Khuk vs small hatchet: Surprsing findings

I do not think it was a fair comparison. It comes down to weight and leverage - and those 2 are not in the same class at all. The hatchet being 10-12' long and weighing about 1 pound? This is going by "Small Axe, 2in face, 10in high, .55kg". which I see posted for the mini. The kukri was 15.5 inches and well over a pound I would assume? Those differences alone give the advantage to the kukri from the get go.

I have no doubts the results would be much different (in favor of the Axe) using a small axe of similar length / weight to the Kukri (GFB SFA or Wetterlings Small Hunter).

Not all, but most of this is physics (and design). The 5' and 1/2 pound on the Kukri side make a large differnce.

Cheers,
Klammer
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Would love to hear about your Pen knife (and see some pics!)! How's it differ from the AK in terms of weight and feel? Does it chop as well? I'm looking for a khuk that will still outchop my wetterlings mini but be a little lighter and more compact than my current AK.
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SpookyPistolero,

No pics at the moment, but give me some time and perhaps I can find something.

I've never owned any size AK so I can't directly compare. My impression is that the Pen does not chop as well as the 12" AK, but the Pen probably has the edge in tasks requiring more finesse than brute force.

My chiruwa WWII is in the neighborhood of 18-20oz. The Pen Knife isn't exactly in the same class at 10.7oz. It doesn't chop nearly as well as the WWII, as can be expected, but I never notice the weight of the Pen on my belt. I can't say the same for the WWII. However, I find the little khuk does surprising work considering its size and weight. The Pen has a big belly and somehow-different feel...I can't quite put words to it. I bought one for my girlfriend and I liked it so much I had to get one of my own. The handle is exceedingly comfortable as it is much narrower than most HI offerings. It really excels at batoning, thanks to a relatively thin blade (Thanks Bura!). The Wetterlings Mini would probably be better if you're needing to split big logs, but otherwise I'd bet it's very similar in performance to my 12" Pen Knife. Of course I'm biased towards khukris, so I'll say that you might see some slight performance gains thanks to the khukri's geometry.

Bottom line, my opinion is that a 12" Khuk is a great choice where weight is factor and you won't be building a log cabin :D If you're doing heavier work I'd go up to at least a 15" khukri, which has an advantage in both weight and leverage.

IIRC Kismet is a huge proponent of the 12" AK as a camp chopper. He probably has more insight than I about that particular knife.
 
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My 12" AK weighs around 12oz and chops pretty well. Some years ago I did a comparision between it, my BK-9 and a SwampRat Camp Tramp. All 3 were about the same performance wise. Personal preference put the 12" AK first with the BK-9 second and the Camp Tramp third.

The AK feels alive in my hand and like it was ment for me. I've had 3 I think over the years and all 3 felt good, even the one I had with a really short handle. Got to handle the first Pen knife that came out durring a pass around many years ago and rather liked it. The 12" AK that I had at the time was a little better at splitting and about the same at chopping. Though the Pen knife did feel a little more natural for regulare cutting. IMO the 12" Pen knife is a better general use camp knife compared to the 12" AK.

Heber
 
I compared a 12" AK and a GB mini once and the GB mini was a much better chopper. They were close to the same weight I think the AK was 12oz and the mini 10oz?

I never had much experience with an axe or hatchet when I got khuks and so for me there is still some adjustment when moving from one to the other. I tend to prefer a hatchet that has a short handle and a wide bit and tend to concentrate on placement rather than power in cutting due to my khukuri bias.

I still contend that of the same weight the axe is a better chopper in skilled hands, but I could see how the khuk would be more efficient if you had not used both a lot.

With the hatchet unless you change positions several times you will end up having to make your notch wide in order to get the log cut thru. When you are say 3/4 the way thru a log there is not a lot of room to manuver the hatchet blade, and you end up chopping perpendicular to the grain which is pretty inefficient.

Due to the long khukuri and the curve of the blade, from the same position you can cut down from the top then lean over the log and cut the other side and somewhat UNDER the log, all the time maintaing your cut diagnoal to the grain which is the most efficient cut. Then if you change sides and make a few diagnoal cuts to the uncut portion say at 8 o clock on the log you can usually get thru it quickly.

The hatchet requires you to change positions more in order to chop over the same area the same way. If you try to chop with a hatchet standing in one place, or only switching position once like with a khuk you will waste the more efficient chopping by having to make a wider notch to keep yourself from getting bound up.

Not sure if I made myself clear but I tried:rolleyes:;)
 
hollowdweller said:
The hatchet requires you to change positions more in order to chop over the same area the same way. If you try to chop with a hatchet standing in one place, or only switching position once like with a khuk you will waste the more efficient chopping by having to make a wider notch to keep yourself from getting bound up.

Not sure if I made myself clear but I tried:rolleyes:;)
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I understand you perfectly. :thumbup:

My personal preference is with the khuk. I also feel that the khuk is a better choice in that, a poorly aimed stroke with a hatchet can be both dangerous and damaging to the haft. A poorly aimed stroke with a khuk can be dangerous, but is not liable to damage the tool.

The recurve of the khuk, IMO, also tends to make it a safer tool because it is more apt to bite into the wood rather than glance off, because it has more than one angle coming into the target. A concave shape will gather the energy of the swing into the target, while a convex shape can tend to push the energy away from the target.

That could well be too esoteric an explanation, but it is based on my experience with both..... :cool:

Andy
 
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