Suggestions/advice on this design?

K

killa_concept

Joined
May 19, 2009
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So this is pretty much following up on my previous thread where I was asking some questions that related to this idea of mine. I was wondering whether to post this up or not, but I figured I could use the advice and opinions from you guys should I ever decide to get this special ordered. It's also a constant work in progress for me as I don't see myself having the funds to get a custom-made kukri any time soon. Hopefully by the time that I do, I'll have the design hammered out to what I want it to be...

The idea here is pretty much to make a heavy duty chopper that will still work well for slicing thinner, springer vegetation. I added a scale and I drew it with the idea of it being 18" OAL (but undecided about spine thickness). Here's my thinking: A wide belly (about 3.5" wide at it's widest) is being combined with fairly forward curvature and a rather wide bevel (about 1"). The tip - if you can call it that - is very "stubbed" in order to put more weight ahead of the sweet spot while conserving overall length - this is to (hopefully) create an added sheering effect on impact as this weight will continue wanting to move forward. The fuller is also placed in such a spot as to add to this effect... I know that the rather blunt tip is offputting for most people, but I figure that the kukri is a forward curved blade for a reason, and that is to chop. I've never found myself needing to stab with any of my kukris, so I figure that the trade-off is a good one.

The design:
P1040470.jpg


What I'm thinking the blunter tip will aid with:
P1040470-1.jpg


.
.
.
Thoughts? Constructive criticism? :)
 
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Killa,

At first glance it appears to be a beefed up Ganga Ram. But the Ganga Ram has a much flatter belly and an elongated sweet spot to handle larger material. On your design, your sweet spot is about two inches (from your scale) and then would fall away sharply on both sides. It will be interesting to see how that will work on larger limbs.

All kinds of possible outcomes!?! The larger bevel should bite very deeply into the top of a round log. As the blade begins to sink in past the bevel, it "should" begin to blow apart the material just in time for the rest of the blade to begin to bite into the log. This is where you will see if it is too much of a curve on the belly or if it is genius!

If it is too much curve and the bevel does not blow apart enough material, it may stall in the log. Game over.

If it is just right and the blade doesn't stall, you may gain the from the fact that, because of the curve in the belly it will now be striking "and" slashing at the same time as it begins to bite. It all depends on "if" the extra weight will carry the momentium and "if" the bevel can remove enough material to allow the blade to keep biting as it sinks deeper and deeper into the log. It will be a very interesting experiment.

Bill
Virginia
 
killa, here are my thought on the springy vegetation/ heavy chopper trade off. Springy vegetation needs needs a very acute edge angle & velocity(wrist whip) spine thickness is going to depend on the edge grind.
edge angle; I'd widen the edge bevel on your design to bring it to a 1/3rd or 1/2 the blade width
spine thickness; I'd shoot for around 3/8" any thinner it you might compromise shopping durability any thicker and you will add too much weight to consistently move it fast enough for light vegetation.
handle; I might straighten out the curve and add a little more length to allow for a grip closer to the pommel to get a good wright flick on vegetation and still choke up or 2 hand it for chopping.
tip;my understanding on why khukuri's aren't blunt nosed is that it allows for better travel through material and more weight forward of the sweet spot.
Having said all of that I think when Yangdu and the Kami's reintroduce the "old style" Bonecutter that will probably fit your needs nicely and will likely be on my must have list. For now I'm looking for a 25" Siru or Tarwar to do my light brush.
 
Allow me to chip in.

This reminds me of Ghopte, only with additional filler and wider belly.

chris%27s%20ghopte.jpg


But i like your idea a lot. Especially with the enlarged belly width at 3.5". More like Ganga with a whale head (no pun intended). The curved tip is fantastic.

How about handle with larger pommel with ergonomical grips. Spine thickness at 0.8-1.0mm is ideal.

Have you thought of a tear-drop filler?

The Bonecutter/ Ganga/ Ghopte feel would largely accentuated by 18" OAL or above.

You have a clean and good hand sketch. Have you thought of weight range? 20-25 Oz?
 
