Review: HI 20" Village Khukri

[Smoke]

Not an 'official' Himalayan Imports khukri but a 20" version of the Village series. Pics available at HI website.

At 20" overall with a 14" blade this piece weighs about 2 pds with a 1/4" thick blade. The small chakma and karda fit along a handmade leather sheat. The karda (?) was quite sharp, a surprise for me though it did not fit too well in the sheath.

The khukri itself has wood handle with minimal carving and an oval pommel. I don't camp so my tests was limited. The khukri easily chopped into a dowel yet was able to slice through a page of newspaper lengthwise and just as easily into four pages.

It's been said you cannot stab or poke with a khukri, very wrong. All it takes is control and perhaps someone to teach you.
This piece has only two real flaws. The carved grip can be rough on the hands and the pointed end of the pommel can poke your wrist. Overall, cutting and chopping are smooth and it can slice.

 

[Will Kwan]

Did you stab into a phone book? Was the grip secure enough for heavy stabs on the village model?

I had a Himalayan Imports WWII model that had a butt cap that poked into my hand. I removed the point with a file.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will Kwan (edited 01-18-2000).]

 

[Smoke]

Will, I've got horn pricks too and the grip has to be a bit high to compensate. I haven't chopped into anything yet but will tomorrow. Thanks for the phone book idea, I'll try something like that.

 

[sing]

Smoke,

Only "1/4" thick... How deep is the blade? Sounds like Sirupati. Is faster blade than the more stout cousins, but you may want hold off from really hard chopping/torquing. Somebody with a Village Sirupati posted that he may have destroyed his blade for chopping Oak and torguing it to unbind.

A good compromise for a utility/weapon khukuri is one of the WWII models.

sing

AKTI #A000356

 

[E]

At two pounds, it sounds like one of those 20 inch Village Utility models that Uncle Bill offered a while back. I've got two 20 inch Village Sirupati models of different design, and they're both 20 ounces. They both handle well, though I prefer the older, wood handle model, meant as a utility model, not a fighter.

Eric Takabayashi
Fukuyama, Japan

 

[Smoke]

Thanks gents, yeah it is a 20" Villager Sirupati. I had to look back and check. The AK must weigh a ton. I originally wanted a 12" AK or Sirupati but the finances didn't allow me to.

 

Smoke,
I'm the one that Sing mentioned that killed a 20" Villager Sirupati. I was chooping REALLY HARD OAK with it. It was not designed for the level of abuse that I was putting it through. For light medium and heavy work it is great! The feel of this knife is indescribable! However the extreme conditions that I put it in were a little too much for it. I should have known better, BUT, it just felt soooo good. I'm sure that you'll be happy with this knife, I'll be getting another soon. For small brush and vines, these are amazing! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a stab/swing from this one! I used mine to split up frozen chicken among other kitchen chores. Not really meant for this, but it just feels sooo good! (I need to justify the purchases to the wife, so I use my Khuks for all kind of ridiculous things...) Enjoy!

Rob

 

[Will Kwan]

Smoke,

There was a thread on removing the ring on a horn handle khukuri a while back. I can't recall the details but you might be able to find it with the search function. I recall that it was a success operation. This might solve your horn prick problems.

By the way hand on to the knife tight when attacking phone books. A few months ago I stabbed my village khukuri into a 2x4 as hard as I good. The handle on my village khukuri is just large enough. As it was entering the 2x4 all I could think about was please don't slip. Fortunately, my hand did not slip but it was close.

Will

 

[Smoke]

Will, I got a second opinion on the horn situation. I threw my arm alignment out by emphasizing the wrist and that led to the horn hit.