Kodiak PA
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 1998
- Messages
- 2,447
When my good knife bud Clay Fleischer asked me if I wanted to test his HI WWII 18 Khukuri. He was convinced I would really enjoy it if I got the chance to use it. Being a knife nut but never using a Khukuri, I was interested. They seem very solid, they looked good and I could certainly give it a romp around the block here, so I said sure.
A few weeks later the knife got here. The first thing I noticed was this knife is a big boy and its as every bit as solid as it appeared on the picture. Being a lover of a hefty knife, I loved the feel that the 1.6-lb. knife had. The horn handle felt solid and the designs of the decorative butt cap is attractive. The knife blade itself was very sharp. This knife screamed to be used so I developed my plan.
I decided I would hike up Mt. Heightman here on Kodiak Island. Mt. Heightman is a beautiful trail that is somewhat challenging in the summer due to the thick salmon berry and fern brush. It is also somewhat swampy in the beginning of the hike and though only a level II mountain, one can get tired trying to get through the bush. The reward is though, you get to walk in very beautiful country literally by yourself, pass a magnificent waterfall and there is a lake on the summit full of trout. The night before I packed a lunch, some water and put mink oil on the scabbard. I touched up the karda and I basically just stared at the chakma since I honestly dont have a clue what that is for (my brochure says it is a striker or a burnisher and I am assuming this is to start a campfire).
The beginning of the hike would have proved difficult since the swampy area right before the base of the climb was so muddy that if I didnt make a small bridge I would sink to my knees. There were a few large logs that were lying there to help previous hikers but I decided I would chop down large branches off of dead trees in the area and furnish a bridge. I went ahead and took the khukuri and immediately easily chopped several large branches. It was like using a large ax. Branch after branch fell with ease. I started laughing like one does when they know they have the right tool for the right job. I soon had a small bridge to walk across the mud. Phase I was a big success.
In the thick brush I decided to snap this pic.
As you can tell from the picture there is a large branch crossing the path of the trail. I decided to remove that to help future hikers (all branches that I chopped were from dead trees. I like to test knives but I like to respect the environment, too). The large branch was no match for the knife.
Ascending up the mountain was challenging for more than just thick brush. Due to the relatively dry summer, the salmon berries and the pink salmon are not very abundant. This makes Kodiak Brown Bears go to areas in search for food that they normally dont go and on the trail I found some of the biggest piles of bear dung I have every seen so I made lots of mental notes to be noisy and to keep a good look out. Every few feet I clapped my hands and yelled, Here Bear! I really didnt want to run into any bears since some Kodaks can be over 10 feet tall and weigh more than 1600 pounds. As good as Uncle Bills knives are I think even he would agree that discretion is the better part of valor.
Even with a sidearm one must be very cautious and respect these magnificant animals. Luckily the hike was uneventful bear wise.
About half way up I noticed a large scratching post
I took the knife and wanted to see how many whacks it would take to down it. It took exactly 30. The knifes working edge just dug into the tree stump. Large pieces of wood just flew off. There was no damage at all to the bevel of the blade. This knife is a workhorse and no wonder the Gurkas used this knife in WWII.
After the 30 whacks, the timber was on the ground.
One thing I notice that oxidation started to occur on the surface of the steel by the time I got home a few hours later. Clay initially had the knife coated with some machine oil and the superficial rust removed easily with some Metal-Glo. I thoroughly coated the blade with Tuf-Glide and wiped it in with my Tuf-Cloth. This weekend I will take the knife out and see if the Tuf-Cloth prevents the surface oxidation from occurring better than the machine oil.
At the summit I chopped small pieces of wood for firewood and even tried the 18 blade out on whittling small twigs and branches and it did very well. The sheath held up well, too. It supports the blade very well and overall I was very impressed.
Uncle Bill .your Khukuris are great. The kamis are truly artists who know how to make a functional tool and I had total confidence in this khukuri and it is truly an amazing instrument.
