Two new custom Khukuris from GGK
Feb 18, 2021 16:27:19 GMT
Post by airborne on Feb 18, 2021 16:27:19 GMT
Hello All on SBG ,
I feel like I must write a review of my two new custom khukuris made by Mr Purna Darnal himself of GGK , although I do appologise for not attaching some photos as I am having a few technical problems with uploading at present but will do so as soon as possible .
First of all I ordered two khukuris customised slightly to my own specifications , they being the WW2 mk1 Battalion Khukuri (12 1/4" blade) and the larger Kaji Amar Singh Thapa Khukuri (14" blade ) down from the normal 18" .
I will say at this stage that I already own khukuris from another well known khukuri manufacturer in Nepal which I am pleased with , butMr Purna Darnal from GGK has surpassed all expectations in making my two latest acquisitions and I have to say I cannot fault them in any way whatsoever . I have collected knives / swords of different types for many years since the 1960s and in the past have also made my own small scandi style knives , and used knives as a combat survival instructor with the British Army so I think I have a fair idea of what constitutes a good , decent quality and well made knife .
So to my review , first the Kaji Amar Singh Thapa . On his website this khukuri usually has as standard a 18" blade with a large Tulwar style handle and guard . For my purposes I decided to change the handle to a normal khukuri style handle, slightly curved using nicely figured wood with a well carved centre ring and decorative carving around the grip , Purna has achieved this to a professional degree and looks quality . I further asked him to fit Copper bolster and end / butt cap made out of thin copper and engraved with a traditional Nepalese motif and I have to say it really stands out with copper fittings especially the beautiful carved butt cap and I mean it is unique ! The Blade is reduced from 18" to 14 " and with the handle has an overall length of 19 1/2" . The tang is a Rat Tail through style tang and peened at the butt cap . The blade has an unusual style kaudi and he has engraved a gold coloured Nepalese half moon sign onto the blade which is a nice touch . The khukuri itself weighs exactly 500 gms which is just a nice weight to handle and feels absolutely made for me and can truthfully say along with the second khukuri he sent me they are the most easy and evenly balanced khukuris I have ever held . Along with the khukuri Purna also made a 7 1/4" customised Karda with the same copper fittings and beautiful wood handle and to top it he has also hollow ground the blade. The handle has finger grips following my specifications and is a piece of art in itself , to complement it he also made a traditional village style forged and nicely shaped chakmak metal striker / sharpener . Purna made the traditional style Sheath and covered in the higher quality Brown coloured Ganjawal buffalo leather . Instead of a frog I asked to make it in the traditional manner of fitting two very nice potuka buttons with a very nice made tinder pouch on the back of the sheath . He has even gone to the bother of not only making a tinder pouch with a button down flap but also a secondary pouch which fits inside the first to keep any tinder dry , really nice touch . The leather that covers the sheath is also textured with an embossed traditional Nepalese design .
My second custom khukuri is the WW2 Battalion khukuri . This is another beautiful and traditionally shaped weapon from WW2 . As with my other khukuri I had the stock of the blade start at 7mm at the bolster and taper down to the point , on this blade I also had purna put a good hollow grind to keep the weight balanced with the weight of the khukuri itself being 475gms with a 12 1/4" length blade . This khukuri has a very unusual and nicely shaped kaudi as standard and once again Purns did the gold coloured half moon symbol on the blade , it is a simple touch which just looks quality . The overall length of this one is 17 1/2" and once again feels like it was personally made to measureFor this model I had Purna fit a black Buffalo horn handle with some nice pale white streaks ingrained into the handle for me feeling really well balanced . Once again he made a good job of carving the centre ring and it is just that little bit better quality to what I have had previously . I also had Copper blster and butt cap fitted with another beautiful and well carve Nepali design to the butt cap and I have to say ok you pay extra for this but it makes the overall quality of the khukuri that much better and anyway one day these will be passed on to my Grandson who will know and understand where and how they were made and what they actually symbolise .The Sheath is exactly the same as the previous model and fitted with a Karda and Chakmak of the same high quality except the karda has a black buffalo horn handle with copper fittings . In my personal view the copper stands out above the brass fittings and looks really nice but thats only my preference .
To conclude this review all I can say is that I had previously looked at other peoples reviews and photos of Purnas work (see this forum) and he most certainly lives up to his reputation of being a master of his trade. I know there are just a few other Nepalese manufacturers of khukuris out there with similar standards to Purna Darnal , but if I had to state my case on what I have received from GGK then they are certainly up there with the best and if you are considering buying a hand made traditional Nepalese khukuri then have a look at Purnas work on this forum and you will not be disapointed . Just for information Purna does undertake much custom work and as such he makes special commisiom swords and knives of any style you care to give him details of . What I would stipulate , because there might be slight breakdowns regarding the language barrier , send as much simplified measurements , drawings and / or other details to him for custom items . I was really lucky as I had a Nepalese friend who helped to translate a lot of the details .
