Is this khukuri a user?

Ripper

Ripper

Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Messages
1,494
Hi,
I'm pretty new to khukuris, in fact I just purchased my first one.
I have been to all of Uncle Bill's pages and have done some studying there. I would have liked to purchased one of his highly respected blades, but didn't have the funds(also didn't know about the special deals listed here until today). Any ways, I shopped on eBay until I found what appeared to be a quality khukuri at a real good price. I received it today and really like it. It is like new in condition and seems well made. The spine of the blade is 7/16" thick and is slightly ground to a peak the length of the blade. The overall length is just over 15" The handle is wood and the butt cap looks to be either peened or soldered on. Does it look to have enough quality to be a user or should I hang it on the wall?
Regards,
Greg
20027126936370766592232.jpg
 
THERES ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT AND THATS USE IT.MAKE SURE ITS SHARP AND THEN TAKE IT INTO THE BACK YARD AN TRY IT OUT ON SOME WOOD.I WOOD [he he] SUGGEST YOU PUT THE WOOD YOU ARE GOIN TO TEST ABOVE OR ON SOMETHIN SOLIDLIKE A WOOD STUMP ECT. UNTIL YOU GET USED TO HANLIN IT SO AS YOU DONT CARRY ON THROUGH AN CHOP YOUR SELF. JUST BE CAREFULL AN USE THIS ONE UNTIL YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY A TOP QUALITY HI ONE FROM BILL. LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GET ON AND WHAT YOU THINK OF IT.:( :( :)
 
It looks like a user. I have a couple like that that have given me years of good use. Try it out and let us know what you think.

n2s
 
This doesn't insure the khukuri's quality, but you can test if it's zone hardened well. Have a nail or a file, scratch the surface on "sweet spot", around spine, and around cho. Properly zone hardened khukuri will allow scratch except "sweet spot", and gives chopping power with blade toughness.

You will never know if the blade is firmly attachet to handle until you iterate very hard hit on tough target. But if the blade is properly zone hardened, you can expect high use-ability for the khukuri.

If you find yours 7is properly zone hardened but low ability (maybe because of low quality of the steel), then you can start to save up money for an HI. I hope yours serve you well, still believing an HI khukuri is worth your effort of saving up money.
 
Greg:

I picked-up one that is very similar from e-bay a few weeks back, just to see what it was like. Mine turned out to be zone-tempered with a peened butt cap. But, not the quality of an HI.

I'm with the others on this. First, I'd say check to see how the blade is secured to the handle (my guess is that your's is peened, but I'd make sure of that). If it isn't peened, that's still OK, but I'd recommend drilling and pinning the blade (there's a thread on how to do this around here somewhere - I think under Yvsa's name). Check carefully, since some khuks have the buttcap nailed to the handle in such a way as to look like the tang is peened. If the the "peened" end of the tang is very round and regular, then you're probably looking at a nail and not the end of the tang.

Second, check to see if it's zone-hardened. If it is, I'd say to give it a shot, but start slowly until the rig has proven it can hold up.

S.
 
Originally posted by spence ....If the the "peened" end of the tang is very round and regular, then you're probably looking at a nail and not the end of the tang.
Click to expand...

My partial tang villager has a nail & the end showing
looks pretty much like a nailhead.

OTOH, the full tang HI's I have show tang ends that are
smaller And rounder, nicer. They don't Look peened over
like I have seen in cruder blades.

Also, something easily attributible to staining,
but there may already be a temper line showing as dark
mottling along the bevel of the edge. Do a search for
'temper line' here to get the 10-minute home method for
etching the blade.

As said-- Best test is to sharpen it & use it.
My first test is always a handy 2x4 in the garage.
Start slow and Be Careful.
Search for SAFETY in this forum, and watch your body parts.
OTOH, watch the wood and the blade, keep the body parts
out of the line of fire.

It will take a minute to get the feel of the blade.
After trying it out you will decide if you like it.
If you do I'm sure you'll want to get another before long.
Stay tuned. ;)

As Yvsa told me recently, all blades are users......
Just depends what you want to use it for.
You'll decide.

And welcome.
 
Originally posted by Ripper
The handle is wood and the butt cap looks to be either peened or soldered on.

Does it look to have enough quality to be a user or should I hang it on the wall?

Regards,
Greg
Click to expand...

Looks like a user to me. Since the buttcap appears to be peened or soldered I'm betting it's peened.
It is probably a Khukuri House Khukuri and you have a good chance of it being a realy excellent knife or at the least a decent user.
Some of their khuks are on the soft side but that doesn't necessarily mean they're bad.
Dan K. who used to post here a lot prefered the softer khuks as they're easier to sharpen with what's handy in the field.
I prefer my edges up near 60 Rc which means a new or fairly new good file such as a Nicholson will just 'skate' across the sweet spot.
The point and about 1 1/2" to 2" or so back will be slightly softer as it will be at the cho and maybe 3" further along the blade.
The blades are made that way to withstand the extreme forces chopping exerts. Just because a blade is on the soft side doesn't make it bad as it will actually be tougher than the harder ones I prefer.:)
 
First off, I would like to thank everyone for their insights and advice. I was hesitant to post my question here as I rarely post on the makers & manufacturers forums and did not know if it was proper form to ask about a generic/unkown make blade. I decided to post because I believed the most kowledgable khukuri people would be here. You have confirmed that. Thank you.

