Newb question about CS vs HI...

Hi Guys,

I've read through the whole tread and it's awesome.

Does anyone have those pictures because the links for them do not work.
all I get is "Not found" 404 error

It would be better they live here in the forum archives for all to see and don't get lost on the web.
 
Rockhouse,

Not long ago, I bought my son-in-law a CS SK-5 Gurkha Kukri and he loved it. It feels good in the hand, has a nice modern handle and is "machine made" perfect. He used it right away and compared to any knife most westerners have ever used, it is remarkable. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, camper, fisherman, etc., so he knows his way around tools and knives.

He came to my house shortly after that and picked up a WW-I military issued MKII kukri. You can't really explain it, but this is usually how it goes. They pick it up, you could almost see the energy running up their arm. Then the blank stare. Then they tilt it to the back, then the front, and then side and to the other side. More staring. Then they notice the hammer marks in the blade. (Most kids these days have never handled anything made by hand) Then a couple of mock chops. More staring. Then the questions start. What is the cut out in the blade? Are these hammer marks? What is this made of? How could they make it so balanced without machines? Real buffalo horn??? Feels like wood inside the sheath? If all the blades are different, that means each sheath had to be made for each kukri???? What are these little knives for? Twenty minutes goes by and they still have it in their hand............................... with no end in sight!

Then I showed him my HI WWII kukri. Well to save space, just re-read the last paragraph. Being respectful, the WWII is a basic design with no bells and whistles. It is really designed to be a workhorse. But it shows that even a "basic" hand made kukri is a special thing. And something you will never understand until you hold one, and use one, and care for one. Each one is different and has its own character and feel. Without much effort, you can find a 100 year old kukri on ebay and take it to the field and it will perform like the day it was made! (I wouldn't do that by the way)

I know what I just said sounds kind of lame or corny, but for the price of a months worth of beer, you can buy a CS and an HI kukri and see for yourself. You might find a whole new world out there you never thought existed.

Bill
Virginia
 
Wow, thanks guys for taking the time to educate me. I meant no offense towards HI, or yall's love for their products...i basically just wanted answers like these to help me choose.

I love the idea of a hand-forged blade and natural materials, and since there seems to be nothing but love towards the HI kurks, it seems my only choice now is the model.

Which one is the jack-of-all-trades? Is wood or buffalo horn recommended for a good grip, (even with wet/sweaty hands)?

This kurk would be a camping/brush clearing/gar and shark head lopping/possible self-defense tool.....so what do yall recommend?
 
rockhouse said:
Which one is the jack-of-all-trades? Is wood or buffalo horn recommended for a good grip, (even with wet/sweaty hands)?

This kurk would be a camping/brush clearing/gar and shark head lopping/possible self-defense tool.....so what do yall recommend?
Click to expand...

With CS you are limited to pretty much one size and style of khuk, and if it is right for you then you are in luck. In my case, I ended up with 14 different khuks from HI before finding the perfect one, and all of these were different. My favorite is the Baby Ganga Ram Special, about 17" IIRC and heavy (I forget the exact weight). CS doesn't make anything comparable, so there is no point in drawing comparisons.

Buffalo horn lightly sanded with 400-grit paper gives the best grip when wet IMHO, but my BGRS was a wood handle. Horn and wood are both good, but I think the wood handles dings a bit better.

Regardless of what size or style you get, it will be useful. I gave most of my other khuks away, and the recipients are getting quite a bit of use out of them.
 
One other thing. Can someone tell me why the HI kurks have a raised ridge going around the center part of the handle?
It seems like that ridge would dig into your hand rather quickly after a few swings and cause some pretty bad blisters after awhile.
 
You put that ridge between your pinky and the third finger for proper grip, it is there so the handle doesn't slip in your hand.
 
This is what I have found:

If you plan to carry it on your belt for an extended period; a British Army Service (BAS) or WWII or a 12"-15" Ang Kola (AK) is more than enough. They can do anything, anywhere. I have what many on this forum consider to be the "ultimate combination" of tool and weapon coming soon, the M43, so I will be able to coment on that soon.

If you are driving to the camp ground and plan to build shelters and do all of your fire wood chores with a kukri, then you will want a larger kukri make for that purpose. A larger AK like the 18" or 20", CAK, ASTK, Ganga Ram Special or Bonecutter would be ideal. But they are a bit much to have on your belt all day.

If I am carrying one on the belt, it is usually the smallest one I have, a jungle BAS or the WWII. Keep in mind, the smallest kukri (10.5" blade) is still much larger than most of the knives out there. And the design of the kukri blade makes it much more useful and versatile than any other blade I've ever used. Look at some different families of kukris, narrow down what you personally are attracted to and then ask some of the more experienced people on this forum to help narrow it down. Or do what many do, buy a few and one will pick you!

Good luck,
Bill
Virginia
 
The other guys covered it pretty well, but I can't stay out of threads like this.

I'm not going to BS you, CS makes good products. BUT, I have yet to find a westerner, or anyone outside of Nepal, that can make a kukri right. In that, I even include Busse -- as far as modern knives go, they are the top of the heap, IMO, and I'd love to have a kukri made of INFI, but he didn't get it right, either. I even offered to send him one so he could see what a real one feels like, and then Busse-ize it from there. No go.

So, basically, if you want a kukri, this is the place.

There's also merit in the idea that the kukri chooses you, rather than the other way around. Shortwinger described it very well. When you know you have "the olne" for you, it's like being in a Highlander movie. You know, they lop the guy's head off, and lightning goes coursing through them. When the one kukri finds you, it's like lightning going up your arm and you get this urge to scream out "There can be only one!!" (they frown on that in the post office, by the way).

