My first Khukuri

T

txanarchist

Joined
Jan 18, 2014
Messages
13
So I got my first khukuri ever in the mail last week. I bought the Chiruwa Ang Khola and let me just say that this is a beautiful blade! I absolutely love it. This thing is a BEAST! After swinging this thing a few times you can really appreciate the heft of the blade. The spine is nearly a half inch thick and I fully believe them when they say it could be used as a pry bar. I've always wanted a khukuri and leaned heavily towards the Cold Steel one but I really wanted one that was made in Nepal. Himalayan Imports are the real deal man. These things are great and I'll be sure to get another. Yangdu was really helpful in adjusting my order when I ordered the wrong knife. There was a shipping delay but man the quality of this blade and the great service from Yangdu make that a complete non-issue. The only complaints I have with the blade is the scales shrunk around the tang. Not H.I.'s fault at all. Mother Nature is to blame for that one. The other issue is that the knife isn't that sharp which is still not a big deal because I like to reprofile my blades anyway.

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I'm never fully satisfied with anything I buy so I'm going to be doing some modifications to this monster. The wood is going to go and be replaced by black micarta. I'm going to attempt to fashion a new bolster for it out of brass with a finger guard on it and the two little ridges in the center of the tang are going to be filed down. They dig into my hand and it's uncomfortable. Oh, and it's going to get a good sharpening when my Edge Pro Apex shows up, as well as a custom kydex sheath. It's going to be a real nice chopper and will fill the roll of my big bushcraft knife well.

The only problem I have now is deciding which khukuri to buy next!
 
Congrats on the new purchase! That is some beautiful wood and it'd be a shame if you cut it off. Maybe consider waiting for a blem to come up in the DOTD with a big handle crack. Then you can get a nice discount and make your own handle!
 
philllll said:
Congrats on the new purchase! That is some beautiful wood and it'd be a shame if you cut it off. Maybe consider waiting for a blem to come up in the DOTD with a big handle crack. Then you can get a nice discount and make your own handle!
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I would have to agree with philllll. Why waste a beautiful handle when you can get a blem at a discount that may need a rehandle anyways.
 
Naw, I don't like the wood that's on it even a little. When it comes to wood handles I prefer something darker but the more I think about it the less I want to use micarta. I might use cocobolo or rosewood for the handle, but I'm also considering going with ebony.
 
Super hard woods are not necessarily heavy use knife friendly-ebony especially-and before you take out the ring in the grip, consider it's purpose: when you snap your hand shut at the terminus of the cut, that is a "trigger" (of sorts) that indexes your grip.
 
Super hard woods are not necessarily heavy use knife friendly
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Why is this? What would you recommend?

before you take out the ring in the grip, consider it's purpose: when you snap your hand shut at the terminus of the cut, that is a "trigger" (of sorts) that indexes your grip.
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I'm sure it has a purpose but that doesn't mean I have to stick with it. It's uncomfortable and hurts my hand. I took it out chopping the other day and it tore my hand up after just a short while. It simply makes the knife unusable for what I intend to do with it.
 
Just gotta say I love that wormy wood handle and the Chakmak and Karda match beautifully. Id almost buy you a blem to keep that one intact. Congrats on your first Khuk but... my stomachs flippin. You might be surprised at the chopping ability of the edge as it is. You may regret later reprofiling the edge like you might be inclined to do with many production blades. Convexed edges are tried and true and easy to maintain. If you want a darker wood I would recommend asking Aunti Yangdu if she has a Chiruwa Ang Kola with Satisal Oak handle. Satisal is some dark wood and when conditioning it even gets darker and richer red. It is very beautiful. Here's an example of the wood.
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Again congrats on your chopper! That one is a beauty!
 
Ebony is pretty brittle-it also dries out quite easily. If you don't like the light wood you could ebonize it-sand it clean of any finish, oil it with canola or peanut oil, and gently jeat it with a heat gun. You're essentially carbonizin the surface of the wood.this is ebonized cherry-you can see the original color of the wood in the grooves:image.jpg
When it cools steel wool it to smooth it out and then refinish it.
 
