The Bamboo Cutter!

Andrew Colglazier

Andrew Colglazier

Joined
Sep 14, 2006
Messages
4,409
Took this big fella out yesterday and did some cutting with it. Now, in my mind, when I heard "Bamboo Cutter", I thought "lightweight vegetation cutter".

That would be incorrect.

This is a very nice chopper.

I decided to compare it a bit to one of my other favorite big knives, an 18" (oal) HI Pen knife. Now, the BC is a longer knife than the Pen, but there are few perfect comparisons in the world, what can I say? :shrug:

Anyway, I needed to cut down two trees on our property which were improperly placed. One was a hackberry, the other was a live oak. Both were about 5" in diameter. A few pics.

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Here you can see that the two types of blades have different tapers. The khuk has a distal taper to the tip; the BC is of pretty much equal thickness from handle to tip.
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This big knife chops very well. I has a large sweet spot, nearly the entire blade can be used to cut effectively. I have to say that it was easier to use than my Pen. The handle was also surprisingly comfortable, and long enough for two hands. I took an in-hand pic, but my internet connection needs about a half an hour to upload one pic. :teeth: I'm lucky I got these.
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Photobucket is not cooperating. I'll post more later. But, I have to say that I really like this big blade. It chops very well, hits hard; the handle is comfortable, the scabbard is well done. It's a winner.

Andy
 
I think that HI should put that handle on an Uddha, and then cover the sheath in an umbrella.

Beautiful blade though. I like the look of it more than I did from the original pictures.
 
Thanks for the field report, Andy.

If I remember rightly, Bura made that blade and I have heard his hardening, while good, may not be large enough to suit some. The larger hardened area would be right for trying to swath bamboo though. Sounds like a blade to keep an eye out for in the future. I'm still getting my feet wet with khukuris, but love to hear about all the HI offerings.

(I can see Sheltie in the pic. Cute pup.)

Rick
 
Nice job Andy, glad to hear about the handle, I was curious from the pics. That is a real nice chopper. Those are what you call Texas Bamboo;)

Mark
 
stickfred said:
Thanks for the field report, Andy.

If I remember rightly, Bura made that blade and I have heard his hardening, while good, may not be large enough to suit some. The larger hardened area would be right for trying to swath bamboo though. Sounds like a blade to keep an eye out for in the future. I'm still getting my feet wet with khukuris, but love to hear about all the HI offerings.

(I can see Sheltie in the pic. Cute pup.)

Rick
Click to expand...

Rick, you are correct, that is by Bura.

As far as the hardening zone; I haven't etched the blade to know for sure, but after cutting through 5" of oak, and using most of the blade to do it, from the tip to within a few inches of the handle, I can say that it held its edge just fine. No rolling or chipping, and when finished a couple passes on a ceramic rod returned it to paper slicing, hair shaving sharpness. :thumbup:

Good eye on the pup. She's actually a "Shorgi", or a "Shergi", or a "Corty"...... (Half Sheltie, half Corgi).

If she had thumbs, we'd all be in trouble. :p

Andy
 
greenwoods said:
Nice job Andy, glad to hear about the handle, I was curious from the pics. That is a real nice chopper. Those are what you call Texas Bamboo;)

Mark
Click to expand...

Yup, we've certainly got our share of it around here! The handle does have a very tiny crack in it and I'm keeping an eye on it. So far it isn't going anywhere, and I gave it some pretty hard licks yesterday. :thumbup:

Andy
 
Nice golok-y knife you have there, I really like the simple fittings and sheath.

How long would you estimate the tang fits into the horn? Is there a pin holding it, or was it heat-fitted into the horn?
 
CWL said:
Nice golok-y knife you have there, I really like the simple fittings and sheath.

How long would you estimate the tang fits into the horn? Is there a pin holding it, or was it heat-fitted into the horn?
Click to expand...

Finally got this pic to load. It shows a brass cap on the outside curve of the handle. I assume it covers up a washer that the end of the tang goes through. I would guess that the tang is about 5-6" long.
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Andy
 
I cried the last time I saw one of these on sale. Plus that giant Pen Knife is awesome, too. Excellent acquisitions there.
 
Great photo's that really do bring out the best of the design.

Seems to be a very usable and useful working blade.

If dogs had opposable thumbs, they would have no need of humans. Then we could only hope that they would treat us better than many of us have treated them!
 
This sounds like it might be a viable alternative for the invasive-plant-clearing workdays we have around here, where I've so far been using my M43. Maybe I should save up a little.....
 
That knife is awesome! It looks like a sheepsfoot blade made out of a truck leaf spring. Just when I thought my khukuri was the meanest chopper on the planet. I've gotta have one.
How long and thick is the blade?
 
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