- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,416
Well, I am sure by now you know I have three of these wonderful blades. I thought it would be good to do a review of the Tamang since it is rapidly becoming my most used of all my HI blades by far out in my yard. I don't camp any longer so I can't really speak to how well these would serve in that capacity but I do put the blades through some camp type tests like batoning, stripping bark, shaving a fuzzy stick to make a fire and of course chopping.
I found the Tamang's thinner blade to be fantastic for batoning, it is easily driven through a larger log for splitting. The thinner blade also makes it a lot easier to handle when making tinder sticks and stripping bark. I also think that despite its lighter weight, the thinner blade can help you chop effectively enough. You could chop down a tree if you had to but an axe or big AK would likely be a better choice for this job. However it can easily handle branches around 2-4 inches in diameter.
Something else I think would be good to try but haven't yet is to use them in food prep. I would bet the Tamang would be wicked in the kitchen. They are all super sharp and easy to keep that way. In fact if you are a person who doesn't know how to use a stone to sharpen and depends on one of those little ceramic "V" pocket things, they fit them. I always keep one around to touch up a blade since they are easy but can and do use stone and a leather strop when it is called for to get that first edge or to fix a damaged one.
My conclusion is that the Tamang is the best of the Himalayan Imports offerings when it comes to camping, survival, bushcraft and all of this sort of thing. I use mine regularly for yard work to clear out dead branches or to trim back a tree, maybe hack back some big weeds. I tend to use my Satisal Handled one most since I think of that as the most common wood. I usually leave the Dhar and Neem for just display.
Pix required of course, some you have seen and some you have not....
hard to really see but all of mine are made by VIM Kami
now a bit of chopping, showing some of the smaller branches I chopped on first
and one with all three and a bit of a swing to bite into the stump
in hand (Neem Handle because it is easier to see)
I found the Tamang's thinner blade to be fantastic for batoning, it is easily driven through a larger log for splitting. The thinner blade also makes it a lot easier to handle when making tinder sticks and stripping bark. I also think that despite its lighter weight, the thinner blade can help you chop effectively enough. You could chop down a tree if you had to but an axe or big AK would likely be a better choice for this job. However it can easily handle branches around 2-4 inches in diameter.
Something else I think would be good to try but haven't yet is to use them in food prep. I would bet the Tamang would be wicked in the kitchen. They are all super sharp and easy to keep that way. In fact if you are a person who doesn't know how to use a stone to sharpen and depends on one of those little ceramic "V" pocket things, they fit them. I always keep one around to touch up a blade since they are easy but can and do use stone and a leather strop when it is called for to get that first edge or to fix a damaged one.
My conclusion is that the Tamang is the best of the Himalayan Imports offerings when it comes to camping, survival, bushcraft and all of this sort of thing. I use mine regularly for yard work to clear out dead branches or to trim back a tree, maybe hack back some big weeds. I tend to use my Satisal Handled one most since I think of that as the most common wood. I usually leave the Dhar and Neem for just display.
Pix required of course, some you have seen and some you have not....
hard to really see but all of mine are made by VIM Kami
now a bit of chopping, showing some of the smaller branches I chopped on first
and one with all three and a bit of a swing to bite into the stump
in hand (Neem Handle because it is easier to see)
You can tell with a look they have good "whack" value, i.e. geometry that works.