I thought you were going to ship it Monday.

Joined
Feb 10, 2001
Messages
147
The 25" Sirupati, made by the kami with no name was sitting in a nice, big Himalayan Imports box on the front porch today.
I must say, I expected it some time late in the week. I just had enough time to open the box, and take a look. The scabbard had the blade in somewhat of a deathgrip, and I had less than an hour to get to class so I didn't have a chance to play with it. However, in the sheathed it did feel lighter than my Malla unsheathed. Also, the handle was nice and small. It was almost as if it were custom made for my hand, which are themselves, small.

Now, that I've had a chance to play with it and actually unsheath the blade, I must say it's beautiful. It does feel heavier unsheathed though, which I wasn't thinking about, but with the frog and chakma and karda I had to hold onto the sheath rather than the handle, thus holding it closer to the point of balance.
It's great fun to swing around. The inlay and scrollwork on the Sword of Shiva is great, even better looking than I thought. Actually, I couldn't even make out any scroll work on the Sword of Shiva from the picture, so that was a double suprise.
I haven't even cleaned the oil off of the karda and chakma yet, although I did inspect them, especially given the fact that I couldn't draw the khukuri at first. They seem to be nice, I guess I'll have more on them later.
A few downsides, and none of them are the fault of the blade or anyone really. The scabbard work doesn't seem to be as beautiful as the stuff on my Malla. The scabbard's a bit tight, but I think that's normal given the climate changes it's gone through. Also, there's the vast wealth of information that everyone here has compiled about tight fitting scabbards that I can find in the archives, so that's no big deal. And the biggest thing, I think this one can be blamed on a careless postal employee, the very tip of the chape on the chape on the scabbard is bent. Oh well, I can fix that with some cloth wrapped needle nose plyers and a candle. Actually, should I heat the brass, would I risk melting the laha?
All in all, I am very happy with this sirupati.
I was thinking that I'll put it through tests this coming weekend, any suggestions? My current plans were to take her to soda bottles, I think I'll try various sizes, rolled up wet newspaper, and some cheap melons. I don't think I'll be hacking down any trees with a 25" Sirupati that weighs less than 2 lbs. Sorry guys, I don't care if she can take it, that's just like what they said in "Mission to Mars."
smile.gif

All in all, the Kami with no name did an excellent job, and if this is indicitive of his level of skill Himalayan Imports should be gaining a valuable new member to their staff.

Bob
 
Huh,
I just picked up my Malla after playing with my new Sirupati, and am amazed. The Malla feels much lighter. I guess it's the fact that while the Sirupati is lighter, it carries much of its weight farther down the blade.

Bob
 
Further stuff.
In order to make an accurate judgement on whether this is a long knife or shortsword, I put it in a line between my Malla and my Mainz Gladius. All sheathed, the gladius is noticably longer. Now, of course all this really means is that the scabbard to the gladius is longer. Unsheathed, the Sirupati seems to be within 1" of the Gladius' total length. This is saying alot considering that the gladius has a pommel that is about 1" in length, plus the hand guard. If it had a handle similar to the sirupati, the sirupati would be longer, and as always funner to play with.
smile.gif


Bob
 
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