Wanted to add to my one week old, existing order

[Tuna2222]

Hello all,
So hacking through the local rainforest with a somewhat boring (borrowed) machete has become a thing for me. I don't want to keep it that way forever so i ordered a 14' sirupate in forest camo with a western leather sheath. Which, considering its a rainforest, is a shitty idea. Its been soggy just about every time I've been in there so kydex would have been a lot better.

I wanted to add a shorter 11' blade to the order for chopping and hacking ability. I've looked at the HSI, MSI, Anghola ek chirra and panawal but i can't seem to see a huge difference between them...

 

[HJA]

Sirupate sounds ideal; would Kydex trap moisture though? Never really thought about that before. Almost wonder if a traditional dap would be better since it has all those airgaps, unlike western leather and kydex. Maybe someone else here has the answer.


HSI is quite solid and at a very competitive price. If you stick with steel hardware and a wood handle it's only $98.

MSI pretty much only exists because it's the current british military pattern, so there's maybe some historical/collector value there. As the Kailash page details they're generally not a great design, but their version at least tackles the issues they can.

Panawal is a essentially full-tang MSI. 11" @ ~600g which isn't super optimised; 13" pensioner is ~580g, and the slimmer mutiny at 12" is quoted at ~405g. Granted they're both stick tang so not a totally fair comparison.

Angkhola Ek Chirra is like a more refined HSI and with a slightly thicken spine; it's only $18 more than the HSI unless you go the full tang and want to add more weight and another $15 for more durability.

Personally from that list I'd go with either the HSI or Ek Chirra. However there is also an 11" option for the Fort William Mk-1, which being a heavier, chopping focused khukuri might be a better match for the sirupate. But again ~600g for that also puts you into 13" Pensioner territory (Unless your 11" requirement was more about the length itself than the weight that implies). Unfortunately I have neither the pensioner or fort william so can't really say which is the better choice.

 

[Tuna2222]

Many thanks for the detailed reply!
Hmm, it's a hard decision to make because I was after distinctly different blades. I was weighing heavily on the HSI because aesthetics, but also it being quite compact. I do not plan on having a full tang, the rat tail tang looks substantial enough to me.
I didn't think of kydex trapping moisture. I imagine if it rains while i am out, I can take it out of its sheath when i get home to air dry and oil the blade before I put it back in. Much more preferrable over leather getting soaked and then rotting. Which happened to a leather handbag of mine last year. It kept raining every day and I had to go shopping and it got soaked. I couldn't salvage it and it gained an unholy smell...
Anyway, i think I'll go with the HSI. It would look pretty sweet with copper hardware and a black micarta handle!

 

[Kailash Blades]

Hello all,
So hacking through the local rainforest with a somewhat boring (borrowed) machete has become a thing for me. I don't want to keep it that way forever so i ordered a 14' sirupate in forest camo with a western leather sheath. Which, considering its a rainforest, is a shitty idea. Its been soggy just about every time I've been in there so kydex would have been a lot better.

I wanted to add a shorter 11' blade to the order for chopping and hacking ability. I've looked at the HSI, MSI, Anghola ek chirra and panawal but i can't seem to see a huge difference between them...

We can easily still swap you over to kydex if you'd like- we can send out a custom invoice for the cost change and update the workshop notes. You've got all the way until we send finishing photos of the handle to decide. With that said our western leather sheaths are still pretty water repellent and should last okay. While a 14" sirupate will be lighter and leaner than a comparatively sized HSI, MK1 etc it will have great chopping and hacking power still. I think it'll be a great blade for making your way through a rainforest and be much more compact, safe and versatile than a machete.

Sirupate sounds ideal; would Kydex trap moisture though? Never really thought about that before. Almost wonder if a traditional dap would be better since it has all those airgaps, unlike western leather and kydex. Maybe someone else here has the answer.
....
Personally from that list I'd go with either the HSI or Ek Chirra. However there is also an 11" option for the Fort William Mk-1, which being a heavier, chopping focused khukuri might be a better match for the sirupate. But again ~600g for that also puts you into 13" Pensioner territory (Unless your 11" requirement was more about the length itself than the weight that implies). Unfortunately I have neither the pensioner or fort william so can't really say which is the better choice.

I don't think you'll run into issues with the kydex trapping moisture- the blade plugs it up pretty well while carried, dries up in a flash when left empty and all kydex from this week onwards will have a small drainage tube. I don't think it's strictly necessary but we do get a lot of customer requests for them and no requests for a sheath without one. That's generally a sign to make the swap So long as you don't store the blade in the sheath when not carrying you'll be fine- that's the real rust oven for all our sheath types.

Many thanks for the detailed reply!
Hmm, it's a hard decision to make because I was after distinctly different blades. I was weighing heavily on the HSI because aesthetics, but also it being quite compact. I do not plan on having a full tang, the rat tail tang looks substantial enough to me.
I didn't think of kydex trapping moisture. I imagine if it rains while i am out, I can take it out of its sheath when i get home to air dry and oil the blade before I put it back in. Much more preferrable over leather getting soaked and then rotting. Which happened to a leather handbag of mine last year. It kept raining every day and I had to go shopping and it got soaked. I couldn't salvage it and it gained an unholy smell...
Anyway, i think I'll go with the HSI. It would look pretty sweet with copper hardware and a black micarta handle!

