twolfnm
Member
KHHI Kustom Khukuris:
Introduction:
Greetings, people. Here we have two heavily customized khukuris (kukris) from KHHI, Khukuri House Handicrafts Industry, in Nepal.
http://TheKhukuriHouse.com
They are based on the "Victor" and the "Service No. 1" models, and this is my second order from KHHI. But before I get into this, let me give you some background info.
I've been buying quality knives since I was a little kid, and have a decent collection of blades in various styles. Last May, I decided to create a khukuri collection. Khuks are definitely different, and I think they have a "coolness factor" going on for them. They're also very practical, being made in a variety of weights and sizes to fill almost any fixed-blade knife need. Best of all, they are relatively inexpensive. The average price of a stock KHHI khuk, shipped, is about $100.
I did an extensive amount of research, bought a few khuks, and to make a long story short, determined that KHHI would be my source for these tools/weapons. I didn't want to mess around with the "Khukuri-Like Objects", I believe it's best to get genuine Nepalese khuks.
Back in September, I posted a review, here among a few other places, of the first two khuks I received from them. The pics came out the best in this one, check it out:
http://www.sword-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18582
Between being busy with life in general and playing with different designs, I took my time in finalizing a second order, and did that on Feb 10. Six weeks later, Mar 25, these bad boys arrived. These blades, handles, and sheaths are made to my custom design specs, originating with those existing models on their site. My apologies to the purists, but I don't like the traditional handles with a stick tang. For a few good reasons, a riveted full-tang grip is just plain superior.
I also figured that since I'm ordering these from the other side of the planet, and these people are fully capable of building any khuk someone would want (within reason), why not go all-out and design some really unique pieces? Right?
Historical overview:
Once again, there's quite a bit of information regarding khukuris around the 'net. I'll be very brief here and let you fine folks do your own research if they interest you. Since I'm advocating KHHI, I'd say to start with the substantial amount of historical info and research compiled by Mr. Saroj Lama Tamang (SLT) on his main site, linked above.
Since the 1500's, khuks have been traditionally made in every blade length from 7"/17cm to 22.5"/50cm. The most commonly seen over time, either as weapons or tools, range from 10"-14" or 25cm-35cm and weigh 1.25-1.75 lbs or 550-800g. However, the Nepalese still use all different sizes and weights, with some of the most awesome being the sacrificial blades that are around 18"/46cm, 4 lbs/1800g, or far more. That's not practical at all for everyday usage, but one like that might be nice as a final touch to a collection.
The Service No. 1, also known as the British Service Issue, is a historical military blade that was probably first made in the late '40s and is still in use by the ferocious Nepalese Gurkhas. Earlier models are said to have been ~11.5"/475g, and later models are ~10.5" and 550g. Over the past 23 years, KHHI has regularly won contracts to produce these service khuks for various branches of the Nepali military and police.
The Victor could also be considered a historical khuk, but probably only as a sacrificial blade. I don't think that anything over ~900g has ever been used as a regular Nepalese combat weapon, and at ~1250g, it's the type of large tool used for serious chopping, like whacking the heads off of sacrificial beasts.
Full Disclosure:
Becoming even more familiar with the KHHI products, realizing who these people truly are, and what their goals and plans are for improving the future of khukuris, the Kamis (khukuri craftsmen), and the others involved in producing them? I'm continuing my relationship with KHHI. Having owned a business for decades, I offer business advice, website modifications, and much more to SLT and the people at KHHI. I'm also working up a discount deal for forum members. I received these khukuris as compensation for my efforts. So I am biased, but I'll do my best to be completely objective in this review of their products.
If I'm not, call me on it. I want to produce good, honest reviews, not commercials.
I simply want to show you what KHHI is capable of, and you can take it from there.
My camera is an old 2.1 megapixel rig, so I'll apologize in advance for the quality of some photos, close-ups in particular. I think it does OK with the other pics. Cloud cover came and went, so that's the reason for the color variations. I also tried to minimize any reflections.
So, here we go!
Initial Impressions and Descriptions:
My apologies if I repeat anything from last time, but a lot of this general info is the same. Besides, it's the new pics and descriptions that count!