I checked the handle closer and it is peened on. As suggested, I took it outside today to try it out. The blade was very sharp as I received it,I took this for a good sign. I stroked the Sharpmaker a couple of times with it and it would cut paper quite easily. I didn't try any shaving with it. The only wood I had around that wasn't earmarked for some project was some tree limbs sawed earlier this year and on old plywood door off the electrical box. The limbs are about 2" dia. pine and well dried. I cut these by first just chopping into them and prying the chip out and then just alternating chops left to right. The plywood just seemed to collapse in terror, flat destroyed that 1/2" thick door.

The good news is: the edge showed no damage at all and is still as
sharp (as far as I can tell) as when I began. The handle is still rock solid also.

The bad news is: I'm hooked. I had never thought I would like the khukuri as much as I do after using it. Thank all of you for your posts about khukuris on the forums and Uncle Bill for your very informative websites (also Yvsa,thanks for pointing the way to the Khukuri House,I like their site also) you peaked my interest. I'm a believer, now to get my own HI khukuri.

Regards,
Greg
 
Dean,

This is my first khukuri. Not counting machetes and my NCO sword,it is certainly the largest blade I own. I guess it all depends on what you consider a Big blade, I do own a Cold Steel Trailmaster two custom bowies of similar size, a custom spear point and Scagel repro that are also of that size.

As to what brought me here, it was a thread in general disscussion on something like "What is the best survival knife?" or "If you could take only one blade" I don't remember the exact title but some members expounded the merits of the khukuri. I became interested and started doing some research. I read some articles by Cliff Stamp, found Uncle Bill's pages and liked what I read. Like a lot of folks I'm just looking for my Excalibur. I like machetes for a lot of tasks but find them akward to carry using a rifle or shotgun. The bowies are ok, as is the spearpoint. I haven't really found a use for the Scagel other than it just appeals to me. Most of the time now I carry a Cold Steel Brushranger. It gives most of the performance of the larger bowies in a easier(for me) to carry package. I'm hooked because of the performance I saw today. The cutting was done with a lot less effort than I remember from similar tasks performed with my other blades. Then there is something about how it balances and feels in my hand. I haven't wanted to put it down. I know the yard isn't the boonies and I might change my mind after toting the khukuri around a while in the field. I don't know about that though, the last tool that gave me that feel in my hand was a 1911A1 Colt when we fam fired it in boot camp back in 1971. It's still what I reach for when things go bump in the night.

Reards,
Greg
 
Greg you got lucky.:)
There's lots of reasons I wouldn't buy from Khukuri House with the biggest one being you never know what quality of khukuri you're going to get and even if they have a guarantee like Bill does it would be a huge hassle to take care of!!!!
The shipping from them is less than desirable and I've been told expensive, then you have the whole customs thing to go through. Just not worth it to me.:grumpy:
 
Yvsa,

Thanks for the heads up on Khukuri House.
I plan to buy my next one from Bill after I have carried this one some and used it more. Then, I'll probably be asking some advise from you more experienced Khukuri hands on what model to choose.
Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Greg
 
Originally posted by Ripper ....on what model to choose
Click to expand...
When the time comes......

My first model was a BAS (British Army Service); very similar
to this one you've got. I liked it a lot, but wanted to feel
a longer blade.

Got an 18" AngKhola.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201905
BIG difference.

Amazing how 3" and 5 oz can affect the handling.
Some people swear by the BAS. Can't fault the knife,
but for chopping the 18" AK fits me far better.

Then I wanted to try both a longer and shorter blade.

I choose .......
A 14" snub-nose Villager:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=203201
A 20" Sirupati:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=205898
And an 10.5" Mini-Hanuman (top @):
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=206031
I also picked up a couple of 6" KagesKatne "paper-cutters":
http://www.andale.com/stores/sf_itemHome.jsp?foo=bar&sid=95360&cid=7402588&lid=34770472&mode=1

The mini-hanuman makes a nice large utility blade in the
kitchen, right next to one of the KagesKatnes which I use
for a paring knife.

The 14" Villager surprised me. I liked it better than the BAS.
It was thinner and chopped better than the BAS.
BAS found a new home at Father's Day.
Villager when used recently to chop/cut up some aluminum guttering
came thru like a champ.

The sirupati is a question mark right now.
Hasn't been used much, but it feels best in my hand when
I choke up the grip toward the bolster, But it wants to slide
through my hand down to the swell at the base, But it doesn't
feel right in my hand when held down there. Tomorrow I've got
some dead limbs to chop up and I'll spend more time with it.
 
Dean,

Thanks for the links and the addtional info, in particular, on the
Villager. I like the looks of it. How do you like the Kagas Katne?

Hope your chopping went well. I chopped through some brush to open a larger path with mine today. My girlfriend likes it, said I should have let her do the cutting.

Regards,
Greg
 
Originally posted by Ripper .......Hope your chopping went well.
Click to expand...
Fair to middlin'.

Chopped at a horizontal log.
Top third of 5-ft log is chips now.

Sometimes it felt good as it hit.
Mostly, I just couldn't feel the sweet spot.
Seems like when it felt good, the blade was
actually trailing my hand so that the region
of the sweet spot was hitting perpendicular
to the log. But that didn't always work.

Kages Katne is a great little knife.
Do a forum search to read all the good comments.
 
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