I picked up this Movie Model from DOTD 08/01/06. After I had received it, I found myself in love with it. It was a very strange kukri, which may be why it appealed to me. Even though I loved it, I never considered really using it. Well today that would change, the Movie Model would finally get to do some cutting and the results where surprising.
Blade - The blade on the Movie Model is unlike any other kukri I have had or seen in person. The blade has a fairly normal kukri shape up until the last 4" where the tip becomes double sided and has a curve to it (upswept). The tip is like a needle, extremely sharp. The top edge is quite sharp, it's not razor sharp but its sharper then some kukris I have seen. The edge on this Movie Model came very sharp with very little convex (almost a flat grind). My only small gripe about this Movie Model is its cho creep, I feel that Vim could of put it back a 1/2" with no problem of running into his makers mark. Other then the small gripe I feel that this is one extraordinary knife, and I will continue to love it.
Handle - The handle on this kukri is also unlike most others, in that it has no ring on it. The handle is a little slicker then on other kukris, but it's not overly so. The butt cap on this particular one jetted out quite a bit and will require some filing, but that's an easy task. The bolster is nicely done in the "habaki" style, it has a little laha showing but it does not distract from the overall appearance. I think I will be roughing up the horn to get it a little more grippy. One think I could see improved on the handle would be to make a flare at the butt larger, since it lacks the ring a little extra at the butt would help secure it better. (I had no problems with it, its just a suggestion).
Scabbard - The scabbard came very nicely done with good grade of leather. There is a good sized rough spot near the mouth, I think it could of been done a little better, however I still consider it a great scabbard. When inside the scabbard the kukri is a little loose at the tip, but I imagine that this is due to the unique tip and curves that this one has, I don't see this as being a big deal, but if you ran a lot with it I guess you might be hearing a clicking sound a lot. Overall I am happy with the scabbard, despite its minor flaws. One thing you may want to be careful of if you pick a Movie Model up is that the tip can cause damage to the scabbard (and may even be able to poke a hole in it), so watch when sheathing it.
Chakma and Karda - Both came very nicely finished, and the karda is fairly sharp. The shapes on the chakma and karda both share the geometry as the kukri itself (an upswept point, but without the second edge).
Chopping - I never really saw the Movie Model as being a chopper, which may be one of the reasons I never used it before, but man was I mistaken (and surprised). Once I tried it out on a sapling (2 1/2 ") that had been getting in the way of other things, I realized how powerful the Movie Model was. The kukri went though the sapling with on swing, I could hardly even feel it. Once I chopped the sapling up I decided to try it out on something larger. I picked up a decent size log and the kukri just made chips fly. The kukri went though the log in about the same time as my 18" AK
eek and it was biting just as deep. The shape of the blade was really strange at first, you have to chop further away from the tip then on something like an AK, but once you get the hang of it, it turns into second nature (had it by the 2nd chop). The kukri chops really odd (at least to me), it slices while it chops (the upswept tip causing this), the slicing action along with the chopping prevents it from getting stuck (it kind of clears itself, if that makes any since). The Movie Model also batons just fine, about as fast as a 15" kukri.
Overall - The Movie Model is a very unique and interesting kukri. It is very well balanced and leaps into cuts. The chopping really surprised me, and I imagine that softer targets would be extremely easy for it as well.
Here are the stats of the knife
Blade - 14 1/4"
Handle - 6 3/4"
Overall length - 21"
Blade thickness - 12 mm
Point of Balance - 2 3/4" away from bolster
Weight - 30 oz
Kami - Vim
Blade - The blade on the Movie Model is unlike any other kukri I have had or seen in person. The blade has a fairly normal kukri shape up until the last 4" where the tip becomes double sided and has a curve to it (upswept). The tip is like a needle, extremely sharp. The top edge is quite sharp, it's not razor sharp but its sharper then some kukris I have seen. The edge on this Movie Model came very sharp with very little convex (almost a flat grind). My only small gripe about this Movie Model is its cho creep, I feel that Vim could of put it back a 1/2" with no problem of running into his makers mark. Other then the small gripe I feel that this is one extraordinary knife, and I will continue to love it.
Handle - The handle on this kukri is also unlike most others, in that it has no ring on it. The handle is a little slicker then on other kukris, but it's not overly so. The butt cap on this particular one jetted out quite a bit and will require some filing, but that's an easy task. The bolster is nicely done in the "habaki" style, it has a little laha showing but it does not distract from the overall appearance. I think I will be roughing up the horn to get it a little more grippy. One think I could see improved on the handle would be to make a flare at the butt larger, since it lacks the ring a little extra at the butt would help secure it better. (I had no problems with it, its just a suggestion).
Scabbard - The scabbard came very nicely done with good grade of leather. There is a good sized rough spot near the mouth, I think it could of been done a little better, however I still consider it a great scabbard. When inside the scabbard the kukri is a little loose at the tip, but I imagine that this is due to the unique tip and curves that this one has, I don't see this as being a big deal, but if you ran a lot with it I guess you might be hearing a clicking sound a lot. Overall I am happy with the scabbard, despite its minor flaws. One thing you may want to be careful of if you pick a Movie Model up is that the tip can cause damage to the scabbard (and may even be able to poke a hole in it), so watch when sheathing it.
Chakma and Karda - Both came very nicely finished, and the karda is fairly sharp. The shapes on the chakma and karda both share the geometry as the kukri itself (an upswept point, but without the second edge).
Chopping - I never really saw the Movie Model as being a chopper, which may be one of the reasons I never used it before, but man was I mistaken (and surprised). Once I tried it out on a sapling (2 1/2 ") that had been getting in the way of other things, I realized how powerful the Movie Model was. The kukri went though the sapling with on swing, I could hardly even feel it. Once I chopped the sapling up I decided to try it out on something larger. I picked up a decent size log and the kukri just made chips fly. The kukri went though the log in about the same time as my 18" AK
eek and it was biting just as deep. The shape of the blade was really strange at first, you have to chop further away from the tip then on something like an AK, but once you get the hang of it, it turns into second nature (had it by the 2nd chop). The kukri chops really odd (at least to me), it slices while it chops (the upswept tip causing this), the slicing action along with the chopping prevents it from getting stuck (it kind of clears itself, if that makes any since). The Movie Model also batons just fine, about as fast as a 15" kukri.Overall - The Movie Model is a very unique and interesting kukri. It is very well balanced and leaps into cuts. The chopping really surprised me, and I imagine that softer targets would be extremely easy for it as well.
Here are the stats of the knife
Blade - 14 1/4"
Handle - 6 3/4"
Overall length - 21"
Blade thickness - 12 mm
Point of Balance - 2 3/4" away from bolster
Weight - 30 oz
Kami - Vim
