First village khukuris arrived -- surprise, surprise!

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
As I predicted I said I would be surprised when the village khukuris arrived. They showed up this afternoon. I am surprised and here's the story.

The first kami to show up in response to the village khukuri interest brought a dozen khukuris. Kami told him he wanted only a couple but the kami had a long, sad story so Kami ended up buying the entire dozen. Not exactly what I had in mind but I can understand Kami doing this. So, the end result is I have a dozen village khukuris all pretty much the same. They arrived via airmail just this afternoon.

The kami who made these knives lives not far from Gorkha town (Kami did not include his name) in a small village and the khukuris he sells almost always go to neighbors. These khukuris are village models for sure. I checked the blades on four and they are okay. The edge is about the right hardness, back a little softer but not a lot. I tried to bend a couple but couldn't but remember I am 65. The fit is good but the finish is definitely village quality -- heavy grind marks.

These khukuris are about 3/8 inch thick and almost two inches wide. Overall length is a little over 14 inches with 9 inch blade and five inch handle give or take a little. They weigh a bit more than a pound. Handle is pretty well done and is what I believe to be Nepali oak with flat plate buttcap. The karda and chakma are ugly but are functional. I tested a couple and they work okay.

The scabbard and frog surprised me -- very nice quality -- good thick leather with good stitching. Maybe Kami should hire this guy to make scabbards at shop 2.

Since I have more of these than I bargained for I'll sell them for $35 and will guarantee this old kamis blade for life. If anybody is interested you can email me direct with shipping info.

Below is a picture.

Uncle Bill

<img src = "http://members.aol.com/yangduspag/pict53.jpg">
 
Hi Uncle Bill.

I emailed you last night but had to use the computer at work and don't know if I did it properly. Did you receive my message? If not please sign me up for a village model. I'll email you again tomarrow when I am home and working with familiar equipment.

Mike
 
I had intended to sit this batch out when Uncle Bill informed me by email that Cliff had asked him to send me one of them on him. Thank you again, Cliff. I picked it up from the post office just before noon.

Basically, mine is just like Uncle Bill described it. About 14" overall, blade 3/8" thickness and a bit over 9" long. Handle about 5" long from flat plate buttcap to front of bolster, and apparently reddish brown stained oak. Scabbard is very well made.

I like this one. Remember I'm 5'4" tall, with proportionately sized hands, which means I can take the handle down a bit and clean it up at the same time. The bolster is nicely done and the oak handle is too, with the exception of a few lengthwise scratches not completely sanded out. If my hands weren't so small, I could easily leave the handle as it is. The brass buttplate shows a few nicks around the edge. Taking about 1/16th" off would clean it up. If yours has those and you want to clean them up without reducing the handle, I would think you could pry the brass plate up a bit and file it smooth, then press it back down. The brass then wouldn't come to the edge of the butt, but if you took it down evenly about an eighth inch all around the edge it would look prettier. If I didn't want to take the handle size down anyway, I wouldn't bother with it.

The blade is well made, but 100% covered with grind marks. If that bothers you ( it does me ) get out the files and sandpaper.

This one is special to me because it was an unexpected gift. But it is a size that I like, like a BAS with it's blade shortened 1". It would not be my first choice for heavy chopping, on the other hand, I wouldn't carry the weight of a 20" ang khola on a hike I didn't have any plans to use a knife on. I wouldn't mind taking the village khuk in that kind of situation, just in case. It's certainly a better using size than a 12". So thanks again Cliff, I do appreciate it.
 
Hi Bill and Rusty,

Can you guys give me some more details on the butt cap. Does it look to be solid?

At 3/8" thick blade and sabre ground, I suspect this khukhuri is tougher than most typical factory and custom knives sold today.

Will
 
Will, the butt cap is sheet brass, formed to the curve of the butt end. If you've seen an 18th Century, it's the same idea, but the village is thinner stock.

And by the way, the reason I want to sand and finish the blade is that underneath those grind marks is a very symmetrical blade just crying to get out.
 
The village khukuris are sort of ugly ducklings but they almost always do the job no matter what it might be.

Rusty, give me an opinion. While you are cleaning up the grind marks tell me what you think about hardness of blade back compared to edge. I've found that the village khukuris generally do not have the very distinct differential hardening the HI khukuris have. This because the village knife will see a lot of duty hammering and digging and the kami hardens to meet the demands he knows will be placed on the knife.

This is a pretty good handle on these knives. Many times you'll see the handles made like Nara made his for our camera -- partial tang and doomed to failure after a period of heavy use. This tang goes all the way through the handle and should last a very long time.

If the kami sells this knife to his neighbor without a scabbard he'll be lucky to get the equivalent of $2.00 for it.

By the way, I sent what I considered to be our worst of the lot villager to Cliff to do with whatever he wants. I'm sort of curious as to how it may stand up to Cliff's testing.

Uncle Bill
 
No problem Rusty, glad you enjoy it.

As for the village khukuri, I promised to give it to a friend but odds are it might not make it out of my hands.

-Cliff
 
Try a little testing on that villager if you have the time and inclination, Cliff. A 20 inch Ang Khola it's not but I think you will find even with the forging flaw that it's a pretty tough little blade.

