"!" kami M43 review by me. :)

BruiseLeee

BruiseLeee

Joined
Sep 7, 2001
Messages
5,946
I got my "!" kami M43 this afternoon. :D

Very similar in size and weight to the Cold Steel Gurka kukri (I had to dig it out of a box). The ! is about an inch longer.

Blade

The blade is very straight but doesn't have the bold sharp edges on the top of the spine like one made by Bura. It give more of a softer, less harsh look. I like this. It's the same with the sword of shiva. It's more like a fuller than a bold line. Standard flat ground edge on the blade, reasonably sharp.

Handle

Depending on how one holds the blade, the handle is too short or just right. I usually put my thumb on the angled part of the bolster so it fits my hand nicely. The blade at the bolster is a little small and the handle juts out after the bolster. Dunno if it was on purpose but the top part of the handle is flush with the bolster. This is good for me as it provides a good reference point for an index finger.

The buttcap was very nicely fitted to the handle with no burrs to chew up my hand. Dunno if it's standard for the M43 but the buttcap is peened in two places. There are a couple of small bulges or hammer dents in the buttcap.

Cuttin' the air

For such a long blade (for me) the blade was fairly easy to swing. I'm used to using 15"s Well balanced and with a very comfortable handle. I'll probably sneak out Saturday morning to cut some stuff. :D

Karda and Chakma

I was hopin' for a slightly longer blade on the karda and chakmas on a 17.5" blade but the workmanship on these two pieces are pretty good.

Final Verdict.

This guy's good with the hammer and anvil. In terms of workmanship on the handle and blade he knows what he's doin' I'd get another one from this guy in the future.

I'll post more when I cut stuff but that's sorta subjective. Some of you folks can cut 18" logs with one stroke with a kagas katne so I'm not sure how to do this one.

It'll probably be yes, it can cut stuff and I couldn't break it.

my 2 cents.

I should mention the very flowing and proportional blade shape on this one. That's what caught my eye when I saw the pic. I don't think I typed an email faster in my life. :)

:o
 
Bruise,

Thanks for the insights, and very glad you enjoy the new toy. If you get tired of it...
 
Who are you and what did you do to the real Bruise.:D Great review by the way, who ever you really are.:rolleyes: :p ;) :D
 
Bruise, this is the most serious post I've ever seen from you. Are you feeling ok?;) Great review, by the way, let us know how you like it after you get a chance to use it some more.
--Josh
 
Wheew, for a second I thought something was really wrong there, and that mebe we'd have to do some forumite rescue mission.:D
 
My forearms are sore this morning. You guys who use the 18" stuff regularly must be giants. :(
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
My forearms are sore this morning. You guys who use the 18" stuff regularly must be giants. :(
Click to expand...
Surely you jest, the 18" is but a small knife.;) :p :D
 
Yep.

Bruise, I think this is your longest post ever. Are you sure your arms aren't just tired from all of the typing?:);)

Keith
 
Cuttin' Stuff with the "!"

A fine afternoon for cutting sticks and such in the local "bump" of a mountain. It was raining quite hard so there wouldn't be any "guy with big knife" stories in the news.

This was the first chiruwa handle that I've tested. The shock while cutting semi solid objects such as wood was noticable. It wasn't horrible and I figure one would be able to get used to it.

One thing I did notice was that if I struck something closer to the tip, the knife would make a metallic pinging sound. No damage to the knife but I figure that this is like hitting one of the resonant points on the knife. Sort of like a tuning fork. Has anyone else heard this?

Light Brush

Cutting light brush was easy with this device. However, for extended cutting a lighter blade such as a machette would work better. The longer blade kept my hands away from sharp and pointy things in the bushes.

Sticks and other goodies.

For larger stuff, the heavier blade made small branches easy work. Less effort to use due to the heavier weight of the knife.

Logs

With the added weight and leverage of a longer blade, the cuts are deeper. However there seems to be a tendency for the blade to twist on impact. This may be due the weakness in my hands. :(

Maybe I'm doing something wrong too.

:confused:
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
With the added weight and leverage of a longer blade, the cuts are deeper. However there seems to be a tendency for the blade to twist on impact. This may be due the weakness in my hands. :(

Maybe I'm doing something wrong too.

:confused:
Click to expand...

It's more likely due to the size & shape of the handle, which is a bit slimmer than most other khuk handles. Try wrapping some grip tape around the center of the handle (where the ring would be) to fatten it up a bit and increase the gripping surface. That helped to alleviate the problem for me.

I used the same kind of tape they sell at sporting good stores for use on tennis racket handles. Probably would work well on your hockey stick, too! :D
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
This was the first chiruwa handle that I've tested. The shock while cutting semi solid objects such as wood was noticable. It wasn't horrible and I figure one would be able to get used to it.
Click to expand...

This shock sensation while using a chiruwa style K was touched on in another thread by others. I am curious. Can you recall what part of the blade contacted the object at the time of feeling the shock? I have felt vibration from my 16.5" chiruwa AK but it happens rarely. But perhaps I am not doing heavy enough work with it to bring out this tendency.

If others are feeling shock more often, are we saying the chiruwa style K is an inferior design?
 
It was as I recall to the tip end of the "sweet spot". It was noticeable but not a deterrent to using it. In fact, if I wasn't looking for it, I probably wouldn't have really noticed.

I remember watching softball in school (from not being picked for a team :( ) and seeing the guys with the aluminum bats. If you hit the wrong spot it would vibrate. Perhaps it's the same way. Figure out what part of the blade you can use for hard stuff and use anything for lighter stuff.

Even so, the shock wasn't harsh and I wouldn't be paranoid about such things.

Grip tape? I find the handle a little big actually. I should check Pen's hand size thing. You're probably in the giants section. :) I think the handle was either too big or my weak hands saying it was time to go home.

I wouldn't say it's an inferior design. It's more like a feature. You get some added handle strength for some extra feedback in the hands. Sort of like getting fancy tires for your car. You trade performance in one area for another.

For a long blade (18") the added handle weight helps balance the knife.

Dunno...

Oh.. in some parts, using tennis raquet tape on a hockey stick will warrant a beating. :D:confused:
 
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