Welp, last night I came home and was really excited about CD's I had gotten, as well as a bunch of clothes from Value Village... The excitement from that was quickly overcome by even more excitement as I saw a parcel pick-up slip on my desk. This could only mean one thing, I thought, as a grin crept over my face. My 18" AK as well as my Bilton were here. Too late last night to go to the post office, however, so I had to wait until this morning, which was sketchy at best, seeing as it's a long weekend up here in BC, and I wasn't sure if the post office would be open.
The post office was open, and I walked in there, shaking with anticipation. I slapped the parcel pick-up slip on the counter, and the attendent there went back to all the parcels, as I waited... I couldn't hold in my smile as she came back around with a triangular box in hand... I could hardly write my name out on the paperwork as I eyed the box and thought about the contents inside. Finally, after $35 customs charges, the khukuri was mine. Well, of course, I couldn't wait to go home and open this box up, so I went to the outdoors store just beside the post office and opened it. My friend works there, and he'd been wanting to get a khuk too, so I just had to show him and maybe get him ordering a khukuri sooner.
I quickly opened up the end of the box and slid the newspaper-covered package out, then unwrapped it with the ferocity of a rabid wolverine. My eyes fell upon the AK, and I could hardly speak. Slowly, I drew the blade, and was surprised by how fantastic it felt, seeing as I thought it'd feel much more blade-heavy. Customers were a little intrigued, so I had to show them, and then my friend and I kinda discussed it, and mentioned that it was hand-forged in Nepal... Well, the owner of the store and one of the customers kinda had a chuckle, since they hardly thought that one could find something like that these days... I was half-thinking of asking both of them if they'd like to go over to the park across the road and I could demonstrate the power of it, but I didn't want to shame them, nor did I want to get the groundskeepers of the park angry... Even though I'm sure I could defend myself.
Mm... The Bilton was superbly done, and was everything I had expected.
Anywho, I get out of there and come home. At home, I wipe down the blades and then hop on the computer to decipher the markings... Now, I was pretty sure the initials L.B. were for Bura, but I just needed to make sure. Yep, this is a Bura blade. Now that I had all that sorted out, I touched it up with a ceramic rod and a strop, and headed to the bush. Man, am I ever glad I live on a property with a little piece of forested area... So much fun.
Well, I walk back to the bush, first of all banging the khuk on a big log just to make sure everything was sound, even though it's a Bura blade, and I don't think there was much doubt in my mind. I get to the bush and swing at the first thing I see... In this case, a 1" limb just hanging over a path... Slashes right through, as expected... I get into the bush and look around for things... I had no trouble finding tons of 2-3" stuff that the AK just ate through... Then I got a little creative, and started taking cut stuff, setting it upright, and then slicing through it with one hack as it then fell over... Just amazing, this khuk is... I found some seasoned wood as well that the AK had no problem with, and then I decided to find out how strong this thing was. I hammered it into a stump in a few locations, one with the whole blade in the stump, another with half, and another with only about an inch at the tip in the stump. I couldn't budge it with the first two locations, but at the tip, I managed to get the edge about 3mm out of alignment. That was expected, however, and when I got home, I pounded it back into shape... Well, for the first two hours I've had this thing, I've done an awful lot of stuff to it, and the AK has shone through, just as I had expected.
Hmm.. I guess I should probably eat breakfast and shower yet...
The post office was open, and I walked in there, shaking with anticipation. I slapped the parcel pick-up slip on the counter, and the attendent there went back to all the parcels, as I waited... I couldn't hold in my smile as she came back around with a triangular box in hand... I could hardly write my name out on the paperwork as I eyed the box and thought about the contents inside. Finally, after $35 customs charges, the khukuri was mine. Well, of course, I couldn't wait to go home and open this box up, so I went to the outdoors store just beside the post office and opened it. My friend works there, and he'd been wanting to get a khuk too, so I just had to show him and maybe get him ordering a khukuri sooner.
I quickly opened up the end of the box and slid the newspaper-covered package out, then unwrapped it with the ferocity of a rabid wolverine. My eyes fell upon the AK, and I could hardly speak. Slowly, I drew the blade, and was surprised by how fantastic it felt, seeing as I thought it'd feel much more blade-heavy. Customers were a little intrigued, so I had to show them, and then my friend and I kinda discussed it, and mentioned that it was hand-forged in Nepal... Well, the owner of the store and one of the customers kinda had a chuckle, since they hardly thought that one could find something like that these days... I was half-thinking of asking both of them if they'd like to go over to the park across the road and I could demonstrate the power of it, but I didn't want to shame them, nor did I want to get the groundskeepers of the park angry... Even though I'm sure I could defend myself.
Mm... The Bilton was superbly done, and was everything I had expected.Anywho, I get out of there and come home. At home, I wipe down the blades and then hop on the computer to decipher the markings... Now, I was pretty sure the initials L.B. were for Bura, but I just needed to make sure. Yep, this is a Bura blade. Now that I had all that sorted out, I touched it up with a ceramic rod and a strop, and headed to the bush. Man, am I ever glad I live on a property with a little piece of forested area... So much fun.
Well, I walk back to the bush, first of all banging the khuk on a big log just to make sure everything was sound, even though it's a Bura blade, and I don't think there was much doubt in my mind. I get to the bush and swing at the first thing I see... In this case, a 1" limb just hanging over a path... Slashes right through, as expected... I get into the bush and look around for things... I had no trouble finding tons of 2-3" stuff that the AK just ate through... Then I got a little creative, and started taking cut stuff, setting it upright, and then slicing through it with one hack as it then fell over... Just amazing, this khuk is... I found some seasoned wood as well that the AK had no problem with, and then I decided to find out how strong this thing was. I hammered it into a stump in a few locations, one with the whole blade in the stump, another with half, and another with only about an inch at the tip in the stump. I couldn't budge it with the first two locations, but at the tip, I managed to get the edge about 3mm out of alignment. That was expected, however, and when I got home, I pounded it back into shape... Well, for the first two hours I've had this thing, I've done an awful lot of stuff to it, and the AK has shone through, just as I had expected.
Hmm.. I guess I should probably eat breakfast and shower yet...
"And another one bites the dust." HIKV strikes again.
