Most durable kukri

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Ramil839

Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Messages
273
Hello everyone,long time lurker first time poster,I have a question regarding the Himalayan Imports kukris,which one is the most durable and why,by durable i mean the amount of abuse it can take before it finally breaks,bends or other.Any feedback is appretiated.
 
Hello Ramil839 and Welcome to the Forum and out from the shadows. Hope that we hear more from you in the future.

The answer to your question is probably the CAK(Chiruwa Ang Khola), the one khukuri that HI guarantees for use as a prybar. If I remember correctly, they used to advertise that if you could bend/break it they would send you two-something like that. That is the extreme and really any HI khukuri is going to be plenty tough and durable and the chiruwa handled ones even tougher with that full handle width steel.
 
Thanks for the reply Fred,how is the heat treatment on the CAK?Also,does the warrantly still say if you break or bend it you get 2,or is it in the past?The reason why im asking is because in the past i've been able to break just about anything from heavy use,including vices and chisels,hammers and plyers,so a reliable blade is pretty much a must.
 
You need to see one to fully appreciate how big and heavy the are. The spine on mine is just under 1/2 inches thick and it tapers down though the handle to about 1/4 inch. They are massive.
 
Nice,my mind is pretty much set on the chiruwa ang khola,just wondering,is there a price difference between the villager model and the finished one?
 
Ramil839 said:
Nice,my mind is pretty much set on the chiruwa ang khola,just wondering,is there a price difference between the villager model and the finished one?
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Nowadays, the villager models can even cost a little more, if the fit and materials end up better than average. The old villager models were made out-of-house, but the new ones are all made by BirGorkha kamis. Thus, the quality is the same as the polished blade, sometimes better.

I have nothing but praise for the Chiruwa Ang Khola khukuris sold by Himalayan Imports. It is an excellent large blade woods knife.
 
Ramil839 said:
Nice,my mind is pretty much set on the chiruwa ang khola,just wondering, is there a price difference between the villager model and the finished one?
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It's hard to generalize about prices. The biggest difference, I think, is whether you are in a position to wait for a DOTD, since those prices can be much lower than the more common price for a given model. Especially for holiday DOTDs. But then you have to be quick to snag one before some other shark grabs it. Or you could email Yangdu, tell her what you'd like, and sometimes the price is quite reasonable.

A villager khukuri is not necessarily inferior in any way to a polished one. It's really easy to polish a blade and handle if you like that look. Some people, including me, prefer the satin finish. Also, if you plan to use your khukuri for chopping or camping, a polished blade won't stay polished for long. And a highly polished handle might be a little more slippery in damp conditions than a comfortably smooth handle.

I have an excellent CAK (17", 31 oz), but I've come to prefer the ASTK model (which usually comes with chiruwa style handle like the CAK). Both are villagers, both have small imperfections that don't matter to me, and it's hard to imagine any usage that would cause them to break. If you accidentally hit a rock or hard bone, you might get chipping. The tip is soft steel, so it could bend if it hits something hard, but that could be hammered straight. Of course anything can be broken if you try hard enough. Even Sauron's Ring of Power was finally destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom.

Your comment about being able to break "vices and chisels, hammers and plyers" reminds me of why I don't lend out tools anymore. :)

I think the 2-for-1 warranty on the CAK was discontinued because some people were abusing it.
 
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Thank you for the informed reply,ill have to keep an eye out for the DOTD,i intend on using the kukri heavily,since i really enjoy outdoors and everything involved,a hatchet doesnt cut it for me anymore,and carrying a big double bit axe wherever i go is somewhat impractical.
All those tools i managed to break at work,if my count is still right,1 big vise,1 small one,i ripped the handle of a chain vice,stopped counting chisels,2(both handles however,not metal),and plyers werent hard to break,at one point where i worked we got the cheapest small tools the management could find...:grumpy:
Sucks about the warranty,but if its as tough as everyone says it is,i probably wont need it.
 
The 2 for 1 breakage deal was discontinued about the same time the Warranty was changed to not cover abuse/negligence.
 
shortwinger said:
Bonecutter...
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Such construction with the chiruwa handle (i got something to add later) slapped with a butt cap (CAK, Bhojpure and etc) can't go wrong. Just by removing the pommel is hard enough.

Now...
kronckew said:
just to be pedantic,

kukhris with pana butta handles are generally referred to as chiruwa style here.

chiruwa is a village in nepal, north central, near annapurna i believe. i infer from that, that this style must be popular in the area. from accounts chiruwa is a small village with only a small number of houses.
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Which raises a question why the MKII started using exposed tang- Why does it named chiruwa?
 
ASTK and Chiruwa Ang Khola (CAK) and the occasionally appearing Super CAK is gonna break you first before you break em :)

Hope this helps, if you push them to their lots please post about your experience. Good luck :)
 
Karda said:
The 2 for 1 breakage deal was discontinued about the same time the Warranty was changed to not cover abuse/negligence.
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That's strange, because I just bought a CAK at full price in part because "Break or bend it and get two free!" is still on the official website in the description:

http://www.himalayan-imports.com/khuk1.html

Like I said, I purchased the CAK in part because this is still part of the CAK's official advertising.
 
Will do,after seeing the destruction test(well,attempt)of dan keffelers cpm3v,i want to see how something of similar grade performs,does anyone have any pics of their super cak?
 
Very nice,will try to get one next time its on DOTD or something similar,i wish there was a comparrison of the super CAK with something like a BK9 or Junglas.Thanks for the link!
 
Ramil839 said:
i wish there was a comparrison of the super CAK with something like a BK9 or Junglas.Thanks for the link!
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That is like comparing a fork to an oil tanker, they are not in the same category. The Super CAK could not compete with either the BK9 or the Junglas when you are considering the role of a field or camp knife. And neither of them could hope to keep up with a Super CAK in the chopping role. Four people with BK9's and Junglas couldn't keep up with the Super CAK. Neither of those knives could even compete with a regular CAK in a chopping role. But again, any comparison is really unfair because they are not in the same category.
 
shortwinger said:
That is like comparing a fork to an oil tanker, they are not in the same category. The Super CAK could not compete with either the BK9 or the Junglas when you are considering the role of a field or camp knife. And neither of them could hope to keep up with a Super CAK in the chopping role. Four people with BK9's and Junglas couldn't keep up with the Super CAK. Neither of those knives could even compete with a regular CAK in a chopping role. But again, any comparison is really unfair because they are not in the same category.
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Guys,
Bill would mostly done the testing and save you a lot of trouble.
 
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