I would also like to thank Clay for the opportunity to use this knife. Hey Clay, it may be a while before I can find a box big enough to send your knife back ..yeah ..thats it .I cant find any boxes may be a few weeks.
Actually Clay, if its alright with you I will take you up on your offer.
Regards,
------------------
~Greg~
A few weeks later the knife got here. The first thing I noticed was this knife is a big boy and its as every bit as solid as it appeared on the picture. Being a lover of a hefty knife, I loved the feel that the 1.6-lb. knife had. The horn handle felt solid and the designs of the decorative butt cap is attractive. The knife blade itself was very sharp. This knife screamed to be used so I developed my plan.
I decided I would hike up Mt. Heightman here on Kodiak Island. Mt. Heightman is a beautiful trail that is somewhat challenging in the summer due to the thick salmon berry and fern brush. It is also somewhat swampy in the beginning of the hike and though only a level II mountain, one can get tired trying to get through the bush. The reward is though, you get to walk in very beautiful country literally by yourself, pass a magnificent waterfall and there is a lake on the summit full of trout. The night before I packed a lunch, some water and put mink oil on the scabbard. I touched up the karda and I basically just stared at the chakma since I honestly dont have a clue what that is for (my brochure says it is a striker or a burnisher and I am assuming this is to start a campfire).
The beginning of the hike would have proved difficult since the swampy area right before the base of the climb was so muddy that if I didnt make a small bridge I would sink to my knees. There were a few large logs that were lying there to help previous hikers but I decided I would chop down large branches off of dead trees in the area and furnish a bridge. I went ahead and took the khukuri and immediately easily chopped several large branches. It was like using a large ax. Branch after branch fell with ease. I started laughing like one does when they know they have the right tool for the right job. I soon had a small bridge to walk across the mud. Phase I was a big success.
In the thick brush I decided to snap this pic.
As you can tell from the picture there is a large branch crossing the path of the trail. I decided to remove that to help future hikers (all branches that I chopped were from dead trees. I like to test knives but I like to respect the environment, too). The large branch was no match for the knife.
Ascending up the mountain was challenging for more than just thick brush. Due to the relatively dry summer, the salmon berries and the pink salmon are not very abundant. This makes Kodiak Brown Bears go to areas in search for food that they normally dont go and on the trail I found some of the biggest piles of bear dung I have every seen so I made lots of mental notes to be noisy and to keep a good look out. Every few feet I clapped my hands and yelled, Here Bear! I really didnt want to run into any bears since some Kodaks can be over 10 feet tall and weigh more than 1600 pounds. As good as Uncle Bills knives are I think even he would agree that discretion is the better part of valor.
About half way up I noticed a large scratching post
I took the knife and wanted to see how many whacks it would take to down it. It took exactly 30. The knifes working edge just dug into the tree stump. Large pieces of wood just flew off. There was no damage at all to the bevel of the blade. This knife is a workhorse and no wonder the Gurkas used this knife in WWII.
After the 30 whacks, the timber was on the ground.
One thing I notice that oxidation started to occur on the surface of the steel by the time I got home a few hours later. Clay initially had the knife coated with some machine oil and the superficial rust removed easily with some Metal-Glo. I thoroughly coated the blade with Tuf-Glide and wiped it in with my Tuf-Cloth. This weekend I will take the knife out and see if the Tuf-Cloth prevents the surface oxidation from occurring better than the machine oil.
At the summit I chopped small pieces of wood for firewood and even tried the 18 blade out on whittling small twigs and branches and it did very well. The sheath held up well, too. It supports the blade very well and overall I was very impressed.
Uncle Bill .your Khukuris are great. The kamis are truly artists who know how to make a functional tool and I had total confidence in this khukuri and it is truly an amazing instrument.
I would also like to thank Clay for the opportunity to use this knife. Hey Clay, it may be a while before I can find a box big enough to send your knife back ..yeah ..thats it .I cant find any boxes may be a few weeks.
Actually Clay, if its alright with you I will take you up on your offer.
Regards,
------------------
~Greg~
