other chiruwa handled khuks, which means any percieved shock to the hand didn't bother me.
BLM has been thinning and burning the woods around here and you can take advantage of that by hauling off pre-cut logs. I took 3 boys and 4 blades into the woods to shoot test loads in the 450/400 NE 3" and pick up some wood. We know fuel prices are going to be killers this Winter. I don't know how this country can make it with 4 dollar a gallon gasoline. The wood we found was punk, rot having set in. They say we're in a cooling cycle now, and our weather seems to confirm this. It rained 12 days straight this early spring, and the wet climate continues with an abundance of berry and brush being the result. And wood rot. And Mosquitos. When your shirt gets sweated through the darned beasts land and suck blood right through the material. The more you chop the more they seem to like you. That's a deterent to work, eh?
My smallest used a 12" Sirupate. I was very relieved when he'd chomped through the limb attached to the wood log and we could move on. He was actually much safer than some of the photos suggest, camera angle and all that. He did grab a couple logs, loading them on the back of the truck that were half his size- well done, Kid. The middle is just getting into his own chopping style, and spent more time looking that swinging steel. The oldest does well, I don't have to watch him as closely, thank God, because you can't watch everything out in the woods. I had three boys with steel in their hands and wild stuff all around. I gained a lot of sympathy for those fathers who sit them down and say; "Now you sit right here. Don't move. Don't talk. Don't pick up the khuk and wait until I come back." It really is a lot of work to teach and with khuks the consequences are more serious than the art instructor at school flitting about clay ashtrays worring over techique in his students.
Trav found a cougar track on top of the hill. I didn't want him wandering out of the ravine, but after hearing the shock waves of the Nitro Express rifle didn't figure any Cat in the area was sticking around.
I'm going to try posting pics now and I'll come back and write explanations afterwards. Ted kindly has assisted with this process. Hope this works. We'll see soon.
All in all, the Bonecutter is a real winner, and I'm glad HI can offer the Sgt's work. It's a useful deriviation of the chiruwa design. The blade felt more lively in the hand than the weight and short reach would suggest. It's also on the outside range of what I'd consider lugging around all day, and the shortness helps in that regard. I like it very much. Carter used a slender AK of the same length and less weight, and the Bonecutter out performed that particular khukuri. I can't make a generalization about whether or not the Bonecutter is 'best' or 'better', but I can say this Bonecutter, and probably yours too, is well worth having and has earned a spot amongst my favorites. A real go-to blade, and deserving of its very own Cult.
munk
I don't particularly believe that one khuk is 'better' than another, though I do believe some individuals think so and some blades fit some people better than others... Regard for chopping ability beyond the norm has been gifted to the M43, the Ganga Ram, the Chiruwa AK, etc etc. The 'Bonecutter' was the newest on the block to gain high status. I recieved mine about a week ago and it is a fine blade. Mine is 16.5" and weighs approximately 32 or 33 ounces. I think. The house scale is missing so I can't try one more attempt at a most accurate measurement. ( I suspect foul play is involved in it's disapearence but that's another story...) This is my first blade from the good Sgt. Yangdu told me for the time being all Bonecutters will be his to offer and that HI Kamis will concentrate on other models. What is very nice about this chiruwa deriviation is that the weight forward feel to the khuk is close to that of a standard tang. The Bonecutter has a tang that thins as it nears the end. I think this is the story with this blade, more than shape, which is leaf-like and does not have the more pronounced bends of other khuk types, but there are certainly many similar blade shapes. The story really is in the handle. Will it hold up? I'm sure it will, though it does get pretty slender; almost a blade in itself by the time the handle is peened, a 1/8th inch. This blade widens to 7/16" above the handle's bolster and maintains about 3/8ths most of the length until narrowing to the tip. The blade seems to my diamond hones to be hardened the entire length.
I do chop wood with HI khuks every year, and carry them about in the wilderness in Montana. A full length hardened blade was available in another manufacture and forumites here requested it for HI. In a martial blade I can understand that, though I do have questions. But in a wood chopping, work blade, the tip should be left soft. Because of the forward bend the blade will contact earth eventually, as it's used to de-limb trees and other tasks. Bill Martino used to say the a hardened tip was a danger if it struck rock or another hard surface and chipped or loosened a chunk into space. I chop with my sons around me and have never been more conscious of this. Perhaps a strictly combat blade could or should be full length hardened, but in a work blade I think this an unneccesary risk to health. Does HI continue to full length harden all models, or some? You tell me.
Though this blade is short and heavy, it balances well, and that's because of the graduated metal handle. My congratulations to the designer and design.
Does one get the percieved strength of the chiruwa style with the balance of the traditional tang? Does this model impart shock to the arm in the same way as the standard chiruwa?
It felt the same as my other chiruwa handled khuks, which means any percieved shock to the hand didn't bother me.
BLM has been thinning and burning the woods around here and you can take advantage of that by hauling off pre-cut logs. I took 3 boys and 4 blades into the woods to shoot test loads in the 450/400 NE 3" and pick up some wood. We know fuel prices are going to be killers this Winter. I don't know how this country can make it with 4 dollar a gallon gasoline. The wood we found was punk, rot having set in. They say we're in a cooling cycle now, and our weather seems to confirm this. It rained 12 days straight this early spring, and the wet climate continues with an abundance of berry and brush being the result. And wood rot. And Mosquitos. When your shirt gets sweated through the darned beasts land and suck blood right through the material. The more you chop the more they seem to like you. That's a deterent to work, eh?
My smallest used a 12" Sirupate. I was very relieved when he'd chomped through the limb attached to the wood log and we could move on. He was actually much safer than some of the photos suggest, camera angle and all that. He did grab a couple logs, loading them on the back of the truck that were half his size- well done, Kid. The middle is just getting into his own chopping style, and spent more time looking that swinging steel. The oldest does well, I don't have to watch him as closely, thank God, because you can't watch everything out in the woods. I had three boys with steel in their hands and wild stuff all around. I gained a lot of sympathy for those fathers who sit them down and say; "Now you sit right here. Don't move. Don't talk. Don't pick up the khuk and wait until I come back." It really is a lot of work to teach and with khuks the consequences are more serious than the art instructor at school flitting about clay ashtrays worring over techique in his students.
Trav found a cougar track on top of the hill. I didn't want him wandering out of the ravine, but after hearing the shock waves of the Nitro Express rifle didn't figure any Cat in the area was sticking around.
I'm going to try posting pics now and I'll come back and write explanations afterwards. Ted kindly has assisted with this process. Hope this works. We'll see soon.
All in all, the Bonecutter is a real winner, and I'm glad HI can offer the Sgt's work. It's a useful deriviation of the chiruwa design. The blade felt more lively in the hand than the weight and short reach would suggest. It's also on the outside range of what I'd consider lugging around all day, and the shortness helps in that regard. I like it very much. Carter used a slender AK of the same length and less weight, and the Bonecutter out performed that particular khukuri. I can't make a generalization about whether or not the Bonecutter is 'best' or 'better', but I can say this Bonecutter, and probably yours too, is well worth having and has earned a spot amongst my favorites. A real go-to blade, and deserving of its very own Cult.
munk
Anyways sometimes they would show up when I was trimming bushes with my Khukuris or chopping firewood. They always had fun helping me out with that. Your story reminded me of those Fun times!!