- Joined
- Aug 4, 2003
- Messages
- 302
Will provide more detail at a later date but wanted to get this first impression post up ASAP.
Today I received the following:
18" Gelbu Special, horn
18" Sirupati, wood
18" Chitlangi, horn
(all three above made by Kumar Bishwakarma)
15" Sirupati, horn, made by the Kami who marks his blades with R.R. and what appears to be a swastika of sorts.
Then compared them to my kid's and my own two 15" BAS's (both horn).
First, the 15" Sirupati is real sweet. There is no doubt that this is a first-class fighting knife. Very light, very agile, yet still possessing the world-famous Khukuri blade presence. I can see why it is a favorite of many here.
Myself, I'm still kind of lukewarm on it, but then I'm kinda going through some serious sensory overload on the three 18-inchers. That's a little much to take in one day (grin). In any event, I got the 15-incher for my kid, but she is adament about her loyalty to her 15" BAS, preferring it by a strong margin over the 15" Sura.
I may or may not keep the 15" Siru myself. I'll need to revisit it.
Here is a quick comparison of the three 18's:
The 18" Sirupati feels heavier and seems to balance more toward the tip than the other two. Oddly enough, although the 18" Siru was the first Khuk I really liked from an asthetic standpoint, and one I was sure I'd like from a handling standpoint, it leaves me kind of cold. Not really sure why. The wood handle on it is beautiful, by the way.
The other two, the Chitlangi and Gelbu both struck me like thunderbolts. The Chit gives one the same feeling a 16 year old has the first time they drive a Corvette Stingray - a kind of "Whoa! Holy mackeral!! This is hot!!!"
I don't know how well this rather light-weight blade would do cutting heavy wood, but I've no doubt this is a supremely effective combat weapon. Astonishingly agile yet possessing very substantial blade presence. Could it sever limbs? Dunno. I figure that cuts to the wrists might sever hands. Maybe cuts to the upper arm might sever arms, but I'm not so sure. I must ponder this a bit.
But, you don't have to sever a limb to inflict a fight ending blow.
Now, the Gelbu Special is nothing short of awesome. Completely awesome. A number of folks here have described this as probably the best "all-around" Khukuri, and so far, I'd have to agree. In spite of the way both the Chit and Gelbu have smitten my heart, they have not diminished my ardent affection for my 15" BAS.
I bring that up because this particular 18" Gelbu Special seems to weigh and balance very similarly to my 15" BAS. When holding them with my eyes closed, I have difficulty telling them apart.
Wait a sec......
Just had to know. I just got through weighing the Gelbu and this one weighs EXACTLY the same as my BAS (20-oz), and I'm betting if I measure their points of balance they will be within an eighth of an inch of each other.
Very interesting. We see what is essentially the same amount of blade steel in both Khuk's, but because of the heavily fullered design of the Gelbu, we are able to have a longer blade, and thus have the tactical advantage of reach and the mechanical advantage of faster angular momentum during the cut.
(This is also why I prefer my medieval swords to be those types with rather aggressive fullers.)
All in all, I like all the new Khuks I got today, but the Chitlangi and Gelbu took my breath away. The Sirupatis are terrific knifes, but the 15" seems a bit more delicate than what I prefer, and the 18" seems to be less "alive" than I prefer. I'll need to revisit them both when I am less tired.
I am also really pleased that my 15.5 (true measurement) inch BAS still retains so much of my affection. I like its balance and heft, and I also like the fact that it is still relatively compact. It's kinda like having a Gelbu compressed down into a more handy size (grin).
One other thing that struck me was how different the handles felt. The Chit's was slender, almost delicate feeling in comparison to the Gelbu's which was quite substantial (as is the handle on my BAS). I am quite partial to "full-figured" handles, so no doubt this is one feature that so strongly enamored me of the Gelbu and BAS.
I hope to do some more testing of the Khuks this weekend, especially the BAS since I owe Uncle Bill a more detailed review than the initial one I did on it when I first got it.
