San mai III gurkha kukri VS SK-5 Gurkha kukri

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backpacking4life

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Sep 17, 2011
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Hello everyone

Since I am new here, I dont know which subjet already have been spoken here.

I am thinking in buying a gurkha kurki from CS, I dont know which version to buy. I will use it mostly as mechete, wood cuting and in backpacking expedition. From what I see and read San Mai III is corrosion res and SK-5 rust easier. What about chopping performance and chopping power of both version ?

I would like your opinion

Thanks a lot
 
Get the SK5. It half the cost or less and while it isn't te best steel out there it holds a good enough edge. I don't think a stainless steel like vg10 is ideal for a chopper even when it's laminated. Don't worry about rust just force a patina on it when you get it. You aren't going o be able to maintain a nice satin finish with lots of hard use. I have a Buffing wheel and my satin blades are still less brilliant than when I got them despite good care.
 
while I think the SanMai is awesome from Cold Steel, I would go SK5 for this one..its a hard use knife, and more likely to take abuse..I would keep the cost down if I could. There are lots of AWESOME choppers out there...to many to imagine, so keep a look out, and many are cheap.
 
WOW guys, THANKS
I really appreciate your fast reply and your opinion (knowledge) , it help me.
I am really happy to be here.
If anyone as futher thing to say, I will be happy.
 
The cold steel kukri is the most powerful production chopper out there for the dollar. I had one for a while and really liked it. Its amazingly light for how big it is and is pretty fast in hand. The only thing that I don't like is that after using INFI and SR101 steels which hold edges like no other, I find SK5 to be a little weak in the edge holding department.

If you are doing heavy wood chopping, the Kukri is a great choice. Keep in mind though that you can't really use a Kukri as a knife. I carry large choppers like the Swamp Rat Rat Daddy and similar blades and they make awesome KNIVES, not just choppers.

Just to make you Drool

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backpacking4life said:
Hello everyone

Since I am new here, I dont know which subjet already have been spoken here.

I am thinking in buying a gurkha kurki from CS, I dont know which version to buy. I will use it mostly as mechete, wood cuting and in backpacking expedition. From what I see and read San Mai III is corrosion res and SK-5 rust easier. What about chopping performance and chopping power of both version ?

I would like your opinion

Thanks a lot
Click to expand...

Since I'm not into choppers, the best I can do is state that from the posts I've read from those who have the San Mai blades, it seemed as tough to them as a carbon steel.

So your assessment is about right:
San Mai rusts less and costs more.
 
You are making a good choice with the CS Gurkha kukri. In either steel, it is the best "modern production" kukri made. It also comes with the best all around kukri sheath on the market. The sheath is light, strong, secure and has endless ways to attach it to gear.

Keep in mind when you talk about rust that both steels will rust, the San Mai III is just a bit more rust resistant. Both require care [as do the traditional Nepalese kukri] but the care is not difficult. Caring for a kukri is just like caring for your favorite hunting rifle, if you take it out and don't oil it you will get some surface rust. All you need to do with either is be sure to carry a gun rag or a small can of something like Rem Oil and coat the blade after use or before storing.

Like others have said, I would go with the SK-5, simply because I don't have the extra money to throw at the San Mai III. But, aside from the usual Cold Steel haters, I rarely hear of anyone not happy with their San Mai version. My personal thought about it is that "many" of the people that get the more expensive version don't use it as much as the people that get the SK-5. I have the SK-5 and use it and use it and use it, and have never been let down.
 
If you take a look at the CS video, you'll see some neat tricks with the San Mai Kukri. They are the elite 'modern' kukri blades that have been mentioned here previously, but suffer from what most believe to be an inflated price. What they do bring to the table is an elevated ability to resist the elements. If you loathe rust like I do, it is a comforting feeling to know that the San Mai products will do their job in humid conditions without needing WD 40, mineral oil or any other oxidization inhibitor. I don't think there is a stronger, modern, factory production kukri out there that will best the gurkha blade in San Mai.

That being said, the cheaper offerings from CS are more than able to handle most jobs without getting into your 401k. If you really are down on your luck, the tramontina machete is the ticket!
 
The CS SK5 is definitely plenty good. The main advantage besides rust resistance is that the San Mai version has is that it's more resistant to flex, and is a bit tougher. Basically, the outer steel is a stainless, I think 420J2, but don't quote me on that, and the center is a high carbon steel. They're tempered differently, so the edge retains the cutting ability and edge retention, while the outer metal is softer. General rule is that you want the edge to be nice and hard for edge retention, but the harder the metal, the more brittle it is. So, they sandwich it in softer metal, which is more flexible, to preserve toughness AND edge retention.

I'm not sure that you'd need that, but honestly, if you're going to be spending the money on a San Mai, I'd forgo Cold Steel entirely and get a Himalayan Imports khuk. Heck, you can pick up deal of the day khuks or blems for not much more than the price of the SK5 version, and honestly, once I went HI, I never went back. The CS kraton is grippy and that's usually nice in a knife, especially because it doesn't have the traditional design, but it tears the heck out of my citified hands if I try to do some heavy chopping without wearing gloves. Even the smoother Ka-bar kukri machete has had complaints about that issue. The HI handles are wood, and the bottom is flared out in the traditional way, so it can't fly out of your hand, and if you're using it correctly with the loose grip, it's just a lot more comfortable to chop with.

It's also worth making sure you know how to swing it--it's a momentum tool, so you want to grip loosely, mainly using the thumb and forefinger, and then letting the blade swing down into the wood/target, whatever you're chopping. Definitely consider reading the safety thread in the HI subforums, as a khukuri handles differently than most blades, and can easily take a limb off if you mess up and hit yourself.

As for not being able to use it as a knife, I don't know about that. It's the all-around tool for the Nepalese. They can do anything and everything with it. If you get an HI one, you also get a small knife and sharpener, called a karda and a chakma, so you can do precision small cutting tasks, and smooth out rolled edges in the field.
 
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