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Post by 1776 on Jul 13, 2016 3:29:00 GMT
Why is there this big buzz for the Kukri? I'm seeing all sorts of Kukris used for all sorts of things. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Kukri? Why use them when you could have a normal straight knife?
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Post by Croccifixio on Jul 13, 2016 5:18:37 GMT
Heavy chopper with the forward blade.
Very thick traditionally.
Gurkha mystique.
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Post by MOK on Jul 13, 2016 7:49:55 GMT
The traditional kukri is a compact, powerful chopper and quite pretty. What's not to like? And yeah, being associated with the Gurkhas doesn't exactly hurt the marketability.
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Post by randomnobody on Jul 13, 2016 13:16:32 GMT
Basically, this has already been covered, but the recurved design and wide belly do, indeed, lend themselves nicely to an ergonomic, heavy utility tool. It's also a decent design for a weapon, look at falcata, kopis, yataghan, and others.
Versus a straight knife, some may suggest better shock absorption, or point out the depth of belly (how the edge curves) concentrates force into a smaller area, lending to better penetration in a chop.
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Post by hypurr on Jul 13, 2016 15:04:40 GMT
Here's a good comparison. Kukri is very versatile. I keep mine near my bed, the chopping power of it is tremendous and the size is good for close quarters inside. I also use it for yard work. It'll go right through a large banana tree like a hot knife through butter. Much more power than a similarly sized straight blade.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 14, 2016 3:49:46 GMT
Hmmm. Seems the Kukri is a "jack of all trades". I like that. It also seems to be a very good weapon, for it's size and vs. a straight knife/dagger of the same size. Of course, as the guy in the video said though, the Kukri takes a bit to learn how to use. And, after a little web surfing it would seem I shouldn't ask who to buy a Kukri from. Very emotional topic.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 14, 2016 4:01:00 GMT
...But, I'll ask anyways. Hehehe. After a bit of looking it would seem that Ex Gurkha Khukuri House is the company to buy from. Of course I could pay more and get a better Kukri, but the Kukri House blades seem very good and are priced nice. www.kultofathena.com/egkh.asp That or a Cold Steel kukri machete.
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Post by tancred on Jul 14, 2016 4:47:34 GMT
1776, I've owned three kukris before. Two were made by Windlass, and the third was from Khukri House. The latter was smaller, but extremely blade-heavy. Pretty poor balance. It looked really nice, and was well made, though. I ended up trading it away as part of a purchase of a sword. Still have my two Windlass kukris, the standard military issue one and the Assam's Rifle one. I prefer the former. The hilt is just really nice, and makes for an excellent grip.
I don't think you can go wrong ordering from Kult of Athena, no matter which maker you decide to go with.
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Post by Croccifixio on Jul 14, 2016 7:35:51 GMT
If it's something you plan to use often, I'd also recommend just getting a custom kukri, that way you ensure the design fits you (not all kukri out there are created equal, afte rall), and you ensure more care in heat treatment and handling. It'll last longer too.
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Post by william m on Jul 14, 2016 8:43:00 GMT
I have had one rubbish modern kuk, and quite a few antique ones. The antique ones were all pretty light, with deep fullers..
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Post by Croccifixio on Jul 16, 2016 0:55:58 GMT
A sad truth in this hobby: you want to try something new at a reasonable price, but very few blades at a reasonable price properly represent the weapon they're replicating.
But if you think about it, maybe going custom is worthwhile since they will lose far less value on resale, assuming you don't like them.
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Post by randomnobody on Jul 16, 2016 1:46:29 GMT
You can get pretty decent antique kuks for around the price point of a Himalayan Imports model, or those Tora Blades things. I've seen several listing from $150 and up, some lower.
Granted, those may be showing their age...
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jul 16, 2016 1:51:55 GMT
I purchased all three of mine from the Gurkha Khukuri House. The largest with its 11” is a bit much to carry in the field due to its .388” thick blade. It was designed as a farm tool and does well at that. I’ve smashed planks that were too large to cut and took more time to saw by using the spine. The second one with an 8” blade made a much better garden tool. I use the small knife that comes with them more than the kukris themselves. I have a 5” model I keep on my desk as a handy general purpose knife. I like them all but generally speaking I use a machete more for yard work.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 16, 2016 2:29:58 GMT
From what I've heard the Kukri House kukris seem to be good economy kurkis. I think I'll go that route when I get around to buying a kukri. I'm intrigued by the kukri. Different hardening, cool blade shape, jack-of-all-trades, and a old looking knife that can keep up with all the modern looking ones. I'll be buying one, just got to be positive I'm getting a good kukri so I don't get burned and hate the kukri.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 16, 2016 2:31:31 GMT
BTW, is it Kukri or Khukuri?
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Jul 16, 2016 3:51:37 GMT
"Khukuri" is a closer approximation of the name in Nepali. In older writing, you can see "kookery". "Kukri" and "khukri" are common enough in modern English so that it's fair to say that "kukri" is the proper English name.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jul 16, 2016 13:32:44 GMT
Being of the lazy sort I find kukri easier to type. In English I believe both are correct.
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Post by randomnobody on Jul 16, 2016 14:51:29 GMT
I just call 'em kuks.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 19, 2016 23:58:23 GMT
Haha. Seems Kurki is proper enough. Thanks.
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Post by 1776 on Jul 20, 2016 0:04:18 GMT
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