- Joined
- Jun 9, 1999
- Messages
- 4,729
OK, here it is, the long awaited HI WWII review! Well, not really, but its taken me longer than I meant to get this posted. What follows are my initial impressions of the knife and performance noted while using it to prepare firewood during a camping trip. For more information on this model and Himalayan Imports, check out the HI forum here on Bladeforums and the HI website at http://www.himalayan-imports.com .
Specs:
-Make & model: Himalayan Imports WWII khukuri, sold at a discount as a blemished knife by Bill Martino of Himalayan Imports.
-OAL length: Approximately 16.5; blade length approximately 10.5.
-Blade material: Mercedes leaf spring; 5160 high carbon steel, hand forged and differentially hardened.
-Handle material: Buffalo horn with brass bolster and buttcap.
-Accessories: Wood and buffalo leather sheath, small utility knife and burnishing tool, known respectively as the karda and chakma.
Initial Impressions:
This is my fourth standard model HI khukuri (you could say Im a fan
). I also have a villager model from HI and one from Ghurka House, which has since gone out of business. All of my HIs have been blemished models offered for sale on the HI forum, and this one was no exception. When I first handled the knife, I could see right away why Uncle Bill offered it as a blem. There was an obvious grain line in the horn handle, which may develop into a crack if the horn dries out. Right now thats not a problem since Im in the sticky humid south, but when I go home to NW Pennsylvania it could be a problem. Still, the handle on this one was very nicely done. It fills up my hand nicely, something that I really appreciate since I have big hands with very long fingers and several khukuris I have bought had handles that were far too small. My experience with standard Himalayan Imports models has shown that most of them have good-sized handles; the villager models offered from time to time often do not. This isnt a bad thing per se, but it is a good thing to be aware of if you have large hands.
Despite the problems with the handle, the blade on this model is beautiful. When I received it, it had the famed magic stone mirror finish. This finish, while gorgeous, doesnt survive sharpening very well, at least not the method I use. That turned out to be especially true on this knife because it had a surprisingly dull edge. The edge was completely blunt. I was surprised by this because every other HI khukuri I have received has had a fairly sharp edge. Not a razor edge, but it would at least cut. This one required a lot of work to get sharp, which could have been very frustrating for a novice. One other thing I noted was that the tip was slightly deformed. It did not look like it was due to an impact, rather it looked as if it wasnt ground out quite right at the shop. This was also a first for me from an HI khukuri, but then again I only paid half price for this knife so I dont hold it against Uncle Bill. There was also a small fold line in the blade, a forging defect that was only about 3/16 long; this looks to be a cosmetic flaw only. I have no doubt that the blade is sound in spite of this.
The sheath with this khukuri was, well, not the best Ive seen. It looks as if the sarkis (sheathmakers) were having a bad day when they made this one. There was a scuff near the tip, right above the chape (brass cover on the tip). Also there was a 3/4 split in the leather along the side of the sheath. Since the sheath is wood covered with leather the integrity of the sheath isnt compromised; even so I plan to replace this sheath in the near future. One plus was that the knife fit very well into the sheath and the chakma and karda were held very securely. The nails used in the sheath construction had also been covered with leather which was a BIG plus. The nailheads are located in the holes for the chakma and karda, and if they arent covered they can ruin the handles of these tools. This was a problem with the first HI I bought nearly four years ago, a Gelbu Special. The nailheads were uncovered and badly gouged the handles of the chakma and karda. It seems this problem has been corrected though, which Im very happy to see. Overall, this is a serviceable sheath but Ive seen better from HI. As Ive noted though, this is a blem, so Im not at all unhappy with HI in regard to these issues. This knife was advertised as substandard but functional and thats exactly what it is.
Sharpening and First Use:
Khukuris are primarily designed for chopping. The best edge for a knife of this type is a convex edge, so thats the edge I chose to put on it. I used the mousepad and sandpaper method, information on which can be found in the HI forum and other areas of Bladeforums. I was actually using a ProCombo Deluxe hone from Handamerican, which can be seen at www.handamerican.com . I had to cut a piece of mousepad to use as a backing for this system since it didnt come with one. Since the edge was completely blunt and the tip was deformed, it took a lot of work to get it sharp. I used a coarse Diafold sharpener from DMT to reshape the tip, then I used it to try to put an initial bevel on the rest of the blade. That didnt work so well because the sweet spot, the hardest part of the blade, was very hard. I also noticed that the pins in the handles of the Diafold were marking the blade, so I switched to the ProCombo hone with 100 grit silicon carbide sandpaper. This worked a lot better. I used a very shallow angle relative to the thickness of the blade, actually I just laid the secondary bevel on the sandpaper and put pressure on the edge as I sharpened. This isnt a very good description, but hopefully you can follow a little bit. Due to the mousepad backing, the edge became more convex as I went. After I raised a burr on both sides I switched to 600 grit sandpaper, then I raised the angle a bit so I would polish the edge a bit more. I progressed to 1500 grit sandpaper and finished it off with 2500 grit. I didnt take enough time to really polish out all of the scratches left by the 100 grit paper, but I ended up with a very sharp edge. It popped hairs off of my arm and sliced paper very well. I gave the karda the same treatment, but I left it with a slightly more aggressive edge. When I get the knife back I plan to reprofile the karda to give it a convex zero edge bevel.
