"Tactical" Guy Graduating to HI, Thoughts?

Dave Rishar

Dave Rishar

Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
3,178
Here's the story: my room mate mentioned that he's in the market for a new do-all knife for his web gear. (Why is it that every one of my friends has web gear? I need to get out more.) Evidently he's tired of bending, breaking, and otherwise damaging knives and wants something a bit sturdier.

I let him play around with an AK Bowie and 16.5" Chiruwa AK. He was duly impressed by both. He liked the size of the Bowie (and probably the layout) a bit better but really got a kick out of the Chiruwa's warranty, although he didn't seem to entirely believe it. I chopped up some firewood, tried to bend the blade by standing on it (I'm down to a mere 229 lbs. - praise be to the Warrior Diet), and broke a brick with the spine to demonstrate. He'll just have to take my word for it about chopping up steel trashcans. He's now a believer in both HI and khuks in general.

Any thoughts on a style or size? He seems pleased with the 16.5", in weight, size, and balance, but I'm thinking he may want to go a bit shorter as he's planning on attaching the thing to his chest and 16.5" is a bit long for that IMO. He's about 6', 180 lbs. or so, good physical condition and fairly strong. He should be able to handle anything up to a 20" AK or so with no problems. Uses will be for general field chores, camping, and hunting, including but not limited to processing the carcass. There will probably be some trees felled and/or limbed, now that he knows this is possible with a knife. The khuk will be used and abused. He's also tight on money (probably why he's willing to pony up for an HI now...cheap knives only make sense until they have to be used) so a lower cost is real benefit.

I'm guessing 12" AK, or maybe a WWII if a shorty came up as a special. The Chiruwa warranty is a plus but probably not necessary...he doesn't thrash his knives quite like I thrash mine - remember, he's a "tactical" guy. :)
 
I adore my 12in Villager AK, but for his purposes, and for his first khuk, I'd say a 15in would serve him better. The 12 in is a knife, the 15 is a chopper.

The PEN knife is a consideration, but not real "pointy," the 14in BDC might work, I've not used one, but love the craftsmanship of the 10in I do have.

so, er... dunno.
 
I too would get something at least 15" long. The 12" khuks are useful, but not choppers. The 15" Ang Khola will still make the chips fly and be easier to carry.
 
Satori said:
He liked the size of the Bowie (and probably the layout)......
He seems pleased with the 16.5", in weight, size, and balance, but I'm thinking he may want to go a bit shorter as he's planning on attaching the thing to his chest and 16.5" is a bit long for that IMO.
Click to expand...
What size blade does he use now?

Has he browsed the hi shopping site?

If he likes the 16.5" AK, then he'll adapt his mount to the size.

As previously noted under 15" you lose the chopper-ness.

An inch or two less than 16.5" won't matter a lot re carry.

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD
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I have had a lot of fun lately with a 15 inch Sirupati. Lots more chop than any of the 12 inch blades, but still light/small enough as gen-EDC. Also, they are on special.

Of course, the 15 inch Ang Khola is a great all around chopper, and at your friends height and weight, any of the 16 to 18 inch blades would do quite well.

However, after he gets his first HI Khuk, HIKV sets in, and then you won't really have to worry....except for the competition :D
 
The 14" BDC is an excellent suggestion. It's not a big khuk, but still one hell of a lot bigger than any "battle blade" he might be used to, and just as easy to carry. Yep, a 14" BDC with a wood handle would work nicely.

Just my .02¢ worth!

Regards,

Norm
 
I've never understood how a 15" Khuk can be called a 'chopper'. 15" is the bare minimum when real chopping commences, but it don't chop much.

I guess it chops more than most any other normal knife. But compared to other khuks?


munk
 
Considering his "tactical" nature...16.5 Chiruwa AK. Little guys from Nepal have been carrying these things for a long time. He'll adapt.

I have to admit though that my choice for a web gear blade would probably be the Pen as Kis said...it's an awesome real use blade and I wouldn't ever fell trees in tactical use. I like small fires that I can get close to. I have added oversized kardas to mine replacing the original K&C.
 
Like everyone else has said, anything under 15" is a little too lightweight for chopping, but for a web set up I think i'd go with the pen knife. It's light and in my experiences it has outchopped all of my other 12"ish blades. If he wants to strike a blance between chopperness and knifiness and he likes the chiruwa handle, why not get an AK bowie? Granted, he could find a WWII or AK cheaper generally, but sometimes Uncle Bill will put up a blem bowie for 95 bucks. I paid full price for mine and it's worth every penny and then some. Whatever he picks out will serve him well. We all know he'll be back for more;)

Jake
 
14" BDC - without a doubt, the BEST for light-duty carry. Has a comfy handle, chops like it's 15" brothers (because of the wider blade w/fullers) and is full-tang.

