- Joined
- Sep 11, 2002
- Messages
- 3,548
Decided to give the tangs a test today on my 18" wood WWII, 21" horn Gelbu Special, and 12" AK Villager "Sarge special," all by Kumar.
(Forgive my terseness but I just typed a huge review and hit the ESC key and erased it all from the web form! Argh!!!)
First of all, None failed. They were tested against a 10" thick deadwood log and a 3" thick sapling that got in the way.
The 18" WWII is a 1/2 price special from last week. Great fit & finish; the edge feels convex and polished, but wasn't very sharp on the inside curve. The sweet spot and tip were sharp though. This khuk sank into the log readily and handled well. I gave full force swings, keeping my legs out of the way in case of disaster. No damage. The bolster chipped very slightly, first time I've seen this. The tang held. No wobble at all. I even gave hard swings to the tip and area right before the cho. Held up fine. The handle ain't for me though; a little too long and thin. I will sharpen this one and patina the blade, and try again. Might have to sand the handle, my grip wasn't great on it.
The 21" Gelbu Special is my current darling. Was a 1/3 off special (not a blem). Love it. Beautiful fit & finish that I raved about in an earlier post. Only thing was the handle shrunk from the buttcap. Gave her a week in hooflex, helped some. Whacked buttcap impatiently and fixed it, tiny crack in the gorgeous horn that I fixed with superglue. Fits my hand like a glove, like it wants to live there. Kumar really shined on this one. The edge feels convex and highly polished. This one ate wood like crazy. The tang held up to full force swings into the deadwood, a dozen or so. I liked to swing it so much that I turned on this nice 3" thick sapling that I was letting grow to fill in the treeline, because it was in an awkward spot.
One swing went halfway through. I chopped through in a dozen swings, with nearly half of them missing the mark. I then took out the stump with a few swings of it and the WWII, alternating to share the work.
The Gelbu still looks new after a quick washing and waxing.
The 12" AK handled nicely. A little tiny for serious chopping, but I gave it full force swings anyway. Held up like a champ. Very sharp and very comfortable. It'll get more work to do tomorrow.
I'm very impressed at how well the Gelbu chops and handles. I highly recommend it.
(Forgive my terseness but I just typed a huge review and hit the ESC key and erased it all from the web form! Argh!!!)
First of all, None failed. They were tested against a 10" thick deadwood log and a 3" thick sapling that got in the way.
The 18" WWII is a 1/2 price special from last week. Great fit & finish; the edge feels convex and polished, but wasn't very sharp on the inside curve. The sweet spot and tip were sharp though. This khuk sank into the log readily and handled well. I gave full force swings, keeping my legs out of the way in case of disaster. No damage. The bolster chipped very slightly, first time I've seen this. The tang held. No wobble at all. I even gave hard swings to the tip and area right before the cho. Held up fine. The handle ain't for me though; a little too long and thin. I will sharpen this one and patina the blade, and try again. Might have to sand the handle, my grip wasn't great on it.
The 21" Gelbu Special is my current darling. Was a 1/3 off special (not a blem). Love it. Beautiful fit & finish that I raved about in an earlier post. Only thing was the handle shrunk from the buttcap. Gave her a week in hooflex, helped some. Whacked buttcap impatiently and fixed it, tiny crack in the gorgeous horn that I fixed with superglue. Fits my hand like a glove, like it wants to live there. Kumar really shined on this one. The edge feels convex and highly polished. This one ate wood like crazy. The tang held up to full force swings into the deadwood, a dozen or so. I liked to swing it so much that I turned on this nice 3" thick sapling that I was letting grow to fill in the treeline, because it was in an awkward spot.
One swing went halfway through. I chopped through in a dozen swings, with nearly half of them missing the mark. I then took out the stump with a few swings of it and the WWII, alternating to share the work.
The Gelbu still looks new after a quick washing and waxing.
The 12" AK handled nicely. A little tiny for serious chopping, but I gave it full force swings anyway. Held up like a champ. Very sharp and very comfortable. It'll get more work to do tomorrow.
I'm very impressed at how well the Gelbu chops and handles. I highly recommend it.