The actual ordering to delivery process may have taken 6 weeks in this case, but I was impressed once again with the delivery speed. It took 3 1/2 days for the package to get from Nepal to NM! A regular stock order should take about a month total time, but since these were custom designs, an extra 2 weeks was fine with me.
To make this review load faster and save bandwidth, I won't post pics of the packaging, it's exactly like the pics in my first review I linked above. If you want, you can look at them to see what I'm talking about.
There is one improvement, though. I had suggested that they sandwich the blades in cardboard and wrap that with tape, to protect the tips from getting dinged up in shipping. They are doing that now.
So, they come in a standard heavy-duty cardboard box , but the individual khuk packages are wrapped with a clothlike Lokta paper. Then, there is a LOT of bubble wrap around each heavily oiled plastic-wrapped khuk. The handles are wrapped separately inside, and oozing with lightweight oil. This time it didn't smell like cosmoline, it seemed to be regular lubricating oil. I missed the cosmoline smell, but I guess this is nicer for most people.
Contrary to some other khuk manufacturers, these are oiled so well that there's no way the metal can rust, and the handles can't dry out and crack if they get stuck in transit.
The sheaths were also wrapped in plastic to make sure they stay oil-free, and had wood wedges in the mouths to maintain the size and shape of the openings. There's also a nice Letter of Authenticity from SLT, printed on some waterproof plastic-paper.
Unwrapping these and wiping them down, I started getting that feeling. You know, the one where all your anxieties and apprehensions over a custom order just vanish as you realize you have EXACTLY what you wanted! Well, the neighbors think I'm crazy enough already, so I kept my excitement down to a nonverbal level. But I'm a very happy camper. These khuks arrived in immaculate condition, no problems whatsoever.
The blades are close to stock profiles, but both are customized by being hollow ground, then finished with a semi-polish. They are VERY sharp! The Service No. 1 is ~750g instead of ~550g. This Victor is a little broader in the forward section. The grips are my original designs, with the dark wood. You can specify either light brown or dark brown handles/grips, both East Indian Rosewood. The fit and finish of both khuks are very tight and solid.
Sheaths can come in cream, brown, black and green leather. I'm making a collection and going for contrast and variation, so I went with brown and green this time. You MIGHT be able get them in a "natural" and color them yourself, but I still haven't asked about that yet, so just ask them if that sounds like something you might want to do. I also added that cool little crossed khukuri pin to the Service No. 1, just as an accent.
KHHI's philosophy is to make working grade khuks. You can create some interesting variations, but they don't want to promise anything they can't deliver to everyone in the future. So, no purple rosewood. That kinda stinks, but I can see their point.
Bottom line, and to be completely objective, there are very tiny flaws in a few places, and you have to be looking closely to see them. Most of these will fade with usage. Considering the extremely basic conditions, tools, and techniques involved in producing these khuks, determine for yourself if you would overlook these things.
I'll elaborate more on everything as I go through the pics. First, here's the numbers:
Statistics: (There are actually a LOT of khukuri dimensions, but I'm going to keep this simple.)
Service No. 1:
751g/26.5oz/1.65lbs
10.5" blade
4.5" handle (with guard and pommel stud)
15.0" Overall Length (OAL)
15.5" OAL in sheath
Point of Balance (POB): 2 5/8" in front of guard
Blade angle: 24*
The Victor:
1262g/44.5oz/2.78lbs
15" blade
4 5/8" handle (with guard and exposed tang)
19 5/8" OAL
20.25" OAL in sheath
POB: 5.25" in front of guard
Blade angle: 22.5*
Components:
So, here's a buncha pics, with my comments:
(As usual, right click and hit "View Image" or whatever to see the full pic.)
