- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,667
I have this trunk. It's actually an old Workman's Chest that is probably over 100 years old that my late grandfather refurbished 3 decades ago. He attached some castors and covered the lid in the most godawful gawdy padded "gold" vinyl to turn it into a bit of a seat. He also covered the old rustic wood sides with some sort of panelling that when you look at it you can almost smell the 1960's cigarette smoke whafting from a basement den. What can I say, what my grandpa lacked in style he made up for in resourcefulness
Who knows where he got that old vinyl and paneling from, but it is very much "him". We buried him in steel-tipped snakeskin boots for cryin' out loud It's one of my favorite bits of him. It's been a year on since he Walked West.
Anyway, this Trunk was given to me over 15 years ago when my wife and I bought our first house. It fits nicely under my workbench and has become a depository of all things sharp and pointy. Many times, I put things in there and forget about them for some time, usually when I am trying to clean up my bench but am too lazy to do it "right". My grandfather is shaking his head at me from the great beyond, I'm sure
So for some reason, I got this notion to go poking through the trunk this morning. It's actually a royal pain to get to right now. I have my jeep parked all the way up against it, and I can only roll it out about 8". The lid only opens a fraction and getting a look inside requires a flashlight. I just decided on a whim to dig around and pull out the first knife that I came across, basically unseen as my arm will barely fit in the small opening. It's kind of like a crazy trust exercise. Not everything in the trunk has a sheath. Some of it has not seen the light of day since Bush 43 was in his first term. Some of it may be...hungry
Carefully I let my fingers dance over what I could make out by touch: Cherokee Rose cross guard, the grip of one of my seaxs, the handle of the Gil Hibben throwing axe my wife bought for me for Christmas when we were 17. Something smooth and obviously horn was there. I wasn't sure what it was, so I gingerly drew it out. Pulling it into the fluorescent light, I immediately recognised it as one of my favorite, if a bit forgotten, khuks "released" in the last 6 or 7 years. The 15" M-43.
Most of you have seen the tradtional M-43 either on the site or during the DoTD. It's a very robustly hooked and more "weapon" than "tool" in profile if there is such a distinction that clocks in around 17 or 18". With it's stubby grip and arc shape, it cleaves forward like a raptor's claw when you get after it. I had one for years before I gave it to my brother. The smaller version is another thing all together. When you shrink down the M-43, it seems to lose its more weapony feel. It becomes more like a battle hardened soldier who returns home to take up a quiet life of working the land. It's like if you took an AK and thinned out the edge to something much finer, yet left a ton of mass at the spine. What you're left with is a very fearsome chopping knife that will handle most any chore you throw at it. It feels like it would be equally at home splitting kindling or splitting foes. About as nimble as a top-heavy boxer, what it lacks in dance it makes for in a very hard-hitting punch. It's really difficult to discribe.
My particular specimen was sent to me by Yangdu some years back. I have had nothing but positive experiences with it, but for some reason, it went into the trunk a few years back still covered in some firewood gunk. It's ok. It's a villager model anyway, and I obviously bought it to use it. I still felt like I needed to fish it out and give it a good cleaning. The scabbard for it was split when I received it. Not a big deal at all, but I always had to be careful drawing it out. What dawned on me today was that I have a "universal" sheath I made that will pretty much fit any 15" khukuri from an AK to a Siru when you use the adjustment snap. I made it YEARS ago, and it can be worn in a shoulder rig or worn Small of Back in a back draw set up. While the M-43 feels a bit too porky to hang out under my arm all day without making me walk funny, it carries beautifully SoB. It's just long enough to reach easily and compact enough that an extra large open flannel covers it completely.
This particular M-43 was made by Sher, Kumar's brother. Sher would generally put more of a convex edge on his blades over Kumar's finer edge, but honestly, if you handed me this knife and asked who made it, I would think it had been Kumar. Very fine and sharp edge. The only knock I have against it was a couple of years ago the kamis tried using an electric pencil to sign their work instead of hammering it in. It looks like...well, it looks like someone tried to sign a piece of steel with an electric pencil. No big deal at all. I rather like the rustic look of it, and once again, this knife was made to WORK.
