U.S. Army Issue Machete vs. Kukri?

Kgriggs, a 17-18" BGRS at or near 28oz would probably be ideal. It can handle most chopping chores without being overly cumbersome to carry.

Bob
 
kgriggs8 said:
Thanks for the well thought out replys. I really have not used a khukuri other than the cheap CS one that I know is not much more than a piece of sheet metal cut into the shape of the khukuri.

It seems to me that the khukuri has the edge when you have to do heavy chopping but the machete is the thing for light brush. I do about 75% light brush and 25% chopping so that is probably why I am so fond of the machete. I think I need a khukuri though because sometimes I look at a tree or really large limb and really don't want to spend the time and the effort to cut it with the machete. The mahete will cut decent sized trees but now that people mention it, it does bind in the wood and is a choir.

I have a nice medium sized ax but I think an ax is a limited tool compared to the longer blades like a machete and probably a khukuri.

Now, should I get a khukuri that is closer to a machete like the Sirupati or should I get a chopper like the Ganga Ram? I like the look of the Sirupati but I wonder if it won't be as good of a chopper as some khukuris and not as good of a brush cutter as my machete. Is it a jack of all trades, master of none type of khukuri?
Click to expand...

Do you want something to REPLACE your machete, or, are you going to carry both???
If you are going to carry both, then you want a good chopping blade to go with the brush cutting machete...
If you want something to replace both, then you need to get something like a (good) golok... I have a valiantco Survival Golok XXL that is 19 1/2" long by 3/16" thick (28" overall length... HI is the only company that measures blades by their overall length)... It is the only one of the goloks that is that thin, so it is not as good as a chopper as the rest, but that makes it a better brush blade, though it is a bit heavy for that. It is a 'jack-of-all-trades' blade, but it is one of the few things that will replace both a brush blade and a chopper...(there are some other valiantco blades that can do this also, but are considered dangerous to learn with).

SGXXL.JPG
 
My 18" Village Ganga Ram Special ( GRS ) is the best chopper I own & would compliment your machete. Definately get the "village" version, it has the satin finish & the sharper edge, the polished version lose there edge during polishing & can be a pain to sharpen
I haven't had much luck w/ the horn handles, the Chiruwa ( riveted handles ) transmit more shock to the hand, so get the wood handle & treat it w/ boiled linseed oil or mineral oil
ps the measurements are Over All Length
tom
 
Interestingly enough, in Nepal sirupatis are most common. Every village-made, as-forged khukuri I have is basically a sirupati.

I would think that they know something about all-'round blades.
 
Been going through the hurricane recovery and cleanup I had 12 ficus trees -6 orchid trees - 6 fruit trees - 1 large oak - 1 very large banyan -5 scrub trees about 15’ - dozens of bushes- 2 bottle brush trees - a dozen or so unbrella trees- a couple of holly trees- and two small trees that I don't know what they are.

So in all of my days off I have been cutting for the first 5 days after the storm and 3 weekends now. Where I live you have to cut everything up with nothing longer than 4'.
I am getting a good test on everything machetes small ax several of my khuks prunners a cold steal two-handed machete and 3 different chainsaws.

Most of the Khuks work is poor and takes far to much energy to get results and only really fair on things under 4 inches. But this is the first time I really used them for work.

I collect them as weapons not as tools so I don’t really care. I tried them since I had such an opportunity presented to me. Though I have found one 12” AK that I have been keeping on my belt that does a descent job I found it is good to take down hangers. Also a 15" villiger that works good on small ficus tree roots.
 
Ahem.


12in AK, you say?

15in AK, you say?


Hmmmmm. Who's been talking these up for...let me see.....






























YEARS!!!!

Oh yes, that would be me.

(Greatness is such a burden.)

(In fairness [I HATE fairness sometimes], there are vast differences in the blade shapes of AKs. Raghorn has my Bura 15 AK, which I used to chop a deer bone and chipped the edge in several places. I smoothed them out and all was fine. I just got Steely Gunz' "Beast" pool-chopper by Shankar, and the edge and bevel on it allowed me to chop/crush/cut this year's deer bones for the not-right dog, with absolutely NO damage to the edge. (thanks Jake). The Beast is also much more narrow in depth, but weighs in at 24 blade-heavy ounces. Much different khukuri.)
 
well I can confirm that of the 15 I tried those were the two I used again. Also now that all the fallen trees are cut up I will start on trimming the couple of dozen damaged ones I will use those two Khuks again.
 
