As you may well know, I've been discussing big blades a bit lately. I settled on getting this Tamang Chaura kukri because it has less angle in the blade than many kukris and it has a relatively pointy tip.
The package arrived first thing this morning. It only took about nine or ten days to get here from Tora Blades in the United Kingdom. I am very pleased with this kukri.
I got it for a special price because of some rust, but the rust is nothing. It will soon not be noticeable.
I was relieved to find that it will fit in my small day pack. Although I will probably have to sit the point of the sheath inside a cut-off soda bottle to stop it getting pushed through the old pack fabric.
I applied my 'temper test' with a file. For a start I used a new fine Vallorbe file. The file bit into the metal at every point I tried on the blade. I thought, damn... it is a bit soft. Well at least it won't break. Then I got out some other knives to compare the hardness.... and I found that even my hard Mercator folder and Opinel folder could be filed as well. And those are relatively brittle blades. So I found an older file and was delighted to find that it skidded off most of the edge of the kukri.... yet it bit into the blade near the handle and along the spine. So while this isn't a Rockwell test, it gives a very good indication that there has been some good tempering done. A very pleasing result.
I took it outside and chopped into some 4 x 2 timber. I have done a lot of chopping with a hatchet, and one thing I've used a hatchet for quite often is to sharpen pegs to hold concrete boxing in place.... so I am very familiar with how a hatchet chops pine timber. I should also mention that my hatchets are generally always sharp and in good condition. Well.... after I chopped into that pine my immediate impression was that the kukri chops much better than my hatchets. And of course it should be better with the relatively thin blade and decent weight.
This isn't a complete review because I want to go into the bush for a proper workout. Ideally I'd like to set some possum traps so I can see how the blade performs for clearing the trap site, cutting snare poles, clubbing the animals .... and of course how it feels to lug it around a whole trap line. I can't see why it won't perform well.... although I may get sick of carrying it on my belt compared to a small sheath knife, so it may well travel a lot of the way in my pack. My other kukris were good on the trap line, except the large angle between the blade and the handle made them difficult to use as a club. While this kukri still has enough of an angle to perform well as a chopper, it is straighter so it will be better as a club... or as a 'knife' when working on a cutting board.
The karda appears to be a good one. It is considerably longer than others I have owned. And its overall shape/angle bears a strong similarity to one of my favorite all-round knives which I have shown in the picture (my one has the longer handle). The shorter handle on this karda is not a problem to me.... it will work well.
Statistics (approx): blade length 14 inches, maximum blade width inch and seven-eighths, blade thickness just over 3/8 inch. Weight about 680 grams or around 1.5 pounds.
In summary..... great value and highly recommended. Both the kukri and the service. Hopefully I will be able to get out for a more comprehensive test soon. Best wishes.... Coote.
The package arrived first thing this morning. It only took about nine or ten days to get here from Tora Blades in the United Kingdom. I am very pleased with this kukri.
I got it for a special price because of some rust, but the rust is nothing. It will soon not be noticeable.
I was relieved to find that it will fit in my small day pack. Although I will probably have to sit the point of the sheath inside a cut-off soda bottle to stop it getting pushed through the old pack fabric.
I applied my 'temper test' with a file. For a start I used a new fine Vallorbe file. The file bit into the metal at every point I tried on the blade. I thought, damn... it is a bit soft. Well at least it won't break. Then I got out some other knives to compare the hardness.... and I found that even my hard Mercator folder and Opinel folder could be filed as well. And those are relatively brittle blades. So I found an older file and was delighted to find that it skidded off most of the edge of the kukri.... yet it bit into the blade near the handle and along the spine. So while this isn't a Rockwell test, it gives a very good indication that there has been some good tempering done. A very pleasing result.
I took it outside and chopped into some 4 x 2 timber. I have done a lot of chopping with a hatchet, and one thing I've used a hatchet for quite often is to sharpen pegs to hold concrete boxing in place.... so I am very familiar with how a hatchet chops pine timber. I should also mention that my hatchets are generally always sharp and in good condition. Well.... after I chopped into that pine my immediate impression was that the kukri chops much better than my hatchets. And of course it should be better with the relatively thin blade and decent weight.
This isn't a complete review because I want to go into the bush for a proper workout. Ideally I'd like to set some possum traps so I can see how the blade performs for clearing the trap site, cutting snare poles, clubbing the animals .... and of course how it feels to lug it around a whole trap line. I can't see why it won't perform well.... although I may get sick of carrying it on my belt compared to a small sheath knife, so it may well travel a lot of the way in my pack. My other kukris were good on the trap line, except the large angle between the blade and the handle made them difficult to use as a club. While this kukri still has enough of an angle to perform well as a chopper, it is straighter so it will be better as a club... or as a 'knife' when working on a cutting board.
The karda appears to be a good one. It is considerably longer than others I have owned. And its overall shape/angle bears a strong similarity to one of my favorite all-round knives which I have shown in the picture (my one has the longer handle). The shorter handle on this karda is not a problem to me.... it will work well.
Statistics (approx): blade length 14 inches, maximum blade width inch and seven-eighths, blade thickness just over 3/8 inch. Weight about 680 grams or around 1.5 pounds.
In summary..... great value and highly recommended. Both the kukri and the service. Hopefully I will be able to get out for a more comprehensive test soon. Best wishes.... Coote.
