Each Kami's blades have their own strength and distinct features.

The comfort of Kumar's handles!

 

DRM is right. Kumar does make, IMHO, some of the best feeling handles in the shop. Kumar has a way of making a blade that looks like it's been poured. Just curvy and graceful. He's gotten a lot better about not rushing his grinds as well. Some of the blades I have gotten have a beautiful blade with even fullers and a great shaped handle only to have hiccups in the grinding of the edge.

Bura makes some of the best working blades. I've never seen his pre-stroke stuff, but the stuff he cranks out is great. I was never a huge fanatic of Bura. Kumar's stuff spoke to me a lot more, but Bura's stuff is tough as nails. Most of my working blades that I go to are Buras. The Sarge/KPH that rides in my back pocket every waking hour is made by him. The 22" GRS that has some magical property that displaces mass as i swing it is his handy work. And, of course, my favorite all time blade the AK bowie was forged by him.

Sher makes some great stuff. His edge probably holds up better to hard use than any other knife by any other kami...at least in my experience. I only have a few pieces by him, but they command respect. The M43 I have is probably one of my favorites. The blade shape is perfect, the handle is spot on and curvy, but the edge...oh the edge is scary. almost convexed out of the box and split ya to the bone sharp.

Other kamis work that i have are also special to me. Amtrak makes handles that rival Kumar's and has a way with blades that if Kumar hadn't fixed some of his slop, i would be asking for Amtrak blades instead. I have a 20.5" 20.5 oz Kobra that no one here can convince me that I will break under any normal to above normal use. It's phenominal.
I also have a couple of blades by Shanker. I have a brute of a 15" AK that has the thickest toughest edge of any khuk i own. i'm thinking that this thing was kind of a throwback to what a shop one khuk was like. Held together with JB weld and electrical tape. Still going strong after 3 years.
Let's not forget Sgt Karka either. All i have is one of his biltons..but they are so good! I specifically asked Yangdu if she had some Sgt. Karka biltons when i ordered them for wedding gifts for my groomsmen. His blades are always convex and his nickle silver work is impecable.

Jake

 

Bura has the best design conception from start to finish, and the best of his stuff looks as if God said: "here's what a khuk looks like". His lines are so darn good. Even post stroke, about the worst you can say about him is he's lost some resolution...the forms sometimes are not as pronounced. His edge hardness was always right up there about 60 + Rockwell. His small tools were and are second to nobodies, especially the handles.

Kumar is just great all around. He's an artist like Bura and puts out the finest in finish and overall shape dynamic. I've never had an edge problem with him but you understand all these opinions are anecdotal being as how I read from others here over time and have handled and seen many blades. Still, not enough blades to be 'expert'. I personally thought Kumar would be heir apparent to Bura but both Yangdu and Bill thought Sher was/is. Bill always said Kumar's horn handles were better than anyones.

Kumar's brother Sher is my favorite, I guess, if you have to have favorites, and I DONT. Sher falls down in shape and form, line not quite as sharp as Bura or Kumar on occasion but then he surprises you. Almost as if to say; "Yeah, well, when I feel like it I can finish them real fit and tidy munk so keep quiet." I trust Sher's blades because he puts a hard tough edge on a stout blade. I like Sher because I like to think he'd know me if he saw me swing one of his once or twice.

Sanu was once heir apparent to Bura but he's gone. His stuff had form. Classic flow. Ferrous and some others always thought he was top notch. His edges tended to wander right to left sometimes which was kind of funny. My 25" AK that Bill sent just to me that I initially thought was the Whizz Kid is actually Sanu.

Kesar was the workingman's kukri. Sometimes his lines were rough, but he'd turn around and make something startling when he wanted to also. His sweet spots seemed more pronouced to me. The edge hardness was usually below Bura's at around 57 to 59 Rockwell.

I don't know the Railroad and Whizz kids as well as some here. Their stuff is good. Butterlamp Kami, the two brothers who used to put out stuff was always rock solid. Just good clean stuff.

The Duck can tell you all about the M43 and the Kami who made them legend.


munk

 

So far, I don't have to many HI's, but I'm working on it. I picked up one of the blem FF's. It's made by Sher. The blade is great. Good and straight,(for being hand made), good clean lines, even fullers. Small bolster and minimal cho creep. The handle isn't the best. The ring was a little too far back, but that was easily taken care of. Overall fit and finish was good, but it had 3 flat spots on the edge.

Satori hooked me up with a keen edge, now I have to be careful.

I've also got a BGRS on the way. Not sure who made it, but I'll update here when I know.

mike

 

They're not my first kuks. They're my first HI kuks.

mike

 

Astrodada, Actually, to correct your earlier post, I've got a BGRS coming, not the full sized GRS. (I do want one though). I just bought the "Baby Ram".

As for starting off small, it's a personal choice. There's nothing that says you have to start off small or big. You have to choose what looks best to your eye, and go from there.

mike

 

Bura is my favorite. Overall his handles are not as fat as others so they are more comfortable to me. Sometimes they are a little too long for me, but that is more appearance and not function. Also Bura has the greater penetration thinner edge. The only complaint I have about Bura is so far I have had 3 of his khuks whose edges rolled a little. I managed to sharpen the roll out of them but that's still part of my experience.

I agree that Kumar makes awesome handles, however for my type of use his edges are too steep and the orig FF Kumar I had had a 1" spot that was soft. It would not roll but it would flatten out whenever I chopped with it.

I think Amtrak swastika kami has the best tempered ones I have used. His edges are not as nice as Bura's though. Usually have to spend some time re shaping a little.

I like Sher's stuff especially his flare at the end of the handle. His are tempered well too. His edges are a little steep for me but not bad.

Sgt. Karka makes a good all around blade. Excellent temper, not as thin an edge as Bura but not as thick as any of the other guys. He also does awesome handles. I like his designs better than anyone just about, but my one complaint is if he could lighten them up a little like Bura they would be perfect :thumbup:

Overall for me Bura does the best job of weight, edge and balance. However I think his are less good for heavy duty splitting than say Sher.

 

I say go for tip heavy. It takes no getting used to! The balance is more natural and takes no getting used to either. That is my experience. However if you get one with a fatter edge(more steep) you need to practice with your strikes some cause that type has more of a tendency to glance off.

As far as size, the main thing is what are you going to use it for? Most of mine is for cutting limbs and stuff up to about 6" or so. For that 15 to 18" is fine. For felling or heavy chopping a heavier khuk is easier, but that same heavy khuk will not swing easily like a machete and will wear out your hand on extended chopping.

 

R.R. made all of my Ang Kholas. I don't recall seeing anything else of his though. He did a good job on the chiruwa but nerfed the heat treat on the 20" - everything else about it is great, though.

We're forgetting "Bam", aren't we? The "!" kami certainly has his followers. He did an excellent job on my 20" siru.

Sgt. Karka doesn't seem to do many big blades but when he does, they're outstanding. Very clean lines, excellent heat treat - just a very good khuk overall that's more traditional than most of the HI variants.

Bura is probably the top dog and he seems to do the majority of the trickier items. (Swords, dui/tin chirras, etc.) If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Bura.

Don't worry about Mike, Astrodada. He's got a few of his own and he's played with most of my collection as well. He has a good idea of what he likes and what he doesn't like.

 

You are certain to become a Bura Fan...

 

Satori, True you are. Me likey GRS, but the money just isn't there yet. I'll have to save a little.

mike

 

True, each kami will have his own personal syle, and a following of people who like it. Sometimes it's just a roll of the dice though.

mike