I had several atlanta cutlery $29 kukri's , they are OK . If you don't mind the following :
1) completely worthless chakma and karda made of cheap sheet metal, I threw them away. Hi's chakma are usefull as a burnisher immeadiately , the karda is forged but get in usefull condition will require some work to get it actual useful condition.
2) Rougher finish on the blade, On both atlanta cutlery models that i had I spent hours getting the hammer marks( highs and lows) out of the bevel, so that I could sharpen them. Forging ( hammer work) is excellent with the hi blades I have. though some have been tough to sharpen ( mostly due to me learn to do a convex edge correctly) all the Hi I have were easier to get an edge on that the atlanta cutlery Khuk.
3) Much thinner sheath leather, both wore out in a few years and I replace it
with duck tape over the wood cores. Hi has a sheath has leather that is a least 5 times thicker. It's darn tough as well. No complaint. Also the fit in the sheath is better on a HI, On both of my Atlanta cutlery khuks they fell out of the sheath often by mistake.
4) my first Atlanta cultery was stolen from my truck, I had it a couple of years the second one lasted about 8 years of intermidiate use. The blade snapped from a fatigue failure . I have only had my Hi for about year and a half, but it is guarenteed for life. So I don't worry
5) Edge rentention, The edge retension is like night and day between the two. If you use the convex sharpening technique, you can get and keep a
razor edge on the hI, the altanta cutlery Khukri, did not hold an edge as well
, but it still cut OK, due to the blade design of a khuk.
6) Fit and finish, the hi is so well finished( yeah... beautiful) that I had to buy an unfinished villiger so I could use it as a beater. I felt guilty using my finished one, it's a work of art. I have bought 4 Hi Khuks in the last year, two were gifts, a villager for doing yard work and one extremely nice 21 chitlangi , well just becauce with a razor edge on it, it is a thing of beauty ( and I don't usually collect).
A khukri is one of the most useful tools I have owned, It a knife, a hatchet, short sword and a shovel all rolled into one, If you can't afford a HI or are unsure of what you want. The Atlanta cutlery will get rough work done( for a while) , it just won't last very long, hold an edge as well , look good or impress your friends. If you want a life long companion for just a few dollars more get a Hi Khuk. ......happy trails.....