Thanks for reading
I feel like I must write a review of my two new custom khukuris made by Mr Purna Darnal himself of GGK , although I do appologise for not attaching some photos as I am having a few technical problems with uploading at present but will do so as soon as possible .
First of all I ordered two khukuris customised slightly to my own specifications , they being the WW2 mk1 Battalion Khukuri (12 1/4" blade) and the larger Kaji Amar Singh Thapa Khukuri (14" blade ) down from the normal 18" .
I will say at this stage that I already own khukuris from another well known khukuri manufacturer in Nepal which I am pleased with , butMr Purna Darnal from GGK has surpassed all expectations in making my two latest acquisitions and I have to say I cannot fault them in any way whatsoever . I have collected knives / swords of different types for many years since the 1960s and in the past have also made my own small scandi style knives , and used knives as a combat survival instructor with the British Army so I think I have a fair idea of what constitutes a good , decent quality and well made knife .
So to my review , first the Kaji Amar Singh Thapa . On his website this khukuri usually has as standard a 18" blade with a large Tulwar style handle and guard . For my purposes I decided to change the handle to a normal khukuri style handle, slightly curved using nicely figured wood with a well carved centre ring and decorative carving around the grip , Purna has achieved this to a professional degree and looks quality . I further asked him to fit Copper bolster and end / butt cap made out of thin copper and engraved with a traditional Nepalese motif and I have to say it really stands out with copper fittings especially the beautiful carved butt cap and I mean it is unique ! The Blade is reduced from 18" to 14 " and with the handle has an overall length of 19 1/2" . The tang is a Rat Tail through style tang and peened at the butt cap . The blade has an unusual style kaudi and he has engraved a gold coloured Nepalese half moon sign onto the blade which is a nice touch . The khukuri itself weighs exactly 500 gms which is just a nice weight to handle and feels absolutely made for me and can truthfully say along with the second khukuri he sent me they are the most easy and evenly balanced khukuris I have ever held . Along with the khukuri Purna also made a 7 1/4" customised Karda with the same copper fittings and beautiful wood handle and to top it he has also hollow ground the blade. The handle has finger grips following my specifications and is a piece of art in itself , to complement it he also made a traditional village style forged and nicely shaped chakmak metal striker / sharpener . Purna made the traditional style Sheath and covered in the higher quality Brown coloured Ganjawal buffalo leather . Instead of a frog I asked to make it in the traditional manner of fitting two very nice potuka buttons with a very nice made tinder pouch on the back of the sheath . He has even gone to the bother of not only making a tinder pouch with a button down flap but also a secondary pouch which fits inside the first to keep any tinder dry , really nice touch . The leather that covers the sheath is also textured with an embossed traditional Nepalese design .
My second custom khukuri is the WW2 Battalion khukuri . This is another beautiful and traditionally shaped weapon from WW2 . As with my other khukuri I had the stock of the blade start at 7mm at the bolster and taper down to the point , on this blade I also had purna put a good hollow grind to keep the weight balanced with the weight of the khukuri itself being 475gms with a 12 1/4" length blade . This khukuri has a very unusual and nicely shaped kaudi as standard and once again Purns did the gold coloured half moon symbol on the blade , it is a simple touch which just looks quality . The overall length of this one is 17 1/2" and once again feels like it was personally made to measureFor this model I had Purna fit a black Buffalo horn handle with some nice pale white streaks ingrained into the handle for me feeling really well balanced . Once again he made a good job of carving the centre ring and it is just that little bit better quality to what I have had previously . I also had Copper blster and butt cap fitted with another beautiful and well carve Nepali design to the butt cap and I have to say ok you pay extra for this but it makes the overall quality of the khukuri that much better and anyway one day these will be passed on to my Grandson who will know and understand where and how they were made and what they actually symbolise .The Sheath is exactly the same as the previous model and fitted with a Karda and Chakmak of the same high quality except the karda has a black buffalo horn handle with copper fittings . In my personal view the copper stands out above the brass fittings and looks really nice but thats only my preference .
To conclude this review all I can say is that I had previously looked at other peoples reviews and photos of Purnas work (see this forum) and he most certainly lives up to his reputation of being a master of his trade. I know there are just a few other Nepalese manufacturers of khukuris out there with similar standards to Purna Darnal , but if I had to state my case on what I have received from GGK then they are certainly up there with the best and if you are considering buying a hand made traditional Nepalese khukuri then have a look at Purnas work on this forum and you will not be disapointed . Just for information Purna does undertake much custom work and as such he makes special commisiom swords and knives of any style you care to give him details of . What I would stipulate , because there might be slight breakdowns regarding the language barrier , send as much simplified measurements , drawings and / or other details to him for custom items . I was really lucky as I had a Nepalese friend who helped to translate a lot of the details .
Thanks for reading