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Just realized that by "two little ridges in the center of the tang" you meant the edges of the tang itself, top and bottom. My bad, thought you meant the ring around the center of the grip. I think filing down exposed tang from shrinkage is pretty standard at some point in the lifetime of chiruwa khuks. The finer the file, the less tearout you'll get if you nick the wood.
Ndog is right- use the mousepad/fine grit sandpaper method to bring up that convex edge and see how you like it.
My gelbu special has a very obtuse, axe-like bevel (it's the heaviest gelbu 18" I've heard of-29oz) but after an hour or so's work the edge is literally face-shaving sharp. It's not a fine slicer but it's a very weaponized khuk to me anyway.
 
I think filing down exposed tang from shrinkage is pretty standard at some point in the lifetime of chiruwa khuks. The finer the file, the less tearout you'll get if you nick the wood.
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I might just yield to the experts here at first. Perhaps I'll try filing down the exposed parts of the tang and doing something with the wood to darken it up. I really, really, really hate the color of it now. I don't think I could express in words how much I dislike the wood that is on it. Maybe I could stain it or something.
 
FWIW I love that light colored handle. Course it don't matter what I like, it's what you like. I'd sure look for a swap or something. What's the length and weight on that bad boy anyhow?
 
Welcome to the forum! I have a blem CAK that I recently scored and had the same plans as you. I lucked into a really nice dark wood though so my plans for micarta may just be on a permanent hold unless it breaks. I would like a nice kydex sheath for it though, maybe even with a fire steel loop. Makes for a nice pack around in the woods!
 
Slugger said:
Welcome to the forum! I have a blem CAK that I recently scored and had the same plans as you. I lucked into a really nice dark wood though so my plans for micarta may just be on a permanent hold unless it breaks. I would like a nice kydex sheath for it though, maybe even with a fire steel loop. Makes for a nice pack around in the woods!
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I know man. It would be great. I'm thinking of having a sheath made that will hold a smaller knife like an ESEE Candiru (maybe not that exact one though), a fire steel, and a Smith's DRET sharpener for quick touch ups in field. It would be a real nice piece of kit to take into the woods.
 
Bawanna said:
FWIW I love that light colored handle. Course it don't matter what I like, it's what you like. I'd sure look for a swap or something. What's the length and weight on that bad boy anyhow?
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The way I see it I'm not buying a knife because of the handle; I'm buying it because of the blade. When I buy a rifle I don't keep it stock. I alter it, change out the forearm, the buttstock, add a light, new sights, replace triggers, etc. It see this knife in the same way. I bought the blade, not the handle. The handle doesn't work for me so I'm going to change it to something that does. I don't think I'll trade it. It's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for, except for the handle. Once I alter that it'll be perfect.
 
That would be an cool rig. There are some Victorian rigs that are similar-done to hold a big karda further down the sheath.
Of course now I can't find the pic to save my life... :/
 
Take a look into proper chopping form with the khukuri. It may seem uncomfortable to you at first because you're not holding it properly. You want a slightly loose grip, with your hand further up on the handle than you might initially think it should be. The ring should sit between your middle & ring fingers or your ring & pinky fingers. Most of the time I end up with my index finger all the way up on the brass bolster. If the protrusions on the tang where the handle ring is are poking into your hand, you may be gripping too tight. Try choking up your grip a bit and practicing with a more loose "latin-style" swing before you do anything drastic. I like your idea of putting a darker stain on the wood handle. Good luck!
 
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This is the result of the technique Phil describes with an 11-1/2 oz, 15" OAL khuk.
That's seasoned ash firewood, btw, and a cut that was just from the elbow with the snap-chop(tightening of the grip @the last second).
 
J W Bensinger said:
That would be an cool rig. There are some Victorian rigs that are similar-done to hold a big karda further down the sheath.
Of course now I can't find the pic to save my life... :/
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Here is a photo I found of an H.I. Foxy Folly with the type of sheath you mentioned. This one also has a more non-traditional grip.

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