- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,676
I've inherited my father's back. There is no getting around it. We are a broad shouldered chicken-legged people who simply develop crippling knots in our lower backs. Be it from a lifetime of heavy lifting like my father or from sitting at a desk too much and walking on a hard concrete floor like myself, we have to go to great pains to not be troubled by great pains. Back stretching, sit ups to build up the core, they can only do so much.
One thing that exacerbates my back issue is all the junk I wear on my belt. It's too much, and I know it. However, it's a COMPULSION to not leave the house without everything. I have a key ring that is loaded with every key I have ever owned in my life. What keys do I need? the one to start my truck and the one to unlock my office building. What do I carry? my truck keys, my wife's car keys, a house key, a key to every door in the office building, a key to the office on the other side of town, etc...I might NEED them!
). I carry a full sized multi-tool (actually used every day), a small AA Mag Lite (eh, not used THAT often), a smartphone (Lord, I wish I didn't need that thing), a folding pocket knife, and usually either/and a subcompact 9mm Glock/a 13-15" HI khuk....Hey, don't look at me like that. I admitted I have a problem
Something has to give. After giving it extensive thought, I painfully admitted to myself that I really don't need to carry a khuk capable of limbing a medium size tree in my office environment. Most days, Glock is left in the gun safe of my truck unless I'm planning on going to the range or if I have to go to a less that desirable part of town. That said, I'm NOT going to work without an HI knife on my hip. Now, I have no less than 15 little HI knives weighing less than 8 oz that I could strap to my belt and be perfectly prepared. However, they aren't KHUKS. I know it's weird, but I'm a khukuri guy. HI is engrained into me, and I feel the need to carry a representative, a true blue totem if you will, of HI on my person. What I "needed" was a light EDC khuk that would be both shorter and less massive for my lower back. I even took a pencil to some paper and started drawing up some specs:
Shorter, 10-13" overall, light and less than 1oz per inch, khuk in shape but a bit straighter. It doens't need to chop, stubbier handle as there is no need to rock back and try to cut down a tree with it. Maybe give it a little flourish without getting too out there. Style while still being practical. It would be at home on a belt of lashed to the inside of a tall boot (hey, I've carried a 12" AK like this). What could I call it? A Beltkri?...ooo a Bootkri! That sounds kinda cool
Then I felt like a real dummy because I had just "designed" a knife that Bura had come up with several years ago
I was describing the BDC. I felt even sillier because these have been on my radar for years. It's not like I didn't know they existed. Eh, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
After placing an order with Yangdu, I was not surprised that not only was the knife delivered at warp speed, but that she had picked one out that met my specs perfectly. I had asked for a wooden gripped BDC coming in around 11-12" and weighing around 8 or 9 oz. She sent me an exquisite sample of Lachhu's work. This is actually my first knife by him, and it's incredible. This may be the sharpest fully polished khuk I have ever gotten from HI...more on that later
Here are some specs:
11" from tip to flair measuring at the longest point
right around 8oz (maybe a tad under)
7" on the nose from tip to start of the bolster.
Balance point in 1/4" in front of cho
Spine thickness right at 3/16"
Here's a few pics:
Here's a pic of the BDC beside my tried and true M43 I had laying around. I actually really like this comparison shot as both of them have shorter grips compared to the blade but obviously radically different designed purposes.
Here's a pic in hand. As you can see, it's a cramped grip for sure. I don't have massive mitts. However, the BCD is a bit of a mousegun khuk. It's what you carry when you can't carry a khuk
However, it's very very comfy in hand. There is plenty of purchase and the balance of the knife is incredible. I could just as easily snap cut through a 1" sappling as I could carefully peel an apple. It's a nimble utility tool without a doubt...but guys with bigger hands might want to step up to the 14" version lest they get bit.
Speaking of which, did I mention this knife is sharp, because it is...sharp. I'm used to various levels of sharpness when it comes to knives. I'm not a sharpening guru, but there isn't much in the way of an edge that I can't improve upon at least a tiny bit. I have also long expected that a mirror polished HI is going to come ever so less sharp than a villager counterpart simply because the buffing step tends to knock back that really fine wiry edge you get on a villager. For me, the edge geometry is what is important. I can get it screaming sharp if I don't have to totally reprofile it. This BDC has some sort of magical edge. It was toothy yet not overly grippy. The tip had taken just the slightest bump from the buffer and needed a slight touch up. I literally spent no more than 3 minutes with an Arkansas stone and stropped it on a loaded piece of leather for a few minutes and ended up with this:
Every one of these cuts was effortless. Totally zipped through the free-hanging paper with no more force than the push of my hand. The one the really impressed me is the nearly full length slice. That was down by running the blade straight down and not across or at an angle. I'm not done with the edge yet, but wow did Lachhu finish this one up nicely. I can see that he understood it was never going to be a chopper and NEEDED a good sharp edge. It needed to be a razor for any intended purpose.
I'm incredibly impressed with the level of fit and finish as well as out of the box performance. While the BDC is not going to replace my camping or hiking blades, it IS going to see a lot of belt time. A knife this handy, this light, and this SHARP is going to make it into my EDC immediately. It just has such a classy look and feel to it. Not really romantic, but it has a little bit of flash to it. I can't help but hum that old Bobby Darin song "Mack the Knife" to myself when I hold it. Granted, I know that song was based on a German ballad about an incredibly terrible person, but this knife just gives me that dark alley vibe the same way that my Kerambit does. Very much like shark teeth kept out of sight until needed.