At the end of all this, the knife was scratched and looked pretty rough, but it was very sharp. Id like to convert it to a satin finish, and possibly use lemon juice to give it a nice patina so it will resist rust a little better. That will have to wait until after the pass-around though.
The knife got its first workout preparing wood for our campfire last weekend. I used it to split small pieces of wood for kindling, and my brother chopped up a piece of firewood with it just for fun. The finish couldnt get any worse than it already was, so it wasnt even an issue. Right away I realized the edge angle was too shallow. The edge rolled and chipped a bit along the sweet spot. There was no major damage, but it was visible and could have progressed to something serious if I had continued to use the knife. I used the ProCombo with 600 grit sandpaper and the mousepad backing to raise the angle a bit and grind out the chips. I didnt remove much metal, I just made the final edge bevel a lot steeper and more convex. The knife would still shave hair, but it didnt chip any more when I used it for splitting chores. I also used it to split a large round of dry wood by beating the blade through the wood with another piece of kindling. It didnt split the wood completely because it had a large knot in it, but it did make it about halfway through and suffered no damage whatsoever. Im sure I could have split it completely, but the blade was a little short for that particular round of wood, so there wasnt much of the blade sticking out of the ends to hit. I decided to stop for safetys sake.
I also used the khukuri to shave medium sized splinters to start the campfire. It worked very well for this purpose, much better than a small knife would have. The edge really bit into the wood and the weight of the blade helped to shave off large pieces to get the fire going. I could also lightly chop into the wood to get stubborn pieces to split off. Many people I have shown my khukuris to are surprised how sharp the edges are; most seem to think that a knife that big and thick would have a dull, thick edge. This one was especially sharp thanks to the ProCombo hone and performed beyond my expectations at shaving splinters.
Summary
In summary, this is a great knife. Its not the prettiest HI I own, but its all the more beautiful to me because it performs so well. I think this will be a great blade to take along on a hiking trip or on ATV rides. It isnt as heavy as my Gelbu Special, but it cuts and chops like a demon. I cant wait to take it home and do some trail clearing and heavier chopping with it. I couldnt do much of either while camping since I was the only forest in the area was in a national park. I didnt feel like paying a fine in the interest of research, so I limited the khukuri use to the campfire. I know now that I wont go camping without one again; it was much more versatile than a small hatchet would have been. I hope you enjoyed my review; and I also hope that the participants in the pass-around add their thoughts to this thread and use the knife a little harder than I did. Dont baby it, these are some seriously tough blades as I think you will see. Be safe and have fun!
Specs:
-Make & model: Himalayan Imports WWII khukuri, sold at a discount as a blemished knife by Bill Martino of Himalayan Imports.
-OAL length: Approximately 16.5; blade length approximately 10.5.
-Blade material: Mercedes leaf spring; 5160 high carbon steel, hand forged and differentially hardened.
-Handle material: Buffalo horn with brass bolster and buttcap.
-Accessories: Wood and buffalo leather sheath, small utility knife and burnishing tool, known respectively as the karda and chakma.
Initial Impressions:
This is my fourth standard model HI khukuri (you could say Im a fan
). I also have a villager model from HI and one from Ghurka House, which has since gone out of business. All of my HIs have been blemished models offered for sale on the HI forum, and this one was no exception. When I first handled the knife, I could see right away why Uncle Bill offered it as a blem. There was an obvious grain line in the horn handle, which may develop into a crack if the horn dries out. Right now thats not a problem since Im in the sticky humid south, but when I go home to NW Pennsylvania it could be a problem. Still, the handle on this one was very nicely done. It fills up my hand nicely, something that I really appreciate since I have big hands with very long fingers and several khukuris I have bought had handles that were far too small. My experience with standard Himalayan Imports models has shown that most of them have good-sized handles; the villager models offered from time to time often do not. This isnt a bad thing per se, but it is a good thing to be aware of if you have large hands.Despite the problems with the handle, the blade on this model is beautiful. When I received it, it had the famed magic stone mirror finish. This finish, while gorgeous, doesnt survive sharpening very well, at least not the method I use. That turned out to be especially true on this knife because it had a surprisingly dull edge. The edge was completely blunt. I was surprised by this because every other HI khukuri I have received has had a fairly sharp edge. Not a razor edge, but it would at least cut. This one required a lot of work to get sharp, which could have been very frustrating for a novice. One other thing I noted was that the tip was slightly deformed. It did not look like it was due to an impact, rather it looked as if it wasnt ground out quite right at the shop. This was also a first for me from an HI khukuri, but then again I only paid half price for this knife so I dont hold it against Uncle Bill. There was also a small fold line in the blade, a forging defect that was only about 3/16 long; this looks to be a cosmetic flaw only. I have no doubt that the blade is sound in spite of this.