Here's the khuks and sheaths, laid out:
Ready to travel. Note the quality of the sheathing leather, this is a nice grade of material, not cheap and rough by any means:
Reversed, with the solid rivets, not sewn. When I received these, the green Victor frog/belt loop was smooth and tight. However, we've had about 10-15% humidity here, and I think the inner and outer leather strips are drying out unevenly, causing those wrinkles. I'm going to try using some saddle soap or even some oil to hopefully even out the stresses:
A side view to show how thick the frogs are, with the doubled up leather. These are definitely more stout than the thin stuff I've received or have seen from the other two popular companies. As to the green frog, note the outer piece is not as thick, making me think the rate of shrinkage could indeed be different. Now is that a manufacturer's flaw? I consider it more of an unexpected development, this phenomenon might only be experienced in low humidity areas:
A close-up of the hollow ground blades. These khuks are perfectly straight, smooth, flat, and true from end to end. No twists, wavy lines, or little dips at all:
Another shot showing that these are absolutely straight. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to properly align both of these to be square with the camera, a millimeter makes a difference in appearance!
I thought I'd put my scale across the blades to show the extent of the hollow ground surfaces, just in case the other pics don't show it clearly:
Now to the grips. Notice the overall contours and tapers, and that there are no gaps full of filler. These guys do some fantastic woodwork, and followed my design specs and drawings very closely. Both handles fit me almost perfectly, I'll take a Dremel tool to them for the fine tuning:
Top side. The big Victor on the left, and it is flawless. I'll be extremely critical here, there's 2 tiny grinder skips on the Svc No. 1, but overall the wood to metal transitions are continuously tight on both:
The undersides. There's a dent in the wood to the left of the exposed tang on the Victor, but I did that. Ouch.
The light reflections caused it to look like there are waves in the finger grooves of the Victor tang. Those aren't really there.
Being highly critical once more, there's a grinder nick on the Svc. No. 1. Also, there's a little bit of glue that didn't get cleaned up at the intersection of both guards, but again very straight and clean overall:
A close-up of the pommel and stud on the Service No. 1, nice:
Handling Characteristics:
You guys and gals KNOW to be very careful and highly aware when using sharp stuff that might kill you or at least mess up your day, right?
OK then, there's my PSA for the day, back to the fun.
I might be getting older, but I'm still solid muscle, so I can handle more knife weight than most people, and I believe that khuks should be relatively heavy to begin with, no matter what the dimensions. I'll be designing more of the smaller and lighter khuks, but they will still be heavy for their size. I consider these two to be "medium" and "on the big and heavy side".
Service No. 1:
Since this is truly a combat blade, I'll focus on those aspects. At 10.5" and 751g, this is still an incredibly fast blade to maneuver. It has excellent balance, but the weight is definitely there. As we say with katanas, it has "presence".
The length is also obvious, but it doesn't feel like a long blade. It's perceptibly slower than any of my "regular" 6-8" and 250-350g combat/tactical knives, but not enough that it would make any real difference. It's still small enough to carry concealed, and light enough to carry all day in that condition.
Since everyone knows what a 7" KaBar is, I'll say I'd take this khuk anytime over that, despite it being 2.5x as heavy. But that's the point, this is virtually as fast, but it has the weight to easily sever stuff where the KaBar would just slice things. Once again, I can see why the Gurkhas love these babies. And given our size difference, I had this one made proportionally heavier to match me. (The average Gurkha is 150 lbs.)
Now as a hacker/chopper, this is more than sufficient to do anything you'd expect of it. It just won't be as fast as something over 900g/32oz. When I stab things with this khuk, it feels natural and does a good job of it. I've found it takes just a little time, but stabbing with a curved khukuri blade is easier than a straight knife in some circumstances!
The Victor:
At 15" and 1262g, this is a big and heavy khuk, but it's easily handled if you have good wrists and forearms. It's still light enough to move fairly quickly, but it's more like swinging a Eurosword. As a weapon, it will work fine, but it would wear on you in a prolonged engagement. As a chopping device, the Victor rocks. It will probably go through any material of reasonable size and density that you would want to tackle. If I was supremely motivated, I could swing this baby all day long, but that would truly be pushing it. I really draw the line at 1000g for that, one-handed. Stabbing with it actually feels instinctive, it handles just like a short sword in that respect.
But honestly? This one is more of a functional show piece for me, I want a few heavy khuks. I still plan on getting an 18" 1800g/4lb Panawal, just for kicks. But that is at the last of my list. As you continue on to the test cutting I did on a log, I want to let you know that this Victor cut far deeper into it than my full-sized ax!
