Genuine Gurka kukri questions

Nismo

Nismo

Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
323
I just ordered a genuine Gurka Kurkri thats supposed to be the real deal from India. I heard that they are used for religious ceremonies or something similar so, are they really made for actual use? I know that cold steel and other companies make their own Kurkri blades to use but what about the Genuine ones? I just want to know if its built to be safely usable or is it just a wall hanger? thanks
 
Where did you order your khukuri from?

The best khukuris to order are those from Himalayan Imports. They have a forum here (look under the makers/manufacturers section.) Yes, real khukuris are made for use, whether it be ceremonial or for war.

Can you tell us where you ordered your khukuri?
 
No its not a HI blade. I ordered it from a random knife catalog which was about $20 so Im not even shure of the maker or quality but it said it was "genuine". I manly bought it because I never owned a kurkri but Im just curious about these blades. I recently found the HI page and interested in their blades now.
 
Nismo,

Welcome to the forums.

The khukuri is first and foremost a traditional utility knife used in and around Nepal. It was made famous by its association with Ghurka mercenaries which have been operating under British and Indian authority for well over 150 years. It is very similar to the ancient Kopis and Facalta swords, and so represents a style of knife/sword whith a history of some 3000 years.

When used as a weapon the khukuri can be quite fearsome. There are numerous well documented reports of individual Ghurkas killing bears, and lions in self defense, and larger examples were used (and are) used in religious ceremonies to behead buffalo.

There are many well documented stories of khukuries used as weapons of war. The knives are still issued to Ghurkas today; and they have reportedly decapitated enemies with them, and have even been known to stike a powerful enough blow to split a man from head to navel. The stories were enough to drive Argentinian troops to surrender during the Falklands War.

But, it is as a utility knife that the khukuri excells. It is capable of taking a fine shaving edge and has enough weight of force to chop better than any camp hatchet.

Himalayan Imports currently produces the best khukuries available. Each is hand forged from high carbon spring steel in Nepal by experienced traditional craftsmen. They are zone tempered, carry an unbeatable warranty, and are usually available at remarkably reasonable prices.

I hope you stop by the HI forum to meet some of the fine folks at our "cantina".

n2s
 
If you want to get to the HI website from the HI forum, look for any post by Bill Martino. There are links from his signature area to his website as well as other important khukuri things.
BTW, I have bought around 15 Khukuris in the last two years. 10 of them are HI khukuris. They outshine all other makers in Quality, Craftsmanship, Unique designs, and the backing of the best warrenty in the business. All held together by a very honorable, and honest man. Bill Martino. Check out the site and you will see the attitude of the people that hang out there. I think you will like it. I DO!!!
 
Zone Tempered vrs. Zone Hardened?

Good question? The end result is a differentially hardened blade with a hard edge and somewhat softer point, supported on a relatively soft spine and tang. Whether the Kami achieves this primarily through the tempering or hardening process probably depends on the individual knife. The knife is hardened initially and then the desired sections are annealed to achieve the desired thoughness. The process is carried out under primative conditions; controlled by experience and visual cues rather than electronics.

n2s
 
Back to the original subject of the "real deal" Indian made khukuris.
A company located just east of Atlanta regularly features these in their catalogs, and they are mighty cheap compared to the HI models.
Nismo asked if such khukuris are usable. I have wondered about the quality of those, myself. Does anyone know about the quality of the cheap Indian ones? Obviously they couldn't be anywhere close to the quality of an HI, but are they usable at all? If they really are Indian military issue, then they ought to be at least as good as most any other cheap military issue knife.
 
HI khukuris are not zone tempered. Zone tempered means the whole blade is hardened, and then the back is drawn soft, usually with a torch. HI khuks are edge quenched. When edge quencing, most smiths dip the edge into the quenchant, but khuks are tricker because of the forward curve. So instead a kettle of water is poured down the edge. This leaves the back very soft, probably in the low 30s HRC. The hardening zone is also pretty thin, less than 1/2" on a wide blade. A smith with modern tools would probably torch austentize the edge.

I acid etched my khuk and found that the hardening zone starts several inches from the ricasso and does not extend to the point. All this on a 3/8" to 1/2" thick spring steel blade and you get a very high level of toughness.
 
I've seen an Indian army khuk and the worksmanship is extremely crude, they were also much thinner than HI products. I've never used one but have heard they are relatively soft edged. None the less they are definatly more useful than some tourist junks I've ran across.

But with lower end HI models as cheap as they are, I don't see any reason to buy the Indian army khuks.
 
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