My Shop 2, 20 Sirupati has been used on and off for the last three weeks. It is the last of the Sirupati with the suspect tang. It weights 909 g (2 lb) and has a total overall length of 21. The blade is 0.4 thick at its thickest point. The blade spine to edge distance is much smaller than an Ang Khola or WWII model. This gives the Sirupati and eel like appearance. The Sirupatis forward angle and belly are not as great as the WWII or Ang Kholas. The Sword of Shiva is decorated with nice brace inlaying. The Chakma and Karda are about 6 overall. The smaller knife was actually beveled and sharpened.
The Sirupati is neutrally balanced. It feels more like a 15 Ang Khola (635 g) and much lighter than an 18 Ang Khola (967 g). The Sirupati is easily stopped even when swing against no resistance.
First the tang was tested. The flats of the blade was struck against heavy wood working tables and then against a large tree. There is a lot more vibration than regular chopping. The tang did not break and even the horn handle was undamaged (no hairline cracks).
The blade was chopping sharp out of the box. I sharpened it by free hand with the course Lansky stone, followed by the Spyderco course stone. It would easily remove hair off my arms in after about 20 minutes work.
On the first trip out the Sirupati was used to chop up fallen trees and branches, about 5-6 in diameter. The Sirupati chopped through these with no trouble. Penetration is not as good as the WWII or Ang Khola of similar weight. This is due to the more neutral weight distribution and less belly on the Sirupati. To test the tang some more I chopped the knife into the fork of a small tree. The diameter of the tree is about 4. The fork caught the blade about 4 from the tip. I pushed on the handle with my full weight. The tree flexed but the Sirupati blade did not appear to even deflect. I applied more pressure by digging my feet in and was able to twist part of the tree off. Next I chopped closer to the ground on some particularly dirty branches (7-8). I stopped after seeing sparks fly off the blade. It was now too dark to examine the blade for damage.
No damage was found on the blade when it was examined at home. The knife would not shave hair. There is a slight burr running along the right side of the edge. This seems normal for me since I am right handed. The chakma was used to steel the edge. The Sirupati would shave after steeling. I finished off my lightly running the Spyderco white ceramic stones over the blades. I found two very small nicks about 0.01 in diameter after the Spyderco stones were used. This is probably from chopping what ever caused the sparks. The only damage I could find was that the butt cap was a bit crooked. I straighten it up but did not bother to apply epoxy as it was still quite tight.
The Sirupati excelled at trail clearing. I have a 300 m trail which needs to be routinely cleared so that the 4x4 does not get too scratched up. Mainly, dead branches on Spruce and Pine trees must be chopped down. The branches have a maximum diameter of 3 and are typically well dried. The Sirupati could cleave through or snap off the branches with one swing. After, the branch was downed the knife could easily be brought to a stop. As Cliff points out for this type of work energy is wasted in stopping the blade. The extra reach was valuable to keep me further away from the branches thus preventing me from scratching my hand up as well.
In summary I liked my muscular Sirupati and I must thank Bill for selecting the heavier one for me. The edge is easily maintained and seems quite durable. The handle is quite tough. The neutral weight balance makes it more versatile for task where heavy chopping is not required. If required the Sirupati can do heavy chopping. However, I do not want to dance naked with it. I would be very concern about slicing off a most valuable appendage. After all I am the only son in our family.
Will
The Sirupati is neutrally balanced. It feels more like a 15 Ang Khola (635 g) and much lighter than an 18 Ang Khola (967 g). The Sirupati is easily stopped even when swing against no resistance.
First the tang was tested. The flats of the blade was struck against heavy wood working tables and then against a large tree. There is a lot more vibration than regular chopping. The tang did not break and even the horn handle was undamaged (no hairline cracks).
The blade was chopping sharp out of the box. I sharpened it by free hand with the course Lansky stone, followed by the Spyderco course stone. It would easily remove hair off my arms in after about 20 minutes work.
On the first trip out the Sirupati was used to chop up fallen trees and branches, about 5-6 in diameter. The Sirupati chopped through these with no trouble. Penetration is not as good as the WWII or Ang Khola of similar weight. This is due to the more neutral weight distribution and less belly on the Sirupati. To test the tang some more I chopped the knife into the fork of a small tree. The diameter of the tree is about 4. The fork caught the blade about 4 from the tip. I pushed on the handle with my full weight. The tree flexed but the Sirupati blade did not appear to even deflect. I applied more pressure by digging my feet in and was able to twist part of the tree off. Next I chopped closer to the ground on some particularly dirty branches (7-8). I stopped after seeing sparks fly off the blade. It was now too dark to examine the blade for damage.
No damage was found on the blade when it was examined at home. The knife would not shave hair. There is a slight burr running along the right side of the edge. This seems normal for me since I am right handed. The chakma was used to steel the edge. The Sirupati would shave after steeling. I finished off my lightly running the Spyderco white ceramic stones over the blades. I found two very small nicks about 0.01 in diameter after the Spyderco stones were used. This is probably from chopping what ever caused the sparks. The only damage I could find was that the butt cap was a bit crooked. I straighten it up but did not bother to apply epoxy as it was still quite tight.
The Sirupati excelled at trail clearing. I have a 300 m trail which needs to be routinely cleared so that the 4x4 does not get too scratched up. Mainly, dead branches on Spruce and Pine trees must be chopped down. The branches have a maximum diameter of 3 and are typically well dried. The Sirupati could cleave through or snap off the branches with one swing. After, the branch was downed the knife could easily be brought to a stop. As Cliff points out for this type of work energy is wasted in stopping the blade. The extra reach was valuable to keep me further away from the branches thus preventing me from scratching my hand up as well.
In summary I liked my muscular Sirupati and I must thank Bill for selecting the heavier one for me. The edge is easily maintained and seems quite durable. The handle is quite tough. The neutral weight balance makes it more versatile for task where heavy chopping is not required. If required the Sirupati can do heavy chopping. However, I do not want to dance naked with it. I would be very concern about slicing off a most valuable appendage. After all I am the only son in our family.
Will