Not bad a'tall ...
Test Cutting:
I'm back with a chunk of the 6" log I used in September, and this stuff is still DRY and HARD! The ax only went into it about 5/8", so this is not like chopping soft, green wood. Onward, then.
12 whacks with the 750g midsize Service No. 1, it is still kind of light for serious chopping, but it did well:
Now for the Victor. At 1250g and 15", this big blade did some damage! I hit the log with two wide hits first to see if I could just open up a channel, and it sent a huge chunk of rock-hard wood flying across the yard! I guess that was part luck, because after that it just threw chips and splinters everywhere. A dozen serious chops resulted in this:
BOOM-whacka-hacka-cracka, Muah-ha-HA! (Sorry, but ya shoulda been there!)
Some Quality Observations:
You've seen the pics, and I might have pointed out more little items than you would have noticed on your own. But there's no rust, twists, roughness, blobs of filler, or loose parts. No real issues at all. You decide what you think of that. And once again, these come from a place with dirt floors and very basic equipment, made by Kamis who have never even heard of a CNC machine. Yet they produce some very nice knives.
Conclusions:
You might be thinking, "Yeah, but those are custom ordered. They SHOULD be nice." Well, I've seen a lot of their production pieces, picked at random, and although the designs might not be as complex, the quality is precisely like these. I'll say it once again: I think the quality and craftsmanship of the KHHI products is simply the best. Then consider the variety, about 140 models of every shape, size, and weight. And as far as bang for the buck, you can't beat the price, especially if you want to customize yours. Even if you're a die-hard fan of one of the other two popular manufacturers, you owe it to yourself to give one of these a place in your collection. Better yet, keep one in your truck, along with your fire extinguisher and your handgun.
Necessities, ya know?
In closing, I think I'll make this my last review of KHHI khukuris. Some might think that no matter how objective I try to be, there is an inherent conflict in my reviewing their products. So, from here on out, I'll just post pics and descriptions of my future acquisitions, while still avoiding writing commercials.
That should satisfy everyone, I hope.
Thanks for reading, - TW
.
Introduction:
Greetings, people. Here we have two heavily customized khukuris (kukris) from KHHI, Khukuri House Handicrafts Industry, in Nepal.
http://TheKhukuriHouse.com
They are based on the "Victor" and the "Service No. 1" models, and this is my second order from KHHI. But before I get into this, let me give you some background info.
I've been buying quality knives since I was a little kid, and have a decent collection of blades in various styles. Last May, I decided to create a khukuri collection. Khuks are definitely different, and I think they have a "coolness factor" going on for them. They're also very practical, being made in a variety of weights and sizes to fill almost any fixed-blade knife need. Best of all, they are relatively inexpensive. The average price of a stock KHHI khuk, shipped, is about $100.
I did an extensive amount of research, bought a few khuks, and to make a long story short, determined that KHHI would be my source for these tools/weapons. I didn't want to mess around with the "Khukuri-Like Objects", I believe it's best to get genuine Nepalese khuks.
Back in September, I posted a review, here among a few other places, of the first two khuks I received from them. The pics came out the best in this one, check it out:
http://www.sword-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18582
Between being busy with life in general and playing with different designs, I took my time in finalizing a second order, and did that on Feb 10. Six weeks later, Mar 25, these bad boys arrived. These blades, handles, and sheaths are made to my custom design specs, originating with those existing models on their site. My apologies to the purists, but I don't like the traditional handles with a stick tang. For a few good reasons, a riveted full-tang grip is just plain superior.
I also figured that since I'm ordering these from the other side of the planet, and these people are fully capable of building any khuk someone would want (within reason), why not go all-out and design some really unique pieces? Right?
Historical overview:
Once again, there's quite a bit of information regarding khukuris around the 'net. I'll be very brief here and let you fine folks do your own research if they interest you. Since I'm advocating KHHI, I'd say to start with the substantial amount of historical info and research compiled by Mr. Saroj Lama Tamang (SLT) on his main site, linked above.
