What kind of knives did you prefer before you found khukuris?

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395
:
I don't know if we've ever talked about this before and my apologies if we have.
But it does seem like a good topic that can at least be refreshed since we have a lot of new people on the forum now.:D

I have always preferred large knives such as the Bowie and of course all the unusual knives from around the world before I found Himalayan Imports, Uncle Bill and the world of khukuris.
Now it seems the khukuri is my favorite all around knife except for really small detailed work that only a variety of different blades, some of them very small, will perform.

So what did you prefer, buy, dream about, or collect before you found the world of H.I. and the best khukuris in the world?:D
 
Balisongs. Still love 'em. I love flippin' them, although I'm not very good. The problem is that it's kind of hard to get them where I live. It's not like they're illegal here, but everyone thinks that they are, including dealers. I can't get any of the good stuff like the 42, so I make do with the couple that I do have. Can't really push them that hard or experiment very much because if I break them I'll be hard pressed to find replacements.

I'm starting to appreciate other types of knives now. I am eagerly waiting the arrival of my my first bowie, a Randall #1.
 
Boot knives. They are the only "category" that ever held my attention, BK (before Khuks :)) I once had a Loveless boot in my hand, priced at $150, and the money in my pocket. Thoughts of bills, loud voices, etc., kept me on the straight and narrow. Discretion is not always the better part of valor. This knife sold last year for (:o ) $1,900. Not one "just like it" - the self-same knife.
 
Hi Yvsa! Good topic! I bought whatever the local knife shop had. I bought alot of SOGs And I still like there knives alot! The SOG Bowie is A VERY nice blade! I also got old bayonets and old war era blades. I like some Cold steel knives too! I carry A Chirs Reeve Sebenza Folder every day, It's by far the best folder made today! Mine was made in December of 97. I found out about HI khuks in a Blade mag I bought at the knife shop in 1993! I was trying to find a suplier for khukuris ever sense I saw the movie Cyborg with Jean Claude Vann Damm. He used A khukuri in the film, I thought the movie was good as far as fighting and the use of knives go(very good fighting seans!)That movie was made in 1989 so it took me almost 4 years befor I found HI. Between then I got a few junk khuks at flea markets but have gotter rid or them sence. I now only buy genuine HI Khukuris!:)
 
A puuko and old Plumb hatchet accompanied me for miles of trail before my khukuri. I haven't had a chance yet to get on the trail with my khuk yet, but I think a Leatherman and khukuri will work great together.
At work we aren't allowed fixed bladed knives on our gun belts, so I carry a Buck Cross Lock. The gut hook is great for opening shackles and digging through ice on Fisheries cases.
Sar
 
Forgot,
I usually carry a CS Hombre' (a small Vaquero) in my pocket off-duty. I like it's broad recurving blade. Kind of like a cross between a (folding) Khukuri and a Yhataghan.
Sar
 
Kamagong I too love Balisongs! My very first knife my mom got me was a Benchmade butterfly knife befor they were known as Benchmade(mid 80's I think??) I lost that knife in the Pouder river during snow melt off on a camping trip so there was no chance to go in after it!:( I have sense gotten a BM42!! If you can get one do it, there NICE!!
 
I have always had a love for bowies. There are so many different interpretations of them that you can really get caught up in type, pattern, time period,etc. Khuks seem to be that same way, great variety and different styles to keep you jumping. BIG, has always been a theme in my collection of blades though. I am just gaining an appreciation for the great usefulness of the small blade. Can not carry too many!! HaHa My poor back.
 
In the beginning I collected all sorts of folding and fixed blades. Spyderco, Cold Steel, a couple SOG's, and Victorionox are just a few off the top of my head. Not really a collection, just whatever I ran upon and I liked it enough to buy. An SRK, Recon Tanto, LTC Kuk (an insult to the real thing), and a AUS-8 Oyabun are my mentionable CS Fixed blades, everything else is poo-poo Pakastan junk.

I never really got into large knives until Feb of this year. I was researching the Falcata and Alexander the Great for a paper in one of my religion courses, and I ran upon Howard's FAQ page. I am still astonished at how much there is out there about Khukris, and how the vast majority comes from this forum.

The khukri is my favorite large blade. Unlike other knives that you are unsure of what they can do, own one Khukri and you will want 2 more just to see what they are not capable of. Not only are they beautiful, but more functional than anything else I own.

I believe someone said on this forum that if they had to go between a CNC manufactured knife, and an handmade knife for a survival situation. They would choose the handmade because of the time and quality the person would put into it knowing that their knife would save your life. Also, that their business depended on their reputation and your word of mouth.

I was thinking of how the Kamis cannot read, and how most of their society is illiterate. This means that word of mouth is all they have, a man's word is literaly his bond. If a person in that society needs a good knife, they do not go to a store, or a magazine, they ask around. A mans reputation really does preceed him. The good metal-workers will find jobs, and those who are not will find somthing else. (In our case the great metal-workers work with metal until they get bored and then go farm ;) )

We have great individuals make us some beautiful works of art, and gentlemen, I am going to buy what I can afford, cause this is the best a cutting / chopping tool one can get. Eat'em up while you can. :D
 
:
I have the standard SRK that almost everyone buys. I have thinned the edge way down on mine to make it a more effiecient cutter.
I also have a Trailmaster Bowie that I will get around to rehandleing one of these days, have some old "Christmas Tree" micarta I'm gonna put on it and a new steel guard. All of my H.I.Khukuri's put it too shame!!!!:)

And I also have the CS LTC. And while it may not be a real khukuri it makes a wonderful "bent" machete and has a fond place in my heart for what it can do.
It's one of the few knive's I have that has a nickname, it's called the "Biter" because of the many times it has bit me.:D
It used to be that every time I used it the dayumed thang would bite me somewhere.
The worst it ever got me was when I pulled my hand underneath the blade and into the edge.
That one got me 5 stitches, had to call my daughter with her doggie sewing kit to stitch me up. She done good, very little scarring with the 5 stitches and little pain and no infection, sure glad she knows how to sew up animals.:)
And the best part of it was I didn't have to pay a dr. bill.:D
 
Bro' Yvsa,

I'm still all over the place with my collection. I buy what I like, but I find (and not unhappily) that it's not limited to any one genre.

