Windlass Gurkha Kukhri
Sept 10, 2008 7:21:31 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2008 7:21:31 GMT
Windlass Gurkha Kukhri
Review by Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal
I will now review the Gurkha Kukhri replica offered by Windlass Steelcrafts, in India. I bought this product at L'Imaginaire, a shop in Québec City, at the same time I got my Russian Shasqua (you can see my review of that sword in the sword review section of this forum). I am a big fan of simple and efficient weapons, and the kukri (I may miswrite that word a few times during this review, sorry) fills that niche quite well. As an everyday machete and working knife in time of peace and a deadly close quarter chopping weapon in times of war, it fits well as an efficient and simple weapon.
The Weapon
The kukri came in a black leather scabbard, with a strap for carrying it on a belt, a very useful and appreciated detail. It comes with two small curved knives (like two mini-kukris, I call them my butter kukri and my steak kukri ...). The kukri itself seems to be made very sturdy; the blade is thick and very rigid (forget about finding the center of percussion, or try getting a big hammer to get some vibration out of the kukri ...) and one can see the thick tang, sandwiched between two slabs of dark brown hardwood (held there by large metal things, don't know if they were screwed or nailed there). I will show you some details. You can see some precise measures there : www.kultofathena.com/product~item~1-120~name~Gurkha+Kukri.htm . I didn't take the time to check if these numbers were exact, but they don't seem off to me.
The Blade
The blade is very thick and rigid, no rattle or vibration here. It has a mirror like finish, which seems to increase its presence (a friend of mine, who is a fan of knives and daggers, said ''wow...'' when he unsheated the kukri and saw its blade). The blade came slightly sharpened, I was able to do some test cutting with it (see below) and easily sharpened it with a cheap 7 bucks knife sharpener. The edge seemed less than 1 mm thick.
There is a narrow and deep fuller that runs for the straight part of the blade. I think it is made to increase the blade-forward balance of the weapon (more on that in handling).
Near the hilt, the mirror finish seems a bit different than the rest of the blade, like the maker stopped polishing the blade about 2 inch from the beginning of the hilt. I had to look closely to see it and it didn't bother me too much (it's a sub 100 $ blade, after all).
Hilt, Grip, Pommel...
It is easy to see the thick tang, between two pieces of hardwood. That tang looks very solid and sturdy, it didn't move at all during test cutting. The grip is confortable, not irritating at all. However, it doesn't protect the hand from blows (in the unlikely case of a real fight), but that's not a real problem, if you intend this kukri for backyard cutting.
Handling
This kukri has a very ''blade-forward'' feeling ; if you hold the blade upright and put no effort to keep it that way, the blade will quickly fall the way the tip is pointing. This is probably due to the unique shape of the blade and the small fuller, tht decreases the weight in the beginning of the blade and concentrate it near the tip. This may make the kukri seem unwieldy (compared to a dagger or fighting knife), but it actually gives it incredible chopping power for its size. Test swings easily give a strong ''woooosh'' sound, like the blade is tearing the air (a short and strong sound, different than the sweet ''swiiiish'' I have heard coming from a iaito). Test swings and dry handling also show that this kukri has a lot of autority when swung. However, the blade looses part of it cutting power when swung upward or sideways. One has to swing downward to fully appreciate the cutting power of this weapon.
Test cutting
I did two test cutting sessions with some of my friends, we cut water-filled beer cans and small water bottles. The results of our cuts depended heavily on our techniques and forms. A poorly placed or done cut would send the target flying, sometimes with only a tiny scratch. A few well-placed swings cut our beer cans in two halves. Overall, the kukri was fun to use but it required good form to give good results (I have to admit that me and my friends, we aren't very sporty and strong fellows ...).
Historical accuracy 5/5 : Seems like a real kukri ...
Fit & finish 4/5 : The unequal mirror polish looks a bit cheap, but the rest looks good.
Handling 4.5/5 : A strong chopper, but doesn't feel as lively as a similar sized dagger.
Durability 4.5/5 : No rattling after two cutting sessions, some scratches after cutting aluminium beer cans, but very superficial ones.
''Bang for buck'' 5/5 : I paid about 60 CAN $ for this knife at L'Imaginaire, it is also available at Kult of Athena for about 35 US $, two great prices for what you get, I think.
