"CHATUR VALA BY RAJKUMAR
Overall lenght --15.5''
Weight --20 oz
Spine thickness 1/4''
Chiruwa carved wood handle
Standard leather scabbard"
I received the Chatur Vala yesterday and want to say a few words about it.
First, though, I have a question for anyone who might know the meaning of the name, "chatur vala." Based on the shape of the handle, if I had to guess it would be "bird knife." I've seen deals for the "spear vala," which perhaps translates as "spear knife," but again that's just a guess. So, does chatur = bird, and vala = knife, or is it something altogether different?
Now to the review. I'm not set up to post pictures, but Yangdu's original pictures are quite good.
The knife is even more impressive in person than in the photos. The first thing I noticed is that the handle is very comfortable.
The length, measured in a straight line from the tip of the blade to the rear of the handle, is 16". The blade is 9" and the handle 7", which allows several ways to hold the knife. The weight is 21.5 oz. So it's really somewhat bigger than Yangdu's specs. The knife is much more massive than the mere numbers would suggest, in part because of the width and shape of the blade.
The thickest part of the spine is in the handle, and the balance point is where the blade meets the handle. For a chopper that would not be good. As a fighting knife, it feels very nimble in the hand and has an appropriately menacing appearance.
Beyond the handle the spine narrows to 3/16", but that's misleading because the thickest part of the blade is not at the spine, but on the line running along the middle of the blade, as clearly shown in Yangdu's pictures. It's about 1/4" thick on that line, tapering toward the point. The widest part of the blade is 2 1/8" (about the same as my heavy 16 1/2" CAK). That's a lot of steel in the blade without a lot of weight.
The carving, fit and finish are all excellent. The blade came sharp enough to cut paper easily with the point and the edge. The only flaw I can see is that the steel bends slightly to one side near the end of the handle where the "bird head" is shaped. Very minor and purely cosmetic. The scabbard is well made and the knife fits it perfectly.
Rajkumar Kami does really good work. I have three of his knives, different models, and they are all excellent. Some of his recent knives are works of art in the fullest sense. I'm glad to see that he is getting the opportunity to produce knives of this quality.
-- Dave
