Kukri Knives

Heeheehee! Mr. Giant Chitlangi Bowie. Show us a video clip of you chopping stuff with it already. Be it a old car, a telephone post, a surfboard, a leg of beef, etc.
ndoghouse said:
I think it has to a squirrel and a half in length:D Thats how I define em! Am I in the wrong forum?
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They run at roughly the same price as the CS model.
JTmisterknifeguy said:
I agree 102%!
I know that the HI fans have a lot to rave about, but that's like saying that unless you pay $10,000+ for a samurai sword to be made in Japan by a sword making clan, you'll never have a "real" Katana.... That's just bologna IMHO.
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Two of the finest Khuks I have handled

Knight

Bottum first Proto

Top limited run

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I love those Jason Knight khuks. I'm a big fan of the curved blade. HI's are great, and they have different ones depending on what you want out of them. My favorites are the Ultimate Fighters and the Chitlangi and Sirupati, out of their lineup. I thought I liked the Amar Singh Thapa, but turned out I was wrong. Mine is nearly 1/2" thick! They're also VERY cheap for the quality of what you get. You can get them from anywhere from 50-60 - 250 depending on what you're looking for and if you get one of the DOTD's. They're tough, and much better performers in my hands than their more machete-like competition. Anyone who is making a comparison to a multi-thousand dollar katana needs to rethink their comments, because they don't know what they're talking about. HI's are very inexpensive and top quality, although fit and finish may sometimes leave a bit to be desired (because they're handmade on fairly low tech equipment by Nepalese craftsman to US standards). Not at all the same thing.

I've made a few KLO's myself, actually.

Just finished this one; probably will be letting it go.


Also did this one in Alabama Damascus:


BePrepared has another one I made as well. I'll be making more. I love khuks.

Buy what you want though. If anything is definitional, it would be the curved shape, if not the country of origin. Here on Blade Forums, there tend to be folks who think that if it's not a thick chopper, it's not a khukuri, but there's a lot of variation. I will say that my thinnest HI khukuri is 3/8" thick at the spine, and that's a light and quick sirupati. Thinner, long blades, tend to get classified as machetes. There IS a difference. The thinner blades are better for slashing and cutting light stuff, but are less good at heavy chopping. I own several of the Kabar kukri machetes, and a few Cold Steel ones, and while they're reasonably good at chopping, they bind much more easily, suck at splitting, and in general just don't work as well, at least in my hands, as my HI variants. But, they perform much better at lighter tasks, and that being said, I do like/prefer thinner blades. The Reinhardt Becker Kukri is only 1/8" thick, and that one seems to do better at chopping than its thicker Kabar friend. The geometry is pretty important. I second the comment that the CS versions are awful because of the handle material. Way too rough, and really cuts up your hand. I think they were primarily designed for chopping up hanging pigs and "fighting."

Before you buy though, give some thought as to what exactly you are looking for.

Please don't say fighting. There's no such thing as a knife fight. If you ever are in a "fight" with someone using a knife, they're trying to murder you, not fight you. Anyone looking to harm another human being with a knife is going for assassination, not a duel. And you are DEFINITELY going to get injured, and you're DEFINITELY going to go to jail and probably get violated by large tattooed men. Just saying...
 
Go with HI, just look for the deals offered in the subforum and you can snatch some good stuff at half the price. You won't be disappointed. I bought mine used and it still impressed me. I've never owned a blade that has 1/2" stock and it took abuse for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
 
Here is a Hybrid from Burt Foster
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My favorite HI a DUI Chirro

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An ultimate Fighter from HI

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An nice original with an Ivory Handle

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A McCurdy
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crimsonfalcon07 said:
I love those Jason Knight khuks. I'm a big fan of the curved blade. HI's are great, and they have different ones depending on what you want out of them. My favorites are the Ultimate Fighters and the Chitlangi and Sirupati, out of their lineup. I thought I liked the Amar Singh Thapa, but turned out I was wrong. Mine is nearly 1/2" thick! They're also VERY cheap for the quality of what you get. You can get them from anywhere from 50-60 - 250 depending on what you're looking for and if you get one of the DOTD's. They're tough, and much better performers in my hands than their more machete-like competition. Anyone who is making a comparison to a multi-thousand dollar katana needs to rethink their comments, because they don't know what they're talking about. HI's are very inexpensive and top quality, although fit and finish may sometimes leave a bit to be desired (because they're handmade on fairly low tech equipment by Nepalese craftsman to US standards). Not at all the same thing.