Don
PS: Just noticed something - the tip profiles on those Khuks reminds of sharks. That's pretty cool.
Today I received the following:
18" Gelbu Special, horn
18" Sirupati, wood
18" Chitlangi, horn
(all three above made by Kumar Bishwakarma)
15" Sirupati, horn, made by the Kami who marks his blades with R.R. and what appears to be a swastika of sorts.
Then compared them to my kid's and my own two 15" BAS's (both horn).
First, the 15" Sirupati is real sweet. There is no doubt that this is a first-class fighting knife. Very light, very agile, yet still possessing the world-famous Khukuri blade presence. I can see why it is a favorite of many here.
Myself, I'm still kind of lukewarm on it, but then I'm kinda going through some serious sensory overload on the three 18-inchers. That's a little much to take in one day (grin). In any event, I got the 15-incher for my kid, but she is adament about her loyalty to her 15" BAS, preferring it by a strong margin over the 15" Sura.
I may or may not keep the 15" Siru myself. I'll need to revisit it.
Here is a quick comparison of the three 18's:
The 18" Sirupati feels heavier and seems to balance more toward the tip than the other two. Oddly enough, although the 18" Siru was the first Khuk I really liked from an asthetic standpoint, and one I was sure I'd like from a handling standpoint, it leaves me kind of cold. Not really sure why. The wood handle on it is beautiful, by the way.
The other two, the Chitlangi and Gelbu both struck me like thunderbolts. The Chit gives one the same feeling a 16 year old has the first time they drive a Corvette Stingray - a kind of "Whoa! Holy mackeral!! This is hot!!!"
I don't know how well this rather light-weight blade would do cutting heavy wood, but I've no doubt this is a supremely effective combat weapon. Astonishingly agile yet possessing very substantial blade presence. Could it sever limbs? Dunno. I figure that cuts to the wrists might sever hands. Maybe cuts to the upper arm might sever arms, but I'm not so sure. I must ponder this a bit.
But, you don't have to sever a limb to inflict a fight ending blow.
Now, the Gelbu Special is nothing short of awesome. Completely awesome. A number of folks here have described this as probably the best "all-around" Khukuri, and so far, I'd have to agree. In spite of the way both the Chit and Gelbu have smitten my heart, they have not diminished my ardent affection for my 15" BAS.
I bring that up because this particular 18" Gelbu Special seems to weigh and balance very similarly to my 15" BAS. When holding them with my eyes closed, I have difficulty telling them apart.
Wait a sec......
Just had to know. I just got through weighing the Gelbu and this one weighs EXACTLY the same as my BAS (20-oz), and I'm betting if I measure their points of balance they will be within an eighth of an inch of each other.
Very interesting. We see what is essentially the same amount of blade steel in both Khuk's, but because of the heavily fullered design of the Gelbu, we are able to have a longer blade, and thus have the tactical advantage of reach and the mechanical advantage of faster angular momentum during the cut.
(This is also why I prefer my medieval swords to be those types with rather aggressive fullers.)
All in all, I like all the new Khuks I got today, but the Chitlangi and Gelbu took my breath away. The Sirupatis are terrific knifes, but the 15" seems a bit more delicate than what I prefer, and the 18" seems to be less "alive" than I prefer. I'll need to revisit them both when I am less tired.
I am also really pleased that my 15.5 (true measurement) inch BAS still retains so much of my affection. I like its balance and heft, and I also like the fact that it is still relatively compact. It's kinda like having a Gelbu compressed down into a more handy size (grin).
One other thing that struck me was how different the handles felt. The Chit's was slender, almost delicate feeling in comparison to the Gelbu's which was quite substantial (as is the handle on my BAS). I am quite partial to "full-figured" handles, so no doubt this is one feature that so strongly enamored me of the Gelbu and BAS.
I hope to do some more testing of the Khuks this weekend, especially the BAS since I owe Uncle Bill a more detailed review than the initial one I did on it when I first got it.
Don
PS: Just noticed something - the tip profiles on those Khuks reminds of sharks. That's pretty cool.
