hey guys I was wondering if there is such a thing as a mini Khukri? I love the design of the Khukri but 12 inches seems too big of a knife to tote around a trail. And if a mini Khukri exist would it even be as practical as the big brother? or would it be too small to be really effective?
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mini Khukri? do they exist?
- Thread starter kevshin21
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Yangdu is the Nepalese widow of Bill Martino, the man who started Himalayan Imports. She now runs the business.
Himalayan Imports forum
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=739
Himalayan Imports website
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/
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Her e-mail is himimp (at) AOL (dot) com ; for what she's got on discount for any given day, hang out at the Himalayan Imports subforum on BladeForums in the early afternoon--and, if you find something you like, QUICKLY e-mail your name, mailing address, mode of payment, and identification of what item you want. Desirable knives tend to get snapped up in seconds or minutes after she posts, so it's worth reading previous days' postings of "Deals of the Day (DOTD)", or other postings with dates on them, and getting a sense of when she's posting each day's offers--then hovering around the site at those times to see what comes up. This is far and away the cheapest way to obtain very-functional Him. Imports khukuris. For general learning about khukuris, sizes, types, etc., just check out the Himalayan Imports subforum.
Good luck. (And I bet you can't buy just one.)
Oh--while I'm at it--H.I. uses total-length measurements for its knives--so a 15" British Army Service ("BAS") khukuri (a smallish but common size) will have about a 10" blade. A 9" khukuri will have a blade around 5" long--and, you're right, it won't be much of a chopper. I think a khukuri of under 12" overall length isn't really going to work too well as a chopper, and won't really chop as a khukuri is meant to until you get to about 15 inches overall. So, for your purposes, I'd look pretty seriously at a BAS, which actually chops better than most non-khukuri knives, but is significantly less massive than a 16.5" WWII or Ang Khola. If you really want to be carrying a knife under 12-15 inches overall, the distinctive advantages of a khukuri's shape will be hard to obtain in a smaller package. Now, that said, I do keep a small (9" overall) HI mini-khuk in my desk, and used it to open a box today--but the blade is kind of thick for most slicing applications, and it is hard to make anything that small really sing as a chopper.
I hope that helps!
Good luck. (And I bet you can't buy just one.)
Oh--while I'm at it--H.I. uses total-length measurements for its knives--so a 15" British Army Service ("BAS") khukuri (a smallish but common size) will have about a 10" blade. A 9" khukuri will have a blade around 5" long--and, you're right, it won't be much of a chopper. I think a khukuri of under 12" overall length isn't really going to work too well as a chopper, and won't really chop as a khukuri is meant to until you get to about 15 inches overall. So, for your purposes, I'd look pretty seriously at a BAS, which actually chops better than most non-khukuri knives, but is significantly less massive than a 16.5" WWII or Ang Khola. If you really want to be carrying a knife under 12-15 inches overall, the distinctive advantages of a khukuri's shape will be hard to obtain in a smaller package. Now, that said, I do keep a small (9" overall) HI mini-khuk in my desk, and used it to open a box today--but the blade is kind of thick for most slicing applications, and it is hard to make anything that small really sing as a chopper.
I hope that helps!
I don't think you should expect a lot of chopping power from something under 12" OAL.
Most of the guys from the cantina say they carry a 15" khuk when hiking. An Ang Khola or a BAS should do the job. I got a 15" BAS from a DOTD at a really good price, so I was able to afford a kydex sheath made for it.
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You might get slightly more power in a draw cut out of the primary cutting area of the khukuri (which is just a little ways out from the curve)--but you might find the khukuri shape a bit cumbersome for some applications, if you're comparing a short khukuri with a comparably-sized straight blade. Among the factors to consider, though, are thickness of the blades (khukuri blades, at least H.I. handforged ones, tend to be thicker than production blades made in the First World), and such other things as blade steel and differential tempering (H.I. khukuris are made of spring steel, and differentially tempered so that they are very hard in the primary cutting area, and somewhat soft to very soft elsewhere. This makes for a hard-to-snap blade, and one that can take a serious impact to the tip without the tip snapping off or chipping badly, because the steel there is inclined to bend rather than to break--but if you're contemplating doing a lot of cutting using the less-hard parts of the edge, which is what you'd likely do if you were using a khukuri as an all-around knife, you may find edge retention of the softer parts of the blade suboptimal.)
What I'd do is study the H.I. subforum until you get a sense of what's being offered and when, and then try and get a slightly-blemished or on-sale knife in the 15-inch-overall range on sale for about $65 (delivered)--which is a feasible price there. That way, you can see for yourself what we're all so excited about, and also see why we admit that there are limitations to these knives. Or, you could take the option of buying one of the 9-inch "baby" knives--which, though it might not be the most practical purchase you ever made, would be fun to use (if a bit thick for some applications--my 9" baby chitlangi khukuri, with its 5" blade, is a full 7mm thick at the spine). Since they tend to go for $25-30, it's not like you're shelling out much money. I doubt you'd end up making a tiny khukuri your everyday carry blade, but it's a heck of an interesting collector's item, and, if you get tired of it, you can likely find someone who'd love it as a gift. Frankly, it's hard to go far wrong with these knives, and there are those who own 12" overall-length H.I. khukuris and are very, very happy with them--I've given two as gifts, one to a guy who serves over in the "sandbox" now and then. These guys like them. Myself, having gotten used to the chopping power of the full-sized ones, I'd miss having the extra weight and length--and when I am going to be doing more slicing than chopping, I'll usually reach for a straight blade that's thinner. Your mileage may vary. I'd recommend giving them a try.
What I'd do is study the H.I. subforum until you get a sense of what's being offered and when, and then try and get a slightly-blemished or on-sale knife in the 15-inch-overall range on sale for about $65 (delivered)--which is a feasible price there. That way, you can see for yourself what we're all so excited about, and also see why we admit that there are limitations to these knives. Or, you could take the option of buying one of the 9-inch "baby" knives--which, though it might not be the most practical purchase you ever made, would be fun to use (if a bit thick for some applications--my 9" baby chitlangi khukuri, with its 5" blade, is a full 7mm thick at the spine). Since they tend to go for $25-30, it's not like you're shelling out much money. I doubt you'd end up making a tiny khukuri your everyday carry blade, but it's a heck of an interesting collector's item, and, if you get tired of it, you can likely find someone who'd love it as a gift. Frankly, it's hard to go far wrong with these knives, and there are those who own 12" overall-length H.I. khukuris and are very, very happy with them--I've given two as gifts, one to a guy who serves over in the "sandbox" now and then. These guys like them. Myself, having gotten used to the chopping power of the full-sized ones, I'd miss having the extra weight and length--and when I am going to be doing more slicing than chopping, I'll usually reach for a straight blade that's thinner. Your mileage may vary. I'd recommend giving them a try.