Holidays - any requests?

A

Andre Simpson

Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
122
Hi all,

Next Saturday, myself, 5 other adults and 34 teenagers will be heading up to a property about 100km north of the town of Cobar, (for my mates outside Australia, thats in central New South Wales), its semi-arid zone country.

Amongst other things I will be taking up my HI Villager and a Ghurka House Bhojpure, plus a few other fixed blade knives, Fallkniven A1, Standard K-Bar and maybe a few others.

Some of the activities planned are bush survival training - building shelters, solar stills and getting water from trees, both saplings and roots. A lot of this will involve light-to-medium bush clearing (tea-tree and malee scrub) and possibly some heavier chopping. I plan to put both Khukuri's to the test along with some of the shorter fixed blades.

I was asked to plan a lot of this so naturally I chose activities that would let me test out my gear
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Once I get back I will be doing a write up of my experiances and was wondering if there are any specific things you guys might be interested in?.

Please note that I won't be doing any extreme testing - I leave that up to the experts, but will be using the knives for general duties and getting to know which works best in each situation.

So, any suggestions?

Andre
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"If I can be of any help, you're in worse trouble than I thought."



[This message has been edited by Andre Simpson (edited 27 June 1999).]
 
Andre, could you be fairly detailed about such stuff as what grip you are using and your technique especially for heavy chopping. Different people use different methods and different grips and they give widely varying results so it helps put it into perspective if I can tell exactly how you are working.

Could you look at the edges and see how they are blunting. Are they rolling / impacting / chipping or just wearing away? How are they to sharpen? Does the material grind nicely? Will it take a fine edge easily or does it take a lot of work to get the final burr off?

How does the handle feel? Does it get uncomfortable during extended use (10-15 of continuous chopping)? Can you do hard stiff wristed chops with it with minimal feedback? How about snap / whip / wrist chopping or just general slicing?

Have fun, looking forward to your writeup.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

thanks for that feedback, I will take note of what you suggest while I working.

I will be shooting a few roo's for eating so I may get a chance to do some skinning and butchering with them as well.

Andre

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"If I can be of any help, you're in worse trouble than I thought."

 
Andre, if you can find some good hard wood give it a shot and tell us how the villager holds up to heavy duty chopping along with the others if there is enough wood to go around.

Uncle Bill
 
Uncle Bill,

I'll see what I can find.

I might just clarify my ideas behind this testing.

Prior to getting my hands on the khukuris I always carried a large sheath knife with me while in the bush for general duty work and heavier stuff like chopping in emergencies.

Now I have the khukuris I want to see whether its worth carrying one of these larger 6-7in blade knives or go to a smaller, easier to handle fixed blade such as a Fallkniven F1 or Busse Combat basic #5.

Given this goal I will be looking more at how the knives compare in "overlapping" areas. I don't expect the khukuris will be beaten in chopping performance (understatement)
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but for doing smaller tasks can I get buy with a khukuri and a short fixed blade?.

Another reason for looking into this is that it's getting to the stage where having a large knife hanging off your belt is asking for hassles from park rangers (the khukuri travels inside my daypack).

I should point out that I alway have an EDI Genesis 1, Camillus Marshal and a Leatherman Supertool on my belt at all times. Despite this I like to carry a short/medium fixed blade.

Andre



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"If I can be of any help, you're in worse trouble than I thought."

 
Andre, good to see the khukuris will get some good hard use. Here's a request (not really a greuling task, but one I'm interested in). If you harvest a "roo", please give us your feedback on how the Bhojpure and the others do quartering the game. Particularly, I am interested in how easy it is to cut bone. Or, if you are into a slightly more greusome test, see how hard you have to apply the blades to sever a limb. Every time I hold one of the Bhojpures, I shudder to imagine the ease with which it might take an arm off. I'm sure it's the same with the Ang Khola. Quite a request from a vegetarian, eh?

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Craig,

I'll see what I can arrange, the kids will do most of the skinning and initial butchering, with myself and the other adults directing and lending a hand. I was planning to use the khukuris to sever the bones of the hind legs just above the feet, so I will let you know how it works.

Andre

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"If I can be of any help, you're in worse trouble than I thought."

 
Just got back from a trip to Yosemite with 3 khukuris. I'd like to hear how you keep 'em sharp and clean in the field. The burnishers were better than nothing, but I'll be bring a stone with me next time.

Tell us also how people react to your knives. I was with a group of women on a bachlorett party. They didn't take too kindly to the guy omninously sharping the 10 inch blade.
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I'm begining to understand Cliff's preference for the 18 inchers. The 15 inchers are enough, but bigger is better for the more ambitious camp projects.

I got the 15 inchers 'cause I wanted them to fit in the backpack. Now I'm thinking about bigger backpacks.
 