I've made a few KLO's myself, actually.

Just finished this one; probably will be letting it go.


Also did this one in Alabama Damascus:


BePrepared has another one I made as well. I'll be making more. I love khuks.

Buy what you want though. If anything is definitional, it would be the curved shape, if not the country of origin. Here on Blade Forums, there tend to be folks who think that if it's not a thick chopper, it's not a khukuri, but there's a lot of variation. I will say that my thinnest HI khukuri is 3/8" thick at the spine, and that's a light and quick sirupati. Thinner, long blades, tend to get classified as machetes. There IS a difference. The thinner blades are better for slashing and cutting light stuff, but are less good at heavy chopping. I own several of the Kabar kukri machetes, and a few Cold Steel ones, and while they're reasonably good at chopping, they bind much more easily, suck at splitting, and in general just don't work as well, at least in my hands, as my HI variants. But, they perform much better at lighter tasks, and that being said, I do like/prefer thinner blades. The Reinhardt Becker Kukri is only 1/8" thick, and that one seems to do better at chopping than its thicker Kabar friend. The geometry is pretty important. I second the comment that the CS versions are awful because of the handle material. Way too rough, and really cuts up your hand. I think they were primarily designed for chopping up hanging pigs and "fighting."

Before you buy though, give some thought as to what exactly you are looking for.

Please don't say fighting. There's no such thing as a knife fight. If you ever are in a "fight" with someone using a knife, they're trying to murder you, not fight you. Anyone looking to harm another human being with a knife is going for assassination, not a duel. And you are DEFINITELY going to get injured, and you're DEFINITELY going to go to jail and probably get violated by large tattooed men. Just saying...
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Amar Singh Thapar isn't so bad. I could always swing it like an axe where once it's on its way it's hard to stop it. I don't like this lack of control but it's still fine for chopping stuff as intended. Coincidently I'm doing pull-up training for a while. Since the time I could do one armed pull-ups (weighing 220 pounds) I am also able to control my Amar Singh much better. Good enough to feel comfy in a fight. I usually don't like heavy weapons they slow me down and leave me open for a counter when missing a strike. Now with enough strength even after a missed strike I can pull the Amar Singh back fast enough to apply the next strike quickly.
The AST is an excellent Kukri for normal purposes to be a good fighter however you will need to have enough muscles to control it.
I agree on the "fighting". The mean guys know in advance if and when they hit. You will only know it when they have hit you already. If they are good you can't strike back after their first salvo. If however they talk bs and threaten you before they hit you might be lucky to have enough time to draw your weapon.
I have only been in three fights and never saw them coming. For sure no time to get my knife out and always had to fall back on empty handed martial arts (have been doing them since I was 6)
 
Wow 1 arm pull ups! Impressive. What discipline of martial arts do you study? I did Kempo for a while. It was pretty cool. All About Combos n such.
 
Derek the Destroyer said:
Wow 1 arm pull ups! Impressive. What discipline of martial arts do you study? I did Kempo for a while. It was pretty cool. All About Combos n such.
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My daughter is 4 and into climbing. Kind of motivated me to do pullups a bit more than other things.

I started with Judo when I was 6 (parents wanted me too and I think I just got used too it and saw the fun in it)
at ~15 switched to Shotokan Karate (new city and Judo club there wasnt so good)
with ~27 I went back to Judo and Brazillian JJ (the local Karate wasn't good)
So now (35) Im usually training with friends who do MMA or are into traditional Styles and want to add to their skills. Everbody is better at something else than the others and teaches that and learns the other stuff. Since there's no money involved nobody has to badmouth other styles or pretend to be invincible with borderline magic powers like some commercially oriented Senseis do. We just want to get better at fighting, that's all.

A few weeks ago I moved to the Folsom area in California. Now I have to find some new guys here who want to roll. Will join a few local clubs to see who thinks like me.

I only heard good things about Kempo but haven't experienced it myself or trained with people who knew it.
 
