Hi gang,
I dont usually post, but I just had to tell everyone about this. A while back, Uncle Bill had a bunch of villagers that didnt meet his exacting standards. You probably recall this, he agreed to give one away with any khukuri purchase. I jumped at the offer! Unfortunately, the 20 sirupati I bought and the free villager were lost in the mail. I told Bill about it, and he promptly sent another 20 sirupati, but the villagers were all gone.
To make a long story short, though Bill could have (and probably should have!) left it at that, he replaced the missing freebie villager as well. This is the kind of customer service everyone wished for and so seldom receives. In a time of bored and uncaring sales people, Uncle Bills commitment to customer service is without peer! I believe that Bill and HI represent a standard we can all aspire to. Now more than ever, the title a man of his word is a rare accolade, and one which Bill has truly earned.
Enough gushing on to the field reviews.
The sirupati is a 20 Kessar chiruwa. I bought it thinking it would be a replacement for my field machete. Overall, its a bit heavier than I expected, though by no means unwieldy. Maybe Ill get at 20 standard tang to compare. Overall, 10/10. Blade finish is excellent. The sword a shiva is deep and how do I say it? Regular seems to trite. It has the appearance of competence, like something done so often its second nature. Its almost hard to tell that its hand done. Kessar is indeed old faithful. The Karda and Chakma are large and fit the hand well. Finish is the same mirror polish as the khuk. Sheath is sturdy and nicely engraved.
Now for the Villager. This knife exudes a different type of confidence. It says Im ready lets go. Like one of those tools that your Dad had, just sitting in the toolbox, waiting for you to use it. The handle is larger than other khuks I have, and I believe its what Bill calls Hills Walnut. It has two areas, a lighter sort of white oak colored area and a darker, almost teak colored area. There is a very thin brass buttcap and keeper held on with a nail. The top of the blade is somewhat curved towards the tip. Not at all the straight angled blade of a sirupati. I have no idea what this style is called. Its probally 3/8 to ½ at the top near the hilt, with a distal taper towards the tip. Finish is rough, with the grind marks youd expect on a village model. The handles of the K& C match the Khuk (nicely done!), and are large enough to make them usable tools. Blade finish matches the khuk, that is, rough.
The rework:
The first thing I did was remove the buttcap and keeper. They didnt seem to agree with the workmanlike spirit of this knife, kind of like gold leaf on a hammer. The nail looked loose, so I thought Id just pull it out. No way! Though the head was a good 1/16 from the buttcap, that thing was in there! Rather than damage the wood, I just filed it off flush.
The wood - I sanded the handle with 200 and 300 grit sandpaper, and finished off with 5 ought steel wool. Looks pretty spiffy! I plan on deepening the grooves with a hacksaw and finishing with boiled linseed oil. There was the beginning of a crack in the handle visible when I finished out the wood, so I dripped some crazy glue on the end, just in case.
The metal - This is ongoing work. Started with 200 grit I may go down to 100, though. I played around with the Karda to see what kind of finish I want 200 grit, 400 grit followed by 5 ought steel wool and a quick buff with flitz metal polish produced a smooth, satiny finish. This is what I plan for the entire rig.
I havent had the chance to take the villager to the woods yet. Generally when I get a new knife, I do a test cut or two into some 1/8 birch ply I have left over from some cabinet refinishing. Surprisingly, this knife seemed to cut deeper than much heavier khuks that I own. Im sure that the larger khuks could out cut it with a more powerful stroke, but this knife seems to balance extremely well in my hand.
Thanks again, Uncle Bill
Patrick
I dont usually post, but I just had to tell everyone about this. A while back, Uncle Bill had a bunch of villagers that didnt meet his exacting standards. You probably recall this, he agreed to give one away with any khukuri purchase. I jumped at the offer! Unfortunately, the 20 sirupati I bought and the free villager were lost in the mail. I told Bill about it, and he promptly sent another 20 sirupati, but the villagers were all gone.
To make a long story short, though Bill could have (and probably should have!) left it at that, he replaced the missing freebie villager as well. This is the kind of customer service everyone wished for and so seldom receives. In a time of bored and uncaring sales people, Uncle Bills commitment to customer service is without peer! I believe that Bill and HI represent a standard we can all aspire to. Now more than ever, the title a man of his word is a rare accolade, and one which Bill has truly earned.
Enough gushing on to the field reviews.
The sirupati is a 20 Kessar chiruwa. I bought it thinking it would be a replacement for my field machete. Overall, its a bit heavier than I expected, though by no means unwieldy. Maybe Ill get at 20 standard tang to compare. Overall, 10/10. Blade finish is excellent. The sword a shiva is deep and how do I say it? Regular seems to trite. It has the appearance of competence, like something done so often its second nature. Its almost hard to tell that its hand done. Kessar is indeed old faithful. The Karda and Chakma are large and fit the hand well. Finish is the same mirror polish as the khuk. Sheath is sturdy and nicely engraved.
Now for the Villager. This knife exudes a different type of confidence. It says Im ready lets go. Like one of those tools that your Dad had, just sitting in the toolbox, waiting for you to use it. The handle is larger than other khuks I have, and I believe its what Bill calls Hills Walnut. It has two areas, a lighter sort of white oak colored area and a darker, almost teak colored area. There is a very thin brass buttcap and keeper held on with a nail. The top of the blade is somewhat curved towards the tip. Not at all the straight angled blade of a sirupati. I have no idea what this style is called. Its probally 3/8 to ½ at the top near the hilt, with a distal taper towards the tip. Finish is rough, with the grind marks youd expect on a village model. The handles of the K& C match the Khuk (nicely done!), and are large enough to make them usable tools. Blade finish matches the khuk, that is, rough.
The rework:
The first thing I did was remove the buttcap and keeper. They didnt seem to agree with the workmanlike spirit of this knife, kind of like gold leaf on a hammer. The nail looked loose, so I thought Id just pull it out. No way! Though the head was a good 1/16 from the buttcap, that thing was in there! Rather than damage the wood, I just filed it off flush.
The wood - I sanded the handle with 200 and 300 grit sandpaper, and finished off with 5 ought steel wool. Looks pretty spiffy! I plan on deepening the grooves with a hacksaw and finishing with boiled linseed oil. There was the beginning of a crack in the handle visible when I finished out the wood, so I dripped some crazy glue on the end, just in case.
The metal - This is ongoing work. Started with 200 grit I may go down to 100, though. I played around with the Karda to see what kind of finish I want 200 grit, 400 grit followed by 5 ought steel wool and a quick buff with flitz metal polish produced a smooth, satiny finish. This is what I plan for the entire rig.
I havent had the chance to take the villager to the woods yet. Generally when I get a new knife, I do a test cut or two into some 1/8 birch ply I have left over from some cabinet refinishing. Surprisingly, this knife seemed to cut deeper than much heavier khuks that I own. Im sure that the larger khuks could out cut it with a more powerful stroke, but this knife seems to balance extremely well in my hand.
Thanks again, Uncle Bill
Patrick