They really are like living things. Look around a bit and you'll see my posts on how I came by my "one", and what it did to me the first time I tried it.

Here She is, Ereshkigal:
100_0187.jpg


Funny thing is, even though She's 1/2" thick at the spine, She cuts light vegetation very well. I usually just raise Her to shoulder height, let Her drop, and the only other muscle input is to guide the blade to target. Gravity and momentum do the rest. If I just need to slice a single vine or something, just laying the blade against it at an angle, and a flick of the wrist cuts cleanly through it. Or if I need to do some power chopping, I can go through wood faster than just about anything but a chainsaw.

Also look around and see how many times someone has posted about loving their CS/Ka-Bar KLO, and then picking up one of these and exclaiming "Now I see why you guys go on about these so much."

Get one, learn top use it, and you may end up wondering how you got along with anything else.

As for which one, honestly, just about any of them will do what you're wanting to do. Read through the picture thread, and the "missing pages" thread, and see what calls to you.

I use that 20" behemoth above for everything, some use an M43 for everything, some a WWII, some a Chitlangi, etc. The one that calls to you will be your
everything" kukri.

Welcome to the madness.

ETA: the above post was posted while I was writing this.

For carrying heavy kukri, I highly recommend a baldric style rig. Can be a custom one like this:
Quickdraw01.jpg

IMG_6783.jpg


or just run an old rifle sling through the frog that comes on the kujkri sheath. IMO shoulder carry is much easier than belt carry for large knives.
 
Cool responses fellas. Sorry to ask so many questions but, i'm 6' 2'' with bigger hands, i'm sure, than a typical Nepalese man. Are the handles big enough to fit my hands? I'd hate to get one only to find out my hand is too big for the handle.....thanks.

EDIT: Also, anyone have any experience with 'Khuruki Mart'. I've visited their website and they look nice.......but i wanna hear someone's account of their products and service.
Thanks.

EDITx2: Hopefully i don't piss anyone off asking about khuruki mart......if so i'll delete the question.
 
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The handles are proportioned by the size of the blade. So an 18" or 20" blade will have a larger, and longer handle than a 15". BTW measurements are for overall length, not blade length. So a 20" CAK has about 15" of blade.

I have big hands, and IMO, I'd be disappointed with anything under 18".

One exception I can thing of off the top of my head, is the Dui Chirra, which is made for smaller hands. I had a 22" one and the grip was too small for me. Most other blades are made for bigger, western hands.
 
I like wood for grip. I don't have it sanded to a mirror finish either. The ring around the handle works pretty well. I don't find it to be blister inducing. But if it does dig in you could sand it down easily. Either all gone or just enough to knock the edge off.

Handle size is pretty good on the 15" class and up. I have fairly big mits and only find the 12" khuks to be a little cramped.

For yardwork and car camping I like the 18" WWII. It was my first and is still my favorite. At 28oz I don't know if I'd want to carry it all day, though. The 15 inchers are far more portable. The 15" AK is the #1 seller for a reason with the BAS coming in at #2 (another 15").

All of my khuks have been hidden tang except for the ultimate fighter (sinister thing) I got this year. I wouldn't worry about the strength of the hidden tang. Even my 12" siru (8" x 5/16" blade) makes my old Camillus MkII look delicate.

And don't worry about asking questions. I'm still learning stuff after 8 years (jeez).

Frank
 
I have a Khukruri House Khukri and frankly it isn't as nice as my HI's. I have no experience with the Kukri Mart stuff so I cannot comment on them. I guess in the end I will say this, you are sure to find others selling what appear to be the same thing as the stuff you'll find here. What they lack is the customer service that Yangdu will provide and the knowledge that you are directly helping build a community in Nepal and making the life of these Kamis a better one. HI builds a school and a health clinic for them and their families to use as well as bringing in much needed money from abroad. We here are helping them there to live a better life, and that makes me feel good.

I have big hands too and haven't had any troubles yet...
 
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And now a voice from the past....me:),

I was doing business with Bill before he was on the internet and before the current production facilities were even contemplated, but also after Aunt Y's dad started making their own blades. The handles were enlarged to fit the hand sizes that we have here in the west. The blades are hardened, but not tempered as in the manner of say, Buck, etc. The core is soft, not just the spine of the blade. They are in effect, case hardened, however, the blade is through hardened within about 5/8ths inch of the edge. Much of the strength comes from the grain packing and alignment from the forging. Ya gets wha' ya pays fo'. In the case of HI, the best going.
Dan
 
rockhouse said:
Cool responses fellas. Sorry to ask so many questions but, i'm 6' 2'' with bigger hands, i'm sure, than a typical Nepalese man. Are the handles big enough to fit my hands? I'd hate to get one only to find out my hand is too big for the handle.....thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm 6'5" and khukris in the 20"-23" range feel right to me. Anything under 19" feels too small.
 
rockhouse said:
Which one is the jack-of-all-trades? Is wood or buffalo horn recommended for a good grip, (even with wet/sweaty hands)?

This kurk would be a camping/brush clearing/gar and shark head lopping/possible self-defense tool.....so what do yall recommend?
Click to expand...

M43, Chitlangi, or Super CAK.
 
The kamis of Nepal have been making khuks many generations longer than Lynn Thompson's factory has. Those guys have a feel for it... it's in their DNA & you'll recognize that as soon as you get one in your hand.
 
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