- Joined
- May 30, 2002
- Messages
- 374
I bought a 22 inch Kobra off the Easter Specials. Uncle Bill wanted a field report from it since it is made by the new exclamation mark kami.
I haven't owned all that many khukuris so I don't feel that I am the best for evaluating a kami's work. But I will just try to use my common sense. I have owned a 25 Kobra by Sher (has gone to a new owner) so I can compare with that one.
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Length: 22 inches
Weight: 26 ounces
Handle:
Pretty in it's shape and without any kind of irregularities.
Perfect.
Blade:
A little bit different than Sher's. This one seems to have a slightly more forward curved appearance, but that is just a subtle difference.
One major difference between Sher's and this one is that Sher's blade had a couple of irregularities in it, some dents. This one doesn't have that. When I hold two fingers on each side of the blade with a cotton cloth in between skin and metal, and let my fingers run along the entire length of the blade, I can't find any irregularities like I did in Sher's. Ok, maybe one subtle one, but that is nothing.
Hmmm... I am holding it up against Bura's 18" WW2 now. These are handmade blades so they will not be 100% perfect, but the new kami's Kobra blade is straighter and more symmetrical than Bura's shorter WW2.
I showed it to a friend and she noticed the same thing.
It is more difficult to make a longer blade straight right?
For me the new kami's blade seems very good. And I feel that is an understatement.
Balance:
Like a Kobra.
Testing:
Chopped some trees with it. It worked like a glory.
I was able to move my arm a bit quicker than when using the 18" WW2 that I was testing at the same time, and it actually got the trees down a little bit faster. Just 2 ounces lighter than the WW2.
But both the 18" WW2 and this 22" Kobra are still slow for me.
I tried to bang it hard against the trees when I was logging them, edge first and in a straight angle to not give any lateral forces on it. It didn't bend. That is a harder treatment than I gave to the 25" Kobra by Sher that I bent during Christmas. See this old thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=235923
Ok, the one that I bent had been in active work for 3 days and not just during some tests. Maybe the one by Sher wouldn't have bent either during just some initial testing.
Actually I suspect that the rate of failure on the Kobras, which is 2% according to Uncle Bill, in reality is higher because I think a lot of people just have them hanging on their walls and don't really use them for days of work.
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I don't have so much more to say except that the new kami has succeded in making a Kobra that has a perfect blade and handle, and I couldn't break it.
Didn't try any lateral bending test of course.
I haven't owned all that many khukuris so I don't feel that I am the best for evaluating a kami's work. But I will just try to use my common sense. I have owned a 25 Kobra by Sher (has gone to a new owner) so I can compare with that one.
----------
Length: 22 inches
Weight: 26 ounces
Handle:
Pretty in it's shape and without any kind of irregularities.
Perfect.
Blade:
A little bit different than Sher's. This one seems to have a slightly more forward curved appearance, but that is just a subtle difference.
One major difference between Sher's and this one is that Sher's blade had a couple of irregularities in it, some dents. This one doesn't have that. When I hold two fingers on each side of the blade with a cotton cloth in between skin and metal, and let my fingers run along the entire length of the blade, I can't find any irregularities like I did in Sher's. Ok, maybe one subtle one, but that is nothing.
Hmmm... I am holding it up against Bura's 18" WW2 now. These are handmade blades so they will not be 100% perfect, but the new kami's Kobra blade is straighter and more symmetrical than Bura's shorter WW2.
I showed it to a friend and she noticed the same thing.
It is more difficult to make a longer blade straight right?
For me the new kami's blade seems very good. And I feel that is an understatement.
Balance:
Like a Kobra.
Testing:
Chopped some trees with it. It worked like a glory.
I was able to move my arm a bit quicker than when using the 18" WW2 that I was testing at the same time, and it actually got the trees down a little bit faster. Just 2 ounces lighter than the WW2.
But both the 18" WW2 and this 22" Kobra are still slow for me.
I tried to bang it hard against the trees when I was logging them, edge first and in a straight angle to not give any lateral forces on it. It didn't bend. That is a harder treatment than I gave to the 25" Kobra by Sher that I bent during Christmas. See this old thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=235923
Ok, the one that I bent had been in active work for 3 days and not just during some tests. Maybe the one by Sher wouldn't have bent either during just some initial testing.
Actually I suspect that the rate of failure on the Kobras, which is 2% according to Uncle Bill, in reality is higher because I think a lot of people just have them hanging on their walls and don't really use them for days of work.
----------
I don't have so much more to say except that the new kami has succeded in making a Kobra that has a perfect blade and handle, and I couldn't break it.
Didn't try any lateral bending test of course.
