The beginning of a new path

The Government

The Government

Joined
Aug 21, 2009
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The path to my first authentic Khukuri:D:thumbup:.

I have recently been inspired to buy a new khukuri and I have some questions for everyone. Firstly, here is a short story of what sparked this new interest:

It was about three weeks ago when I decided to do a little backpacking with some friends and acquaintances. One fellow who I had been acquainted with for years completely surprised me. We had all stopped hiking for some snacks and water when we decided to show off our knives.

He brought with him one of the finest hand made khukuris that I have ever seen. Not a new one, mind you, but an authentic fully patina-ed khukuri that had been through WW2 and maybe even more before that. It was handed down through his family from his grandfather.

I would like to have a knife like this one. Let me explain.

It was not very long, maybe between 14 and 17 inches. It had integral bolsters (integral to the tang of the blade:eek:). I cant quite remember if it had a rat tail tang or a full tang... For the time being that is not important. It had a wood handle. The spine seemed to be roughly a 1/4 inch thick.

The curvature and shape of the blade was similar to that of the WW2 khukuri that HI sells.

HERE IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IN A BLADE:

My intention is to use it as a backpacking knife for short 2-3 day hikes. This means I don't want a heavyweight, but I would still like decent chopping power as well as the ability to do more controlled carving. Shelter and fire are my main concerns, however I probably wont be batoning it very much. I guess I am looking for something in the "middle." Not too big to weigh me down, but not so light that it barely chops.

Also, I would really like integral bolsters.

Is there a HI for me? Any other recommendations?

Thanks for your replies!

-Max
 
Your best bet would be a 15" khukuri in whatever style you prefer. Popular models are the WWII, British Army Service, Amar Sing Thapa Khukuri and Ang Khola or a Chiruwa Ang Khola. There is also the M-43 which many swear by, but it usually comes in at 18". A 15" khukuri is Large enough to do a days work, but small enough to pack around trekking. For extra chopping power a 15" Ang khola would do nicely. Usually bolsters are brass or white metal(white brass). You would have to ask Auntie if an integral bolster could be done, but it would probably be a special order.
 
Karda covered most of it.
The ones that best describe what you are after, from heaviest to lightest (pics from HI store):

M43 weight not listed, but I'd say around 2 pounds average:
yhst-7333098713883_2118_3087091


16.5" WWII 1.5 pounds average:
yhst-7333098713883_2118_892965


British Army Service (BAS), 1.25 pounds average:
yhst-7333098713883_2118_2248400


If you click the links in my signature, you will find there's many more types of kukri to select from. Best advice is to browse around, see which one(s) tug at you, then ask more questions to narrow your search.
 
It sounds like you went into the wilderness unprotected and got bit by the kukri bug! Been there, done that. Do yourself a favor and just buy 6 of them right now, it saves a fortune on shipping!

But for a hiking blade, I would go with one of Karda's recommendations, the BAS. It is the lightest, shortest, easily packable full sized kukri you can find. Yet it is big enough to do anything its bigger brothers can do with just a little more elbow grease. Being smaller also means it does the medium and smaller jobs much better that the bigger blades. And in most hiking and light camping situations, the medium and smaller jobs are 95% of what you will be doing. It has been the military issue for a few decades so you can bet it does the work, and with HI's touch you get a beefed up version.
 
If I had your requirements I would carry something like this on your trips. No, it's not the fulltang with integral bolsters you mention but it is very sturdy and will do all you want it to do. It is a 20 ounce 15 inch BAS with horn handle. The blade is 3/8" thick at the handle. It handles easily and is light to carry on long hikes.
100_1069.jpg
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone!

If I wanted to make it easy on myself, I would just order either a WW2 or BAS, or maybe both. However, I am going to see if integral bolsters would be possible with HI. Dont get me wrong guys, I have full faith in the strength of HI's regular bolsters -I just have a specific preference right now and I wouldn't mind paying extra for it.

I am going to track down my friend that had the knife that inspired all this so that I can take some picture of his blade. The integral bolsters really impressed me, since that is rare to see on fixed blades, let alone folders. Again, I don't remember if it had a full tang or rat tail tang.

More comments are certainly welcome, and if anyone knows about Khukuris with integral bolsters, I would be interested to hear about it.

Thanks,

Max
 
There's the occasional strange person who thinks a 12in Villager AK is best utility/weight/non-threatening khuk.

Not sure, but he may still be in the State Home for the Addled.

:)
 
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