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which is more hefty, the 18 inch AK or 18 inch GRS?
Sam Hurley
Sam Hurley
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Which is beefier?
- Thread starter Sam Hurley
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Generally the Ak. But once in awhile one of the kamis will get a wild hair and make a regular HI lineup kukri over specs.
It's usually Sher who does this. The 18" GRS is plenty beefy enough and as I said before , will last 100 years of hard, hard work!!!!"
The AK is somewhat of an overkill
It's usually Sher who does this. The 18" GRS is plenty beefy enough and as I said before , will last 100 years of hard, hard work!!!!"
The AK is somewhat of an overkill
Have to agree with Yvsa. Both are super beefy and tough. Have a 21.5" GRS that weighs 3# and 20" AK that weighs 2 1/2# so there can be some variation in there. The GRS may have shallower bevels due to the width of the blade as compare to the AK. Just a thought.
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I have to disagree - I had an 18" AK by Bura (hopefully serving someone well in the Big Sandbox Over There, courtesy of Sarge. Great blade and I miss it sometimes) and have an 18" GRS, also by Bura. First, the GRS isn't really 18", more like 17" or 17.5". Second, the GRS is a slab of beefcake. It's a full 1/2, or slightly more, for a good portion of it's length and has no fullers. The AK was slimmer, maybe 3/8, and seemed to have a lot more taper - both point to tip and spine to edge. It was a quick, lithe blade (did I say I miss it? Better finish quick before I shed some tears 
). Not sure on the actual length and weight, and I'm going from feel memory - the BGRS definitely felt beefier.
So which chops better? I'd say the AK. The BGRS just didn't feel like it got as much bite. If you believe Cliff Stamp, you should use a fairly thin chopping edge - as on a felling ax - and this AK convinced me. Old khuks tend to be thinner than standard HI as well, and I think you can get high performance from a thin blade. I also think that scaling down the Ganga Ram design makes the pattern suffer a bit. The belly becomes a bit smaller, and the blade is still fairly wide at the bolster, which throws the balance off. Having handled a full-sized GRS at the Reno Khukvention, I think it is a totally different beast.
Finally, as Yvsa noted, there is lots of variation within a particular model. I'd try to specify slimmer or beefier when you order, as you prefer. My recommendation is to go with an 18" AK or step up to a full-sized Ganga Ram if you want a super-chopper.
). Not sure on the actual length and weight, and I'm going from feel memory - the BGRS definitely felt beefier. So which chops better? I'd say the AK. The BGRS just didn't feel like it got as much bite. If you believe Cliff Stamp, you should use a fairly thin chopping edge - as on a felling ax - and this AK convinced me. Old khuks tend to be thinner than standard HI as well, and I think you can get high performance from a thin blade. I also think that scaling down the Ganga Ram design makes the pattern suffer a bit. The belly becomes a bit smaller, and the blade is still fairly wide at the bolster, which throws the balance off. Having handled a full-sized GRS at the Reno Khukvention, I think it is a totally different beast.
Finally, as Yvsa noted, there is lots of variation within a particular model. I'd try to specify slimmer or beefier when you order, as you prefer. My recommendation is to go with an 18" AK or step up to a full-sized Ganga Ram if you want a super-chopper.
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And so it goes.
I don't have my 18" AK here at the moment as it's loaned out to a friend who needed several kukri options for some serious and fun work. However I do have a BirGhorka Villager AK here at hand. I'm pretty sure mine is heavier as it's a real beefy somauhbitch. Anyway the one at hand weighs in 1/2 ounce shy of two pounds or 31 & 1/2 ounces.
On the other hand my BGRS or 18" GRS weighs in at a mere
1 & 3/4 pound or 28 ounces!!!! The BGRS is better balanced, easier to handle, and being lighter, not as tiring which equals more work done at the end of the day!!!!
The main thing is that it cuts like a much Heavier Kukri which again equals more work done at the end of the day!!!!
And that's the advantage of buying a full fledged HI regular lineup piece. If you order one, and are willing to wait upon what you really want, you can pretty much specify the weight range you want it to fall in and get it.
I like that, as I think everyone who has ordered such a kukri from Bill does.Buying the blems, UBB's, PGA's and the BirGhorka Villagers you get what is offered.
But in general if you are lucky to get a BirGhorka Villager in a range from 17" to 20" you are getting a kukri that's representative of what's used in Nepal today.
That kukri will last you or your heirs a hundred years of steady eight to twelve hour days or more of hard demanding work and never give out or up.
To me the BirGhorka Villagers are the absolute best buy coming out of Nepal today!!!!
I have several, only one is representative of the HI Lineup and that's the 18" AK I've been talking about here. I really prefer the regular BirGhorka villagers and this one is slated as a giveaway for a new brother, the one I loaned several of my personal use kukri's including my 18" AK and my full sized GRS The other two are BirGhorka Villagers.
Edit:
One of these days I will always remember I have a spell checker in IE now.
Well I guess there is some variation in the khukuri lineup!
I am sitting here with an 18" AK and a 17.5" BGRS both by Bura.
The AK weighs 30oz. and the BGRS weighs 22.5oz.
The width of the blades is about the same 2 1/4" for the AK and 2 1/8" for the BGRS. The spine is thicker on the AK at 1/2" on the AK and 3/8" on the BGRS.
Guess it just matters what day, phase of the moon, how the Kami is feeling, etc.
Like both as they both chop like crazy. Will agree with Yvsa at the weight difference making a difference at the end of the day as you won't be as tired.
I am sitting here with an 18" AK and a 17.5" BGRS both by Bura.
The AK weighs 30oz. and the BGRS weighs 22.5oz.
The width of the blades is about the same 2 1/4" for the AK and 2 1/8" for the BGRS. The spine is thicker on the AK at 1/2" on the AK and 3/8" on the BGRS.
Guess it just matters what day, phase of the moon, how the Kami is feeling, etc.
Like both as they both chop like crazy. Will agree with Yvsa at the weight difference making a difference at the end of the day as you won't be as tired.
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Took my BGRS out and played with it a bit this weekend. Maybe a tinge of guilt - I think I sounded like I didn't like it too much. But it's a beautiful blade - 100% perfect Bura. Definite forward weight. It wants to jump out of your hand and chop.
But it's still the beefiest khuk I've ever played with. a full 1/2 inch at the bolster, maybe a sixteenth more if I measured with calipers, and keeps most of that width through the bend. The karda and chamka are also thicker than average, as is the leather that went into the sheath - half again as thick as most stuff I've seen the sarkis use, and twice as thick as the thinner stuff.
Edge could be a bit sharper, and would be awesome with a convex edge or as-is splitting logs. I think the 18" AK I'm comparing with edges out, based on the length. That extra inch really does make a difference.
But it's still the beefiest khuk I've ever played with. a full 1/2 inch at the bolster, maybe a sixteenth more if I measured with calipers, and keeps most of that width through the bend. The karda and chamka are also thicker than average, as is the leather that went into the sheath - half again as thick as most stuff I've seen the sarkis use, and twice as thick as the thinner stuff.
Edge could be a bit sharper, and would be awesome with a convex edge or as-is splitting logs. I think the 18" AK I'm comparing with edges out, based on the length. That extra inch really does make a difference.