- Joined
- Feb 23, 2002
- Messages
- 3,674
I have three sons who always gather around to "ooh" and "aah" whenever another one of those long boxes arrives from Reno. They are also quite impressed at the ease with which I use these blades to cleave through the tangled masses of black locust up on our hillside.
So today, when it was once again time to clear and burn some brushpiles, I took my oldest son and my two newest khuk purchases afield for a work session.
I used the M43 and junior, after the requisite safety demonstration and briefing, used a 15" AK.
We spent about five hours falling, bucking and limbing small black locust trees (up to 4" diameter and up to 30 feet tall) with the knives. Both performed flawlessly.
The small AK really impressed me as I'm used to performing this task with larger blades. My son had no trouble using this knife, and once he got the hang of it he could almost keep up with me. Sanu's blade showed no sign of wear at day's end and was keen enough to give a rough shave after cleaning and oiling.
The M43 blade was likewise. Saint Jim's prophecy was true, the M43 handles like a dream and cuts effortlessly. The smooth handle took me a bit to get used to, raised a couple new blisters but did not ever cause any fatigue to my hand. Looks like I'll have to rotate some of my khuks to different assignments now since this one's going to be the premier brushcutter.
My son, of course, now REALLY wants his very own HI khukuri. I asked him which, of all the designs he's seen and handled, appeals most to him. Silly me, I figured he'd try to talk me out of the AK or one of my Gelbu's or such.
Nope. He wants his own M43.
So today, when it was once again time to clear and burn some brushpiles, I took my oldest son and my two newest khuk purchases afield for a work session.
I used the M43 and junior, after the requisite safety demonstration and briefing, used a 15" AK.
We spent about five hours falling, bucking and limbing small black locust trees (up to 4" diameter and up to 30 feet tall) with the knives. Both performed flawlessly.
The small AK really impressed me as I'm used to performing this task with larger blades. My son had no trouble using this knife, and once he got the hang of it he could almost keep up with me. Sanu's blade showed no sign of wear at day's end and was keen enough to give a rough shave after cleaning and oiling.
The M43 blade was likewise. Saint Jim's prophecy was true, the M43 handles like a dream and cuts effortlessly. The smooth handle took me a bit to get used to, raised a couple new blisters but did not ever cause any fatigue to my hand. Looks like I'll have to rotate some of my khuks to different assignments now since this one's going to be the premier brushcutter.
My son, of course, now REALLY wants his very own HI khukuri. I asked him which, of all the designs he's seen and handled, appeals most to him. Silly me, I figured he'd try to talk me out of the AK or one of my Gelbu's or such.
Nope. He wants his own M43.
Pat Mc