These are things "new guys" appreciate more than us died-in-the-wool guys. I'm perfectly content with carrying a YCS around. But I'm also nuts.....:p

If you want to go traditional, get a 15" BAS.

But you said he was more "tactical" (ie. less concerned about traditional things like handle rings, old patterns, etc.) so I'd go with the 14" BDC.

I've shown khukuris to many new guys and they all seem to gravitate to the same couple of knives.....and the 14" BDC is one of them. (the YCS is another)


Hmmm....if we could get the two to mix somehow......might just resurrect that ole 16"-17" BDC idea in a fancy way.....:eek:
 
I think Dan K is right on with the 14" BDC. ;) It is a great size/effect package. I find it is about the size of my Busse BM, But is a better chopper and is sooo darn sexy to boot with those fullers and that deep sweet spot.
Yep, 14" BDC. :cool: :D What is neat with the BDC is it has more of a western style handle, nicely mated with the khuk style blade. It is a great effort all around!.
Dan, you are normal. I usually choose my old Sanu YCS as my woods carry. It is still my go to blade in the woods! It is not really that big or heavy. Now my new YCS is a bit big and heavy for day to day carry. It is sweet though
 
BAS for decent chopping and reasonable price. If he has big hands, look for one with a longer handle. Sgt. Karka is making some decently long handles, but wait till I got one first. :)
 
After looking at this posting, I took out my 15" Sirupati, 15" BAS - wood handle, 16" Panawal (Chiruwa) GK AK, and 17" BGRS (wood handle).

The weights on these are about 1 lb., 20.5 oz, and 24 oz for the two larger knives.

The Sirupati looks puny next to the others, even thought the blade is almost as long as on the other knives. It is much lighter, and would be much easier to carry with other gear. The AK is much more knife than the two smaller blades, but is also heavier. It looks like it could cut anything and survive.

I haven't formally tested the two smallest blades on chopping, but I don't think that the BAS would do too badly compared to the AK that I have. Some of the increase in size in the AK comes from the larger handle and the weight does too. If you want to break bricks, then the AK with a full-slab handle is going to do anything that a Khukuri will do. If I were much bigger and taller, I might want to carry around a big, heavy knife.

For me, the next time I do some hiking in rough terrain, the BAS is as big as I would want to go.

Hey, I have too many knives and I am running out of space!
 
Ole Sarge loved his 12" sirupati for "ultralight" work.


It's really too light for good chopping, though.
 
on the light side
one of the new micro-baby-grs
15-16"
might be the trick

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
When you 'chop' with a 15" blade, it is like the gnawing of a rat on the inside door panel of the car parked out back. It can be done, it will be done, but takes time. I have a 15" or so BAS that weighs 24 oz and is just the bare beginning of 'chopping'. For some reason, though only marginally longer, the Chiruwa AK at 16.5 does 'chop', though in my opinion the 18 AK usually does a tad better. Some of this depends upon what you knife experts call edge geometry.

Swinging a blade harder in an attempt to make it outchop its design is dangerous and does not work. I say this in case any of you steel armed fellows believe munk's disadvantage is one of strength. As average as I am, I still over swing...and strip bolts and screws too, in compensation for my average build...sniff.

Anyway, if this Tactical guy, ( I hate the word tactical. Tactical is hitting what you are aiming at. Anything else is just a camoflaged toothbrush...)
wants to occasionally remove a loggie about 4" to 6" diameter the 15's will do this with some amount of work- Rat gnawing- but a full size khuk beats them hands down.

I know I live in an alternative universe from many here, and that's saying something given the clientle of this Cantina, but a 14 or 15" ANYTHING is not a Chopper.

It is a nipper.

A good rat bite, anyway.


munk
 
munk said:
When you 'chop' with a 15" blade, it is like the gnawing of a rat on the inside door panel of the car parked out back. It can be done, it will be done, but takes time.

I know I live in an alternative universe from many here, and that's saying something given the clientle of this Cantina, but a 14 or 15" ANYTHING is not a Chopper.

It is a nipper.

A good rat bite, anyway.


munk
Click to expand...
I agree Munk, I agree.




That's why I ordered an 18" AK before the 15" AK Bill sent arrived at our domain.
After seeing it I knew I had done the right thing and couldn't wait until my 18" AK arrived.
Since then I've found that there are other khuks I like better than the AKs for general work.
The Shop -1 AK went to Barb. She uses it occasionally but generally opts for one of the 16"-17" BG Village models we have.:D ;)
 
Thanks for the advice, folks.

I made the mistake of showing him the 25" Kobra. The crazy fool has his mind set on that one now. What is it with these Kobras? :rolleyes:
 
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