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I think at 18" AOL will be heavier at about 30oz.
It looks to me like it will perform like an hatchet or a small axe. Not too sure about very small vegetation, but it should be a damn good heavy chopper.
 
shortwinger said:
Killa,

At first glance it appears to be a beefed up Ganga Ram. But the Ganga Ram has a much flatter belly and an elongated sweet spot to handle larger material. On your design, your sweet spot is about two inches (from your scale) and then would fall away sharply on both sides. It will be interesting to see how that will work on larger limbs.

All kinds of possible outcomes!?! The larger bevel should bite very deeply into the top of a round log. As the blade begins to sink in past the bevel, it "should" begin to blow apart the material just in time for the rest of the blade to begin to bite into the log. This is where you will see if it is too much of a curve on the belly or if it is genius!

If it is too much curve and the bevel does not blow apart enough material, it may stall in the log. Game over.

If it is just right and the blade doesn't stall, you may gain the from the fact that, because of the curve in the belly it will now be striking "and" slashing at the same time as it begins to bite. It all depends on "if" the extra weight will carry the momentium and "if" the bevel can remove enough material to allow the blade to keep biting as it sinks deeper and deeper into the log. It will be a very interesting experiment.

Bill
Virginia
Click to expand...

Yeah - I might end up straightening out the handle just a tad as the curvature might still be overkill. The green area doesn't necessarily have to be the sweet spot - more a rough idea as to where it might be. The Kamis would know better than I as to where to put that! My inspiration for the tip did in fact come partially from the Ganga Ram. That all said, you are much better at articulating what I was trying to get at with the design so many thanks!

oldschool45 said:
killa, here are my thought on the springy vegetation/ heavy chopper trade off. Springy vegetation needs needs a very acute edge angle & velocity(wrist whip) spine thickness is going to depend on the edge grind.
edge angle; I'd widen the edge bevel on your design to bring it to a 1/3rd or 1/2 the blade width
spine thickness; I'd shoot for around 3/8" any thinner it you might compromise shopping durability any thicker and you will add too much weight to consistently move it fast enough for light vegetation.
handle; I might straighten out the curve and add a little more length to allow for a grip closer to the pommel to get a good wright flick on vegetation and still choke up or 2 hand it for chopping.
tip;my understanding on why khukuri's aren't blunt nosed is that it allows for better travel through material and more weight forward of the sweet spot.
Having said all of that I think when Yangdu and the Kami's reintroduce the "old style" Bonecutter that will probably fit your needs nicely and will likely be on my must have list. For now I'm looking for a 25" Siru or Tarwar to do my light brush.
Click to expand...

Quite helpful mate! And yes, looking at the old style Bonecutters, I might be better off going with that as it would be tried and true whereas mine is purely hypothetical. It's probably the closest thing to what I am looking for in a kukri as well.

JayGoliath said:
Allow me to chip in.

This reminds me of Ghopte, only with additional filler and wider belly.

[xIMG]http://www.himalayan-imports.com/chris%27s%20ghopte.jpg[/IMG]

But i like your idea a lot. Especially with the enlarged belly width at 3.5". More like Ganga with a whale head (no pun intended). The curved tip is fantastic.

How about handle with larger pommel with ergonomical grips. Spine thickness at 0.8-1.0mm is ideal.

Have you thought of a tear-drop filler?

The Bonecutter/ Ganga/ Ghopte feel would largely accentuated by 18" OAL or above.

You have a clean and good hand sketch. Have you thought of weight range? 20-25 Oz?
Click to expand...

Funny you mention a whale head! While I was sketching it up, I was thinking exactly that as far as the shape was concerned! Also, I assume you meant cm? That equates to about ~3/8" and might be the best choice

DanSmithy said:
I think at 18" AOL will be heavier at about 30oz.
It looks to me like it will perform like an hatchet or a small axe. Not too sure about very small vegetation, but it should be a damn good heavy chopper.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I'd say 30oz would end up being minimum and that's if it were 3/8" thickness.
 
killa, even if you go with a stock design order it up just the way you want it. Its not that much more $$$ or time. And I'm sure the Kami's get a good laugh out of our twisted ideas of perfection:p
 
I assume you meant cm? That equates to about ~3/8" and might be the best choice
Click to expand...

