Daphne Ang Khola Blem Pictures

[sweetcostarica]

Hello All,
I'm new here but very happy to be part of this unique group of Kukri enthusiast. My second Himalayan Imports Khukuri arrived 12 hours ago and all I can say is wow!
Specs: 11.25 inch high gloss blade, 6.5 inch handle, 26 oz, with full-tang. Also because it is blemished the cost was 95 USD.

The last picture shows why this Kukri is a blem. The Danphe (Pheasant in English) knife's left cheek has separated from the steel at the end of the handle. I plan to use it hiking and camping so that's OK. This kind of handmade quality is welcomed and I will most likely buy one more H.I. Kukri. Wait a minute, I said that last time.
I'm curious, does anyone else out there have a Danphe Kukri or another type of bird Kukri? Could you post pictures of yours too?

 

[kronckew]

that blade is gorgeous with that fullering and decorative grooving. a little colored epoxy on the boo-boo should fix the pheasant right up. how's it feel in the hand compared to a more conventional khuk?

 

[Steve Tall]

Thanks for the photos, I was wondering what it looked like in the sheath.
That's quite a knife, especially at that price. Like a decorated Chiruwa AK, not too heavy, with an extra-long handle for versatility.

The Rajkumar Hanshee also looks like a bird.

 

[Brummie]

Daphne is that one with the bob off Scooby-Doo. The Himalayan Monal - the pheasant and national bird of Nepal that the knife is named after - is called Danphe. FWIW.

 

[gomipile]

Daphne is that one with the bob off Scooby-Doo. The Himalayan Monal - the pheasant and national bird of Nepal that the knife is named after - is called Danphe. FWIW.

Yup: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_Monal.

Also, I too am curious as to how this khukuri feels in the hand. It looks like it would be quite comfortable. Also, in a hypothetical defensive situation, can you imagine getting hit with that beak? Ouch.

 

[sweetcostarica]

Nice comments. Other than the great price I bought this pheasant because it looks less scary to people on the trail/hike.
The feel in hand? Well, comparing it to my Khukuri House models...stop there's no comparison there. Comparing it to my Tora Indra 32 cm kukri, surprisingly their balance is similar and that balance is great. Even though the pheasant kukri is heavier the long handle aids handling well. This birds grip is really comfortable due to the large, round, contoured handle.
A big thank you to "Brummie" and "gomipile" on the spelling of pheasant in Nepal.
Not this Daphne: This Danphe:

I got my birds mixed up. Opps, sorry about that

 

[stickfred]

Looks like you got a really sweet khukuri there sweetcostarica. Should be an excellent trail khuk. Thanks for sharing your detailed pics with us. And Welcome to the Forum, glad to have you.

 

[kronckew]

please don't scare them little brown bears y'all have on the mainland while hiking. there is a story about an elderly nepali farmer who was attacked by a bear, he split it's skull and killed it with one blow of his khukuri. nepali bears, tho, ain't very large compared to the browns we had wandering around the base on kodiak (and the nepali sun bears are also a tad smaller than your mainland brownies which were smaller than ours). a khuk would likely make even a mainland brown a bit ornery before you dispatched it and you might get a scratch or two.

farmer & bear linky

 

[sweetcostarica]

Hey kronchew, I have heard of that story too, and some people on the internet say they bought a big Bowie or KuKri to protect themselves from bear attack.
But I'm thinking, I got one kukri but this bears got ten long "knives, five in each paw. So, I would use bear spray or if possible back away slowly if I ran into one. Take a look at the size of this Grizzly:

Facts about the above bear: name: Bart, raised in Utah from the age of 5 to 22 years old (passed away), was 1,500 pounds.
The Kodiak bear is larger!

 

[kronckew]

i remember when i flew into kodiak to report for duty on my cutter, the airport had a teeny kodiak bear (stuffed) standing in a glass display. i seem to recall it's height at about 10 ft. i forget the pre-stuff weight. used to see them on the mountain across the bay from our ship. had one follow me to the rifle range once. (saw it's tracks in the snow overlaying my tracks where i'd walked in). cuddly little fellers. one killed two marine guards at a remote post. they did manage to get off two mags of .45acp into it, which made it mad. the recovery team did find it a few hundred yards away where it had finally bled out.

re: bear spray:

View attachment 255212

 

[sweetcostarica]

You had an interesting time in the USA. Bears are truly worthy of respect. Right now they are hibernating in Alaska so I have no fear of attack when I start winter camping (too cold now though). The Kukri should be very useful for that. I just have to figure out the right weight and length for my style of hiking/camping. That's the fun part of life: the trial and error.
Signing off my friend. It is almost 0100 hours in Anchorage (bed time:yawn and it is what almost 1000 hours in the UK.