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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
The rain is
- Thread starter Walosi
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2001
- Messages
- 2,618
and now I know the attraction of the villagers. It begins, of course, with price and the comments of those who have bought before. This one is a 14" BAS pattern, with a very nice wood handle and the best sheath I've seen in a while. Although the frog is riveted, the sarki who made this one could work at BirGorkha (or maybe he does). It has flawless stitching, a good grade of leather, and the closest fitting chape I've seen. Karda and Chakma are as advertised. Blech :barf:
The handle is a dark red wood with a black grain, in a very nice pattern - no sap grain. Very dry, it has soaked up oil like a sponge. It has a full rat-tail tang, straight blade with all hammer marks ground off. The blade is about 58RC the entire length, and takes a nice edge. The spine is "tented", like a BirGorkha blade. It's just back from next door (and the old telephone pole) and the edge held up without any noticeable change, after some fairly heavy chopping. I didn't try for a "torture test", but there will be no tang failures with this one, and it bites almost 1/2 its width at the sweet spot, on my best swing. My younger neighbor put it in to a depth of 1 1/2" at nearly the same spot on the pole. For its light weight and small size, it still chops like a bigger blade. The spine is 3/8" at the "hump", and tapers both directions to 5/16" at the bolster and (of course) a point at the pointy end. The balance point is forward, about 3" ahead of the cho. The knife was made to be used, by a man who knew what it would be used for, and how it would be treated. Nothing was wasted on "pretty", all the effort was toward utility, and long life. Tough little puppy. If you don't have one, you are missing out on the unadorned "heart of the Khukuri". BirGorkha's blades have all of this, in abundance, with better skills, materials and more attention to detail and final finish. They lack nothing, but a villager is a view into what started it all, many many years ago.
The handle is a dark red wood with a black grain, in a very nice pattern - no sap grain. Very dry, it has soaked up oil like a sponge. It has a full rat-tail tang, straight blade with all hammer marks ground off. The blade is about 58RC the entire length, and takes a nice edge. The spine is "tented", like a BirGorkha blade. It's just back from next door (and the old telephone pole) and the edge held up without any noticeable change, after some fairly heavy chopping. I didn't try for a "torture test", but there will be no tang failures with this one, and it bites almost 1/2 its width at the sweet spot, on my best swing. My younger neighbor put it in to a depth of 1 1/2" at nearly the same spot on the pole. For its light weight and small size, it still chops like a bigger blade. The spine is 3/8" at the "hump", and tapers both directions to 5/16" at the bolster and (of course) a point at the pointy end. The balance point is forward, about 3" ahead of the cho. The knife was made to be used, by a man who knew what it would be used for, and how it would be treated. Nothing was wasted on "pretty", all the effort was toward utility, and long life. Tough little puppy. If you don't have one, you are missing out on the unadorned "heart of the Khukuri". BirGorkha's blades have all of this, in abundance, with better skills, materials and more attention to detail and final finish. They lack nothing, but a villager is a view into what started it all, many many years ago.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2001
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- 5,946
Was that the same type of villager as in the picture posted by Uncle Bill?
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2001
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- 2,618
Heber - I made him watch while I unwrapped my Garuda last spring - he said "I want one JUST LIKE THAT" - I infected him with HIKV, of course 
Bruise - The one I got was a bit longer and not quite as chunky as the ones in Uncle's pics. I believe it was packed before he took those, but don't know for sure.
Bruise - The one I got was a bit longer and not quite as chunky as the ones in Uncle's pics. I believe it was packed before he took those, but don't know for sure.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
There are some who prefer the villge models to the more sophisticated HI khukuri -- and they have a point.
About a half dozen village models left -- 14 to 15 inch typical bulldogs.
About a half dozen village models left -- 14 to 15 inch typical bulldogs.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2001
- Messages
- 2,618
Heber, he did, indeed - a silver-mounted Garud, identical to the one he delivered to me. He has a farm outside of town, and has used his to clear brush and trim trees (with the handle carefully wrapped in an old T-shirt, to protect the carving). He says it chops better than a hatchet or machete, and even cuts down on the use of his chain saw. It doesn't cut as well as the chain saw, but it is more fun, according to him. Smells better, too 
. He has a farm outside of town, and has used his to clear brush and trim trees (with the handle carefully wrapped in an old T-shirt, to protect the carving). He says it chops better than a hatchet or machete, and even cuts down on the use of his chain saw. It doesn't cut as well as the chain saw, but it is more fun, according to him. Smells better, too
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
- Messages
- 34,096
And probably makes a little less noise.