Help me pick a kukri

B

B.C

Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
152
Hello fellow kukri lovers,

Ever since i first saw a kukri i wanted one but i have never seen one in a shop around here (sth east Aus) and did not want to mail order. Years later i have got over the fear of paying for something i cant play with first and have bought a cold steel LTC which i love.
I recently went to Nth Aus for a holiday and found a kukri for sale at a market place which i bought for $60aud. It is a bit rough around the edges but has a nice big shiny blade and feels strong and looks better made than some others i have seen bought at markets from friends. It has no markings at all and has a full tang (which i gather is not traditional). It is not sharp and i have wondered what type of steel it is.

I now want to buy a "genuine" kukri that i plan to use camping and working in my backyard so lets call it a workhorse. I have generally stayed away from partial tang blades (the only knife i ever broke was a partial tang bowie) but it seems most real kukris have a partial tang. Am i correct in assuming this (only buy looking at pics on the web)?

Where and what do you guys suggest i get?

Also how can i tell what the 2 little blades (different lenghts) from my market kukri are. 1 knife, 1 sharpener is that right? Which is which??

Sorry about sooo many questions in one thread.

Thanks in advance

B.C:D
 
Welcome. :)

What are you looking for? Light and fast or super strong? I know you said workhorse, but I have a couple 3/32 stock machetes that I consider workhorses, and you mentioned liking your LTC, which is--I think--1/8 stock. Anything you get from HI is going to be ready for work from the get-go, but a size/weight range would help narrow down suggestions.

That said, most people will say that either the BAS, 15inch AK, or WW2 are great intro khuks, and will cover everything you're likely to need to do, while being a size you are realistically going to carry around with you. The HI partial tangs are very strong, but full tangs are available on a few models.

As to identifying other khukuries, steel types, etc, I'll let more knowledgeable people take over! :D You won't make a bad choice with HI, no matter which one you go with. :)

Warren
 
thanks Warren,

I should have given more info. The CS LTC is good for light and fast work so i was thinking something heavier. Something super strong.
 
B.C-- Welcome! As t1mpani suggests, the BAS, WWII, and AK are all good general khukuris. There are two main styles of tang found in HI khukuris: 1) The hidden tang. The hidden tang is completely enclosed by the handle material, and runs all the way through the handle. The end is peened over at the buttcap to hold the handle on the khukuri. This style of tang is sometimes referred to as a rat tail tang, but in the case of HI khukuris, it's more like a kangaroo tail. It's very thick, and the chances of breaking one are slim to none. One adavantage of the hidden tang is that it tends to dampen the vibrations you feel when chopping. 2)The chiruwa tang. This is a full tang with slabs of handle material pinned to both sides. The chiruwa tang also runs the full length of the handle, but unlike the hidden tang, the metal of the tang is visible between the handle slabs. There is some debate as to which style is stronger, and individual preferences vary, but the bottom line is that either style of tang is pretty much indestructable.
--Josh
 
Strong as the Ang Kholas are, I don't think I'd want to lug around a bank safe when I'm out camping. Your best bet would probably be a 16.5" WWII. Or even a 15" BAS, but I'm guessing that the performance diff. between a 16.5" WWII and a 15" BAS are quite different due to that extra 1.5" of length (ie. 16.5" WWII might be better).

Go with the hidden tang. It's more than strong enough, certainly much, much stronger than cheap Pakistani/Indian/Taiwan junk. These guys have been making these khuks for many years, you know. Trust to their expertise.
 
Not starting an argument here, just saying that my BAS is actually heavier than my 15inch AK. The listed weights give a good idea, but they are approximate. :)

One other thing that's nice about hidden tang is preventing rust. I don't know about you, but my hands tend to rust exposed metal if I use it all day. Thankfully though, 5160 is not quite as prone to rust as some other carbon steels, and the magic stone finish does do a good job of inhibiting it.
 
