My 25" Sirupati.

Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D

Joined
Nov 26, 1999
Messages
406

Well, I ordered a 25" sirupati two months ago. Since oner never came in Uncle bill sent me one that had a handle reworked by Pala. It's a pretty good knife. I haven't really had a chance to test it yet, but I stood on the flat on the blade and hopped around a little. No bend, and very, very little flex. I had the blade secured at a 45 degree angle. It came with a HI super frog sheath, that's absolutly beautiful. The only problem is that it requires all of my strength to either put the knife into it, or pull it out. This maybe due to the fact that I haven't lubed the blade up at all. The handle is a perfect size for my hand and absolutly comfortable. Uncle Bill told me that the handle is made of an african hardwood. I have no idea what. The blade has some rust and pitting at the very, very tip. I just can't seem to work it out! I tried Cougars penny trick, and it worked to some extent but the copper keeps rubbing off on to the blade! There is also minor scratching all over the blade, and some deeper ones closer to the tip. OAL is an almost perfect 25". The karda and chakma are both about 7 1/2" with 5" blades. I wanted to use the sirupati primaraly as a weapon. So I'll post the results as soon as I find some meat and bone to hack at!
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A friend of mine works at a slaughter house and he said the he might be able to get me in to chop some stuff up! I'm sorry that this review is so choppy but I've never written one before and I wasn't sure how to proceed. Uncle Bill just asked me to write my impression of the knife. Over all I think I'd give it a 7 out of ten in my not so expert opinion. It definatly has a soul, you feel it as soon as you pick it up. It would be a really good worker at what feels like more than two pounds. Thanks for reading.

- D
 
YEEEOOOOWWW!
A 25" Sirupati, "Now that's a knife!!!" After handling a 20" Sirupati, I was definitely impressed, I can't imagine a 25"er. I'm sure that you'll be happy with it. If you really want to get it looking good (get rid of the scratching, etc.) put it on the buffing wheel. I got a 20" General Utility Villager that was pretty rough. After working on it with the buffer (coarse, medium, and finally fine - jeweler's rouge), it really looks like a different knife. I also took the chakma from totally unpolished to mirror smooth. If you have any really deep scatches, I recommend wet/dry automotive sandpaper. I just kept trying coarser and coarser grits until I could get the scratches out, then went back up the scale to get out the scratches that the paper put in. After all this, again, repeat with the buffing wheel and 3 compounds. You will spend a little time, but in the end, it will definitely be worth it!!! (Plus, it does allow for more fondling time... Anyway, have fun and please post the results if/when you get to hack some stuff up. I'd imagine that the results will be pretty impressive.

Rob

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'He's losin' it... (Words spoken about me by a visitor seeing me with my Khuk!)
Lucky for them I'm not...
 
VHD,
I got my 25" Sirupati a while ago and it is indeed a big knife/ short sword. My Sirupati is actually 25.5" long and almost two pounds. I actually did some tests with it and it is in the Khukuri FAQ section. Hope you enjoy your new toy. I'm still messing with mine and glad I bought it.
 
25" Wow. Now that's a knife.
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I would like to here how this one does out in the field. I would also like to see pics.

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"It is far better to give than to recieve" Overheard in a boxing practice.

[This message has been edited by phalanx (edited 01-24-2000).]
 

That's one of the biggest problems that I have, I own no tools. I don't even have access to any. I've also gone to just about every hardware and automotive store looking for the products that everyone recommends and I can't find any. For those of you that have one of the 20" villager utility knives, my sirupati is heavy enough to make it feel small! I just couldn't belive the difference when I tried swinging them side by side. Thanks.

- D
 
Thanks for report, Daniel. If you have a buddy with a grinder and buffing wheel you can kiss the rust goodbye. Look around and see if you can find somebody. If all fails send it back. I have the tools to get the rust off which should have been done before the knife was sent to you. Our fault -- too damned busy.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Talking of sirupatis; my 20" villager arrived today...

I've been collecting and test-cutting with swords and knives ever since I was a kid, (my collection ranges from a 16th century German rapier thru some nice Japanese blades to swords made by one of the best custom smiths in Europe) and this has to be the best balanced cutting blade I've ever used. In hardwood, closely-rolled carpet and tightly-packed straw round a half-inch dowel, I can cut as well or better with it single-handed than I can with most swords two-handed. On briars, saplings, bracken and general scrub, the light weight and ideally-placed centre of percussion mean that I can work all afternoon without fatigue (I have chronic tendonitis in both arms; this is the first blade I've handled since the condition developed that I can actually use for more than a few minutes without considerable pain, again because of that sensational balance) The grip is beautifully slim,just right for my little-girl-sized hands, and the pommel swell means I don't have to grip it like I was trying to throttle a python (the handle's the only slight downside to this tool; three cracks, and the point on the brass buttcap's dug a big hole in the heel of my hand... A touch on the belt grinder will cure that tomorrow)
As I've mentioned before, I believe the khukuri is directly descended from the ancient Greek machaera or copis; so I tried using the khuk in the same way as the machaera is shown being used in Greek art; a looping overhead cut, very much like a tennis serve. Swung like this, a diagonal cut will slice through 4" diameter bamboo like it wasn't there - for comparison, I can just about make this cut two-handed with a katana.

