I've posed a similar question at least once before...

MacHete

MacHete

Hair Cropper & Chipmunk Wrangler
Joined
Apr 7, 2000
Messages
2,559
... but here it goes again:

What are the "parameters" for your HI collection?

I doubt that I am unusual in that mine have refined over the years. Most of us have gone through (or are still in ;)) the "snatch every dotd you can and get every HI piece you see in the exchange or on an auction site" phase. How have you narrowed your focus? Handle material? Kami? Certain models? One of each? Do you only go for unique pieces, or ones that "speak" to you? Do you only keep users? How to you decide what to seek and add to your HI quiver?

A while ago, I purged all my horn handles, with a few notable exceptions. I am getting ready to "streamline" again, with a mind to keep only users, potential users, and what I find to be truly beautiful pieces. I am looking at each piece, and asking myself, NOT "Do I want this?" but rather, "Do I have the space, time and attention to give this piece that it deserves?" The second question is, at first, much harder to ask and answer. But when I make the effort to be true to the spirit of the knife, I can be content sending it to a better home in an appreciative hand.

So again, how do you guys decide?
 
At first, I bought based on two things:
1.) What looked cool. I knew I'd never have a use for a Giant Chitlangi Bowie or 25" CAK, or Falcata or Bhairab. Some were rare, almost unique, some just didn't come around often.

2.) I didn't know what would end up being "best" for me, so I bought a lot of different ones to give them a go-round and figure out what worked best for my uses. I've sold off a lot of them that didn't make the grade.

Now, I'll probably still buy something if it meets the "cool" factor. For practicality, between my 20" CAK, Tamang, Farm Knife and the M43 I have on order, I have something to fill every purpose I have.
 
I've been buying a lot fo stuff for friends and gifts. A Bilton for a cool kitchen knife. I'll have a CAK for "end of the world as we know it", and a M43 for camping use. Everthing else - well, it looks cool, and is fun to play with.;)
 
I look at Kamis, the profile as well as rarity- But not i decide on the models i will actually USE.

Tried to find the "specials" within a model or hybrid of several models;

A straight aluminum handled Sotang model; a hybrid of Chitlangi profile with Gelbu fullers. My holy grail (Thanks Norm!)
A Pala re-handled Gelbu, perhaps one of the few gelbus that's double- riveted.
Bura Basdol was a birthday offering from Auntie.
A Murali-ASTK that has that curved handle
25" Loc Kami Giant Tear-drop Sirupate. (i still feel you Hung!)

I used to dig Super Salyan and YCS dragon edition but those are really too dear to use.

There are 2 in the list that will be safe queen but most of them are users. You can't tell how good the Kami is until you tested it in real world.
Whilst waiting for Sarge's and work from the Prince, i will work on my Salyan Project....
 
I have no interest in lookers or shelf knives, I came to HI looking for (and continue to look for) a MKII that I could use. The MKII's I have are antiques but I love them and want one that I can carry and use. I tried different models such as the WWII (too big/heavy), CAK (way too big/heavy) and the Bonecutter (which I absolutely love.)

I am now holding out for that perfect MKII to pop up one day. I would like it to be from a kami that is known for hard working blades but they are all doing such good work lately that I would not pass on a good looking one just because of that.
 
You can look at the issue from the other side also. Not "what is the best one for me to keep," but "what is the best one for me to send on." Some of mine that were irreplacable and highly valued have gone on to new homes, because I met the person they belonged with.
 
For khukris I look at first length because I'm 6'5" and anything under 20" feels too short to me. The standard Chitlangi of about 21" is still my gold standard. Over many years of experimenting and dabbling with large knives and sword of various styles/cultures, I have found a 'golden range' which works best for me, and that is an overall length of 20" - 24". I'm large enough and strong enough to handle fairly large ones but the trade-off for that power is a loss of speed and agility.

For any other sort of knife, well, there is room in the sky for every star. I love my H.I. Seax and the "Farm Knife" is my current favorite non-khukri woods knife.
 
Some of mine that were irreplacable and highly valued have gone on to new homes, because I met the person they belonged with.
Click to expand...

I've given my C-bit away for my brother in law so he could appreciate the goodness of forged Nepalese steel. On Shortwinger's quest for M-43, he managed to infect me with his search for perfect Pilot Khuk. I was never a big fan of M-43 but not until i tried out a similar profile but with curved handle and loving it.

At first i was playing with 12" Salyan and have i not tried out Cotherion's 12" BC i wouldn't have appreciate the blade profile,large and convex bevel would have made chopping an ALL DAY ALL NIGHT fun.
Slowly found myself getting huge khuks; at times getting a 1/2" thick spine was the goal and i realized each model has its own class of dimension.(noted on Wolf's user height: khuk length ratio. Hung did mention about this before in old thread).
You get to appreciate the balance point and how well it sits on your grip on each chop. Blisters are not optional during these try-outs.

Hung has also ignited a good point when he forged his SiruSingh model (a hybrid of Sirupate and ASTK) that the handle to blade ratio using Fibonacci's number is 1:1.618. (http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm).

I would say above all, the reviews from forumites indeed helpful in deciding which blades to get; What happened to be a BC proto turned out to be a ferocious breed of weapon/tool and Wolf1989 knows very well- The enigmatic Super CAK.

18- 21" length, 1/4" -3/8" thick spine, 20-25Oz specifications have become my rule of thumb.
 
Generally these days I'm a "specials" kind of guy. I like the one offs and the new stuff coming out of the shop. I've actually thinned my collection quite a bit. I have met folks that "needed" a good piece of Nepali steel. As I have gotten a little longer in tooth, I've realized that it is not the amount of toys you have but how you can use them to spread the love;)
 
Well I only own two HI kukris a chitlange by santosh and a sirupate made by Tirtha (one of my favorites by the way), my other two kukris are KH a sirupate special hunter that I like and a ghurka army knife. I was trying to compare the quality between the two which while KH is good HI IMHO is better. However I am getting that itch again to purchase another kukri for that say end of the world scenario (actually my Esee Junglas serves this purpose) but a kukri is just so cool, can't get Mila off my mind or how it showed itself in Waterworld. I just like'm and I have narrowed it down to two kukris by HI that I want a 16.5 or 15 CAK or a BAS.

Needs to be a hatchet substitute
Light enough to be used as a weapon against 2 and 4 legged
Strong enough to outlast me
Should be able to chop, dig, and slice effectively as in a case where all other gear was lost and this was my only blade.
The only other blade I would consider as liking blade shape would be the M43 but I prefer the two above
 
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