Need a REAL Kukri

J

JNieporte

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Nov 1, 2004
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I want to introduce myself first, as this is my first post in the H.I. sub-forum. My name is Josh and I've used machetes of all types for many years, mostly for agricultural purposes. I currently own two kukris - a Cold Steel cheapo (carbon blade, 13" long) and a Kabar design (carbon blade, 11" long) and I've decided that I want a real, honest-to-goodness kukri (sorry if I'm mis-spelling). While the Cold Steel and Kabar haven't failed on me and have given me years of good service, they feel as if they're missing something. They seem to be not a kukri, but rather just a large knife. I want something authentic.

After reading the "First Kukri" thread, I've narrowed my choices down to the AK, BAS, or WWII. I'm looking for a blade in the 12"-14" range, and I'm really indifferent as far as handle materials go. I'm going to look over the sub-forum here and the H.I. website for more information, but from the looks of it I'll be buying a quality kukri soon. After all, that's the reason I came here :D
Any help or advice you can give me would be appreciated, as I'm still relatively new to the kukri and its terms. I just know they work LOL.
 
Welcome to the H.I. Forums Josh!!
Pull up a barstool and make yourself at home.

You Really cant go wrong with any of those you listed, but if you want something that really chops go with one that is 15 inches or larger. For people who are smaller statured we recommend going with khuks in the 15" to 18" range and larger people we recommend going 18" on up. If you are brush clearing, chopping trees and such hard type work we recommend going with as large a khuk as you can safely swing. Most jobs can be done with a 15"to 20" khukri though. If you are going to be packing your khuk anywhere or have to travel some distance to your work we recommend going with one that is as light as possible in the 15" to 18 inch range.
The 12 inch khuks are just as tough as the rest and make great camp knives but are a little too small for serious tree work as the lack the mass to properly drive the blade thru the tree.

I'm sure you will get plenty more opinion on this matter, We all have our favorites. It will all be good advice. In the end though the choice is yours.....Pick the one that calls to you.

Please take the time to read the safety sticky!! :
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269016

Oh, and thanks for taking the time to read the first khukri thread! I almost went blind putting that together, even with the help of several of mi amigo's, but this place, Uncle Bill and Yangdu and those before me deserved my best effort.
 
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welcome:) It sounds like you have done your homework:thumbup: The great thing about HI khuks is that you really can't go wrong as long as you pick one for the desired work load. Also, grabbing one probably means that you'll end up picking up 2 or 3 or 50 down the road:p


Once again, welcome:) Let us know what we can do to help.
 
The BAS, the WWII, the AK, and I would add the Pen Knife to that list of good workers, or a medium Ganga Ram. Any of those in the 15-18" range make wonderful hard work/use knives. I prefer hidden tang blades for heavy chopping, myself.

I should add that the villager models are my favorites......

Enjoy!

Andy
 
All those listed are amazing knives.

I'd extend your range from 12" - 14" to 12" - 15" . There aren't really that many khuks made at 13.5" or anything, but alot are 15.

First, bigger isn't always better. Alot of guys here love the 18" khuks, and will certainly pressure you to go that route. No offence to them, but 18" is a BIG knife, even by khuk standars. Seriously. It is. I've got a 15" BAS that i love to death, but even 15" is the biggest i am willing to go on a knife. It chops everything i've asked it to amazingly. I've chopped wood on par with an axe, but it's relatively easy to move around. Once you're up around 15", each inch makes a big difference.

12" Is an amazing length as well. I highly encourage 12" khuks, however as people have mentioned already, it is a touch on the short side if you want to do some heavy chopping. I don't know how much weight i'd put behind the comments about it not having enough mass for heavy chopping (again, it's all relative). But i personally have found anything smaller that 15" to have a bit too small of a reach for chopping and brush clearing, and puts my fingers a touch closer than i would like when i attack a tree.

I'm not trying to flame anyone, and i apologize if this post has come across that way. I just want to make a few key points:
1) A 12" khuk still chops really amazingly when you compare it to a knife, hatchet, or a machete - make no mistake. It just doesn't chop as well as bigger khuks. But it still chops well!
2) A 15" khuk chops well, clears brush well, but is still a REALLY BIG knife. Those who have used khuks for a long time, and have ones ranging from 12" to 24" ....ya... 15" might seem small. But it's not! 15" is still almost two pounds worth of solid tree-felling muscle.
3) I'm 5"10 and 145ibs. I find the 15" too big to take on extended hiking trips. It's too much weight for the little use i get out of it, so i've moved to a smaller knife for my survival pack when i hit the trails.
4) I'm not trying to say you shouldn't get an 18" knife. I'm just saying that a 12" or a 15" khuk may be small by HI khuk standards, but it is still big by knife standards. Don't get carried away with the khukri virus just yet :)
5) Lastly. BAS, WWII, AK are all fantastic knives. Personall, I would say go for 15", as i think you'll find those extra 3 inches over the 12" will make all the difference you need, and that anything bigger is unnecessary. With those three, you can't go wrong. AK's a touch heavier but the most robust of the lot. I love the BAS because it's on the lighter side of the three.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Radrunner makes a lot of good points. I have found that the Pen knives are also thinner for their length, and straighter, so an 18" Pen will be about in the same weight class as a 16" AK.

Good luck with your purchase! It will be tough to go wrong with an HI knife.

Andy
 
Don't overlook the M-43, either...


M-43kukhuri007.jpg



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M-43kukhuri001.jpg



M-43kukhuri006.jpg
 
JN, welcome. :)

I'm pretty sure JN is saying 12-14" blade length. We usually refer to the kuks here using OAL~ so, if I understand correctly, JN wants a kukuri about 17" OAL.

Really useful general purpose kuks start at about 15" and go to about 19". Smaller and larger are more special purpose.

15" AK is a great general purpose blade, as is the 16.5" WWII. 18-19" Chitlangi is a great choice, too. I've cleared a lot of brush- to include small trees- with a 19" chitlangi, as well as a 16.5 WWII.

Peace,

John
 
Welcome JN! You should look into the M-43 kukri. Rather than tell the whole story again just run a search on the M-43 kukri and you'll see why I reccomend it so highly.
 
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