I have used a machete and a Bolo as a carry blade on my 4 wheeler down here in the Southeast Texas swamp. Then I tried several different lengths, weights and styles of HI kukris. I am now carrying a 17" Sirupati. It has the ideal length and weight for me, and really cuts through those small limbs and trees. :thumbup:
 
I would use the Kukri as a chopper only. I can't see replacing my machete after over 15 years of use. Even if the kukri was a better tool, I am too used to the machete by now. As a chopper, I can see the kukri working better than the machete so I will look that direction. I guess I should look for a short heavy blade with lots of belly?
 
I'm surprised to hear you say the khuks have been poor performers on anything over 4". I don't even dig out the big WWII till the branches get thick. Anything 2" and under I can get with one or two swipes from the machetes. Which khuks have you been using?

Frank
 
action-smiley-080.gif
starting to get interesting. 28" collins and 18" Kukh are standing by with their buddy 12" golok watching the face off as the referree is about to start the fight, the combatants retire to their corners and prepare to come out fighting on the bell.....
violent-smiley-056.gif
 
silver...
I tried different lengths of several such as sirupati, kobra, wwII, penn, BDC, chit, ganga ram (The GR was not bad almost as good as the AK ) the two Ak worked the best. The penn was the first one I tried because for some reason I really expected it to be the best. My larger WWII did ok on some branches 2 to 4 inch but it broke through the branches more than cut maybe the weight was the reason. I am no chopping expert but I have put a lot of time and work into this.

In comparison I have a small ceramic ax that chops faster and is light and easy to use. The two handed cold steel machete works real good though I think the two hands instead of one is a factor to consider, is that really a fair comparison? My standard $4 machete is fair at best but it's really for very small branches.

I also have a couple of bolos they didn’t do any better. As I said I collect Khuks as weapons not tools so it does not detract me from Khuks in any way and my HI blades are far better than any other brands I have. In fact I tried a couple of my Khukuri house army service models and they just didn’t compare to the HI blades.As a side note I can't get the service models very sharp and they appear to dull faster not sure why.

I would add that as a martial artist I have been swinging Khuks and other blades for a lot of years I practice on trees and logs and am pretty good at hitting the same place from most angles so my chopping is not bad in comparrison to someone that would be hitting all over the place.
 
that's kinda weird, Azis:confused: I have no doubt that what you say is true, I have just never found that to be the case in my experience with khuks. Actually, (Kis, cover your ears) I find the 15" khuks so general purpose that they only thing I use them for is a specialized general camp knife (does that make sense?). Meaning that I find that they are too heavy to tote around hiking if I know i won't need it. The 12" khuks I have like the Sgt Kharka, Uncle Bill Salyan, 12" Siru, and PK fill that role 90% of the time. The bigger khuks do a lot of work for me. My YCS went through 6" of sweet gum very quickly. Maybe 2-3 mins tops. It might be the wood density, i guess. The 22" GRS I have is a chopping monster. I guess the only thing that would outchop it would be a 25" AK, but at 4-5lbs compared to the GRS' 3 I'd take the GRS anyday.
So my 15" knives tend to get left at the camp. Light enough to pack, too heavy to tote on a hike, too light to do the heavy stuff real well, heavy enough to split campfire wood. In other words, dead average.

Getting to the topic at hand, I say stick with your machete and pick up a good khuk for limb lopping. The 18" GRS is a favorite of a lot of people. I like the 18" WWII or maybe even an AK if you are a beefy guy. You can't fault a machete. They are a do it all blade just like the khuk. It's just that the khuk is more for thicker stuff and the machete thinner. I like both:):thumbup:
My "machete" is a 20" Kobra. Yeah, I know I know. It is designed to be a sword, not a khuk. I understand that if i bend it, then HI is not at fault and the waranty does not apply. I'm cool with that. Amtrak made this kobra with a THICK convex edge. Even though it is light at 20 oz, the edge is not going to deform. If i smack the flat, then maybe it'll bend. However, i have used this Kobra on everything that i would use a machete on, and it has suffered no damage in about 2 years of use. Anything up to an inch and a half and it blazes through it. It's a great trail cleaner in the fact that it'll get the vines and sapplings that sprout up. To CLEAR a trail I'd use something a lot beefier.

