Kailash Blades bottle cutting

R

Rowan McDirk

Joined
Aug 16, 2013
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115
Tested several Kailash Blades.
Mini Kukri was the biggest surprise. Performed outstanding in bottle cutting andstabbing. Very instinctive in use.
Also tested the 9" Kailash Panawal (no video) which was also an instinctive bottle cutter.

The Pensioner did well, but harder to cut perfectly compared to the Mutiny, Panawal and Mini. Did not feel as instinctive to cut bottles with.
Most likely because of the spine thickness compared to the others.
Stabbing accurately with it took more effort than with the Mutiny.

The Mutiny is truly a joy to cut and stab bottles with.

Kailash Blades Pensioner with rosewood handle.
Pensioner from this Bladeforums topic:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pensioner-and-mutiny-chopping-comparison.1997585/


Kailash Blades 'Officer's' Pensioner from this topic:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/kailash-officers-pensioner.1996446/


Kailash Blades Mini Kukri


Kailash Blades Mutiny with rosewood handle from this topic:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pensioner-and-mutiny-chopping-comparison.1997585/

 
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Some great videos- thanks so much for sharing. I'll add them to a test cutting playlist on our youtube.
I wonder if what you're finding less inuitive about certain blades is the amount of tip drop/ how pronounced the belly is. I've found that straighter khukuris are often a bit easier to place strikes with and that when I'm cutting into branches I'm less likely to "deflect" and skid along the branch with them. Could help explain why you felt the relatively thick panawal was an inutitive cutter also. What do you think?
Cool to see some cutting done with the mini also- what length is it?
 
Kailash Blades said:
Some great videos- thanks so much for sharing. I'll add them to a test cutting playlist on our youtube.
I wonder if what you're finding less inuitive about certain blades is the amount of tip drop/ how pronounced the belly is. I've found that straighter khukuris are often a bit easier to place strikes with and that when I'm cutting into branches I'm less likely to "deflect" and skid along the branch with them. Could help explain why you felt the relatively thick panawal was an inutitive cutter also. What do you think?
Cool to see some cutting done with the mini also- what length is it?
Click to expand...
The tip drop might be the reason the Pensioner felt different. Except for the stab it performed outstanding. The upward and backward cuts were perfect, which are a lot harder than the forehand downward cuts.
It's just hard to be compared to something as excellent as the Mutiy, which flows as an extention of the hand.

The Mini Kukri has a 7 inch blade.

The Panawal had a performance edge. I was not expecting much of it but it's performance completely surprised me. Cut flawlessly through the very hard plastic bottles that require perfect edge alignment. Stabs were very accurate through small hard bottles. I think I chopped with the upper third of the blade which is not that thick because of the distal taper on it? Perhaps with a slight tip drop because of the short length?
 
How does that Mutiny feel in comparison to the Pensioner? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around how it comes out lighter. Does it feel as front heavy? Honestly I'm bouncing between the traditional 15.5" length for the history and a 14" for a bit more practicality if that makes sense (if it makes that much difference?)

Also, good thing you had the kaudi to keep your hand from getting wet! 🤪
 
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I think in bottle cutting you're maybe less likely to see the downsides of a panawal. I feel the most demanding part of the cut is initiating the cut- here the edge presses against the side fo the bottle which deforms and spreads out the force over a larger surface area. This asks for a keen edge with high sharpness to not only break the exterior but do so without moving the bottle so that it is misaligned or sliding out of the way for the rest of the cut. Once the exterior is broken the bottle only meets the edge at 2 thin points for the rest of the cut- this focuses pressure from the edge and helps the cut to be smooth. I feel you might be more likely to see the panawal underperforming in situations where your edge is a bit more blunt or in deeper cuts with more resistance throughout- for example deep chopping into hardwood where the blade might feel like it "bounces out" a bit more than the pensioner for example.