Originally posted by t1mpani
Not starting an argument here, just saying that my BAS is actually heavier than my 15inch AK. The listed weights give a good idea, but they are approximate.
Click to expand...

Yup. I have a 20 oz bas and a 24 oz BAS. You can probably ask for heavier or lighter, depending on what's in stock. Personally I like the lighter ones. I have a 21 oz. 15" AK that I use for general purpose stuff.

I reckon that I should try out the 16.5 WW2 someday.
 
Originally posted by B.C
it seems most real kukris have a partial tang.
Click to expand...
Depends if you mean
partial length
or partial cross section.
Most OLD khukuris & current models produced by village kamis
for village people -generally- have tangs that -do not- run
the full length of the handle.
This is what I call a partial tang.
These are glued in & will come apart after some period of use.
Others use the term partial to mean the tang is not visible
along the length of the handle.

The term 'chiruwa' means a tang exposed on both sides of the handle
sandwiched between two slabs of grip material.
Most Himalayan Imports khuks are full-length, enclosed,
non-chiruwa tangs.
Full-length tangs are peened at the pommel end to keep them on.

Read all this & you'll be pretty much up to speed:
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/khukuri-history.html
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/links.html
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/kami.html
 
The M43 is a good chopper and has a full tang. Purty, too!
A smaller full tang model is the Chiruwa Ang Khola (16.5")
 
I have taken my BAS backpacking quite a few times and thought it was a great compromise between weight and chopping. I also have a 16" Bonecutter that is about 1/2" thick at the spine that I think is going to be excellent too. It is maybe a quarter lb heavier than the BAS though, but even a more wicked chopper.
 
I love all of my khuks but now the one that I grab to go do whatever is my 16.5" WWII. It is just a bit neavy as that model goes but the shorter length that 18" makes it malance up pretty well. Kumar makes some of these khuks just a bit heavy once in a while. The BAS and 15" AK were my first two khuks and they will do a lot of work. You will notice the difference between your LTC and an HI khuk immediately. The HI will not stick in the wood near as bad as the thinner blades. What ever you get from HI will be an improvement. Besides CS don't have a cho.:)
 
As you might have figured out there is sometimes quite a variance in a particular model let alone a particular style. Guess it depends on what you want to do with it. While the Ang Khola (AK) has a reputation for being the heavyweight, Most any HI khuk(sirupati, BAS, WWII, even a Kobra) is overengineered. That means they all are tough as nails and can take a licking and keep on chopping. Or something like that. For a first try a BAS. Great khuk. Not too big but has the fancy Sword of Shiva inlays and sheath comes with split military style frog. The little knives are the karda (knife) and Chakma (sharpener and flint striker.
 
This won't surprise anyone, but I'd go for a 16.5" WW2.

It just makes me feel more comfortable having it around. Big enough and tough enough to chop like ****, short and light enough to be a fighter.

It's like a S&W Model 19 357 Combat Magnum with 4" barrel, or a Colt 1911 .45 acp. If it ain't perfect, it darned well comes close enough for me.
 
Hello to all from a first timer and thanks for all the useful information I have obtained from this forum.

Question: Just to make sure I understand whats been posted on the thread already - the tang on my 15 inch AK runs the full length of the handle?

Thanks
 
Nai,

Most of the HI khukuries have full length hidden tangs. They are very heavy tangs, but, by imbedding them within the handle it makes them more comfortable to use. The chiwura models have a full width tangs and the handle consists simply of two scales riveted in place. HI also imports some village khukuries from time to time, and these sometimes have partial hidden tangs; where the tang does not extend the full length of the handle.

n2s
 
Originally posted by Nai
the tang on my 15 inch AK runs the full length of the handle?
Click to expand...
Yes; If it's an Himalayan Imports blade.

When you look at the pommel-cap end
you should be able to make out a steel-color dot in the middle.
That's the end of the tang which was peened (flattened)
to hold everything together.
After peening it's filed down a bit & polished.
Sometimes so well done it's hard to find.
Sometimes it sticks up a bit.
 
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