Of course, that means that I have to walk an entire show since I never usually know what I want until I see it. ;)

I guess there's something to be said for being eclectic.
 
I have always had a fondness for anything hand made but not limited to knives. Generally, the older the better. I'd love to get one of those kami crafted shotguns and pistols and may try to do it if I live long enough. I'll have to dismantle them and bring them in pieces but so what.
 
Yvsa,

Good topic.

I have an assortment (2) of bowies... a Blackjack Moran-Warner and a Cold Steel Trailmaster, various other folders and five balis (love um too), and my old EDC Spydie Delica (I have retired her to sit beside my old Buck 110 and now carry a PC 68 bali).

I remember handling an SOG Trident at a gun show a few years ago. This one had a spirit to it also, but it wasn't a good one. It definately wanted to be fed... and RIGHT NOW... I put it back :eek:

I also have a huge interest in swords, but don't own one yet. Someday... someday :)

Alan
 
My favorites come in catagories now. My favorite knife for character and sheer usability is the Khukuri. It's the only one that has made nearly every job easy to do.
Favorite knife for playing with used to be a balisong type, untill someone stole it. Now they are illegal in the uk and impossible to get.
Ultimate kitchen knife is a Santakugata Hocho knife, called a 'petty' knife. It's a layer of carbon steel sandwiched between two layers of stainless, and it makes every other kitchen knife redundant. It's easy to sharpen and takes an edge capable of taking my stubble off.
Khukuri wins hands down for pleasure and that indeterminate thing which makes you want to hold it and look at it.

Jeff and Miss K, and a newcomer! A 25" Sirupati, which as yet has no name. I'm waiting for inspiration.....
 
My favorite knives before khukuri's had to meet 3 criterias, biggest I could get, decent quality, and I could afford it.

My favorite knives before H.I. were the Cold Steel LTC. I had used a Ka Bar USMC knife and found it quite inadequate for chopping. This started my quest for something bigger. When the CS ATS first came up I ordered one. Somewhere between the order and delivery the ATC was discontinued and the LTC showed up. The dealer started handing most of my money back and the box felt much lighter than I expected. Not a good sign but it was best suited for my application until the CS Gurkha came out. A few months latter I bought my first H.I. These knives are well suited to my stature and application.

Yvsa, did your daughter give you doggie penicillin?

Will
 
Nice one, Yvsa, makes one stop and ponder a bit.

I'm a more or less newbie collector. Once the collection (more an accumulation) settled down into a recognizable pattern it was almost (but not quite) exclusivly Spydie folders.

I stumbled across the HI forum by accident and acquired a 20" AK. Unfortunatly, the AK had not been disinfected and a bad case of HIKV ensued.

Based on head count or cost, the folders still have the number 1 slot, but the HI Khuks are catching up and already may have the top slot based on sheer weight.

The HI stuff would be taking over a lot faster if not for the sharks that inhabit the HI forum. :cool:

Hawk
 
Well I suppose everyone can guess what Im gonna say. But Ive always and still love Moro knives. Especially the barong and the kris comes a close second. After these I would place HI khukris. Both are things that I dream about and that I try and save my pennies for. However before either Balisongs were my blade of choice. But living in the States kinda limits the kinds of balisongs I can buy. Call me strange but Ive never been a fan of benchmade. Still prefer my good old bataangas bali over any soul-less machined piece of steel.
 
Well, I've always (and still do) prefer a balisong as the folder to have and use. It's just an extremely efficient and strong knife design. Back in (circa) 1981 almost bought an Pacific Cutlery made balisong. Then noticed the price tag was $199.95 not $19.95 :D. Too rich for my then youthful pocketbook. Was heavily into the MA then, which led to that.

In a fixed blade design, have always favored a double edged dagger, ala Fairbairn-Sykes or the CS Tai Pan. So instead of the Pacific Cutlery balisong (later bought an inexpensive Benchmade model), got the Goober Mark II. Nice design, but the steel was so brittle, about 3/16 of the tip broke when it contacted a formica counter-top! It was reshaped/resharpened and stayed under the front seat of every automobile I owned from 1981 to 1996. Sold for $40.00 at a gun and knife show in Portland.

My departed uncle Jean, who fought in the French La' Resistance, picked up a Khukuri somewhere during his war days and always had it displayed on the wall of his livingroom. We frequently visited his family and this is where my fascination with Khukuris began (mid 1960's). Bought an CS ATC when it first came out (This is just a pix grabbed off the web. Mine had the Kraton handle (shown below)). Hey, it was the only quality Khukuri being made at that time that I knew of :( In '95, traded that blade and a $100.00 for a beautiful pitbull puppy :)

When I passed boards in '92, my best friend gave me a 6" CS tanto (one of the first stainless steel ones made). It is always the smaller 'other' blade I carry with an HI Khukuri. This led to a liking of Japanese style blades. One of my favorites is a 20" Wally Hayes style combat wakizashi, also called the "Tsunami".
 
I had a mixed collection of knives, and as I grew older the desire to specialise grew also. So I let myself be led by what I saw on shows and exhibitions, to decide into which field should I specialise. In the end my lot fell in with khukuris. It has opened a new world for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top