Kz ii

roughneckrob

roughneckrob

Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Messages
1,213
hey guys, I have a question about the KZ II. Is the blade thick enough to handle heavy duty work or should I go with a H.I kukri? .300 does not seem very thick for a blade of this length. I could be way off base here but if someone can please post some comparison pics of the blade thickness so I can get a good idea. I always wished Busse would make a kukri and now they are so I really want it but I want to use it and not have to worry about damaging it too badly.
 
It certainly seems thick to me. I can't imagine what I could ever do with it that would break it that didn't involve intentionally trying to break it...
 
If you do manage to break it, don't forget about the amazing Busse warranty...

And .3" is pretty darn thick in my opinion...
 
you don''t have to worry about it. buy the h.i. first, then when your done tinkering around buy a real piece of steel.


i do own at least 3 h.i. kuck's, and they are very nice blade's!:thumbup:

give me a few on the pics.
 
It is so heavy duty, you will have an impossible time breaking it without a vice and steel sledge hammer!


by hand, you will have an impossible time breaking a .187 skinny ash 1 (if you don't believe me watch knifetests.com destruction tests of the skinny ash, and FFBM!)

the KZII will be so much stronger than even a .50 HI khukri!

The lateral strength is amazing.

Remember, the traditional Khukris are spring steel. (5160 typically), which while a decently strong steel, is not in the same class for later strength and impact resistance as infi. The weak point of many HI khukri's is the stick tang handle. If you go with a full tang it will be stronger. The handle slabs, which are simple wood, will be more apt to break as well.

Where you will really win is with edge retention, resistance to corrosion, impact resistance, lateral strength, resistance to chipping............pure awesomeness, and just about every other area you can think of.

Price is about the only down side, but when you consider that with most infi, you will maintain your value at the least, you get what you pay for.


If you ever do manage to accidentally break it (ie Hulk Get Mad!), Busse will replace it.
 
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Given that H.I. Khukuris are differentially hardened and most of the blade is left soft (except the sweet spot that does all the cutting), at the same thickness they would be easier to bend. That said, most people say their H.I. Khukuris are ridiculously thick, so that should make up for it.
If you intend on hammering on it though, that would end up being an advantage, as to get unhardened steel to fracture is very difficult. Leaving steel soft is probably the only way to make steel more fracture resistant than INFI.
(Please note that Himalayan Imports does make two, and only two full tang models. I really don't consider the rest worth looking at for heavy use.)

On the other hand, the KZII will keep its shape long after the H.I. Khukuri would have bent over, you just have to be aware that the KZII will be more likely to fail catastrophically if you do push it beyond its limits.

Which is still kind of a moot point, as mentioned, to get either one to break without a sledgehammer would be nearly impossible.

I say get the KZII now. Himalayan Imports isn't going anywhere.
 
I don't want to say anything bad about HI kukris, because for the money and if you get a good one, they're a good value. My only experience with one was a friends and I was not impressed, hard very poor fit and finish, but many love them. Also, if I say anything bad 20 people are going to swarm here and start saying how its not blessed by a shoeless kami so there's no way its a real kukri and blah blah blah. Bottom line, the KZII will eat the rest.
 
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