NKH vs. GRS

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
A fellow forumite sent me a 19.5" Nepalese Khukuri House khukuri and asked me to test it.

I also needed to test my recently convexed 21.5" GRS, so out to the woods I went with 2 khuks and a camera on a tripod.

Here are the test results:


NKH (bottom) & GRS (top)

both.jpg



I have sung praises over the GRS before (despite breaking 2 of them) and now that this one has received a new convex edge, it's darn-near-indestructible. So is this a fair test? No. But I think it's a good gauge of where the 19.5" NKH stands.


Here's the testing area - a dead tree that looked to have been felled a good time ago. (Pardon the trash - seems this was someone's private beer-bottle dumping ground)

location.jpg




This is a side by side demonstration of cutting power - 10 strokes on each blade. (NKH on the left)

side-by-side.jpg




Close-up of NKH cut:

NKH-chop.jpg




Close-up of GRS cut:

GRS-chop.jpg




The area cut by the GRS has much deeper cuts. The blade is also heavier. However, I think it works like this: the GRS cuts deep because of the convex edge, while the NKH is not lag far behind - due to the thinner blade.


Since I needed to wail on the GRS a bit more to "prove" it, I went ahead and went through the log a few times.

1st time through:

grs-chop1.jpg



2nd time through:

grs-chop2.jpg




Just to give you an idea of the log size, I have place my hand over the cut-off end of the first time through. I estimate it to be about 4.5" in diameter.

handover.jpg
 
I made 2 videos of me chopping with each one, but they're too large to share over the internet. You'll just have to trust me, I guess...:rolleyes:


Three interesting things noted from the videos:

1 - the tone the GRS makes when hitting the log is deeper, that is, lower. To me, that signifies a deeper hit - more vibration/penetration.

2 - wood chips fly on nearly every hit with the GRS

3 - every strike sinks with the GRS. The NKH sometimes "bounces" without penetrating. I call this "tapping".



I think that last note is very telling of the design of the GRS. It is made to chop, period. It has outdone every khukuri I have ever owned in its ability to penetrate deeply and cut effectively. With a convex edge, it's lethal.

That said, the NKH did quite well and made some solid hits. It's just that only 6 out of 10 sank, while every hit penetrated with the GRS.


Any questions?
 
Nice report Dan! Those GRS's are really good choppers. Have one by Sanu and it really shines even sans convex edge. It was made during the time BirGorkha was using thin bevels and Sanu did a great job on the edge. No problems with this one.
I do have a couple of khuks by Gurkha House. Is the NKH the same maker, i.e. Lalits factory? If so I did notice a difference in the hardness of the edges between them (Gurkha House) and the HI (shop 2)khuks. HI's tend to have a harder edge by far. The GH khuks tend to dimple and chip on the edges where the HI's don't. Definite difference in the finish too.
In comparison the HI's outshine all others hands down!
Glad you finally found an indestructable GRS! Great khuk.
 
Yup. I keep tellin everyone that the BGRS cuts like a Much Heavier kukri!!!!:D So does the 21"+ Chitlangi.:D

Eric, Lalit's Is Khukuri House and used to be shop 1 for HI. Pala finally got sick and tired of rejecting every 1 out of 5 or 6 khuks to be able to make a shipment over to Bill and that's when he structured Shop 2 which has evolved into BirGhorka.
Mr.Gottlieb claimed that the Ghurka House khuk's were as good as Bill's HI Products and even told how some of the khuks he sold had had the HI stamps taken off and the GH letters put on in their place.
He was selling HI's rejects.:D I always thought that was sort of humorous, but I continually refused to buy from him because of his business ethics.
And the way he had done Bill.
I also wouldn't even buy his video which I must admit is quite good, but a friend of mine copied one for me, forgot who now.:p
MR.Gottlieb dayumed near begged me and Rusty to give in and show support for the video, but we both refused.
It's all in the archieves for anyone who wants to look back far enough.
Personally I was glad to see him leave and am Really glad the War was/is finally over.:D
 
I do have to admit though that Ghurka House dayumed near had me when the Cheetlang came out. In reality it was the Chitlangi. When Bill posted the first one on the forum I was on it like a goose on a June Bug!!!!
It tickeled the hell outta me to find out that Jag & Prem, the Shop 1 kami's had deserted and now worked for HI and was building one of Ghurka House's most popular khuks for HI.:D
 
How long would it take to cut through that log with a 15" khuk? I tried something similar once and it took forever. Perhaps the type of wood would make a difference, but I think I'm just weak.

