Bill did too, and so has just about everyone who's ever owned one of Himalayan Imports AK Bowie. Like the Ang Kola khukuri, it has a thick spine; Rusty's old one is almost 7/16" at the widest point but generally is 3/8". The knife is exactly 15" long. It weighs 27 oz. Has the mark of the Rising Sun which is either Kesar or Sher.
Carter and I have wanted an AK Bowie forever. Getting Rusty's just made emotional good sense for us. I took Carter out when I went to the Dump this evening, and while his brothers were playing in bath water he and I were testing this Old Boy on fallen pine. There are a lot of downed trees from the Winter of cold and wind.
With my initial cuts I realized this was not a khuk. I found fresh again why I loved the khuk so much. When a Kukri digs deep, it also imparts torque and almost 'scoops' the material being cut. It has a push-pull movement due to its shape, and the weight forward brings a real decisive punch to any stroke. The khukuri is a premier chopper. This AK Bowie bites deep, does not stick, and in general probably does about as good a job as any knife could. But it is not a khuk. The handle on this one was rounded as a popular modification done for years by HI afficianados. I found the knife strike so straightforward that my fears of the rounded grip being twisted out of my grasp groundless. Maybe in a kukri, but not an AK Bowie.
It reminds me of a 40 year old soldier. There are younger, faster troops. Many of them are trained in more modern techiques. Some shoot better. But the old War Horse does a whole lot of things well. How many times have you said 'jack of all trades, master of none" regarding the AK Bowie? I'll join the chorus.
It's shorter than many of my prefered khuks so at least in size carries easier, if not in weight at 27 oz. Many of the newer ones are around 24 and would get a weight advantage also. It can chop, it can dig like a trowel, it can cut through heavy bone or dress out a large animal, and it can make a shelter.
There are specialized tools that do all of those things better.
A long while ago I experimented with carrying a knife instead of a sidearm while I hiked in the Wilderness with my small sons. Bayonets and fighting Marine knives were light but seemed inadequate. They represented being a whole lot closer to a Cougar than I'd like to get, and once there a whole lot of arms waving and scrambling to get in a good cut. When I found the kukri at HI, I had a perfect self defense and wood chopping tool. What Cougar would take more than one stroke from a 18" khukri? I left my fighting knives at home.
This AK Bowie would deliver a devastating blow. I can't imagine a Cougar responded to one good strike from this Behemoth. No, it's not as deadly a chopper as a khukuri, nor as pure and terrible a fighter as a HI Rose, but it would do those things too.
And if ever they made an unbreakable knife, this brute is one.
This Old Soldier gets the job done and is strong as an OX. He's too good to let go, well rounded, friendly and competant. I'd be a fool to replace him with a wet behind the ears college boy. I trust him.
munk
Carter and I have wanted an AK Bowie forever. Getting Rusty's just made emotional good sense for us. I took Carter out when I went to the Dump this evening, and while his brothers were playing in bath water he and I were testing this Old Boy on fallen pine. There are a lot of downed trees from the Winter of cold and wind.
With my initial cuts I realized this was not a khuk. I found fresh again why I loved the khuk so much. When a Kukri digs deep, it also imparts torque and almost 'scoops' the material being cut. It has a push-pull movement due to its shape, and the weight forward brings a real decisive punch to any stroke. The khukuri is a premier chopper. This AK Bowie bites deep, does not stick, and in general probably does about as good a job as any knife could. But it is not a khuk. The handle on this one was rounded as a popular modification done for years by HI afficianados. I found the knife strike so straightforward that my fears of the rounded grip being twisted out of my grasp groundless. Maybe in a kukri, but not an AK Bowie.
It reminds me of a 40 year old soldier. There are younger, faster troops. Many of them are trained in more modern techiques. Some shoot better. But the old War Horse does a whole lot of things well. How many times have you said 'jack of all trades, master of none" regarding the AK Bowie? I'll join the chorus.
It's shorter than many of my prefered khuks so at least in size carries easier, if not in weight at 27 oz. Many of the newer ones are around 24 and would get a weight advantage also. It can chop, it can dig like a trowel, it can cut through heavy bone or dress out a large animal, and it can make a shelter.
There are specialized tools that do all of those things better.
A long while ago I experimented with carrying a knife instead of a sidearm while I hiked in the Wilderness with my small sons. Bayonets and fighting Marine knives were light but seemed inadequate. They represented being a whole lot closer to a Cougar than I'd like to get, and once there a whole lot of arms waving and scrambling to get in a good cut. When I found the kukri at HI, I had a perfect self defense and wood chopping tool. What Cougar would take more than one stroke from a 18" khukri? I left my fighting knives at home.
This AK Bowie would deliver a devastating blow. I can't imagine a Cougar responded to one good strike from this Behemoth. No, it's not as deadly a chopper as a khukuri, nor as pure and terrible a fighter as a HI Rose, but it would do those things too.
And if ever they made an unbreakable knife, this brute is one.
This Old Soldier gets the job done and is strong as an OX. He's too good to let go, well rounded, friendly and competant. I'd be a fool to replace him with a wet behind the ears college boy. I trust him.
munk
Great review and you've hit the soul of the AKB right on the head. i keep trying to cycle through my collection to find a blade that does so many things, average as they may be. It's the HI survival blade. I have a trunk full of HI khuks and such. I get one or two of them out every few days to play around before i sheath them and tuck them back into their foam-lined bed.. You'll never find the AKB in there. There on the work bench buried deep into a pine block like the sword in the stone is the mighty bowie. Always ready. Always ready to hack, cut, pry, and hammer. always ready for the sporadic impromptu adventure. Always staring me in the face as I head out. "Hey! Where ya going?" it calls. "Over to your mom's house? Trees down, you say? Lemme grab my jacket and let's go!" I slide it into it into its worn duct tape sheath and it takes the dog's seat of my truck...if i had a dog. It's just that faithful. Sure, the GRS goes over to mom's as well as it is a chopper, and the Rose is by the bed every day and night to protect us from the improbable monsters that creep from our Id and make us hear the rattling doorknobs and creaking floorboards that are not there. The seax also sees 90% of the kitchen duty as it is a thin sharp blade with a great point for digging out bad spots in potatoes (Irish..eat lots). BUT, AK bowie is my beloved favorite. if the house was on fire and I could save only one knife it would be the AK bowie...then after i caught my breath, the bowie and i would fight our way back in to save its brothers. Not really. They'd be toast, but if i could trust one knife with the job...you know which one it'd be. 
