I got my delivery in. I ordered them Friday and they actually got delivered yesterday but I wasn't here. Went to pick them up at the post office at lunch today. Everything came wrapped securely and in a coat of grease. I cleaned up the blades and applied some non-corrosive metal cleaner and sealant with a detailing buff -- the same stuff I use to spiff up the chrome on my Harley. The blades came with a mirror finish already but they are now blindingly polished.
I ordered the M43 with wood handle and a Blemished BAS model. The description indicated there was a hairline crack on the horn handle but I had to look to find it. It is not noticeable unless you search.
Having never owned a Kukri and obviously never owning a Himalayan Imports, I don't have anything to compare it to. All I have are subjective expectations based on what I read and see online. I own a good number of blades,from knives to swords, and this will be a nice addition to the collection. I also have a blem villager coming my way and suspect this won't be the end of it in terms of the weekly deals. Perhaps I shouldn't have come to this forum after all.
The M43 is a beast. I can see it easily taking off a limb without much effort. The heft and profile are impressive. Compared to other blades I own, it is definitely unique due to its profile and forward-biased center of mass. Both models came in what I would describe as hatchet-sharp--sharp enough to do damage and chop up things but not razor sharp. This is good and I intentionally have not touched up the blades as I don't think I want to play around with a razor sharp kukri at this point, as I can see it doing some damage if I smacked a limb while getting comfortable with the dynamics. I read the safety thread and all and was practice chopping on some cardboard boxes. I definitely see why you want to control the direction and forward motion, as this handles very differently from a regular chopper or large bowie. The British Army model is much lighter and more easy to control on forward chops but the M43 does not feel like it is too heavy for me.
In terms of what I expected and what I got, I can say expectations are met. You can tell that these are handmade items and not mass-produced blades. I don't say that in a bad way. The hand stamping and assembly adds a character to the knives that you can't find with mass produced models. Knowing it was made by hand using classic forging methods also gives the knives a definite collectible feel. Now, I guess if someone was a perfectionist and was looking for something here and there to criticize in terms of fit and finish, they would find it. This would be more of the nitpicking variety however. In terms of durability, I haven't yet used the blades outdoors. But I can tell from just inspecting the items and feeling the heft that you would have to find a really creative way to get something like this to break.
Shipping was obviously fast. Items were in stock so they shipped immediately. I have no complaints and am quite happy with the products received. This has definitely got my interest. I never owned a kukri so am pretty excited about trying them out on some wood. One thing I found impressive from just cutting up a cardboard box was how efficiently the belly sliced for such a large profile blade and spine. Just flick the front of the blade down into the side of the box and it cuts a large slice down to the end of the arc. I can only imagine what it would do to flesh if put to that task. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a full swing.
Here are a few photos of the two blades.
The 'blemished' British Army Service looks fine to me. The hairline crack on the handle is more like a scratch on the underside and it is not visible unless you look for it.
There are signature inititials on the right side of the blade and symbols and characters on the left.
M43 Signature:
I am not quire sure what the symbols are on the other side:
M43:
On the British Army Model, there appears to be a Star of David? Not sure.
Beast of a Blade:
Anyways, thanks to Himalayan Imports for the fast service and blades. Also, thanks for forum member bawanna who took the time to answer questions and assist a first-timer.
I ordered the M43 with wood handle and a Blemished BAS model. The description indicated there was a hairline crack on the horn handle but I had to look to find it. It is not noticeable unless you search.
Having never owned a Kukri and obviously never owning a Himalayan Imports, I don't have anything to compare it to. All I have are subjective expectations based on what I read and see online. I own a good number of blades,from knives to swords, and this will be a nice addition to the collection. I also have a blem villager coming my way and suspect this won't be the end of it in terms of the weekly deals. Perhaps I shouldn't have come to this forum after all.
The M43 is a beast. I can see it easily taking off a limb without much effort. The heft and profile are impressive. Compared to other blades I own, it is definitely unique due to its profile and forward-biased center of mass. Both models came in what I would describe as hatchet-sharp--sharp enough to do damage and chop up things but not razor sharp. This is good and I intentionally have not touched up the blades as I don't think I want to play around with a razor sharp kukri at this point, as I can see it doing some damage if I smacked a limb while getting comfortable with the dynamics. I read the safety thread and all and was practice chopping on some cardboard boxes. I definitely see why you want to control the direction and forward motion, as this handles very differently from a regular chopper or large bowie. The British Army model is much lighter and more easy to control on forward chops but the M43 does not feel like it is too heavy for me.
In terms of what I expected and what I got, I can say expectations are met. You can tell that these are handmade items and not mass-produced blades. I don't say that in a bad way. The hand stamping and assembly adds a character to the knives that you can't find with mass produced models. Knowing it was made by hand using classic forging methods also gives the knives a definite collectible feel. Now, I guess if someone was a perfectionist and was looking for something here and there to criticize in terms of fit and finish, they would find it. This would be more of the nitpicking variety however. In terms of durability, I haven't yet used the blades outdoors. But I can tell from just inspecting the items and feeling the heft that you would have to find a really creative way to get something like this to break.
Shipping was obviously fast. Items were in stock so they shipped immediately. I have no complaints and am quite happy with the products received. This has definitely got my interest. I never owned a kukri so am pretty excited about trying them out on some wood. One thing I found impressive from just cutting up a cardboard box was how efficiently the belly sliced for such a large profile blade and spine. Just flick the front of the blade down into the side of the box and it cuts a large slice down to the end of the arc. I can only imagine what it would do to flesh if put to that task. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a full swing.
Here are a few photos of the two blades.
The 'blemished' British Army Service looks fine to me. The hairline crack on the handle is more like a scratch on the underside and it is not visible unless you look for it.
There are signature inititials on the right side of the blade and symbols and characters on the left.
M43 Signature:
I am not quire sure what the symbols are on the other side:
M43:
On the British Army Model, there appears to be a Star of David? Not sure.
Beast of a Blade:
Anyways, thanks to Himalayan Imports for the fast service and blades. Also, thanks for forum member bawanna who took the time to answer questions and assist a first-timer.