Be sure you're not confusing the premium CS line with their Kukri Machete. The original CS khukuri "machete" was the Light Terrain Chopper, which had the same shape as the new machete, but used the rubber/Kraton grip and Carbon V steel. It was/is superb and has never caused me any hand pain or blisters. It's bomb-proof as well. Also, the CS Gurkha is a wonderful khukuri. The size, weight, shape, handling, and quality are outstanding. I have the SK-5 version and the steel, in toughness, edge retention, and ease of sharpening, is awesome. It chops, batons, slashes, shaves nice curls (when dragging material along the blade), and does anything I've ever needed a khukuri (or any large knife) to do. I wouldn't get hung up on traditional vs. modern. There are too many wonderful versions in each category. Take care.
 
JTMisterknifeguy, you might consider some research. HI shipping within the CONUS is done by USPS Priority mail, and is generally very affordable. You're not paying for shipments from Nepal here. You're paying for shipments from Reno, Nevada. You won't be paying any more for shipping an HI than you would to ship a CS, unless you managed to swing free shipping on the CS. Even then, for comparable quality, you're still talking comparable price. You need to get over the idea that you can compare an HI khukuri to a Japanese katana. They're not the same thing. For that matter, I got my HI katana for around 200 dollars in a DOTD (cheaper than a CS any day, and with similarly poor balance and weighting, but similarly overbuilt strength and power).

Jens Schuetz said:
The AST is an excellent Kukri for normal purposes to be a good fighter however you will need to have enough muscles to control it.
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Yikes. I barely even know where to start here. Let's just say that I keep pretty fit. I've been able to do 15 consecutive one-arm pullups for years now, 70 consecutive reps of bench at 10 over my body weight, etc. I also climb pretty regularly. Lack of muscle isn't a problem that people usually associate with me. And guess what...I still think the ATSK is overly heavy, and a crap "fighting" knife compared to the others I mentioned. Sure, it could be made to work. But it's far from the best of their lineup, as I mentioned before. Control, as you say, is lacking. That's a fatal flaw in a knife that you're intending to fight with (and you should NEVER be considering fighting with a khukuri as a civilian). I guarantee that regardless of the circumstances, YOU will be the one going to jail. Khukuri are not for self-defense, unless maybe you're a Gurkha. It's the very rare person who has actually been in a real fight and talks about it on the internet, not least because of the legal issues behind it. Most people whose credentials are legitimate aren't proud of being in fights, and have no desire to be in another one, particularly not if weapons are involved.

More, it's a momentum weapon. There should be no "pulling the weapon back after a missed strike." Instead, you should be managing the flow so that the power behind the missed strike goes straight into the next attack. In my experience, speed counts. A LOT. If pigs were flying around, and zombies attacking, I'd STILL not use an ASTK, because there are better blades for the purpose that don't suffer from the ATSK's flaws. If you have enough muscle to not be completely useless with the ATSK, you're still better off using something faster and lighter, and only a fool gives up an advantage when fighting for one's life, especially for no discernable gain.

More, the entire idea of "fighting" with a khukuri misses the point. First, khukuri aren't small blades. You're not going to be concealing it, and carrying one concealed would be illegal in most places anyways. Maybe Mr. Ritter and Knife Rights will be able to do something about that eventually, but for right now, you're stuck open carrying it, and "bad guys" are either not going to attack a visibly armed person, or will ensure that you don't get the chance to draw it at all. Let's be honest with ourselves. You aren't going to get in a "fight" with a khukuri. It's just not going to happen. You're just asking to have someone shoot you if you're in a situation in which you're likely to get attacked, or arrested otherwise. You're going to have a tough time convincing a jury, judge, or the police that you had a legitimate reason to be toting one around town, or that you were justified in using lethal force if you happened somehow to get to use it against a "bad guy."

Internet fantasies are all very well and good, but when you start thinking about "fighting" with large blades, you need to consider your legal and moral responsibilities. If you're carrying a concealed weapon, be it a gun or a blade, you have a responsibility to avoid dangerous situations, and to try to defuse fights where possible. If you need to defend yourself, a large knife isn't the tool. You likely can't carry it concealed legally, and you're likely to be bringing a knife to a gun fight regardless. I can think of exactly one confirmed story in which a person used a large blade in self-defense, and that person did not get into a fight with the blade. You aren't going to be defending your local mall with your khukuri.