My bad. I actually meant 0.8-1.0CM.
At that thickness, it works very well for slashing/chopping.

The whale head idea was something i saw from Lofty Wiseman's Parang video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMLI6BhFV2c

My shoulder and wrist are aching from the ASTK workout yesterday.

It's been fun :)
 
Jay, my "tennis elbow" is really hating my M43 & 20"AK. I may have to have the doctor give it a cortisone shot to help it along.
 
Same way you play golf with a tennis elbow and a khukuri; chop down all the annoying trees and make it into a proper rifle range out of it:D
 
Same way you play golf with a tennis elbow and a khukuri; chop down all the annoying trees and make it into a proper rifle range out of it
Click to expand...

Swinging a tennis racquet, baseball bat, golf club but khuk all has a locked elbow in action.

Old School,
you could try doing some elbow strengthening exercise.
I just happened to be a person who dislike pain-killer shots. No pun intended.:)
How heavy are those M-43 and 20" AK?

Let's build a Popeye-sized forearms so the wrists are plenty strong.

My tendinitis on both knees from years of playing basketball on asphalt has improved once i strengthened the hamstrings, achilles tendon and calves.
I used to think it's a fantastic weather forecast because of the aching.

Got a tip though. Put your thumb on top of the spine to engage more wrist movement. This puts your elbow to less stress.
Now am i even correct by doing this?
 
Jay, the M43 is 34ounces and the 20" AK is 38ounces. Most of what I am hitting is already on the ground so that is part of the problem. The elbow is getting better I'm just slowing its recovery by not letting it rest.
I don't think i"m using much elbow chopping but it still lies between the wrist & shoulder so its taking some of the impact. I may try the thumb on the spine to "get more wrist flick" Thanks,
Ray
 
Just be careful.
Chopping with your thumb on the spine can make the khukuri prone to jarring out of your grip on impact, not to mention wrecking the tendons in your thumb.
 
Karda, that was my thought but since I have been getting good results choking up I figured I'd try it.
Gloves are another odd case. The more I use the Khukuri's the less I like wearing gloves they are less comfortable, less grip and less control where as with my machete's and axe's the gloves are more comfortable.
 
Old School,

Chopping with your thumb on the spine can make the khukuri prone to jarring out of your grip on impact, not to mention wrecking the tendons in your thumb.
Click to expand...

Karda got a point.
I have a paracord tied around my wrist with the lanyard from ASTK.
It has a locking feel despite the sheer weight from the thick spine.

IMG_4812.jpg

IMG_4814.jpg


My bad, man.

Do you have an elbow sleeve? I like to chop with a glove on. It protects my sweaty palm and thumb from getting big blisters.

Back to Killa, is there any more rendering? I kept thinking a big family of Ganga, BoneCutter, Ghopte and yours.
 
JayGoliath said:
Killa,

I really like your idea.

Have you contacted Auntie for a mock-up?:)
Click to expand...

'Fraid not. I'd like to have the design as down pat as possible before considering having one made up... and even then, I'd probably have to get the funds together. Not exactly made of money being a working, college kid :(

On the bright side, it gives me a good bit of time to revise it until I'm confident that it will do what I intend of it :thumbup:
 
I'd like to have the design as down pat as possible before considering having one made up
Click to expand...

Don't mind sharing with you.
I'm mind-mappin some and put them into some renderings in Solidworks. It's meant to used in harsh environment;
Trench-mode? D-ring? double-edged?
Nothing comes in fruitful yet.

I think i've got a LONG WAY of testing and more feedbacks from all the forumites here on geometries, ergos and functions.

We can start small....:thumbup:
Keep up the good work!

You can bet i will want to get a copy of your blade....if you can convince Auntie to make one.
 
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