Since the 1500's, khuks have been traditionally made in every blade length from 7"/17cm to 22.5"/50cm. The most commonly seen over time, either as weapons or tools, range from 10"-14" or 25cm-35cm and weigh 1.25-1.75 lbs or 550-800g. However, the Nepalese still use all different sizes and weights, with some of the most awesome being the sacrificial blades that are around 18"/46cm, 4 lbs/1800g, or far more. That's not practical at all for everyday usage, but one like that might be nice as a final touch to a collection.
The Service No. 1, also known as the British Service Issue, is a historical military blade that was probably first made in the late '40s and is still in use by the ferocious Nepalese Gurkhas. Earlier models are said to have been ~11.5"/475g, and later models are ~10.5" and 550g. Over the past 23 years, KHHI has regularly won contracts to produce these service khuks for various branches of the Nepali military and police.
The Victor could also be considered a historical khuk, but probably only as a sacrificial blade. I don't think that anything over ~900g has ever been used as a regular Nepalese combat weapon, and at ~1250g, it's the type of large tool used for serious chopping, like whacking the heads off of sacrificial beasts.
Full Disclosure:
Becoming even more familiar with the KHHI products, realizing who these people truly are, and what their goals and plans are for improving the future of khukuris, the Kamis (khukuri craftsmen), and the others involved in producing them? I'm continuing my relationship with KHHI. Having owned a business for decades, I offer business advice, website modifications, and much more to SLT and the people at KHHI. I'm also working up a discount deal for forum members. I received these khukuris as compensation for my efforts. So I am biased, but I'll do my best to be completely objective in this review of their products.
If I'm not, call me on it. I want to produce good, honest reviews, not commercials.
I simply want to show you what KHHI is capable of, and you can take it from there.
My camera is an old 2.1 megapixel rig, so I'll apologize in advance for the quality of some photos, close-ups in particular. I think it does OK with the other pics. Cloud cover came and went, so that's the reason for the color variations. I also tried to minimize any reflections.
So, here we go!
Initial Impressions and Descriptions:
My apologies if I repeat anything from last time, but a lot of this general info is the same. Besides, it's the new pics and descriptions that count!
The actual ordering to delivery process may have taken 6 weeks in this case, but I was impressed once again with the delivery speed. It took 3 1/2 days for the package to get from Nepal to NM! A regular stock order should take about a month total time, but since these were custom designs, an extra 2 weeks was fine with me.
To make this review load faster and save bandwidth, I won't post pics of the packaging, it's exactly like the pics in my first review I linked above. If you want, you can look at them to see what I'm talking about.
There is one improvement, though. I had suggested that they sandwich the blades in cardboard and wrap that with tape, to protect the tips from getting dinged up in shipping. They are doing that now.
So, they come in a standard heavy-duty cardboard box , but the individual khuk packages are wrapped with a clothlike Lokta paper. Then, there is a LOT of bubble wrap around each heavily oiled plastic-wrapped khuk. The handles are wrapped separately inside, and oozing with lightweight oil. This time it didn't smell like cosmoline, it seemed to be regular lubricating oil. I missed the cosmoline smell, but I guess this is nicer for most people.
Contrary to some other khuk manufacturers, these are oiled so well that there's no way the metal can rust, and the handles can't dry out and crack if they get stuck in transit.
The sheaths were also wrapped in plastic to make sure they stay oil-free, and had wood wedges in the mouths to maintain the size and shape of the openings. There's also a nice Letter of Authenticity from SLT, printed on some waterproof plastic-paper.
Unwrapping these and wiping them down, I started getting that feeling. You know, the one where all your anxieties and apprehensions over a custom order just vanish as you realize you have EXACTLY what you wanted! Well, the neighbors think I'm crazy enough already, so I kept my excitement down to a nonverbal level. But I'm a very happy camper. These khuks arrived in immaculate condition, no problems whatsoever.
The blades are close to stock profiles, but both are customized by being hollow ground, then finished with a semi-polish. They are VERY sharp! The Service No. 1 is ~750g instead of ~550g. This Victor is a little broader in the forward section. The grips are my original designs, with the dark wood. You can specify either light brown or dark brown handles/grips, both East Indian Rosewood. The fit and finish of both khuks are very tight and solid.