As always, I have to thank Yangdu for finding me exactly what I was looking for and another tip of my hat to Lachhu for crafting an incredible blade. The BDC is the perfect EDC of khuk knuts with HIKV and OCD like me
One thing that exacerbates my back issue is all the junk I wear on my belt. It's too much, and I know it. However, it's a COMPULSION to not leave the house without everything. I have a key ring that is loaded with every key I have ever owned in my life. What keys do I need? the one to start my truck and the one to unlock my office building. What do I carry? my truck keys, my wife's car keys, a house key, a key to every door in the office building, a key to the office on the other side of town, etc...I might NEED them!
). I carry a full sized multi-tool (actually used every day), a small AA Mag Lite (eh, not used THAT often), a smartphone (Lord, I wish I didn't need that thing), a folding pocket knife, and usually either/and a subcompact 9mm Glock/a 13-15" HI khuk....Hey, don't look at me like that. I admitted I have a problem Something has to give. After giving it extensive thought, I painfully admitted to myself that I really don't need to carry a khuk capable of limbing a medium size tree in my office environment. Most days, Glock is left in the gun safe of my truck unless I'm planning on going to the range or if I have to go to a less that desirable part of town. That said, I'm NOT going to work without an HI knife on my hip. Now, I have no less than 15 little HI knives weighing less than 8 oz that I could strap to my belt and be perfectly prepared. However, they aren't KHUKS. I know it's weird, but I'm a khukuri guy. HI is engrained into me, and I feel the need to carry a representative, a true blue totem if you will, of HI on my person. What I "needed" was a light EDC khuk that would be both shorter and less massive for my lower back. I even took a pencil to some paper and started drawing up some specs:
Shorter, 10-13" overall, light and less than 1oz per inch, khuk in shape but a bit straighter. It doens't need to chop, stubbier handle as there is no need to rock back and try to cut down a tree with it. Maybe give it a little flourish without getting too out there. Style while still being practical. It would be at home on a belt of lashed to the inside of a tall boot (hey, I've carried a 12" AK like this). What could I call it? A Beltkri?...ooo a Bootkri! That sounds kinda cool
Then I felt like a real dummy because I had just "designed" a knife that Bura had come up with several years ago
I was describing the BDC. I felt even sillier because these have been on my radar for years. It's not like I didn't know they existed. Eh, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.After placing an order with Yangdu, I was not surprised that not only was the knife delivered at warp speed, but that she had picked one out that met my specs perfectly. I had asked for a wooden gripped BDC coming in around 11-12" and weighing around 8 or 9 oz. She sent me an exquisite sample of Lachhu's work. This is actually my first knife by him, and it's incredible. This may be the sharpest fully polished khuk I have ever gotten from HI...more on that later
Here are some specs:
11" from tip to flair measuring at the longest point
right around 8oz (maybe a tad under)
7" on the nose from tip to start of the bolster.
Balance point in 1/4" in front of cho
Spine thickness right at 3/16"
Here's a few pics:
Here's a pic of the BDC beside my tried and true M43 I had laying around. I actually really like this comparison shot as both of them have shorter grips compared to the blade but obviously radically different designed purposes.
Here's a pic in hand. As you can see, it's a cramped grip for sure. I don't have massive mitts. However, the BCD is a bit of a mousegun khuk. It's what you carry when you can't carry a khuk
However, it's very very comfy in hand. There is plenty of purchase and the balance of the knife is incredible. I could just as easily snap cut through a 1" sappling as I could carefully peel an apple. It's a nimble utility tool without a doubt...but guys with bigger hands might want to step up to the 14" version lest they get bit.Speaking of which, did I mention this knife is sharp, because it is...sharp. I'm used to various levels of sharpness when it comes to knives. I'm not a sharpening guru, but there isn't much in the way of an edge that I can't improve upon at least a tiny bit. I have also long expected that a mirror polished HI is going to come ever so less sharp than a villager counterpart simply because the buffing step tends to knock back that really fine wiry edge you get on a villager. For me, the edge geometry is what is important. I can get it screaming sharp if I don't have to totally reprofile it. This BDC has some sort of magical edge. It was toothy yet not overly grippy. The tip had taken just the slightest bump from the buffer and needed a slight touch up. I literally spent no more than 3 minutes with an Arkansas stone and stropped it on a loaded piece of leather for a few minutes and ended up with this:
Every one of these cuts was effortless. Totally zipped through the free-hanging paper with no more force than the push of my hand. The one the really impressed me is the nearly full length slice. That was down by running the blade straight down and not across or at an angle. I'm not done with the edge yet, but wow did Lachhu finish this one up nicely. I can see that he understood it was never going to be a chopper and NEEDED a good sharp edge. It needed to be a razor for any intended purpose.
I'm incredibly impressed with the level of fit and finish as well as out of the box performance. While the BDC is not going to replace my camping or hiking blades, it IS going to see a lot of belt time. A knife this handy, this light, and this SHARP is going to make it into my EDC immediately. It just has such a classy look and feel to it. Not really romantic, but it has a little bit of flash to it. I can't help but hum that old Bobby Darin song "Mack the Knife" to myself when I hold it. Granted, I know that song was based on a German ballad about an incredibly terrible person, but this knife just gives me that dark alley vibe the same way that my Kerambit does. Very much like shark teeth kept out of sight until needed.
As always, I have to thank Yangdu for finding me exactly what I was looking for and another tip of my hat to Lachhu for crafting an incredible blade. The BDC is the perfect EDC of khuk knuts with HIKV and OCD like me
