M43?

kamagong, it still depends on kami, many are over built because of people always trying to test the warranty, if you wait you can always get a very good light blade, some have even been on dotd as good as ounce to an inch-- so its not entirely "bigger is better" just that there is a lot of demand for the huge blades because they are hilarious, and most of us don't know martial arts :D-- I love a giant touristy wall hanger, but its instantly collector quality if that steel was hand hammered and i could use it if i wanted to hurt myself, but its still a forged edge! there are many many devoted "light blade" fans though, as many I think as there are beefy blade fans, I like ALLL KINDS :D
 
It's not just the overbuilt aspect. Look at the handles. The M43 is supposed to be a historical model, with specific proportions. Yet many of the ones I see for sake have ridiculously long handles, throwing the whole look off. They might be M43-inspired, but sometimes I think they've strayed too far from the original design.
 
That M43 sure looks Kumar to me! I do like that shape! That Hawk is incredible too! Thats gotta be maple?
 
kamagong said:
It's not just the overbuilt aspect. Look at the handles. The M43 is supposed to be a historical model, with specific proportions. Yet many of the ones I see for sake have ridiculously long handles, throwing the whole look off. They might be M43-inspired, but sometimes I think they've strayed too far from the original design.
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It is inspired by the WWII model. HI has never claimed to made historically accurate reproduction pieces.
 
ndoghouse said:
That M43 sure looks Kumar to me! I do like that shape! That Hawk is incredible too! Thats gotta be maple?
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Good eye.

Karda said:
It is inspired by the WWII model. HI has never claimed to made historically accurate reproduction pieces.
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Never said they did. But fifteen years ago when I got my first HI khukuri their wares were much closer to historical proportions.

Terry Sisco provided the template for the HI M43. He made a wooden model as the kamis don't work too well from drawings. His knife bore a close resemblance to its historical predecessor. Many of the "M43s" I see offered nowadays are very different from both his model and the military knife.
 
kamagong said:
Good eye.



Never said they did. But fifteen years ago when I got my first HI khukuri their wares were much closer to historical proportions.

Terry Sisco provided the template for the HI M43. He made a wooden model as the kamis don't work too well from drawings. His knife bore a close resemblance to its historical predecessor. Many of the "M43s" I see offered nowadays are very different from both his model and the military knife.
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I've noticed the same thing. My M43 was probably the 2nd that came from H.I. had a wood handle and looked a lot like yours. It was also around 28oz or less IIRC. The older M43's were different, that's for sure!
 
Have yet to see an HI handle which is ridiculously long. Only the "biggest" ones fit my XXL hands.
The real historical long leafs I have to grab with 4 fingers... Yeah.
I appreciate original dimensions on a historical piece and wouldn't change a thing, but a real useful Kuk for me better fit my hand. They are just size 10/11 and not some outlandish butcher paws. 4.5 inch handle min. Better is 5.
The ridiculously small Kuks go to my kids until they are grown up to use a proper size handle. So they are useful too.
Different horses for different courses and nothing ridiculous!
HI comes in all sizes and all we have to do is wait for the "right" one.
 
yeah I am biased as well because the adjustments HI makes for western hands, are actually much appreciated, if I want a historic khukuri I will buy an antique-- HI products blow old british knives out of the water, and most HI products blow old khukuri out of the water. I own lots of both so I know.dont get me wrong there are some true masterworks, but having seen blades of all types, there is no comparison from the actual historic khuk (ww2)and the HI one, because the HI one is so much better in every way imaginable. the one thing I would give the actual ww2 over HI is the british sheath, I just like those . Old nepal khukuri that were made in country are very nice, and I don't own any original kothimoda's as someone bought the royal elephant guard kothimoda for sale on international arms, which is one of the nicest I have seen, had a bird's eye damascus blade.

ps: all that aside if you want to get rid of anything from HI especially from 1998-2004, holla
 
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Kamagong, that's a beauty! At 28 oz., it would still be on the extreme heavy end of a Mk. II from what I've seen. I've seen one at about 28 oz., but most seem to run between 22 and 25 oz. It seems the M43's run a little bit lighter on average, seeming a bit more fighter than their GI brothers. Wildmike did his living in the wild and even small cabin building with a 24 oz. Bura M43, IIRC. That's a weight range I'd like to see made again. I always thought a more historical sized Mk. II/M43 being available along with the current HD version would cover a lot of bases. Call it a fighter version and don't warranty it for field use (even though a 24 oz. chiruwa HI khuk would outlast most of us). It would sell like frito pie at a rodeo;)

Here is a pic with an HI M43 (32 oz.) on top, an ASTK (29 oz.), and a WWII GI MK. II (24 oz.) on bottom. This shows the diminsions well. As a side note, I thought the ASTK was balanced more like a Mk. II. A lighter ASTK (HI sold some at 27 oz., though I'd prefer under 25) would be an awesome all-around blade as well. All this being said, this is based on my use and likes/dislikes. Knives, cars, beer, women...we all have our personal preferences. Some make sense and some are just what they are.:D

ASTK002.jpg
 
Gehazi, you aren't kidding on the British GI sheath. I don't know how they made them, but they are simply outstanding. Thin, stiff, and tough. Some exist from WWI and they appear as usable today as the day they were made. Most old khukuri sheaths are falling apart, but not those. Even the WWII ones I've seen stored on piles of dirt in the Kathmadu stash are in great shape.
 
great knives sir, and yeah , I wish that there was a way to get those for modern knives-- I actually store my favorite HI ww 2 in a spare antique sheath, fits perfect.
 