Stabbing with khukuris is a strange one. I've seen some stuff online that says it's a crucial part of the way they're used in combat (stab in, slash out) but also seen some stuff written to the contrary. I don't have a well formed opinion on it and this is really a weaker area for me in terms of my knowledge but I do think that it's clear that on a lot historical khukuris the blade is not optimised for high performance thrusting from a super-efficient tip. I don't think this necessarily means that they weren't designed to stab, but rather that the stabbing performance demands that they had were not that high and were not as much of a priority as powerful chops. I think this makes sense when you consider their use case- these were pretty hefty, close range sidearms that were used alongside tulwars, spears and later firearms with bayonets etc. These all offer thrusting power, performance and reach that the khukuri does not.

In terms of armour the Dhal was common. While I am yet to see a depiction or historical example of nepalese padded clothing, chainmail or Charaina it was in use in north india and tibet so was likely in use in Nepal also. I think it can be assumed that it was not common due to the lack of depictions in art or examples in museums. In this relatively unarmoured context the gurkhas are not asking a great deal of the tips of their blades- against the heavy, meaty torso of a combatant it's well within the capability of any historical khukuri to sink in deeply and cause a huge amount of damage with little issue. The region offered many other smaller tools for penetrating armour such as the katar, pesh kabz, khanjar etc also if needed.

B Bill_Melater the mutiny has a fair bit narrower blade as well as more intense distal taper- it really is quite a skinny spine for the majority of the length.
I think the 14" is the more practical and exciting blade in hand. The 15.5" has a lot of power and more reach but it is quite a bit of blade compared to the zippier but still commanding 14". In terms of historical accuracy there were some pretty short examples of khukuris in a similar style to the mutiny from that time. We had an ~11" antique example come through the workshop from a local customer wanting a replica a few years ago. Super small but also quite hefty and powerful despite that.
 
Makes me wish I could hold all the different lengths and widths to make a call but it sounds like 14" might be the right call for me since I'm looking for that more "zippy" blade yet. Or, at least that's how I'll rationalize this mild addiction.

Just to add to the cutting discussion: I was doing a basement cleanout and found an old Swiss Gear backpack and decided to do some cut tests on it before throwing it out. Don't worry, it was not in a condition to be donated anyway.

Out of the 14" Sirupate, 13" Mk1, and Pensioner (all precision grind), the Pensioner did noticeably better in some cases. I did a quick but strong wrist flick into the center of the bag (like giving the bag a real smart "thwap"). In short, the straighter spine blades cut/slashed deep but the Pensioner cut deep and continued into the bag itself. Think bowie vs. karambit if you'll allow me an exaggeration to illustrate the point. The Pensioner appears to be the more lean of the two, edge profile wise but, I think some of it has to do with the much more aggressive drop angle and forward cant in the handle which encourages the tip to drive down and in. The Mk1 shined a bit more when doing a similar cut with a strong wrist flick but pulling with the shoulder as one might slash with a tulwar at which point I think it's mass gave it the momentum to just bite right on through. This was just a quick casual fun test from someone less than a novice so take it all with a grain of salt. I just thought this was interesting since I've been wondering what the benefits of the bent handle could be.

Obviously I don't have a mutiny to compare but, I think it has the same forward cant as the Pensioner so it may have the same effect with a bit more speed.
 
I have been handling my Kailash Blades with the test cutting in mind.
Not sure, but could it be possible that the handle width also influences cutting performance?
The width of the Mutiny is perfect for my hands (between glove size 9 and 10), while the Pensioner is a bit too wide.
 
I don't think handle width has much influece on cutting performance, but it does have some impacts. Larger handles are heavier and brign the POB back towards the hand (especially on smaller, lighter blades). Blades with narrower bolsters tend to have narrower handles also (sirupate, chitlange, MSI, bhura). At times these handles can take on a more rounded cross section, which can render them a bit more prone to rotating in hand in use. alternatively, something like the mk1, and the larger angkholas have broad ricassos and so tend towards a more oval shaped handle. This gives a bit more indexing for edge alignment, but can be very hand-filling.
 
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