Andre, from your load out, I can't see where a 5-9" knife fits. A khukhuri and a small folder like the EDI (I prefer something like the Spyderco Moran) would probably cover all your cutting/chopping/skinning needs.

Fitting in my backpack, thats the main reason I like the 15" and smaller khukhuri's. Otherwise, its bigger is better. I like the 20 (22) inch Ang Khola. I have no idea how I would do with the 38" khukhuri.

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 28 June 1999).]
 
By the way, on my trip the only other knife I carried was a Spyderco Moran. And it complimented the khukuris like a dream. Everything the khukuris couldn't do, the little Moran could. And everything the Moran couldn't, the khukuris could. I was in want of nothing. Of course I did not need to hammer any knives. With the knives I brought, that's about the only job the where I'd need a F-1.

I left my Benchmade Pinnacle and Cold Steel Vaquero at home. I'm a firm believer in fixed blades in the great out-there.

Bill,

What would really kick ass is a khukuri about the weight of the AK, pointy-ness of the BAS, and a butt thats designed to be hammered. The H.I. khukuris would probably do in a crunch, but it'd be comforting to know if you're "supposed to do it." If you guys haven't started on the "Cobalt Special" yet, it might be something to look into.

 
Will, I like that kind of reply as it makes me go over the reasoning behind my kit.

To clarify my kit/loadout:

Genesis, Marshall and Supertool go on the belt that holds up my pants.

Fixed blade goes on a web belt along with two canteens, first-aid kit, small binoculars and two-way radio.

Khukuri, wet/cold-weather gear etc in a day pack.

When I have the web belt on it can stop me getting to the smaller knives, so a fixed blade I can get to quickly is necessary.

It may not seem obvious but I have found a need for a mid-size fixed blade.

Andre
 
Hey Goat, at Nevada speeds, Yosemite's east gate is an hour from Hawthorne.

One thing I noticed about shop 2 is that they make bigger and useful chakma and karda than shop 1's. Bill was trying to loosen up the scabbard yesterday on a 20" Sirupati, and the karda ( that is the knife isn't it Uncle Bill? ) was laying out, and it's was a good three of my fingers long ( at least 2 1/2" ) and the blade had to be at least 4".

This is like Cliff's brother did to him on the frogs - too simple!!! But why not use the karda for a small fixed blade? A little work profiling the edge, sharpening, etc.....
 
Andre, I don't know if this will be of any help with the roos but 15 inch AKs have been successfully used here in the US for butchering deer, elk and antelope. One fellow found that with a little practice he was able to use the AK as a decent skinner.

As most of you know, I am struggling with the kamis of shop 2 to move to a buttcap that could be used for hammering. I received a prototype model but the brass was too thin. I'd like to see at least quarter inch thick flat plate brass buttcaps with two keepers and tang mushroomed over. I will keep bugging them until we get it or a decent compromise.

The Cobalt special is in process and I am guessing we will see this knife is the next month or two. We are far behind on special orders...about five months. I hope shop 2 will help close the gap.

Uncle Bill
 
tallwingedgoat :

I'd like to hear how you keep 'em sharp and clean in the field. The burnishers were better than nothing, but I'll be bring a stone with me next time.
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The chakma will do if you got the time. If you want to speed up the process take a piece of wood say 1 inch wide and 12 inches long and glue some sandpaper to it. Now cut it in half and use duct tape to make a hinge so that the sandpaper faces meet. Presto - you have a field sharpener that will easily last one trip - if is doesn't then you need a new knife cause the one you got is not working right.

I got the 15 inchers 'cause I wanted them to fit in the backpack. Now I'm thinking about bigger backpacks.
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That reminds me of something I was often told whenever I would complain about something I had been told to do being too difficult "There is no such thing as a job being too hard, but a man can easily be too soft."

Pretty much is on the money for blades too.

-Cliff
 
Andre,

How about adding a few pocket saws to your list of knives. The saws I have in mind are the Pocket chain saw, Short kutts, or the SAS survival saw. Most of these fit into a small can (3" dia. x 1", or small pouch). I don't know if they are available in Austrailia.

I would be interested in how people like them compared to some of the knives.

Will
 
Will, I have seen a few of those saws around here, but different brands, the ones available at the moment don't have a very good reputation, either for cutting or general strength.

At the moment I would prefer to put my trust in a good piece of steel.


Andre
 
Hi Andre,

I got the Short Kutts. It seems to be pretty decent in terms of performance. I thought I might be fatiguing the metal where the loops hook to the saw but so far it has held.

I was sawing a fairly large diameter tree. The tree pinched the saw and I was unable to get it out. The services of my 20" Ang Khola were called upon to rescue my saw. Like you, I think solid steel is better.

Has anyone thought about doing a movie:

The Pocket Saw Massacres or Pocket Chain Saw Massacre.

Will
 
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