Kukri for deployment

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giglefinger

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Jan 16, 2016
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Hi, I am in the Army and I am trying to figure out what would be a good kukri to take with me on deployment. I have become some what infatuated with kukris recently and would love some suggestions on one to carry on my kit.
 
Cold Steel Ghurka Kukri or Ghurka Kurkri plus. 12 inch blade, sharp, choppy.

But they are big, and not light. 22 oz (which is lighter than many kukri's, including the two I own).


I have a Busse Khukri, but sure would not want to lug it around on my gear unless I had transportation.
 
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Yep, Cold Steel Gurkha kukri is where it's at. I have had many kukri and I always go back to it.
 
I wouldn't. I brought a large fixed blade on several sandbox deployments and it usually stayed in the hootch or in the vehicle with extra gear. Ounces end up equaling pounds on the ground. You will be better served with a good quality folding knife or small fixed blade.
 
A few questions.
What specific functions do you plan on using this item for? Chopping wooden doors? Defence? Breaking windows? Prying? Cutting open sandbags?

Why a kukhri specifically? Would you consider another tool if one seems better suited?

What other requirements do you have? Ease of access. Weight. Anything else.

What is your budget?

The more info we have the more we can help :)
 
Welcome to bf.

giglefinger said:
Hi, I am in the Army and I am trying to figure out what would be a good kukri to take with me on deployment. I have become some what infatuated with kukris recently and would love some suggestions on one to carry on my kit.
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1. What is your MOS?

Not sure Id recommend a Khukuri for every job description in the Army. If on patrol, youll be laden down with gear already and it might not be optimal to lug a big ole' blade around.

Get a multitool instead ....or if you absolutely cant be without a knife, then buy a smaller blade like a four to six inch knife.

If you talk self defence and you feel you need a Khukuri, this means you will have run out of ammo or are too close to use your main weapon and in that case someone has effed up .......badly.
 
You can't go wrong with a Himalayan Imports M-43:)
 
A cold steel rajah 2 could be a good compromise between the design, effectiveness, transportability... and discretion
 
I took a Buck 110, Randall 15, Leatherman tool, and a Laguna hawk. The hawk got left home after the 2nd or 3rd trip out of the wire, wasn't using it and wasn't worth the weight as others have mentioned. I fear your kuhkri may meet the same fate. Then again, I saw a guy toting a full size sword on his armor so to each his own.

Also, is your unit good with you taking something like that? Some are, some aren't. I would know that before I dropped the $$.

In all my time overseas I think the only time I saw anyone with one were actual ghurkas.

All that said, if you can take it and want to then drive on. A lot about sleeping well at night in those places (for me at least) was having things I had faith in working if I needed them.
 
Being in the military you will be in extreme climates where you will see extreme heat, frigid cold, tropical moisture and desert dryness. You will need to plan on proper care of a traditional Kukri and getting an aftermarket sheath is a must if you plan to really carry it. A traditional Kukri will work fine if you take care of it but stay away from heavy fade models and understand that 22-24 ounces is much different from 40-50 ounces when you are in real military situations. Ifnyounstay trational I would go with a BAS or M43 but I would insist on correct military specs in regard to size and weight and then order a kydex sheath from one of the people on e forum.

For me, I would get a Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri. It is the perfect size and weight and is modeled after the military issued MKII. No need for any after market sheath and Cold Steel is well versed in continuing support when you are in the field. If you get the 01 version you will need to care for it like any other carbon steel knife but you will not have any handle issues and the sheath is ready to attach to military gear. If you have more cash the San Mai III version will e less maintenance. I have the SK5 version and never had any issues with it.

Good luck and stay safe!
 
I'd check with your CO first, and like the others have said, a good khuk is heavy to lug around.

A traditional khuk isn't really hard to take care of. Keep it clean, give it a light coat of oil, and don't worry about the scratches. I would suggest a flat leather or, even better, kydex sheath.

A good 15" overall khuk would do the trick, imho. It just depends what level of performance you are looking for.
 
My brother-in-law was issued a Benchmade Nimravus and an auto Presidio.

He showed both of them to me once after a few deployments. The Presidio was beat to hell. Blade was all marred, tip rounded off, most of the ha doe coating gone etc.

The Nimravus was untouched.

Just food for thought.
 
I would never traipse around down range with a kukri it'd be something rarely used that would need my attention.
 
tsuba said:
A cold steel rajah 2 could be a good compromise between the design, effectiveness, transportability... and discretion
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+1 on this. I have a kydex neck sheath for mine that could be easily adapted to work on a belt or suspenders with a couple of zip ties. I wish I would have thought of that when I was a police K-9 handler :-)
 
Check out the Ontario Kukri. It's 19 oz, .25 inch thick, and a coated 1095 carbon steel blade. The coating cuts down the maintenance. I highly recommend you give it consideration. The sheath sucks so you will want to get something up to the rigors you'll be encountering.
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You can see the coating has held up quite well considering I've used it quite a lot. The wet looking stuff on the blade is oil I keep on the edge.
 
What would be your budget? What do you plan on using it for? I've never been in the military and have no affiliation, but from my friends that are fighting right now, most of them carry a multi tool and a folder, generally a benchmade folder and Gerber multi tool(that's what they were issued).
I would suggest maybe an Emerson Commander or Cold Steel Rajah or Spartan. If you want a fixed blade, look at a Becker.
 
Kukris are cool, but I've never liked the extreme curvature. Not that I have much experience, but it seems to me that they are prone to twisting on a strike. I looked at one of the Cold Steel videos where they are chopping stuff, in slow motion. I see a rather severe twist after the object is hit. Maybe that is some magical motion where the blade is self-extracting from a cut, rather than getting stuck. Don't know. Perhaps the kukri demands a more dragging downward cut? Never had a good one to try.

I like blades like the Thai enep or similar, which is like a less extreme kukri. Some belly but not the extreme downward bend. Other knives like goloks and parangs appeal to me, as do straight-bladed or even sickle-shaped knives. Where the blade follows rather than leads the axis of the handle.
 
Only if you're in the jungle .Then the WWII military pattern will do well.Don't know who made mine but 10" and 24 ozs works well but not for sand !!
 
Himalayan Imports makes the best Khukuri's in the market, only caveat is they run a bit heavy, if you want utility a 15" BAS would be best and usually are around 22 oz weight, if you want more of a fighter a 17-18" long one would be best but the weight gets up there.

Tora Blades make the second best Khukuri's in my opinion, they made traditional replica's of past and present military models and they run a bit lighter than H.I.'s but in exchange the fit, finish, and warranty is not as good as H.I. Also they run them in batches so they have little in stock cause people scrap them up so fast and you usually have to pre-order.

If you want something more modern I think the best would be a Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri, it's based on the MkII design which is the best balance between tool and weapon in a khukuri model IMHO. Try to get one in SK5 though which I believe is tougher than the new ones they have in O1.
 
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