Overall 4.5/5
Review by Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal
I will now review the Gurkha Kukhri replica offered by Windlass Steelcrafts, in India. I bought this product at L'Imaginaire, a shop in Québec City, at the same time I got my Russian Shasqua (you can see my review of that sword in the sword review section of this forum). I am a big fan of simple and efficient weapons, and the kukri (I may miswrite that word a few times during this review, sorry) fills that niche quite well. As an everyday machete and working knife in time of peace and a deadly close quarter chopping weapon in times of war, it fits well as an efficient and simple weapon.
The Weapon
The kukri came in a black leather scabbard, with a strap for carrying it on a belt, a very useful and appreciated detail. It comes with two small curved knives (like two mini-kukris, I call them my butter kukri and my steak kukri ...). The kukri itself seems to be made very sturdy; the blade is thick and very rigid (forget about finding the center of percussion, or try getting a big hammer to get some vibration out of the kukri ...) and one can see the thick tang, sandwiched between two slabs of dark brown hardwood (held there by large metal things, don't know if they were screwed or nailed there). I will show you some details. You can see some precise measures there : www.kultofathena.com/product~item~1-120~name~Gurkha+Kukri.htm . I didn't take the time to check if these numbers were exact, but they don't seem off to me.
The Blade
The blade is very thick and rigid, no rattle or vibration here. It has a mirror like finish, which seems to increase its presence (a friend of mine, who is a fan of knives and daggers, said ''wow...'' when he unsheated the kukri and saw its blade). The blade came slightly sharpened, I was able to do some test cutting with it (see below) and easily sharpened it with a cheap 7 bucks knife sharpener. The edge seemed less than 1 mm thick.
There is a narrow and deep fuller that runs for the straight part of the blade. I think it is made to increase the blade-forward balance of the weapon (more on that in handling).
Near the hilt, the mirror finish seems a bit different than the rest of the blade, like the maker stopped polishing the blade about 2 inch from the beginning of the hilt. I had to look closely to see it and it didn't bother me too much (it's a sub 100 $ blade, after all).
Hilt, Grip, Pommel...
It is easy to see the thick tang, between two pieces of hardwood. That tang looks very solid and sturdy, it didn't move at all during test cutting. The grip is confortable, not irritating at all. However, it doesn't protect the hand from blows (in the unlikely case of a real fight), but that's not a real problem, if you intend this kukri for backyard cutting.
Handling
This kukri has a very ''blade-forward'' feeling ; if you hold the blade upright and put no effort to keep it that way, the blade will quickly fall the way the tip is pointing. This is probably due to the unique shape of the blade and the small fuller, tht decreases the weight in the beginning of the blade and concentrate it near the tip. This may make the kukri seem unwieldy (compared to a dagger or fighting knife), but it actually gives it incredible chopping power for its size. Test swings easily give a strong ''woooosh'' sound, like the blade is tearing the air (a short and strong sound, different than the sweet ''swiiiish'' I have heard coming from a iaito). Test swings and dry handling also show that this kukri has a lot of autority when swung. However, the blade looses part of it cutting power when swung upward or sideways. One has to swing downward to fully appreciate the cutting power of this weapon.
Test cutting
I did two test cutting sessions with some of my friends, we cut water-filled beer cans and small water bottles. The results of our cuts depended heavily on our techniques and forms. A poorly placed or done cut would send the target flying, sometimes with only a tiny scratch. A few well-placed swings cut our beer cans in two halves. Overall, the kukri was fun to use but it required good form to give good results (I have to admit that me and my friends, we aren't very sporty and strong fellows ...).
Historical accuracy 5/5 : Seems like a real kukri ...
Fit & finish 4/5 : The unequal mirror polish looks a bit cheap, but the rest looks good.
Handling 4.5/5 : A strong chopper, but doesn't feel as lively as a similar sized dagger.
Durability 4.5/5 : No rattling after two cutting sessions, some scratches after cutting aluminium beer cans, but very superficial ones.
''Bang for buck'' 5/5 : I paid about 60 CAN $ for this knife at L'Imaginaire, it is also available at Kult of Athena for about 35 US $, two great prices for what you get, I think.
Overall 4.5/5