Sheaths can come in cream, brown, black and green leather. I'm making a collection and going for contrast and variation, so I went with brown and green this time. You MIGHT be able get them in a "natural" and color them yourself, but I still haven't asked about that yet, so just ask them if that sounds like something you might want to do. I also added that cool little crossed khukuri pin to the Service No. 1, just as an accent.
KHHI's philosophy is to make working grade khuks. You can create some interesting variations, but they don't want to promise anything they can't deliver to everyone in the future. So, no purple rosewood. That kinda stinks, but I can see their point.
Bottom line, and to be completely objective, there are very tiny flaws in a few places, and you have to be looking closely to see them. Most of these will fade with usage. Considering the extremely basic conditions, tools, and techniques involved in producing these khuks, determine for yourself if you would overlook these things.
I'll elaborate more on everything as I go through the pics. First, here's the numbers:
Statistics: (There are actually a LOT of khukuri dimensions, but I'm going to keep this simple.)
Service No. 1:
751g/26.5oz/1.65lbs
10.5" blade
4.5" handle (with guard and pommel stud)
15.0" Overall Length (OAL)
15.5" OAL in sheath
Point of Balance (POB): 2 5/8" in front of guard
Blade angle: 24*
The Victor:
1262g/44.5oz/2.78lbs
15" blade
4 5/8" handle (with guard and exposed tang)
19 5/8" OAL
20.25" OAL in sheath
POB: 5.25" in front of guard
Blade angle: 22.5*
Components:
So, here's a buncha pics, with my comments:
(As usual, right click and hit "View Image" or whatever to see the full pic.)
Here's the khuks and sheaths, laid out:
Ready to travel. Note the quality of the sheathing leather, this is a nice grade of material, not cheap and rough by any means:
Reversed, with the solid rivets, not sewn. When I received these, the green Victor frog/belt loop was smooth and tight. However, we've had about 10-15% humidity here, and I think the inner and outer leather strips are drying out unevenly, causing those wrinkles. I'm going to try using some saddle soap or even some oil to hopefully even out the stresses:
A side view to show how thick the frogs are, with the doubled up leather. These are definitely more stout than the thin stuff I've received or have seen from the other two popular companies. As to the green frog, note the outer piece is not as thick, making me think the rate of shrinkage could indeed be different. Now is that a manufacturer's flaw? I consider it more of an unexpected development, this phenomenon might only be experienced in low humidity areas:
A close-up of the hollow ground blades. These khuks are perfectly straight, smooth, flat, and true from end to end. No twists, wavy lines, or little dips at all:
Another shot showing that these are absolutely straight. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to properly align both of these to be square with the camera, a millimeter makes a difference in appearance!
I thought I'd put my scale across the blades to show the extent of the hollow ground surfaces, just in case the other pics don't show it clearly:
Now to the grips. Notice the overall contours and tapers, and that there are no gaps full of filler. These guys do some fantastic woodwork, and followed my design specs and drawings very closely. Both handles fit me almost perfectly, I'll take a Dremel tool to them for the fine tuning:
Top side. The big Victor on the left, and it is flawless. I'll be extremely critical here, there's 2 tiny grinder skips on the Svc No. 1, but overall the wood to metal transitions are continuously tight on both:
The undersides. There's a dent in the wood to the left of the exposed tang on the Victor, but I did that. Ouch.
The light reflections caused it to look like there are waves in the finger grooves of the Victor tang. Those aren't really there.
Being highly critical once more, there's a grinder nick on the Svc. No. 1. Also, there's a little bit of glue that didn't get cleaned up at the intersection of both guards, but again very straight and clean overall:
A close-up of the pommel and stud on the Service No. 1, nice:
Handling Characteristics:
You guys and gals KNOW to be very careful and highly aware when using sharp stuff that might kill you or at least mess up your day, right?
OK then, there's my PSA for the day, back to the fun.
I might be getting older, but I'm still solid muscle, so I can handle more knife weight than most people, and I believe that khuks should be relatively heavy to begin with, no matter what the dimensions. I'll be designing more of the smaller and lighter khuks, but they will still be heavy for their size. I consider these two to be "medium" and "on the big and heavy side".