Uncle Bill
 
Thanks Bill,
Got my 'village' khukuri today, and it may be ugly, but it sure is the real thing. One tough little knife that will have a home among all its' cousins, uncles and great grandfathers.
Anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

------------------
JP
 
Five minutes with sandpaper to smooth the rough edges of the buttcap made my new "villager" completely functional. Uncle Bill, I don't think you"ll get any surprises from the results of Cliff's testing - this blade is STOUT!

[This message has been edited by Berkley (edited 13 May 1999).]
 
Bill,

Thanks. You're QUICK! I got my villager today. It's about 2 inches shorter than my 15" AK, slightly thinner across the spine, and lacks the same fit and finish. The handle is also slightly shorter but not a problem because I have small hands. But the villager feels really solid and is a smaller plain Jane to the HI AK. Because I not used to khukuris yet, it actually feels faster in my hand.

I'm going to camp tomorrow. Can't wait to put these two to work! I can see how these things can be addictive. I am thinking of a larger addition already. Have to see though I can handle these two.

Thanks, again.
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I'll join the chorus.

I got mine today (shocker! Uncle, you have some special deal going with the USPS?
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)...I popped open a beer, sat down and opened the box.

First impressions: nice sheath. Looks to be of decent make...I would expect more from a top-of-the-line US leather product manufacturer...but of course this is a village khukuri. Considering what I paid for it (and the purpose for which I bought it), it is quite nice. I was rather curious about the rivets (I swear thats what they look like) attaching the loops of the frog, though...Bill, did you reinforce this state-side? How did they do that in Nepal?

I actually restrained myself next...I pulled out the karda and chakma. As Bill said, ugly but they work. Soldierly, I would call them. No frills.

Next I looked at the Khukuri. Rough handle...the brass retains marks from whatever tool was used to force it into its current shape. Looks like it is secured by a nail. Handles are a nice colour, and are smooth...some obviously hand-make circles carved aound the middle of the handle. All in all about what I expected. Nothing fancy, pure function.

I draw it out, watching the fingers. As someone said, going from monsoon weather to the artificial-dryness of an airplane cabin, then on to the dry heat of Reno, then back to an airplane and then to the 50% humidity of Columbus did NOT make these things any more sturdy or secure. The Blade seemed to come out only reluctantly, and, try as I might, it STILL cut itself a nice little path into the leather.

Hmmm. Damn, that is any ugly-arsed blade
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The shape, of course, is fine. The edge is sharp. Finish? Forget it. Every mark the kami put on the knife is still there, in all its frankensteinian glory.
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Huuunh.

Off to the basement to find an unsuspecting floor beam. *THUNK* Well, it penetrates. *Yank* it comes out easy. I ponder the idea of doing a little chopping, but I stop myself. Floor beams hold up stuff. I don't want to explain to the wife why the fridge has been relocated to the basement.
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I locate some spare lumber. It cuts. It hacks. it penetrates. Not too bad in the 'vibration' department. Ouch...the butt digs the holy h*** out of my palm. Huuunh. I see a little trip to ye olde grinder in this knife's future. That, however, is my only complaint. This puppy does what it is supposed to do. If it was an aircraft, it would be an A-10. Fugly...but it works.
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Thanks, Bill
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A nice knife
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Hey...anyone who has one, how does this compare in chopping/general utility to a 15" AK?

Mike

------------------
Hey! Uncle Sam!

(_!_) Nyah nyah nyah!

Refund! You lose! :)


 
Fl.31,or 34 is an unforgiving enviornment.If I were a student or an E.M.,I would go with the $35. kuhkri.It provides a service in that,anyone can afford one.As I am old,I`ll stick with the HI version.Let someone else do the QC guessing.
 
Frogs -- what you see is the standard in Nepal today. They use rivets. Once in awhile you'll see rivets made by the kamis themselves but they are still rivets.

Mike, I think that's the tang you see rather than a nail -- at least I hope it is.

Safety -- we have a report from Mike drawing the khukuri and slitting the leather of the scabbard but he didn't cut his fingers because he held the scabbard properly! An ounce of prevention! EVERYBODY please take note.

The villager generally finds a home with a Nepali farmer who could care less about what the knife looks like but cares everything about how it performs. It seems our concensus agrees with my personal observations -- ugly but tough.

Uncle Bill

 
The mailman dropped off my village model today. You should have seen the look on his face when I took it out of the box. Priceless!!
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Yep, it sure is ugly. I'm gonna have to go to the store and get some polishing tools for my dremel. Either that or a trip to my father in law's shop. This thing really puts my 15"AK in perspective. It's lighter and smaller than the AK. Great size for traipsing around the bush looking for varmints to shoot! As you said Bill, it's very rough around the edges but it appears to be a very tough blade. Some smoothing, cleaning, polishing and beveling and this will be one really sweet blade. Thanks Uncle Bill. I'll send you a picture when it's all cleaned up.
Mike
 
Great idea, Mike. Send the pix and I'll post it. Also, anybody else who dresses up their villager try to send a pix and we'll compare the "before and after" looks.

Uncle Bill
 
Hey, I am not so great looking myself, and coming from first generation farm stock. So the villager fits right in with me. Thank you.
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