My new Millennium Special

J

Jack M

Joined
Feb 2, 2000
Messages
240
I was going to wait until Uncle Bill's return, but it is kind of quiet in here. I recieved my first HI Khukuri, a brass handled MS, last Thursday. I was expecting to by a little annoyed with the brass as a handle material, but actually, it is very comfortable and certainly makes for a very striking appearance. I cannot say enough good things about this knife, the balance, feel, etc. are all excellent. I have not done much cutting with it, but with a little practice to adapt to the weight, it works well with both Arnis and CMA type techniques against my improvised cutting targets (bundled green bamboo). I was very suprised at what a good thrusting weapon this knife is. Several people had told me they disliked Khuks, since they could not be used to thrust, but the blade-handle alignment of the MS make for a very powerfull and ergonomic thrust.
I was also very pleased in my first dealings with Uncle Bill. He is truly a fine gentleman of the "Old School", and I look forward to future dealings with him.
 
Thanks Jack:

I too was surprised to find that the khuk didn't feel right for standard thrusting, but if you instead of thrusting "punch", then it works wonderfully.

 
As a bonus the hand does not have the same tendency to slip up the handle and onto the blade as it does with a straight knife. This is because the handle is not parallel to the direction of the thrust.
 
Jack,

How is your bamboo target set up? Do you put clothing on the target? Did the khukuri cut it up or chop it up?

I read a magazine article where the author claimed his Cold Steel khukuri had the best thrust penetration.

Check out Cliff Stamp's review of the 20" Ang Khola to see some real impressive thrust penetration.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 03-23-2000).]
 
After things are less hectic, remind me to get a post up on spirit and handle material.
 
Read your post on my way out the door, so I scrounged up an old field jacket that had some battery acid holes and added it to the test. I don't do any formal or "Japanese style" process. I just cut down some bamboo, bundle it in a selection of size bundles, bind them with parachute cord. Some are clamped into a homemade stand, others I hang from trees so they free swing. I found that with heavy blades (and even more so with this MS), if I try to muscle the swing for power, I end up "smashing" as much as I cut. Not sure what the effect in combat would be from a stroke that sends bits of broken, but uncut, bamboo flying, and yet does carry entirely throught the bundle. The most impressive stroke with this blade was the relaxed hand and arm, whip the hip through, snap the hand and wrist and "draw" at impact. My bets stroke cut cleanly through bundles 18-24 inches across(clamped in the stand, though once I got the blade speed up,performance was also excellent on hanging targets), and even poor efforts cut more than 50% through the target. I added the jacket (thanks for the clothing idea!), attached it with 100mph tape, and found that it forced a better stroke. Could still cut all the way with a perfect stroke, but any miss timing reduced the effectiveness considerably. Again, I have no idea how this would translate to combat, as I am confident that I could be quite effective with a 2.25 pound club that balances this well. The blade was slightly marked, sort of scuffs, should polish out easily. No nicks at all in the cutting edge, and as far as I can tell, it is just as sharp as when I started. Since I plan to have this knife forever, I have NO interest in any "destruction testing", so my thrust testing has been VERY gentle. I can comment that the Cold Steel is an excellent knife, one of my training partners has 2 of them, but they do not compare to the MS in any catagory except speed, and do not line up as well for thrusting IMHO. Thanks for letting an amateur ramble on about his VERY unscientific testing.
 
:
If I have any other khukuri with a better hardened blade than my 18"AK it would have to be my MS!!
These two khukuris have perfect hardnening for me and what I use them for.
I haven't put the MS through the same paces as the AK, but having sharpened the blade before I cut anything with it and then the chopping that was done on some hardwoods and it didn't even need any touch up at all.
Of course all the H.I. khukuris have adequate hardening, but these two are outstanding examples of the kami's art!!


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ
 
Great information! I found the material used in tough duck jackets seems quite good at deflecting blades, relatively speaking. Leather seems to be the worst, the edge seems to catch it easier.

I recall a magazine article decribing Bando which shows the practioners stabbing stumps. The stumps are about 7"-8" in diameter and 12" high as far as I can tell from the picture. The objective is to stab the stump and have it stick to the tip of the khukuri.

I am addicted to doing this with 2x4's cut about 3' long. I have a tough time doing it successful with all my H.I. khukuri's (tips to thick) but my village khukuri. It is easy with knives such as the MD ATAK2, Ka Bar or Mission MPK.

Will
 
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