I've always
been a fan of big blades. In my line of work as a survival instructor/wilderness video
producer, I spend a lot of my time chopping, shaping and carving wood and bone. During the
30 years I've been doing this sort of thing, I've learned that you can use a big knife to
do a big job. The khukuri is the epitome of a big blade. (Editor's note: this is the
spelling for "kukri" that those closest to Nepal insist is right. Others say
that "kukri" is the correct English spelling.)
I've played with khukuri style blades for years. I like the drop of the blade, and the big
sweet spot in the belly. Years ago, a good friend of mine, the late Martin Kruse,
hammer-forged a khukuri-style blade for me. I used it for years as my primary chopper. I
always wondered how the actual blades would stand up to my style of use, but I shield away
because I could never find a native khukuri that said anything but cheap."
Real Khukuris
Recently I received two of the real khukuris from Craig Gottlieb of Gurkha House for
testing and review. These genuine Nepalese blades were a far cry from the junk I'd seen on
sale at gun shows and shops. The two blades both showed the basic design elements of the
traditional khukuri: the big curved blade, the traditional notch at the base of the blade
and the beefy construction real khukuris are known for. One of the blades sported a full
exposed tang with rosewood handle slabs, while the other appeared to use a spike tang
construction in a water buffalo horn handle.
One of the things I've wondered about is the function of the notch found at the base of
the blade. I've heard all sorts of stories so I thought I'd better check with Craig. He
informed me that the cutout is called the "Cho." He said that it appears on all
khukuris, and that it represents Shiva the Hindu God (and the God of War) that governs
destruction and transcendence. The deity is usually shown holding a trident in one hand.
The crescent-shaped cutout on all khukuris represents Shiva's trident.
Before I went to work whacking, chopping and splitting, I wanted to get some hardness
numbers. I sent the blades off to SCK in Clancy, Montana, for a quick RC test. These
blades are forged from truck springs, heated in a fire and tempered with a tea kettle! My
thought was that control over the tempering process might be a little spotty. I was wrong.
It turned out that, the blades were differentially tempered surprisingly well. The spine
on the blades read 22 and 25 RC respectively. The midpoint of the belly measured in at 45
and 46 RC and the edge came in at 54 and 55 RC, not bad for some guy squatting around a
fire in sandals! The numbers also showed that these blades are soft enough to take some
serious abuse and keep a tolerable edge. My bet is that whoever made these blades has a
lot of experience under his belt.
Each of the blades were slightly different in construction. One model-the
"Panawal" - is a rougher "workhorse" model with pinned handle slabs,
and the other-the "Bhojpure" has a finer fit and finish. Both blades feature
sheaths made for wood wrapped in water buffalo skin. They both came with the traditional
Chakma (the dull flint-sparker and crude sharpener) and the Charda, the sharper utility
mini-knife.
While my overall impression of the big blades were good, the smaller knives looked crude
and rough in design and finish. None of the smaller blades had a sharp edge, and one
showed signs of having been burned on the grinding wheel.
I decided to use the heavier blade for my testing, as I wanted to give the Panawal a
chance to go to war with one of the many Ponderosa pines that choke my land. We loaded up
the camera, the snowmobile, a first-aid kit, and the cooler (to keep the refreshments
warm) and went out in search of a vertical victim.
There is a lot of young growth timber on the land, so I selected a likely candidate for
next year's kindling and went to work. The tree had a cross section of just over 6 inches.
I laid into the cold, green wood with vigor and after about 20 hard whacks I had less
vigor and a nice sized chunk missing from the tree. 20 more whacks had it leaning and
another 10 dropped it. After 50 whacks and a sore arm I checked out the blade. The edge
seemed to be about the same as when I started.
During the next two hours I whacked on green limbs, dead branches, old downed timber and
fresh snow kill. My final impression; this blade is a chopping demon. But like
all demons it can bite you. The dramatic drop on the blade can cause the knife to twist in
your hand upon contact; this twist then gets translated to "get the hell out of the
way" energy. If you get tired while using a khukuri, stop using it until you are
rested. It didn't bite me, but I can see that it has the potential to be a real skin
slicer.
The Bone Test
Ok...so the thing can chop wood like a chain saw but isn't this supposed to be a combat
blade? A blade designed to chop off the limbs of enemies and remove the heads from
buffalo? I have a very special test for blades that claim to be tactical choppers ... bone
chopping.
I've conducted this test on a number of blades in the past. I use a fresh elk leg as the
target. Elk bones are large and tough. Over the time I've used the test, I've learned that
it is a great way to create a serrated blade. The impact of steel with heavy bone has a
special property that seems to break chunks out of all but the most stalwart choppers. You
can't be light in the loafers when you whack a bone, you've got to get your wrist into it
(now where have you heard THAT before?)
Having started bone whacking in adolescence, I confidently confronted the bone and went to
work. It only took about 15 whacks to cut through the tough bone, sinew and muscle of the
leg. Wow! This thing can cut! Then I looked at the blade; now I had a serrated khukuri.
When I looked at the edge under magnification I could see that some very small pieces had
broken off, but the majority of the nicks were just places where the metal had indented
under the impact. Ten minutes with a belt sander or some time with a steel should bring
this baby back, but I was finished.
Some other points. The brass-tipped sheaths are functional and do a good job holding the
blades securely. I noticed that after the testing the leather had become wet, and one of
my dogs was strangely attracted to it. A day later I, too, was able to smell the
attractant. "Roadkill" would be my description. The belt loop is secured to a
strap of leather that is compression-fitted to the sheath. This affair soon loosened and
the sheath and belt loop parted ways. If I were going to carry one of these big blades I
would buy or fashion a secure Kydex sheath for the knife and keep the native sheath for
display.
The blade stood up to some severely destructive tests. There was no edge deviation or
distortion with standard chopping tests. In fact the edge retention was very good even on
the harder knots and dry woods. The bone chop test is severe and some failure is to be
expected. If you are looking for a big mean chopper that can denude a mountainside and
hope to get it for the right price, this is your baby.
--- Tactical Knives ---
|