Honestly, I don't know where the fighting part even started here, but in my opinion, it needs to be over and done with. If you simply MUST fantasize about fighting with your knife, and pretend that it's realistic, you might consider at least picking the ones that are suited for the job. Also, start researching a good attorney, and preparing yourself psychologically for your jail time.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
Yikes. I barely even know where to start here. Let's just say that I keep pretty fit. I've been able to do 15 consecutive one-arm pullups for years now, 70 consecutive reps of bench at 10 over my body weight, etc. I also climb pretty regularly. Lack of muscle isn't a problem that people usually associate with me. And guess what...I still think the ATSK is overly heavy, and a crap "fighting" knife compared to the others I mentioned. Sure, it could be made to work. But it's far from the best of their lineup, as I mentioned before. Control, as you say, is lacking. That's a fatal flaw in a knife that you're intending to fight with (and you should NEVER be considering fighting with a khukuri as a civilian). I guarantee that regardless of the circumstances, YOU will be the one going to jail. Khukuri are not for self-defense, unless maybe you're a Gurkha. It's the very rare person who has actually been in a real fight and talks about it on the internet, not least because of the legal issues behind it. Most people whose credentials are legitimate aren't proud of being in fights, and have no desire to be in another one, particularly not if weapons are involved.

More, it's a momentum weapon. There should be no "pulling the weapon back after a missed strike." Instead, you should be managing the flow so that the power behind the missed strike goes straight into the next attack. In my experience, speed counts. A LOT. If pigs were flying around, and zombies attacking, I'd STILL not use an ASTK, because there are better blades for the purpose that don't suffer from the ATSK's flaws. If you have enough muscle to not be completely useless with the ATSK, you're still better off using something faster and lighter, and only a fool gives up an advantage when fighting for one's life, especially for no discernable gain.

More, the entire idea of "fighting" with a khukuri misses the point. First, khukuri aren't small blades. You're not going to be concealing it, and carrying one concealed would be illegal in most places anyways. Maybe Mr. Ritter and Knife Rights will be able to do something about that eventually, but for right now, you're stuck open carrying it, and "bad guys" are either not going to attack a visibly armed person, or will ensure that you don't get the chance to draw it at all. Let's be honest with ourselves. You aren't going to get in a "fight" with a khukuri. It's just not going to happen. You're just asking to have someone shoot you if you're in a situation in which you're likely to get attacked, or arrested otherwise. You're going to have a tough time convincing a jury, judge, or the police that you had a legitimate reason to be toting one around town, or that you were justified in using lethal force if you happened somehow to get to use it against a "bad guy."

Internet fantasies are all very well and good, but when you start thinking about "fighting" with large blades, you need to consider your legal and moral responsibilities. If you're carrying a concealed weapon, be it a gun or a blade, you have a responsibility to avoid dangerous situations, and to try to defuse fights where possible. If you need to defend yourself, a large knife isn't the tool. You likely can't carry it concealed legally, and you're likely to be bringing a knife to a gun fight regardless. I can think of exactly one confirmed story in which a person used a large blade in self-defense, and that person did not get into a fight with the blade. You aren't going to be defending your local mall with your khukuri.

Honestly, I don't know where the fighting part even started here, but in my opinion, it needs to be over and done with. If you simply MUST fantasize about fighting with your knife, and pretend that it's realistic, you might consider at least picking the ones that are suited for the job. Also, start researching a good attorney, and preparing yourself psychologically for your jail time.
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Overall I don't disagree with you.
I never said the AST or any Kukri is the best for all kinds of fighting. I just meant it can work and for me with more strength it would work better than for me with less strength. What counts here is absolute strength and not lifts per bodyweight. (if my small daughter can do more pullups than me she will still be weaker since every pull of hers means only lifting 45 pounds)

Never said that its not better to have a concealable a weapon if possible. No need to let the bad guys know in advance what you have.