As for Gurkee house, they were almost out of buisiness when I arrived here. Their forum didn't have the wide assortment of fruits and nuts either. :rolleyes:
 
Unfortunately we had a few gurka house khuks before we even found Uncle Bill. Now we know the real truth and you're stuck with us :p :rolleyes: :D
Oh, yes, Dan that is a great job you did on that log.Much better place than the kitchen to test them too. I'm still finding wood chips:rolleyes:
 
"Yup. I keep tellin everyone that the BGRS cuts like a Much Heavier kukri!!!!"

Like I said, I only have 4 but my 17" one is hands down my fave. Light enough to cut like a machete but every strike catches the wood. On some of my other ones I have to kind of concentrate to make sure the right part of the blade hits the wood. Not so with the Ganga Ram.
 
Red - glad you asked. I ran out of space on the digicam to show it, but the GRS still cuts paper. I used the NKH just as it came - which was pretty decently sharpened. Neither showed any edge-rolling. I plan on convexing the NKH and then giving it a good beating to test out it's full potential.

There is one thing - the butt plate on the NKH came loose and I'll need to epoxy it back in place.

The horn felt real comfy in my hand. I usually don't like horn as much, but this one was more than tolerable. I actually forgot it was horn.
 
Pen-- great review. Khukuri house khuk looks like a decent performer, but not up to HI standards.

Originally posted by BruiseLeee
How long would it take to cut through that log with a 15" khuk? I tried something similar once and it took forever. Perhaps the type of wood would make a difference, but I think I'm just weak.
Click to expand...

Bruise-- it takes a lot longer for me to chop through stuff with my BAS than say an 18" AK. It also depends quite a bit on the wood-- variety of tree as well as how wet or dry it is, twisty vs. straight grain, etc. Then again, maybe you're just a weakling;).
--Josh
 
Yvsa,
That "Cheetlang" by GH is a nice khuk. Got one before I knew about HI. Of course it is not the same as a Chitlangi by HI. Not even close.
 
Just thinking that with the "interest" about the NKH or GH khukuris would anyone be interested in a passaround of a GH Khuk? I have a couple that I could passaround so you could compare and know that HI is the real deal. Anyone interested please email me.
I have a 20" AK, two 18" AKs and a 16" AK. One of the 18s and the 16" are the chiruwa style.
 
Are the Gurkee House khuks similar in quality to the village models Pala sometimes picks up when he goes into town?
 
Bruise,
Perhaps they are better than the villagers from outside sources. But I guess Mr. Gottlieb had no qualms selling khuks that Pala had rejected. So maybe the jurys out on this one. I guess the nicest thing about them is that they showed me that a khuk can be a good knife and got me started "collecting". Sure alot better than the Atlanta Cutlery khuk that I got a long time ago.

Tactical Knives magazine published a review on Gurkha House khuks by Dr. Ron Hood. The article was well written and very favorable toward the khuks. I pretty much duplicated the results he found. That is the blades are not as hard as HI blades. The sheaths are a bit flimsy too. The karda and chakma on the GHs are kinda cheap.

If anyone is interested in checking out a GH khuk(one of the AKs listed above), let me know.
 
I have purchased several Kukri's from "Nepalese Khukuri House" and have always dealt with Mr. Tilak Sunar.

Tilak is a forthright man and a first class businessman.He has never once misrepresented himself or his products to me.


I have never encountered anyone by the name of Craig Gottlieb in any of my transactions with N.K.H.

I have received approximately 15 Kuks from NKH and have never received anything but merchandise of the highest quality.




I reviewed the products I purchased in their customer review section.

If they (NKH) were ebayer's, I would rate them (A+),the same rating I would give HI(A+). :)
This is their site:
NKH
 
Nepalese Khukuri House is not the same company as Ghurka House.


Bill - can you chime in on this please...
 
Originally posted by pendentive
Nepalese Khukuri House is not the same company as Ghurka House.


Bill - can you chime in on this please...
Click to expand...

I'm not Bill, but I can answer.:D Ghurka House, Mr.Gottlieb's business bought his kukri's from Khukuri House.
Khukuri House was the original Shop -1 and when Pala started consistently having to reject one out of every 5 or 6 kuks is when he got disgusted and started Shop -2. The rest is history, of course the first was too. I've been around here a long time.:p ;) :D
 
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