So I think this 15" M-43 may be what I haul along as back up when I head up to Michigan next month. I don't think I'll need it, but I can't think of a better "just in case" khuk that can handle pretty much everything I throw at it.
I'm really glad I stumbled across this one. It's really an elegant brute.
Who knows where he got that old vinyl and paneling from, but it is very much "him". We buried him in steel-tipped snakeskin boots for cryin' out loud It's one of my favorite bits of him. It's been a year on since he Walked West.Anyway, this Trunk was given to me over 15 years ago when my wife and I bought our first house. It fits nicely under my workbench and has become a depository of all things sharp and pointy. Many times, I put things in there and forget about them for some time, usually when I am trying to clean up my bench but am too lazy to do it "right". My grandfather is shaking his head at me from the great beyond, I'm sure
So for some reason, I got this notion to go poking through the trunk this morning. It's actually a royal pain to get to right now. I have my jeep parked all the way up against it, and I can only roll it out about 8". The lid only opens a fraction and getting a look inside requires a flashlight. I just decided on a whim to dig around and pull out the first knife that I came across, basically unseen as my arm will barely fit in the small opening. It's kind of like a crazy trust exercise. Not everything in the trunk has a sheath. Some of it has not seen the light of day since Bush 43 was in his first term. Some of it may be...hungry
Carefully I let my fingers dance over what I could make out by touch: Cherokee Rose cross guard, the grip of one of my seaxs, the handle of the Gil Hibben throwing axe my wife bought for me for Christmas when we were 17. Something smooth and obviously horn was there. I wasn't sure what it was, so I gingerly drew it out. Pulling it into the fluorescent light, I immediately recognised it as one of my favorite, if a bit forgotten, khuks "released" in the last 6 or 7 years. The 15" M-43.
Most of you have seen the tradtional M-43 either on the site or during the DoTD. It's a very robustly hooked and more "weapon" than "tool" in profile if there is such a distinction that clocks in around 17 or 18". With it's stubby grip and arc shape, it cleaves forward like a raptor's claw when you get after it. I had one for years before I gave it to my brother. The smaller version is another thing all together. When you shrink down the M-43, it seems to lose its more weapony feel. It becomes more like a battle hardened soldier who returns home to take up a quiet life of working the land. It's like if you took an AK and thinned out the edge to something much finer, yet left a ton of mass at the spine. What you're left with is a very fearsome chopping knife that will handle most any chore you throw at it. It feels like it would be equally at home splitting kindling or splitting foes. About as nimble as a top-heavy boxer, what it lacks in dance it makes for in a very hard-hitting punch. It's really difficult to discribe.
My particular specimen was sent to me by Yangdu some years back. I have had nothing but positive experiences with it, but for some reason, it went into the trunk a few years back still covered in some firewood gunk. It's ok. It's a villager model anyway, and I obviously bought it to use it. I still felt like I needed to fish it out and give it a good cleaning. The scabbard for it was split when I received it. Not a big deal at all, but I always had to be careful drawing it out. What dawned on me today was that I have a "universal" sheath I made that will pretty much fit any 15" khukuri from an AK to a Siru when you use the adjustment snap. I made it YEARS ago, and it can be worn in a shoulder rig or worn Small of Back in a back draw set up. While the M-43 feels a bit too porky to hang out under my arm all day without making me walk funny, it carries beautifully SoB. It's just long enough to reach easily and compact enough that an extra large open flannel covers it completely.
This particular M-43 was made by Sher, Kumar's brother. Sher would generally put more of a convex edge on his blades over Kumar's finer edge, but honestly, if you handed me this knife and asked who made it, I would think it had been Kumar. Very fine and sharp edge. The only knock I have against it was a couple of years ago the kamis tried using an electric pencil to sign their work instead of hammering it in. It looks like...well, it looks like someone tried to sign a piece of steel with an electric pencil. No big deal at all. I rather like the rustic look of it, and once again, this knife was made to WORK.
So I think this 15" M-43 may be what I haul along as back up when I head up to Michigan next month. I don't think I'll need it, but I can't think of a better "just in case" khuk that can handle pretty much everything I throw at it.
I'm really glad I stumbled across this one. It's really an elegant brute.