How I fight with my weapons might be different from yours. I don't see how that is a bad thing? Are you wrong because you do it differently? Of course not. Maybe we can even learn a few things from each other, who knows. But that takes some open mindedness to begin with instead of picking one sentence and displaying it out of context. So far I like as much control as possible. After a strike or a stab I pull back instantly to do the next one. I don't like flows from one to another, they tend to get interrupted and then I'm in trouble. Same with learning complicated martial arts sequences. I stick to short 2-3 technique combos. In a real fight I would be happy to apply even them. To be honest I'm training since almost 30 years but if it gets real its not pretty flows and forms/katas. It gets down to single techniques. You can blame the lack of lack of sophisticated choreographed forms on my own nervousness and resulting tunnel vision; unpredictability of circumstances and opponents. That's just how it is for me and I have to take this into account and dumb things down so that they work even if things get confusing or my brain can't keep up. Damn adrenaline!
So far it was only fist fights and no real damage, only pain and bleeding noses and damaged elbow joints. I was also never the attacker (far to scared of fighting and anyways no issues with anybody) and always me alone against multiple guys. It would be kind of obvious to any jury and maybe that's why nobody ever sued me? Actually a dog owner once threatened to call the police after his unleashed dog ran barking towards my kid and I had to spray it. I guess he thought it over since it was illegal to let his doberman run on a playground without a leash... Btw dogs are way to fast for knives or kicking and punching unless they are already stuck biting into some leg...

100% agreement on the legal issues. Its good to be aware of them and make informed decisions. If there is a Kukri lying arround and my kids are in danger would I pay the price and go to jail? It would be hard to take care of them from within a prison but are they at least they more likely to be alive?

Bad circumstances don't have to be walking down a populated city street with an open Kukri every day in fear of an attack, though that's a useful exaggerated "internet fantasy" to be able to make your point ;)
There can be home defense situations or
just a simple hike. Didn't some guy stab a mountain lion with a spyderco? A Kukri might have been more final for the animal and less risky of angering it even more.
A simple villager (not Gurkha) in Nepal had to kill a bear with his Kukri.
The SUV driver who tried to save his family and his life by driving over some bikers got beaten up afterwards. What if he have had a Kukri in his car? He could have defended himself better. Of course they might have just shot him when seeing a knife? So sometimes taking a beating can be the better option?

Now are these very likely scenarios? No! If you say I will never be in such a situation you are very likely to be correct. :) If I say you will never be in a deadly car accident I will also most likely be correct. Still you will always wear a seat belt and do not disable you airbag, you might even have a life insurance, just in case? Are you simply "fantasizing" or do you also do it because you like to be alive and be prepared for the worst?

If it comes to EDC knives in urban live I stick to small and even they are overkill so far. I've only used them to cut cable ties, boxes, remove splinters and once I had to shave a spot in my face which I had missed before my sisters wedding. So yes, I am aware of whats likely and whats not and carry accordingly. I even explained before that drawing any weapon takes too much time if the attackers are already attacking you. It's just too late then because you cant always be prepared walking around with an open knife in your hand ready to stab and slash your way free. I don't understand why you try to link me to unrealistic fighting scenarios? Maybe I didn't describe it clear enough or my post was too long to read in detail?

Of course there are better tools for many things depending on your circumstances. Pistols are nice but they aren't legal in many countries, they also don't cut down trees nearly as well as a Kukri. Peperspray worked for me and is easier to conceal and often very legal. The Nepalese bear could maybe have been scared away by running towards it screaming. Having a Kukri is just one option and certainly not the Hammer which is only seeing nails everywhere... If I get into a fight and have the option of using a Kukri I would probably grab it. Even the heavy Amar Singh Thapar Kukri would work better than nothing and could actually work quite well if you learn to control it. Again there are better weapons and even better Kukris for that purpose, but I have never denied that. Sorry if you took my comment that way. All I meant is that "Amar Singh Thapar isn't so bad" , if I may quote the first sentence in the earlier post. Its good for what Kukris are intended for and can also do well in a fight if you have it lying around. I never advocated always carrying it around on your belt for the purpose of resolving some unlikely fight. Kind of obvious and I'm repeating myself, just in case :)
 
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Jens Schuetz said:
*Snip
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Oh good, glad we're on the same page then. I wasn't trying to link you in particular to fighting posts other than referencing the things in your last post that I disagree with. Pretty sure you weren't the one to bring up the topic initially, although it could definitely be said that you were heavily involved in perpetuating the discussing about "fighting" with knives.

With regards to home defense issues, etc, the same could be said for having a firearm, baseball bat, pepper spray, tasers, etc. I would reach for any of those before I went for one of my khukuri, and the ASTK in particular. We still need to know what the OP actually wants from his blade.

And there's nothing in particular wrong with the ASTK. It's just not for me, because it's just far more unwieldy than my other HI blades, and doesn't do anything particularly better. YMMV.
 
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