Kailash Khukuri Review Megathread!

Kailash Blades said:
I think Metalsmith has hit the nail on the head here. Daniel Murray Lake has described an ideal chopping grip as an "OK" grip. Thumb and index together with the rest of the hand loose. The other fingers can be recruited to help "snap" the blade down but a looser grip, especially upon impact can be a big help for shock absorption. A lot of our customers swear by tennis racket tape as well- but I've never found the modification necessary.
With most western chopping knives a lot of the power comes from the weight of the hand and arm so holding the knife tightly helps to drive it into the material (look at the DBK chopping videos). On the contrary, the khukuri is more like an axe. It has enough power and is instead almost thrown into the wood- with the hand just guiding it.
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That's really nice of you! I really appreciate the thoughtfulness. Also my condolences to the family for their loss.
 
I got a DHL tracking email this morning for my khukuri! I assume and hope you use DHL. On my birthday I did receive a junk email about a colt pistol I ordered for $1000. Ha!

I never did receive any more pic updates, which is no problem, i just thought there would be more pics along the way. I should receive it Monday April 15th. I will be sure to leave pictures, thoughts and such when I do receive it. I'm happy to have found out about you all!
 
philbrownell05 said:
I got a DHL tracking email this morning for my khukuri! I assume and hope you use DHL. On my birthday I did receive a junk email about a colt pistol I ordered for $1000. Ha!

I never did receive any more pic updates, which is no problem, i just thought there would be more pics along the way. I should receive it Monday April 15th. I will be sure to leave pictures, thoughts and such when I do receive it. I'm happy to have found out about you all!
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DHL delivered my Ek Chirra yesterday, so I'd say yours should be inbound. Mine took a pretty amazing route to get here but it was really fast. It left Kathmandu on 4/4 and was delivered on 4/9. Apparently, they start the Customs Clearance en route so, no week long wait sitting in NY.

I'm curious if your Falo will be the older, MSI profile or the redesigned version. Can't wait to see your photos of the Falo and sheath, I ordered a military dap and western sheath for my MK-1.
Jack
 
Crusty_Otter said:
DHL delivered my Ek Chirra yesterday, so I'd say yours should be inbound. Mine took a pretty amazing route to get here but it was really fast. It left Kathmandu on 4/4 and was delivered on 4/9. Apparently, they start the Customs Clearance en route so, no week long wait sitting in NY.

I'm curious if your Falo will be the older, MSI profile or the redesigned version. Can't wait to see your photos of the Falo and sheath, I ordered a military dap and western sheath for my MK-1.
Jack
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From photos and description on the order complete email I received this morning, that it is the 11 inch MSI by the looks of it. The new version go 8, 10, 12 and 14 inch blades. I would have loved the new version because I love the curved spines and smooth transition all the way down to the hand, but I prefer the belly that the one I ordered will have. I cannot wait to feel the handle as well because I love how they described the function over finish, which to me doesn't denote lack of finish, but like they say no palm swells or rings that can be hotspots, but a smooth and functional handle!
 
Crusty_Otter said:
Good eye, I didn't catch the size differences. Both profiles are nice so there are advantages to having either one... or both. Nobody told me khukuris were addictive ;).
Jack
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I haven't even held one and I've already decided the next two that I wanted. So they are very addictive. I wanted the Falo because they described it as probably the toughest khukuri they make, which is exactly what I need. Second order will either be the Dui Chirra or the Fort William MK-1. Then of course I want both the Plain Jane Bowie and the Regent Bowie! One at a time......patience is a virtue.....wife would kill me......etc.
 
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I've got a 7" mini on order that should be shipping sometime soon and I ordered a MK-1 about 3 weeks ago. Those will both get used but I wanted one historically accurate build, so that's how Iconfigured the MK-1. I'm still planning on ordering a Mutiny as a user and maybe a smaller, 12" - 14" Sirupate. I'd really like a Salyani (and I'll probably order one eventually) but that would be mostly a collection piece so I'm trying to resist the urge for as long as possible. See? Addictive! LOL
 
Got a review from a recent customer that they asked me to share here :)

"I recently bought a Historical service issue Khukuri from Kailash Blades to go with my modern service issue. But this time I decided to get a horn handle.
I emailed them about making the handle straight like the originals which they did for me.
It has an 11.5 polished inch blade. 4.75 inch handle
With brass fittings. And requested a all black handle.
I received it quickly. And when I got it I was more then pleased. The balance is perfect, the blade is shaving sharp. One thing to note in my opinion is that Kailash seems to have the best quality leather compared to other makers iv used. Its soft and supple and not wrapped to tight over the wood core like some makers. I did make a cover for the sheath to protect it well im out camping. This is a solid company, making solidly built Khukuri’s. I honestly think they will be my go to from now on.
Thanks to Andrew and his team."
 
