I'm bad at taking photos.
Tibetan specs:
31.5" long
23" blade
4.75" point of balance (ahead of the hilt)
0.326" thickest part of the blade
44 oz. (though it feels much lighter)
Made by Bura
Giant Chitlangi Bowie specs:
24.25" long
17" blade
3-3/8" point of balance (ahead of the hilt)
0.440" thickest part of the blade
59 oz.
Made by Vim
These are completely different blades obviously, but they're my two biggest. Just got the Tibetan from a DOTD, which UPS sat on for awhile. Still, good things come to those who wait.
The Tibetan handles incredibly, and I almost put 36 oz. up there before double checking. That's about what it feels like it weighs, but the scale says differently.
One unusual thing is the spine. It's 0.298" just above the brass sleeve, then swells up to 0.326" about 7" from the guard, shrinks down to 0.303" again at 10", then grows back to 0.318" at 12", before tapering evenly to 0.274" at 16.5", then grows yet again to 0.286" at 19", then finally tapers off into the point.
I kinda wonder what the significance of that is. It doesn't seem like it's accidental at all, due to a number of factors. The waviness is very regular, and perfectly symmetrical on both sides. Measuring the thickness anywhere else on the blade shows an absolutely perfect slooooowwww distal taper from sleeve to tip. And, most importantly, this is Bura's work.
And, as you can see from the pic, it's one of the asymmetrical tip ones, not the very acute type. Personally, I like this kind of tip a little better. It reminds me of a willow leaf saber.
Getting more technical, the vibrational "sweet spot" is an area of the blade the size of Nepal, centered about 8" from the tip, and extending about 4" in both directions. A second "dead zone" is in the exact center of the handle. You know, everything I read by people who are experts in Western sword design says that creating a sword with two centers of percussion, one at the striking area and one at the handle, is a very challenging task that requires modern engineering. Yet both of these blades have dual centers of percussion. Anyway, the "waggle test" puts the point of rotation corresponding to the guard at 4" from the tip, so the entire rotational "sweet spot" overlaps exactly with the vibrational one. I.e., it's perfect, exactly like you'd expect. Hit with that 8" section of the blade, and it'll never "sting" your hand, or seem to wrench in your grip.
The Giant Chitlangi Bowie is of course, a Giant Chit Bowie. Not a whole lot that can be said, other than it's a great example of HI flawlessness. I can see why Vim has a reputation for being very precise. The fullers are pretty much perfect, flowing with the subtle curvature of the blade.
Like the Tibetan Sword, the technical details are exactly what you'd expect and want of a heavy (but reasonably agile) chopper. The COP is centered 5" from the tip, though it isn't quite as forgiving in size (maybe 2" in each direction). And like I said, a second COP is in the handle, right where it's meant to be gripped if swung one-handed. A waggle test is pretty difficult to do because of the weight, but places the rotational sweet spot at 7" from the tip. This is actually not a bad thing if you want the meanest chopper that a mere mortal could produce. The rotational spot acts as a fulcrum, when you chop with a portion of the blade above it. With most swords (which are rather longer and lighter), that's undesirable, as it will cause the handle to want to fly forward, out of your grip. Many old cavalry sabers have similar centers of rotation, and were notorious for that effect. But no such thing happens with this beast; instead, the blade flies forward, into whatever is being cut; it uses rotational leverage with you, not against you. A very tricky bit of engineering, pulling that off. It really shows though, as soon as you hit something with it. "Holy crap, how did it do that?" sums up the sheer (or maybe shear
) cutting power of the GCB.Actually, let me check something... Looks like normal khukuris have that, too. The center of rotation tends to be right where the blade "bends" forward. Or if you "wag" the blade while holding the sweet spot, it rotates around a point exactly between the handle and the sweet spot. Actually, that's pretty ingenious. It uses the shape of the knife to "lever" the sweet spot into whatever you're cutting. That explains a lot about how khukuris work!
And I know chopping wood with a sword is a no-no, and these two blades really can't be compared, as they're totally different in every possible way (other than being HI and excellent). But here's the results of very lightly hitting a 2x4 that was propped up nearly vertical (so it wasn't gravity making a difference!). I'd say the swings were as close to identical as possible, and I was trying to hit light, to not dent the wall the 2x4 was against.
I think you can guess which one made which pair of notches.
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