Gehazi said:
yeah I am biased as well because the adjustments HI makes for western hands, are actually much appreciated, if I want a historic khukuri I will buy an antique-- HI products blow old british knives out of the water, and most HI products blow old khukuri out of the water. I own lots of both so I know.dont get me wrong there are some true masterworks, but having seen blades of all types, there is no comparison from the actual historic khuk (ww2)and the HI one, because the HI one is so much better in every way imaginable. the one thing I would give the actual ww2 over HI is the british sheath, I just like those . Old nepal khukuri that were made in country are very nice, and I don't own any original kothimoda's as someone bought the royal elephant guard kothimoda for sale on international arms, which is one of the nicest I have seen, had a bird's eye damascus blade.
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I guess I'm biased too. Not all Westerners want the large handles. At 5'9" I'm at the sweet spot where most everything seems to fit me well. Guns, knives, golf clubs, you name it.

My dislike of scaled up khukuris comes from the last one I bought, a 17" FF. It was beautiful, but came with an unusable fat handle. The handle was so big that it was unsafe, I couldn't get an adequate grip around it.

Gehazi said:
ps: all that aside if you want to get rid of anything from HI especially from 1998-2004, holla
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Hehehe...all my khukuris, except for one, come from that time period. :victorious:

jdk1 said:
Kamagong, that's a beauty! At 28 oz., it would still be on the extreme heavy end of a Mk. II from what I've seen. I've seen one at about 28 oz., but most seem to run between 22 and 25 oz. It seems the M43's run a little bit lighter on average, seeming a bit more fighter than their GI brothers. Wildmike did his living in the wild and even small cabin building with a 24 oz. Bura M43, IIRC. That's a weight range I'd like to see made again. I always thought a more historical sized Mk. II/M43 being available along with the current HD version would cover a lot of bases. Call it a fighter version and don't warranty it for field use (even though a 24 oz. chiruwa HI khuk would outlast most of us). It would sell like frito pie at a rodeo;)
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Yeah, but I wouldn't change a thing on this one. The balance is exquisite, the proportions are just right.
 
Yangdu just emailed and said its in the mail, shoild be here in a few days. So excited.
 
Can't wait to see the pics Brogan. Hope it arrives quick and safe and is exactly what you wanted.
 
kamagong said:
My dislike of scaled up khukuris comes from the last one I bought, a 17" FF. It was beautiful, but came with an unusable fat handle. The handle was so big that it was unsafe, I couldn't get an adequate grip around it.
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I've noticed that the kamis tend to make handles roughly in proportion to the size of the blade. There are exceptions, like everything else that they do, but anytime you think of buying an extra long or extra heavy HI blade it's a good idea to consider the handle girth before deciding. Sometimes you can tell from the photo, if it's a DOTD.

I had to return a really nice 21" chitlangi once because I couldn't grip the handle. I should have guessed in advance, since the Chitlangi was also extra heavy, around 37 oz if I remember correctly.

Your 17" FF probably isn't very heavy, but that model has an extra wide blade. The kami probably gave it a fat handle to keep the proportions. Not all Foxy Follys are like that. I have one by Bura that's 18" long, 24 oz, and the handle is ok for my average sized hands. Of course, that was Bura. :)
 
From my experience that extra handle diameter really helps to prevent the blade from twisting since leverage increases with diameter but if it is too large and you cant hold on period then yes I see your point. I suppose there has to be a balance there somewhere. There may be some geometric considerations as far as the girth at the ring versus your hand size and weight of the knife etc. optimized for individual use but since they are having to be made for the general western population then they have to make them more universal. I thought my 20" AK might be too big at first but after much use i wouldnt have it any other way. It would be unsafe for my hands if smaller.
 
I find that on bigger blades of any type, the hilt doesn't have to be fatter, but "taller" if you know what I mean. The more oval (or teardrop, like the old hanshee lambenths) the cross section, the better the tactile indexing of the edge. It keeps the handle in scale visually as well.
 
The good thing about a handle which is too large in girth is that it can be "fitted" to your hand. I've done this with numerous wooden khuks, but I assume it can be done with horn as well. A past HI M43 arrived with a handle shaped and sized about like an over-stuffed sausage. I finally took it to the work bench and after some careful filing and sanding, it ended up with a very nice grip. Too narrow of a handle is not so easy:) Below are some before and after pics. It's an easy fix, just be careful and work slow. good luck.

M43griptop1-1.jpg

M43grip-1.jpg
 
You can do it with horn if you a) don't mind a satin finish or b) own a buffer. I reshaped a horn ww2 hilt and after buffing you can't even tell I messed with it.
 
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