- Joined
- Jul 2, 2000
- Messages
- 1,494
Hi,
Let me start off with a wish of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you all.
Then a Thank you for introducing me the world of the khukuri. It was through the information provided here (and at other sites) by Uncle Bill and members of the Cantina that Ive learned to appreciate the half moon blade The camaraderie of the Cantina and wide ranging knowledge of its patrons has made it one of my favorite places to visit on the web. Did I mention the humor? (especially Bruise)
Now to relate my HI experience:
The first khukuri I acquired from Uncle Bill was a Village model by Kumar. It was very solidly built but to tell you the truth it was a little rougher than I anticipated. I contacted Uncle Bill about exchanging it, and as you know about HI customer service, he had no problem with that. That same day I found out a friends son in the Marine Corps was headed to the Gulf, so a quick shout to Uncle and I was able to put it in that young mans hands. Thanks Uncle Bill for putting up with all the twists. Hopefully Rob will send us a report from the field. As my khukuri education has grown, Ive come to miss that one. I liked its balance and the feel of the unfinished handle. Live and learn.
Happily, the Villager has been followed by an 18 Sirupati by Bura, a 15 AK by Bura, a 18 M43 by Shanker and a 21 Gelbu by Sher. There is also a cute aluminum handled Kagas Katne (confiscated by the lady of the house) and a hybrid M43 Christmas present by Bura (a gift to my friend mentioned above) mixed in there. They all arrived lighting fast from Uncle Bill. He most have some serious dirt on someone in the Postal system to get this kind of service.
Some quick reviews:
The Sirupati , at 19 ounces, handles and cuts most like a machete to me. Most of my larger blade experience had been with machetes, so I was immediately comfortable with this blade. I especially like it for cutting downed limbs into shorter pieces. A machete would require much more blade speed and twisting out to cut larger limbs that the siru handles easily in a more controlled manner. It is also a fine drawknife.
The AK was originally going to be the gift that the hybrid M43 is now. However, I needed to skive the top of a tree root that had become a nuisance on a bike trail and the AK was at hand. This was a pretty abusive job that required impact in some rocky soil near the root. The AK did the job but suffered some battle scars and a slightly bent tip, all of which easily cleaned up. To relate to another tool, the AK has many hatchet like qualities built into a knife. Now ,as a proven performer, I can t give it away or should I because it is? I promised myself not to play with the hybrid M43 (okay swing it around some) and let my friend find the magic himself.
About the hybrid M43; very nice finish, best edge profile of any HI khuks Ive received to date and I agree with Terry Sisco that the handle is great.
My M43 by Shankar is the one that Uncle Bill said the point on the bottom of the handle was off some degrees. The point, itself, is in line with the tang of the blade so somewhere there is a twist. Where though is the riddle; every time I think I have it figured out, my perception of it changes. Doesnt matter, I like this blade and have been using it a lot. I took the finish off the handle and have left it that. This khuk has the thinnest profile, thickness > spine to edge, of the ones I have. When cutting brush you can really feel the branches that you miss with the sweet spot load into it following the curve of the blade. You also appreciate the flare of the handle when drawing through these cuts.
No in use review of the Gelbu by Sher as Ive run out of things to cut in the immediate area, (there are some 2X4s whispering to me at Home Depot). It is beautifully crafted at 2lbs. I really like Shers work. I first thought it might be too large for me but the more I handle it the lighter it feels. I am still reminded of a cartoon Stephensee posted of himself and khukuri when I handle it. My sweetie took a picture that kind of confirms that.
Please excuse the long post and thanks to all for the new horizons you have shown me.
Regards,
Greg
By the way, here is my small collection (The two on the right are off of ebay. Left to right they are decent and very, very good)
Let me start off with a wish of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you all.
Then a Thank you for introducing me the world of the khukuri. It was through the information provided here (and at other sites) by Uncle Bill and members of the Cantina that Ive learned to appreciate the half moon blade The camaraderie of the Cantina and wide ranging knowledge of its patrons has made it one of my favorite places to visit on the web. Did I mention the humor? (especially Bruise)
Now to relate my HI experience:
The first khukuri I acquired from Uncle Bill was a Village model by Kumar. It was very solidly built but to tell you the truth it was a little rougher than I anticipated. I contacted Uncle Bill about exchanging it, and as you know about HI customer service, he had no problem with that. That same day I found out a friends son in the Marine Corps was headed to the Gulf, so a quick shout to Uncle and I was able to put it in that young mans hands. Thanks Uncle Bill for putting up with all the twists. Hopefully Rob will send us a report from the field. As my khukuri education has grown, Ive come to miss that one. I liked its balance and the feel of the unfinished handle. Live and learn.
Happily, the Villager has been followed by an 18 Sirupati by Bura, a 15 AK by Bura, a 18 M43 by Shanker and a 21 Gelbu by Sher. There is also a cute aluminum handled Kagas Katne (confiscated by the lady of the house) and a hybrid M43 Christmas present by Bura (a gift to my friend mentioned above) mixed in there. They all arrived lighting fast from Uncle Bill. He most have some serious dirt on someone in the Postal system to get this kind of service.
Some quick reviews:
The Sirupati , at 19 ounces, handles and cuts most like a machete to me. Most of my larger blade experience had been with machetes, so I was immediately comfortable with this blade. I especially like it for cutting downed limbs into shorter pieces. A machete would require much more blade speed and twisting out to cut larger limbs that the siru handles easily in a more controlled manner. It is also a fine drawknife.
The AK was originally going to be the gift that the hybrid M43 is now. However, I needed to skive the top of a tree root that had become a nuisance on a bike trail and the AK was at hand. This was a pretty abusive job that required impact in some rocky soil near the root. The AK did the job but suffered some battle scars and a slightly bent tip, all of which easily cleaned up. To relate to another tool, the AK has many hatchet like qualities built into a knife. Now ,as a proven performer, I can t give it away or should I because it is? I promised myself not to play with the hybrid M43 (okay swing it around some) and let my friend find the magic himself.
About the hybrid M43; very nice finish, best edge profile of any HI khuks Ive received to date and I agree with Terry Sisco that the handle is great.
My M43 by Shankar is the one that Uncle Bill said the point on the bottom of the handle was off some degrees. The point, itself, is in line with the tang of the blade so somewhere there is a twist. Where though is the riddle; every time I think I have it figured out, my perception of it changes. Doesnt matter, I like this blade and have been using it a lot. I took the finish off the handle and have left it that. This khuk has the thinnest profile, thickness > spine to edge, of the ones I have. When cutting brush you can really feel the branches that you miss with the sweet spot load into it following the curve of the blade. You also appreciate the flare of the handle when drawing through these cuts.
No in use review of the Gelbu by Sher as Ive run out of things to cut in the immediate area, (there are some 2X4s whispering to me at Home Depot). It is beautifully crafted at 2lbs. I really like Shers work. I first thought it might be too large for me but the more I handle it the lighter it feels. I am still reminded of a cartoon Stephensee posted of himself and khukuri when I handle it. My sweetie took a picture that kind of confirms that.
Please excuse the long post and thanks to all for the new horizons you have shown me.
Regards,
Greg
By the way, here is my small collection (The two on the right are off of ebay. Left to right they are decent and very, very good)
I like long posts when they are informative like this one. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
