Tourist khukri's & other infamous blades.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
Like so many of the rest of you I bought an Atlanta Cutlery Kukri and was disappointed when it arrived in the mail, but unlike so many here I had once seen a real khukri and long dreamed of getting a "real" one.

But and that's a very large But.......

Guys I've bad mouthed the Atlanta Cutlery just like the rest of you, but I've been thinking about this for quite some time now and I feel the bad mouthing about the A.C.khukris is undeserved.

First of all where can you get a usable knife for around $25.00 that will take a beating like the A.C.'s?
Yea, so what if it takes a week to file an edge on the knife?
Mine did just what the specs I received with it said it would!!!!
Actually mine did quite well on wood and I used it in place of a machete for a long, long time.
It was one helluva lot better than the machetes I could've used.

And another thing I've long seen that I was mistaken about is that not all of the old khuks that are most excellently done have the thick blades such as the H.I.'s have.
Some of the smaller khuks had really thin blades but were done in a total convex application and not with just convexed edge
bevels!
So, many of the older blades have many qualities with the A.C. khukri's.

What's sorta interestin is that one of these days I'm gonna have me another A.C.khukri, the Assam Rifles model with the rat tail tang, I used to think the slab handles were best myself until I learned other wise.:p :rolleyes: :p
 
YVSA,

When you collect and study antique knives there is a tendency to pass judgement based upon what you readily see. Not all European swords looked like the few that are preserved in museams. Most were far simpler run of the mill working tools. Nor were Japanese swords necessarily superior. Perhaps they are only younger, having remained a front line weapon of war for hundreds of years beyond where their European counterparts degenerated into ceremonial pieces.

The same thing happens to khukuries. Europeans brought back enormous numbers of these knives, but many of these were also higher end pieces rather than the common knives used for agricultural pursuits. The Atlanta Cutlery stuff is definitely crude, and you will probably have to spend a few hours, just to grind an edge on the thing. But, they do work, and they are not that far from some of the crude villager khukuries that sometimes turn up on the market.

Edited to add:

The handles on the AC Chiruwa knives tend to have problems. I took one apart and they are held together by just a couple of bent nails. They can be made to work, but you are going to have to invest some time and effort.

n2s
 
My kid brother gave me an AC khuk one Christmas, the "officer's model" with the horn handle. He told me to try it out and see if I liked khukuris, then check out some place called Himalayan Imports if I wanted to get a nice one that was really well made. You know the rest of the story. Still got that Indian khuk, and it still handles yard work and other mundane chores quite well, but it don't go to "the woods" with me.

Sarge
 
same co, Windlass Steelcrafts outta India making their pieces. Glad to know youse guys don't hold a grudge. I got a large dagger from them, for art purposes (etching). That's about all t is good for. It it a terribly large butter knife, and should not be confused with a true weapon. since I'm using it as an art knife, doesn't matter much that it has no edge and it too thin.

I still think their "swords" suck.Their polearms and axes look cool, and an axe of theirs has served a friend of mine well.

Keith
 
Edited: I had forgotten one of the few rules about posting here on the HI forum. NO bad mouthing other manufacturers or their products. Apologies to Uncle Bill and the Forumites for my forgetful rudeness. My bad :(


Words always trip me up. So let me say it as I do best ...please see below :p
 
If you can't say something good don't say anything. I think Yvsa's post simply reiterates the old saying which I think all of us find true, "you generally get what you pay for."
 
Originally posted by BillTheCat .......have real misgivings about the hardness/temper of the edge.
Click to expand...
A.C.Khuk is differentially edge hardened.
I got one out of curiosity a few months ago
and etched it to see the pattern.
IIRC, it looked like the percussion zone had been dipped
into the quenchant.
There was a more or less flat top shape to the quenched area.

The hardness of this area of edge is significantly less
than HI products.

YGWUPF. OTOH, $20 for this tool is not bad
if it's for uses that are less dependent
on lasting sharpness & durability.

This is a 'toss loose into the pickup bed with the shovel'
rather than 'clean it off and tuck it under the seat' tool.

[:D Disclaimer....It's a visual description........
apologies to those who properly clean their shovels
and stow them away. And I do --not-- recommend
tossing any loose sharp edge where someone
might get hurt.]

HI products are individually crafted.
This item is 'assembled.'

HI products look like the great blades they are.
ACK doesn't stand out from any other item in the toolbox.

I'm glad I got the ACK.
I think I'll try reshaping it a bit.
& Experiment with sharpening, etching, finishes.
& Dig dandelions and other weeds.
 
atk.gif

...Paxton gets a new scoop
 
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