16 WWII. I know that this is Uncle Bill's favorite, and my comment is pertinent to the specific blade rather than to the design. Having said that, the khuk in question was a disappointment: the very first hit on the dry log left about five millimiters long bend few inches away from the tip, around the belly, but more towards the "functional" side.
The point of contact might've been too far from the sweet spot, but it probably still should've been hard enough to sustain a strike on wood, albeit dry wood. If anyone thinks that I'm wrong here, please feel free to correct: I wouldn't have a problem accepting opinion that I misused the khuk.
I tried to fix the bend in the field, but made it worse by folding it tighter. May be that blade just didn't like me
21" GS. Very fine blade. Feels very lively in hand, and is a great performer with excelent balance. Very versatile: works equally well on thin, flexible branches, and dry logs; went through wood cutting tests without any problems. It seems to have a character of its own, I really don't know how to word this better.
18" AK. This one deserves a special mention. It went as a gift to my friend, and giving to a good friend always involves demand for extra confidence; even more so if the receiver lives in a forgotten hole in Northwest Territories, goes hunting and fishing more often than we city dwellers go clubbing, and will most certainly take advantage of all capabilities that the khuk has to offer.
So I went out of my way to make sure that the AK was indeed a fine piece of steel. To make long story short: it performed much better than it would be reasonable to expect, a very forgiving and functional tool/weapon. Digging holes, cutting branches and firewood - none of those tasks would leave any damage on the blade. I cut down a 2 inch dry birch tree with a single blow; the tree was very dry and therefore hard, while the blade was sharp - not quite razor sharp but close enough - so I expected to see micro damage on the edge; but there was none. Overall I spent about 15 minutes hacking away, and not every blow was perfect in terms of the alignment - the blade would still show no problem areas. Very impressive, to say the least.
Still haven't had an opportunity to test the "Monster Khuk". Don't even know if I should - tested or not, that piece is an honor to any collection
The point of contact might've been too far from the sweet spot, but it probably still should've been hard enough to sustain a strike on wood, albeit dry wood. If anyone thinks that I'm wrong here, please feel free to correct: I wouldn't have a problem accepting opinion that I misused the khuk.
I tried to fix the bend in the field, but made it worse by folding it tighter. May be that blade just didn't like me
21" GS. Very fine blade. Feels very lively in hand, and is a great performer with excelent balance. Very versatile: works equally well on thin, flexible branches, and dry logs; went through wood cutting tests without any problems. It seems to have a character of its own, I really don't know how to word this better.
18" AK. This one deserves a special mention. It went as a gift to my friend, and giving to a good friend always involves demand for extra confidence; even more so if the receiver lives in a forgotten hole in Northwest Territories, goes hunting and fishing more often than we city dwellers go clubbing, and will most certainly take advantage of all capabilities that the khuk has to offer.
So I went out of my way to make sure that the AK was indeed a fine piece of steel. To make long story short: it performed much better than it would be reasonable to expect, a very forgiving and functional tool/weapon. Digging holes, cutting branches and firewood - none of those tasks would leave any damage on the blade. I cut down a 2 inch dry birch tree with a single blow; the tree was very dry and therefore hard, while the blade was sharp - not quite razor sharp but close enough - so I expected to see micro damage on the edge; but there was none. Overall I spent about 15 minutes hacking away, and not every blow was perfect in terms of the alignment - the blade would still show no problem areas. Very impressive, to say the least.
Still haven't had an opportunity to test the "Monster Khuk". Don't even know if I should - tested or not, that piece is an honor to any collection