Aside from the handle splits, the only visible effect of a day's strenuous hacking is a slight nick halfway up from the 'elbow' of the blade, where it met up with a hidden nail in a section of oak gatepost - I hadn't worried about the nail, 'cos I never imagined the blade would cut that deep!

One hell of a knife.

 
Many thanks for very good review from the field. I found the part about the tendonitis most interesting. If you don't get heavy feedback from the blade that rattles your arm clear up to the shoulder I guess you don't suffer as much.

Thanks for taking the time to post meaningful results, Tom!

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Bill Martino wrote -

"I found the part about the tendonitis most interesting. If you don't get heavy feedback from the blade that rattles your arm clear up to the shoulder I guess you don't suffer as much."

That's part of it, I guess; the weight and stiffness of the blade damping the vibrations. Also, I think the khuk's unique cutting action helps a lot - the way the centre of percussion is drawn into the material being cut, making it much more of a slicing action than a chop or a hack. Not only does this mean you don't have to use nearly as much force as with, say, a convex blade or a hook, but there's much less resistance from the material, therefore less strain on the poor beleaguered tendons...

I dunno. What do you guys think? Why does a khuk cut so much better than, for example, a bowie or a wakizashi of similar weight and size?

(In passing; before today, the only khuk I'd ever used was a WW2 vintage war souvenir, which handled like a cow and hurt my wrist and arm so badly that I came to the conclusion that khukuris were a waste of time. I'm guessing this must've been one of the made-in-India wartime jobs)

Next on the must-have list; a 25-inch sirupati...

 
Thank you Uncle Bill
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I just got my 20" sirupati. It is a wok of art. I look forward to posting some results of playing with it. Prelims are as follows: Sheath is tight. A little work and it should losen up. The buttcap stands a little bit away from the handle, but that is easily fixed with some fine emery cloth. After a quick burnish it demolished a piece of seasoned hardwood with no difficulties. All in all this is by far and away the finest piece of work that I have ever used. thank you again.
--Matt
 
The idea of the penny trick is to remove the active red rust and prevent further rusting without polishing the blade and making it look like new. If you want to remove the pits you need to use sandpaper.

-Cougar :{)
 

Hey everyone, I've decided to send the Sirupati back. It's a great blade but I want something a little fancier, so I'm trading for a machaera.
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I've affectionatly named this knife "Big Sakura" if anyone wants an awsome knife that needs very, very little work I suggest you call Uncle Bill. The fact that he's willing to put up with my everchanging mind allows his character to shine through brillantly. Thanks.

- D
 
We make trades all the time. Finding the right knife is part of the deal. What you see in a picture doesn't always fit your hand.

I found out what kind of wood the handle is made out of -- African knobthorn (Acacia nigrescens).

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ



[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 01-26-2000).]
 

Here ya go Rusty, http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum26/HTML/001007.html

As I recall you posted on this, did you forget? I know I did. I need a good weapon that I can also use when I'm practicing my forms in Kung Fu and Tai Chi. I just recently got back into them and my Sifu is really impressed by my villager so I've decided to try and incorperate it into some forms. I just needed somthing that was funtional and looked good, that was the right size. The beautiful machaera fits all of these requirements.

- D
 
Vampire Hunter wrote -

"I just needed somthing that was funtional and looked good, that was the right size. The beautiful machaera fits all of these requirements."

Since I designed the critter in question, I'm inclined to agree...

Actually, I didn't; all I did was photocopy a picture of a 5th century BC Greek machaera and make a few changes to the grip to convert it into a two-hander. The kamis saw this picture, went away and built something that resembles my original design the way a wolfhound resembles a poodle; it's not much like a machaera, but if the picture and specs Bill sent me's anything to go by, it's one superb, awesome khukuri, and I can't wait for the Royal Snail to pull their fingers out and actually deliver it to me so I can go and chop stuff...

For what it's worth; I had a blacksmith friend here in the UK make me a very close copy of the original Greek machaera, and it's a masterpiece, as regards both looks and performance. Would anybody like to read a 'head-to-head' test, machaera vs. khukuri, as & when the khuk finally shows up?


 
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