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Pensioner and Falo arrived today: (hopefully the photos show up)

Pensioner: black micarta handle, large handle size, performance grind, 582 grams
Falo: 12" blade length, large handle size, standard grind, 664 grams

Mahesh and Kailash Blades as a whole really knocked it out of the park on my first order (Mk1 and Sirupate) and I had to have more. This time I got a Falo and Pensioner made by Mandip (Andrew, please correct me if I'm wrong). I can't do an in depth use review like last time for a while but I did try them out a bit.

https://imgur.com/ANMoB4x

I can understand why the Pensioner has a following and it may just be that go-to blade I've been looking for for years. To sum it up, I'd call it a "lightweight Mk1" if that's fair to say. It's got the belly and geometry of the MK1 but it's thin like a Sirupate. Despite not being as heavy as the Mk1, it still just wants to sink right on into whatever I put it against and even zipped through some thin green honeysuckle shoots. Went with the longer handle this time around and the jury is still out if I like it or not. The handle ring really helps keep your hand in place but that flare being closer to the heal of your hand really locks it in.

Due to shipping costs, I like to order two blades at a time if I'm going to buy. As always, Kailash puts the important work into their blades. The Falo looks rough and it's a hefty blade but it doesn't feel heavy thanks to the great distal taper. The blade, handle and bolster are fitted very well, the butt end of the handle is nicely rounded and the raw look on this thing is just beautiful. My only regret is that on the handle, I'm going to end up smoothing out some of the roughness to some sanding to open up the wood to be oiled but I'll be keeping the faceted edges as much as possible. Without getting to do a real test, the standard grind doesn't feel as "bitey" as the performance but it's not going to bounce out of a cut any time soon.

https://imgur.com/NPwMOFd

https://imgur.com/J0onR0n

https://imgur.com/TTkcyOD

And don't think I don't see the little character peaking out from behind the Pensioner. :D
https://imgur.com/G5vUf4r
 
Thanks so much for the little writeup Bill!
These are both blades by mandip :)
The pensioner is a favourite of many. Some other factors of its success are that it's a very cool looking khukuri and packs in this kind of sculpting and shaping that you would otherwise see on a dui or tin chirra while still packing in a pretty high performance geometry. The mutiny is similar in this way.
These days I feel that hacving the flare snug into the hand is the way to go- I'd even be happy to do without the handle ring if it means the flare is always the right distance away. That's a great thing about the falo handle! Best of luck with the mods- I think you'll end up loving the falo too once you get some hours in with it :)
 
I forgot a few details. (and apologies about the images. Not sure how to get them to not show as links)

The Karda and Chakmak are very well made and I was impressed that they not only have a bolster but are actually a stick tang design, peened at the but caps. The karda did come paper slicing sharp but It is a beefy convex grind. I tested it out on some tomatoes and it's perfectly functional but I feel like it would be a benefit if the karda had its own performance grind. But take that with a grain of salt. It's just an opinion and we all know the saying.

The sheathes as usual are very well made with no play in the blade when inserted. The pensioner has a lot more drop that other blades so I have to get used to that when sheathing in the traditional dap. Everyone at Kailash really knows their craft.

That being said, I have a couple questions for Andrew:

1. Is the chakmak hardened all over or localized to a specific area? I'm never sure if one should use the spine or the belly when honing.

2. I know it will likely increase the cost but could it be possible to add a feature to the western style leather to secure the chakmak and karda? I'm thinking something similar to a milsurp ammo pouch where you have a flap with a short strip trailing off of it that gets secured over a stud. It looks like the leather at the base of that stack up could be extended into something. I'm no leather worker though so I leave that to the experts.
 
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1- They are just edge quenched. Not sure why as I think having as many functional edges hard as possible would be good, however that's the way they're done. Potentially it's a durability concern.
2- We could do this on request yes- it would be a 2d flap rather than 3dbox formed though. We would probably have two studs- one on the side of the blade part for each pouch as this is the only place we can place them. Another method could be to extend a small flap for each from the top portion and than have these snap into place against the main body.
 
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