What is a panawal?

W

wolfenhawk

Joined
Oct 1, 2009
Messages
141
Hey guys, I got a question. While I was waiting for a new shipment to arrive at H.I. so I could get an M43 my hand started to itch for something longer and heavier than my 15" H.I. AK. I had been noticing some interesting Khuks on ebay and came across what was descibed as a 20" panawal. It looked very big and strong, with a full tang, and while it had no warrenty except I think as a return within 7 days and the guy had a 100% rating, that given the price I decided no risk, no gain and took the plunge. It has no Kami markings on it. Is this like a WWII or a SCAK.... or something else entirely? It looks very much like my H.I. AK given the placement of the fuller except the blade is slightly thinner, very slightly, less than a sixteenth I'd say; and the curve of the blade seems slightly less deep. Thanks in advance for any help.
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FYI I posted this in the cantina because I didn't want to get into trouble by asking about non HI products in the HI forum.
 
A panawal is pretty much the same as a churwa. They both have a full tang handle secured with pins and have the buttcap secured to the tang by a little nub.
 
ok, thanks for the responses guys. I didn't get it from KH, just a store on ebay that claims to have their own source in nepal.
 
wolfenhawk said:
So this is most like a SCAK?
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Pretty much, except it's thinner bladed, probably a little lighter and somewhat less finished.

wolfenhawk said:
I didn't get it from KH, just a store on ebay that claims to have their own source in nepal.
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They can claim anything they want, but chances are they are getting them from the same Arun that supplies KH. Back in the beginning H.I. also used to get khukuri from this Arun and pay a premium for them. When the owner of that Arun was Hospitalised the quality suffered and H.I. built it's own shop and hired its own Kami's to maintain supply, quality assurance and pricing.
Unless things have drastically changed (or i am mistaken), there are really only two major Aruns doing any business in Quality khukuri - BirGhorka(ours) and the old shop 1 Arun(theirs). The rest pretty much just make lesser quality tourist khukuri.
 
Karda said:
Pretty much, except it's thinner bladed, probably a little lighter and somewhat less finished.

They can claim anything they want, but chances are they are getting them from the same Arun that supplies KH. Back in the beginning H.I. also used to get khukuri from this Arun and pay a premium for them. When the owner of that Arun was Hospitalised the quality suffered and H.I. built it's own shop and hired its own Kami's to maintain supply, quality assurance and pricing.
Unless things have drastically changed (or i am mistaken), there are really only two major Aruns doing any business in Quality khukuri - BirGhorka(ours) and the old shop 1 Arun(theirs). The rest pretty much just make lesser quality tourist khukuri.
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Thanks for the info Karda. It sounds like you know more about the making and supply of Khuks than I ever will. I just got the panawal until I had another opportunity to get an m43; to have something heavier than my 15" HI AK. I'm satisfied with it's handling and weight and the way it holds an edge. I wouldn't know what to expect from a tourist quality blade. This one did have a place on the sheath that wasn't glued properly and I found a small rust spot near the spine of the blade, and some handle shrinkage; not much but some. So I figure it wouldn't have met with HI standards except perhaps as a blem. But it chops like a monster so for the moment I'm happy. I was mostly interested in what khuk it most resembled, AK, WWII, ect., and now I do. Thanks guys.
 
I dont claim to be a fountain of knowledge by any means and i'm only repeating what i've read in the archives, on the H.I. site or read from others like Yvsa whom was there when it happened.
Yeah, you are correct that with those slight defects it would probably be a blem by Aunties standards.
Unless my eyes are decieving me your new khuk appears to have the "back valley" or "back hollow" (which is the meaning of the word Ang Khola)ie; the depression near the spine between the tip and the curvature of the blade. That, along with the Churwa handle and 20" length would make it a SCAK or as close as you are able to get to the real deal we have here.
 
Karda said:
I dont claim to be a fountain of knowledge by any means and i'm only repeating what i've read in the archives, on the H.I. site or read from others like Yvsa whom was there when it happened.
Yeah, you are correct that with those slight defects it would probably be a blem by Aunties standards.
Unless my eyes are decieving me your new khuk appears to have the "back valley" or "back hollow" (which is the meaning of the word Ang Khola)ie; the depression near the spine between the tip and the curvature of the blade. That, along with the Churwa handle and 20" length would make it a SCAK or as close as you are able to get to the real deal we have here.
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Cool:cool:, Thanks Man. Thats what I wanted to know.:thumbup::D
 
Nice looking Khukris you have there. I rather like the handle on the Panawal. It's a Chiruwa Ang Khola with a curved handle and last I knew that paticulare style was made by Khukuri House under the Panawal name. Very cool IMO. I modified my HI Bolo's handle so it would be like that and it's really comfortable. :)

Would love to see some action shots with those two Khukris. Use them and take pics!!!

Heber
 
wildmanh said:
Nice looking Khukris you have there. I rather like the handle on the Panawal. It's a Chiruwa Ang Khola with a curved handle and last I knew that paticulare style was made by Khukuri House under the Panawal name. Very cool IMO. I modified my HI Bolo's handle so it would be like that and it's really comfortable. :)

Would love to see some action shots with those two Khukris. Use them and take pics!!!

Heber
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Thanks wildmanh. Yeh I really like the curve in the handle too, it's very comfortable. It feels like the curve helps keep the top point of the end of the handle from digging into the back of my palm as much. That and it's a little longer. Thanks for the info although I don't know that much about Khukuri house. I got this from a seller/store on ebay called nepalkhukuri. He doesn't offer a warrenty except returns within 7 days as i recall, but I read the feedback on him and it sounded like folks were satisfied with his Khuks, so I took a chance and it paid off. I have no idea were he got it from except that he says he gets them handmade from nepal.
I don't have any action pics as yet, although you can see some of the brush I was turning into kindling with my Khuks. I can say this much. I good swing shears thru a 3/4 " limb with my 15" AK and my 20" will go thru a limb almost twice as thick. They're both great choppers. Also the thing I like about my Khuks, especially my 15" is as sharp as you can get them you can easily shear thru very limber vines without having to hold them. The Khuks are so sharp they bite into the vine and shear right thru.:thumbup:
 
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