Kukris - A General Thread

Two pounds and change, wow.

Updated info 18:th Aug.

mandarinmansion.com/glossary/hanshee-khukuri

Thanks, it's now bookmarked.

Ahh, thanks for drawing that to my attention!

I’ve heard the desire to change the khukuri as it’s outdated. My response to that is if it is changed it is no longer a khukuri; if you don’t like best buy something else. For me I like knowing how they were used in combat, but more so in everyday life. I’ve been following a video series of rural life in Nepal with interest. Thank you for sharing “Nepali Khukuri Show”, I ended up subscribing. I found the variety of khukuris interesting. The flat spine version is more popular than I realized. There was one that was a take-off on the GI4, aka Mk3, at mark 2:44. Also it answered a long standing question I had as to the price the locals pay.

Thanks for the video. I always like what Easton has to say and seeing products. However since his review on Windlass’ Mk3 vs my experience and now seeing that video I cannot but think that somewhere along the line Easton is receiving some gratitude. That is not saying he is giving misinformation, far from it, but what he doesn’t say and our tastes vary. Certainly no issue with that, it’s just that our tastes vary. I’ll add here that his Mk3 video was not an influencing force on me buying one. It had been on the list for some time and am getting my use out of it.  It's the baggage that came with it that I have an issue with.

As for the first knife in this video; it’s pretty, nice, shiny, and all, but not my thing. The grip is polished horn as my first kukri was. I didn’t have a choice in that case and couldn’t figure out why an unpolished blade with a polished grip. I ended up putting friction tape around the grip so that I could better hold on. My next had an unpolished blade and unpolished horn handle that I liked much better. He’s talking about grip length being longer and putting the ridge between the first pair and second pair of fingers with the grip extending beyond both sides of his hand. I’ve seen that statement in other of his videos, I believe the one on the Mk3 included. The grip on my newer production kukris are longer and fatter than the antiques. My GI4 has a long grip, 5½", and I finally found my spot was at the heel with the ridge between my index and middle finger. My Mk3 the same with its shorter grip. But this is not true for all my kukris. Proving that is not a hard and fast rule.

As for the last two he is saying what I discovered long ago with swords. The lighter is faster and more nimble, while the heavier one is more powerful. Which is better? That depends.

I think we are on the same track. Khukuris are not Easton’s strong point outside of collecting. The only time I’ve seen him use one was him demonstrating the Mk3 and he seemed a bit awkward. Give him a sabre and it’s a ballet. I believe the vast majority of kukris sold to the outside world are not sold as working blades nor will never be used as such. I’ve watched what our members bought and the vast majority come from GGK. Regardless of the vendor virtually all are polished, shiny knives and seem to be looked at and judged as art, not just by the purchaser but those commenting. I find absolutely nothing wrong with that. But for me I look for a tool, and those are not for me. As far as combat, I believe this is where the kukri got its reputation and a dare say that most do not see that role. I have an antique that I’m sure was specifically designed for such and was my number one backup. That has since been replaced by my GI4 although the antique handles better. That with a shield is an awesome combination. Having said that I see little to zero probably of mine seeing that role. And I certainly hope not. As for me holding KHHI in some high esteem I’ll say no. My first three came from them and after my interest was renewed I looked at them and others. I liked their prices and since contacted Tamang and found him a pleasure to deal with and have continued dealing with him finding their product good rather than reinventing the wheel, so to speak.

So this is why my order was delayed, they were making Matts!
I jest, they were probably made at the same time.

Honestly I haven't been impressed with the ordering process and I think I am going to sell off one of the blades I ordered right off the bat to keep my collection manageable. 

I'll be telling you either way, don't worry.

I don't think their product is bad, the process of customization just wasn't as simple as advertised.
I rarely got updates, I often had to message and ask. Many small things got messed up along the way (handle colour, sheath construction, engraving) and was only spotted by me from a photo.

I ended up getting cold feet when I did get an unsolicited progress photo and the inscription was not at all what I asked for.
I just had the guys scrub half the inscription from the blades and cancel inscribing anything else because suddenly I though "I would probably not be able to sell such a personalized blade, and the execution is not meeting my expectation so how would it meet a potential buyers on the secondhand market?". At that moment I realized I wasn't as invested as I had been at the start and that if I was thinking about selling one already that maybe I should back out entirely. I almost called the whole thing off in the end but decided that the guys definitely do care and put hard work in and it's my responsibility after the fact, so I decided to let them arrive and make decisions then.

I predict the blades will be amazing and light and simple, as advertised. I predict that their strength will be in sticking to the catalogue they offer and that those blades will be perfect. I think customization is where things get hard owing to communication problems and, presently, pandemic problems. If you are gonna go custom -pay Andrew the money for a drawing. It will make your life easier and the result will be better.

Andrew was great, he also refunded the inscription money and offered to be a go-between for me and the smiths to make sure the Kukris arrived as I imagined them. I just lost confidence that they would be as I wanted them to be after the inscription debacle and so I felt the need to "simplify". From what I can see, the blades look like they will be beautiful.