Service No. 1:
Since this is truly a combat blade, I'll focus on those aspects. At 10.5" and 751g, this is still an incredibly fast blade to maneuver. It has excellent balance, but the weight is definitely there. As we say with katanas, it has "presence".
The length is also obvious, but it doesn't feel like a long blade. It's perceptibly slower than any of my "regular" 6-8" and 250-350g combat/tactical knives, but not enough that it would make any real difference. It's still small enough to carry concealed, and light enough to carry all day in that condition.
Since everyone knows what a 7" KaBar is, I'll say I'd take this khuk anytime over that, despite it being 2.5x as heavy. But that's the point, this is virtually as fast, but it has the weight to easily sever stuff where the KaBar would just slice things. Once again, I can see why the Gurkhas love these babies. And given our size difference, I had this one made proportionally heavier to match me. (The average Gurkha is 150 lbs.)
Now as a hacker/chopper, this is more than sufficient to do anything you'd expect of it. It just won't be as fast as something over 900g/32oz. When I stab things with this khuk, it feels natural and does a good job of it. I've found it takes just a little time, but stabbing with a curved khukuri blade is easier than a straight knife in some circumstances!
The Victor:
At 15" and 1262g, this is a big and heavy khuk, but it's easily handled if you have good wrists and forearms. It's still light enough to move fairly quickly, but it's more like swinging a Eurosword. As a weapon, it will work fine, but it would wear on you in a prolonged engagement. As a chopping device, the Victor rocks. It will probably go through any material of reasonable size and density that you would want to tackle. If I was supremely motivated, I could swing this baby all day long, but that would truly be pushing it. I really draw the line at 1000g for that, one-handed. Stabbing with it actually feels instinctive, it handles just like a short sword in that respect.
But honestly? This one is more of a functional show piece for me, I want a few heavy khuks. I still plan on getting an 18" 1800g/4lb Panawal, just for kicks. But that is at the last of my list. As you continue on to the test cutting I did on a log, I want to let you know that this Victor cut far deeper into it than my full-sized ax!
Not bad a'tall ...
Test Cutting:
I'm back with a chunk of the 6" log I used in September, and this stuff is still DRY and HARD! The ax only went into it about 5/8", so this is not like chopping soft, green wood. Onward, then.
12 whacks with the 750g midsize Service No. 1, it is still kind of light for serious chopping, but it did well:
Now for the Victor. At 1250g and 15", this big blade did some damage! I hit the log with two wide hits first to see if I could just open up a channel, and it sent a huge chunk of rock-hard wood flying across the yard! I guess that was part luck, because after that it just threw chips and splinters everywhere. A dozen serious chops resulted in this:
BOOM-whacka-hacka-cracka, Muah-ha-HA! (Sorry, but ya shoulda been there!)
Some Quality Observations:
You've seen the pics, and I might have pointed out more little items than you would have noticed on your own. But there's no rust, twists, roughness, blobs of filler, or loose parts. No real issues at all. You decide what you think of that. And once again, these come from a place with dirt floors and very basic equipment, made by Kamis who have never even heard of a CNC machine. Yet they produce some very nice knives.
Conclusions:
You might be thinking, "Yeah, but those are custom ordered. They SHOULD be nice." Well, I've seen a lot of their production pieces, picked at random, and although the designs might not be as complex, the quality is precisely like these. I'll say it once again: I think the quality and craftsmanship of the KHHI products is simply the best. Then consider the variety, about 140 models of every shape, size, and weight. And as far as bang for the buck, you can't beat the price, especially if you want to customize yours. Even if you're a die-hard fan of one of the other two popular manufacturers, you owe it to yourself to give one of these a place in your collection. Better yet, keep one in your truck, along with your fire extinguisher and your handgun.
Necessities, ya know?
In closing, I think I'll make this my last review of KHHI khukuris. Some might think that no matter how objective I try to be, there is an inherent conflict in my reviewing their products. So, from here on out, I'll just post pics and descriptions of my future acquisitions, while still avoiding writing commercials.
That should satisfy everyone, I hope.
Thanks for reading, - TW
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