Jake
 
Azis said:
silver...
I tried different lengths of several such as sirupati, kobra, wwII, penn, BDC, chit, ganga ram (The GR was not bad almost as good as the AK ) the two Ak worked the best. The penn was the first one I tried because for some reason I really expected it to be the best. My larger WWII did ok on some branches 2 to 4 inch but it broke through the branches more than cut maybe the weight was the reason. I am no chopping expert but I have put a lot of time and work into this.

In comparison I have a small ceramic ax that chops faster and is light and easy to use. The two handed cold steel machete works real good though I think the two hands instead of one is a factor to consider, is that really a fair comparison? My standard $4 machete is fair at best but it's really for very small branches.

I also have a couple of bolos they didn’t do any better. As I said I collect Khuks as weapons not tools so it does not detract me from Khuks in any way and my HI blades are far better than any other brands I have. In fact I tried a couple of my Khukuri house army service models and they just didn’t compare to the HI blades.As a side note I can't get the service models very sharp and they appear to dull faster not sure why.

I would add that as a martial artist I have been swinging Khuks and other blades for a lot of years I practice on trees and logs and am pretty good at hitting the same place from most angles so my chopping is not bad in comparrison to someone that would be hitting all over the place.
Click to expand...

How are they sharpened???
Did you put a flat grind on them? If you did, that could be the whole problem...
I know people that cut down 4"-5" trees with machetes that have been convexed...
If you changed the grind on them, it could have distroyed their chopping ability...
A microbevel is one of the BIG killers of chopping performance...
It will work well for a slice or a push cut shaving off material, but as soon as you start going into something thick, it just slowes the blade so much that it stops the blade from going deep.
 
I have a question about convex edges -- how will I know when I've put one on correctly? It's pretty small, and not something you can really see, is it?

Is there any way other than just sharpening, test-cutting, sharpening, test-cutting, sharpening........
 
Kazeryu said:
I have a question about convex edges -- how will I know when I've put one on correctly? It's pretty small, and not something you can really see, is it?

Is there any way other than just sharpening, test-cutting, sharpening, test-cutting, sharpening........
Click to expand...

The convex should be the entire part that LOOKS like at bevel at the edge... Put a ruler on the bevel(of one you have not sharpened) and you will see that it NOT flat...
It should shave but not pop hair off of your arm...The idea is that there are not transitions to slow down the blade as it pushes its way through the material being cut...
And read this http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=91
and this http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/Sharp.htm
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=91
 
Very good point and something I need to learn more about and I need to go back to each one. However the cheap ones (non-Hi) that I don't care about I have started just using as file on them and then a diamond rod.
 
Azis said:
Very good point and something I need to learn more about and I need to go back to each one. However the cheap ones (non-Hi) that I don't care about I have started just using as file on them and then a diamond rod.
Click to expand...

Do not discount them... I have one from KH that is a GREAT chopper.
You can check out my review in this thread on the second page.
 
Not too many combat warriors are not.
I am confused as well. I fail to see the point.
Perhaps would be so kind as to elucidate a poor white boy.


hollowdweller said:
Is that your way of saying you are of the male gender:confused:
Click to expand...
 
Gee Howard what did I say?
Has the forum gone the way of PC, whatever that is, since Bill left?

When you are wounded and lying on Afganistan`s plains
And the women come out to cut up what remains
Just roll on your rifle and blow out your brains
And go to your god like a soldier


Is Kipling acceptable?

I just do not know what you people want.

Stay Safe.


Howard Wallace said:
Yes. A couple of my friends carry combat scars from machetes.

Your wisdom is appreciated here. Please use the skills of the scholar and the poet too, to convey the wisdom in an acceptable manner.

Peace be with you, old warrior.
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