The sheath with this khukuri was, well, not the best Ive seen. It looks as if the sarkis (sheathmakers) were having a bad day when they made this one. There was a scuff near the tip, right above the chape (brass cover on the tip). Also there was a 3/4 split in the leather along the side of the sheath. Since the sheath is wood covered with leather the integrity of the sheath isnt compromised; even so I plan to replace this sheath in the near future. One plus was that the knife fit very well into the sheath and the chakma and karda were held very securely. The nails used in the sheath construction had also been covered with leather which was a BIG plus. The nailheads are located in the holes for the chakma and karda, and if they arent covered they can ruin the handles of these tools. This was a problem with the first HI I bought nearly four years ago, a Gelbu Special. The nailheads were uncovered and badly gouged the handles of the chakma and karda. It seems this problem has been corrected though, which Im very happy to see. Overall, this is a serviceable sheath but Ive seen better from HI. As Ive noted though, this is a blem, so Im not at all unhappy with HI in regard to these issues. This knife was advertised as substandard but functional and thats exactly what it is.
Sharpening and First Use:
Khukuris are primarily designed for chopping. The best edge for a knife of this type is a convex edge, so thats the edge I chose to put on it. I used the mousepad and sandpaper method, information on which can be found in the HI forum and other areas of Bladeforums. I was actually using a ProCombo Deluxe hone from Handamerican, which can be seen at www.handamerican.com . I had to cut a piece of mousepad to use as a backing for this system since it didnt come with one. Since the edge was completely blunt and the tip was deformed, it took a lot of work to get it sharp. I used a coarse Diafold sharpener from DMT to reshape the tip, then I used it to try to put an initial bevel on the rest of the blade. That didnt work so well because the sweet spot, the hardest part of the blade, was very hard. I also noticed that the pins in the handles of the Diafold were marking the blade, so I switched to the ProCombo hone with 100 grit silicon carbide sandpaper. This worked a lot better. I used a very shallow angle relative to the thickness of the blade, actually I just laid the secondary bevel on the sandpaper and put pressure on the edge as I sharpened. This isnt a very good description, but hopefully you can follow a little bit. Due to the mousepad backing, the edge became more convex as I went. After I raised a burr on both sides I switched to 600 grit sandpaper, then I raised the angle a bit so I would polish the edge a bit more. I progressed to 1500 grit sandpaper and finished it off with 2500 grit. I didnt take enough time to really polish out all of the scratches left by the 100 grit paper, but I ended up with a very sharp edge. It popped hairs off of my arm and sliced paper very well. I gave the karda the same treatment, but I left it with a slightly more aggressive edge. When I get the knife back I plan to reprofile the karda to give it a convex zero edge bevel.
At the end of all this, the knife was scratched and looked pretty rough, but it was very sharp. Id like to convert it to a satin finish, and possibly use lemon juice to give it a nice patina so it will resist rust a little better. That will have to wait until after the pass-around though.
The knife got its first workout preparing wood for our campfire last weekend. I used it to split small pieces of wood for kindling, and my brother chopped up a piece of firewood with it just for fun. The finish couldnt get any worse than it already was, so it wasnt even an issue. Right away I realized the edge angle was too shallow. The edge rolled and chipped a bit along the sweet spot. There was no major damage, but it was visible and could have progressed to something serious if I had continued to use the knife. I used the ProCombo with 600 grit sandpaper and the mousepad backing to raise the angle a bit and grind out the chips. I didnt remove much metal, I just made the final edge bevel a lot steeper and more convex. The knife would still shave hair, but it didnt chip any more when I used it for splitting chores. I also used it to split a large round of dry wood by beating the blade through the wood with another piece of kindling. It didnt split the wood completely because it had a large knot in it, but it did make it about halfway through and suffered no damage whatsoever. Im sure I could have split it completely, but the blade was a little short for that particular round of wood, so there wasnt much of the blade sticking out of the ends to hit. I decided to stop for safetys sake.
I also used the khukuri to shave medium sized splinters to start the campfire. It worked very well for this purpose, much better than a small knife would have. The edge really bit into the wood and the weight of the blade helped to shave off large pieces to get the fire going. I could also lightly chop into the wood to get stubborn pieces to split off. Many people I have shown my khukuris to are surprised how sharp the edges are; most seem to think that a knife that big and thick would have a dull, thick edge. This one was especially sharp thanks to the ProCombo hone and performed beyond my expectations at shaving splinters.
Summary
In summary, this is a great knife. Its not the prettiest HI I own, but its all the more beautiful to me because it performs so well. I think this will be a great blade to take along on a hiking trip or on ATV rides. It isnt as heavy as my Gelbu Special, but it cuts and chops like a demon. I cant wait to take it home and do some trail clearing and heavier chopping with it. I couldnt do much of either while camping since I was the only forest in the area was in a national park. I didnt feel like paying a fine in the interest of research, so I limited the khukuri use to the campfire. I know now that I wont go camping without one again; it was much more versatile than a small hatchet would have been. I hope you enjoyed my review; and I also hope that the participants in the pass-around add their thoughts to this thread and use the knife a little harder than I did. Dont baby it, these are some seriously tough blades as I think you will see. Be safe and have fun!