The HSI is a great blade- there's one in the workshop here that I can't help but pick up everytime I see it- it's such a nice feeling blade. It'll be distinctly different in that it's much more compact and handy for smaller work. In terms of usage style you'll be picking your cuts and making considered hacks through the rainforest which is a much more energy efficient and safe way to do it than swinging a machete or longer, more powerful khukuri around. Oftentimes the parangs and rainforest blades actually used by villagers are smaller than you'd expect for this kind of reason.

HJA is right that the mk1 will be a very different blade due to the chopping focus and deeper bite and maybe that appeals in allowing a strong contrast between the blades. The standard 13" in particular would be a very strong contrast while still being very practical. With that said though if it's an 11" mk1 vs a 14" sirupate then the extra length, and tip speed of the 14" sirupate could have the pairing feel a bit more similar than an 11.5" HSI with a 14" sirupate.

Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash

 

[HJA]

Anyway, i think I'll go with the HSI. It would look pretty sweet with copper hardware and a black micarta handle!

Good choice; that's exactly the same configuration I have.

 

[Tuna2222]

The HSI is a great blade- there's one in the workshop here that I can't help but pick up everytime I see it- it's such a nice feeling blade. It'll be distinctly different in that it's much more compact and handy for smaller work. In terms of usage style you'll be picking your cuts and making considered hacks through the rainforest which is a much more energy efficient and safe way to do it than swinging a machete or longer, more powerful khukuri around. Oftentimes the parangs and rainforest blades actually used by villagers are smaller than you'd expect for this kind of reason.

Wow, that's a lot to digest. For those reasons alone I'm more inclined to favour the HSI over the MK1. The sirupate would be perfect for areas of thick wild raspberry and it'll take care of the wait-a-whiles and lawyer cane just fine. I think the HSI would be perfect in the sparse areas where just the idle flick is required.

So long as you don't store the blade in the sheath when not carrying you'll be fine- that's the real rust oven for all our sheath types.

What would be the best way to store it? I'm guessing silica gel packets might come in handy with that?

 

[Tuna2222]

Good choice; that's exactly the same configuration I have.

Hahaha something about the warmth of copper contrasted with a plain black handle is quite beautiful (i scoured kailash blade's instagram for handle combinations, )

 

[Kailash Blades]

Wow, that's a lot to digest. For those reasons alone I'm more inclined to favour the HSI over the MK1. The sirupate would be perfect for areas of thick wild raspberry and it'll take care of the wait-a-whiles and lawyer cane just fine. I think the HSI would be perfect in the sparse areas where just the idle flick is required.



What would be the best way to store it? I'm guessing silica gel packets might come in handy with that?

When you're not carrying the blade pop it up somewhere dry that isn't going to get dusty like a drawer in your house. The sheath can go in there too but just don't store the blade in the sheath in the drawer. if you do it creates a perfect little microclimate for rusting and deep pitting unlike what you'll experience anywhere else. Silica gel would certainly help but I wouldn't say it's necessary. VCI paper is also a great option in this respect.

 

[meboz]

When you're not carrying the blade pop it up somewhere dry that isn't going to get dusty like a drawer in your house. The sheath can go in there too but just don't store the blade in the sheath in the drawer. if you do it creates a perfect little microclimate for rusting and deep pitting unlike what you'll experience anywhere else. Silica gel would certainly help but I wouldn't say it's necessary. VCI paper is also a great option in this respect.

On the topic of storage and corrosion, can you share thought/experiences with oiling the blades for storage? Does it still matter much to remove from the sheaths, if they are oiled?
For my non-stainless kitchen knives, I use a camellia seed oil on them after cleaning and before storage (and I usuallly rub the oil into the wood at the same time).
Other knives/tools, I sometimes use some homemade mineral oil/beeswax (~3:1, IIRC) mixture on the steel (and well... the wood too...) before longer storage.

 

[Kailash Blades]

On the topic of storage and corrosion, can you share thought/experiences with oiling the blades for storage? Does it still matter much to remove from the sheaths, if they are oiled?
For my non-stainless kitchen knives, I use a camellia seed oil on them after cleaning and before storage (and I usuallly rub the oil into the wood at the same time).
Other knives/tools, I sometimes use some homemade mineral oil/beeswax (~3:1, IIRC) mixture on the steel (and well... the wood too...) before longer storage.

While the use of waxes and other surface treatments can do a great job of minimising the risks I think it's still best practice to store the two separately. Potentially over time one part of the coating dries up and precipitates into a solid or a part is rubbed off in contact with the sheath internals. This can create a hotspot/entry point for corrosion. Sometimes this can manifest as a perfectly nice and clean blade with one big deep pit- not fun to remove and in my view easily avoided by storing outside the sheath.

 

[Tuna2222]

While the use of waxes and other surface treatments can do a great job of minimising the risks I think it's still best practice to store the two separately. Potentially over time one part of the coating dries up and precipitates into a solid or a part is rubbed off in contact with the sheath internals. This can create a hotspot/entry point for corrosion. Sometimes this can manifest as a perfectly nice and clean blade with one big deep pit- not fun to remove and in my view easily avoided by storing outside the sheath.

Ah, that makes sense!