Khukuri Club

[Highlander]

(21 December 2012, 18:17)uks Wrote: I was given a khukuri when i was attached to them (6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles). They were a great bunch of blokes and great fun. Lovely curries they made.
Use at least twice a week for kindling and gardening.They showed me how to use and how the keep it in tip top condition.
They also told me of the stories about the Falklands like getting into the argies camps using the khukuri on one person in a two man tent all leaving the other one untouched it must have played on the mind of the argies.

I knew them well in Malaya,.. I can also tell you a khurkuri/Ghurka story,.. we were sitting around a campsite one day, British and Ghurka,.. one of the Brits started to have a go at Johnny Ghurka, saying how they relied a lot on their reputation from years ago.

The one Ghurka stood up and told him to get a patrol together, he would go out into the jungle [ we were camped in the jungle ], and `lets see what happens`

So the patrol went out, and after an hour returned to find the Ghurka sitting at the fire,.. the Brits went daft, telling him that he had never left and sent them out on a wild goose chase.

The Ghurka told them to look down at their left boots,..... the Ghurka had laid at the side of the track, and as the patrol had walked by, he had slit their boot straps with the Khukuri,.. the boots hadnt loosened because they were wet and anyone who was in the far east knows that the boots remained tight

the ghurka simply said,... ` and it could have been your throats`,... the Brit didnt say anything

[uks]

Amazing blokes you can tell that by the number of VC's they have.

[Northumbriman]

I looked extensively at kukuris before I made my own knives. The problem is getting a good one. Before buying check you are not buying a tourist item as they are now made in their thousands in nepal from inferior materials and then coated in a glossy shiny coat of white metal to make them pretty. The real ones are the service issue type given to the ghurkas. Again you need issue not ceremonial blades. The main benefit of the kukri to uk survivors is the weight of the blade. Unlike a patang machette which is light and good for jungle undergrowth the kukri is almost 1cm thick on the back edge and is made from the leaves of truck springs. It has sufficient weight to take the place of a hatchet and can also be used as a large camp knife. The shape is distinctive and has pos and cons but perhaps the one feature that put me off is the handle. These knives are made for nepalese hands which are considerably smaller than most adult UK males. The tang is only a 3/4 tang and so the handle to blade connection can be an area of weakness. I designed and made my own version from a piece of spring lots of work but the result is amazing.

[Mandlaka]

(23 December 2012, 10:53)Northumbriman Wrote: I designed and made my own version from a piece of spring lots of work but the result is amazing.

I am interested in your version, Sir.
Please could you tell us some more about it?

[MikeAlpha3041]

(23 December 2012, 16:49)Mandlaka Wrote:

(23 December 2012, 10:53)Northumbriman Wrote: I designed and made my own version from a piece of spring lots of work but the result is amazing.

I am interested in your version, Sir.
Please could you tell us some more about it?

Me too, any pic's please?

[Northumbriman]

I do have pics and can happily do a "how to" on making one I just don't know how to go about submitting an article at this stage. I can't yet re-size my pics to get them to fit on the pages here but will be happy to either forward them by email. In the meantime my avatar is of the survival knife I also made. The machette is a similar design just to a larger scale. The blade is slightly mnore bellied to give a Chopping area to the front with weight and a very sharp slicing edge nearer the handle.

[Highlander]

(26 December 2012, 16:07)Northumbriman Wrote: I do have pics and can happily do a "how to" on making one I just don't know how to go about submitting an article at this stage. I can't yet re-size my pics to get them to fit on the pages here but will be happy to either forward them by email. In the meantime my avatar is of the survival knife I also made. The machette is a similar design just to a larger scale. The blade is slightly mnore bellied to give a Chopping area to the front with weight and a very sharp slicing edge nearer the handle.

Maybe you could make an account with `PhotoBucket`, your photos are re-sized for you

[Skean Dhude]

(26 December 2012, 16:07)Northumbriman Wrote: I do have pics and can happily do a "how to" on making one I just don't know how to go about submitting an article at this stage. I can't yet re-size my pics to get them to fit on the pages here but will be happy to either forward them by email. In the meantime my avatar is of the survival knife I also made. The machette is a similar design just to a larger scale. The blade is slightly mnore bellied to give a Chopping area to the front with weight and a very sharp slicing edge nearer the handle.

Send me the articles and the pics and I'll post it on the main site.

[Northumbriman]

no problem Skean Dhude, I will pass across the stuff.

[TrickyDicky]

[attachment=153][attachment=153][attachment=154][attachment=155][attachment=156]Here's my khukuri. It was bought from Khukuri House Thamel in Nepal a few months ago. Its the historic improved model based on the No.2 pattern khukuri which was used by the Ghurkhas during WW2. I bought this one because unlike all other khukuri patterns, instead of the rat tail tang which the Nepalese prefer, it has the full width tang running all through the handle and is therefore stronger. I can't comment on usage because I didn't buy it as a tool - I have loads of billhooks, axes and other knives for that (I lay a lot of hedges) It is a "souvenir" which could come in useful one day.
It cost a total of £58 if memory serves me correctly and took 3 weeks to arrive. There was no problem with Customs or delivery - smooth as anything.
My thoughts - it arrived blunt as a butter knife and after a long session on my set of expensive waterstones (which produce a razor edge on my bushcraft knives) it still isn't properly sharp and wore a groove on one of my stones. The 2 little blades - chakmak and karda are useless and could easily be thrown away but I keep them for decoration. The metal butt plate has 2 sharp points on top and bottom. I rounded the top one off with a sander (see pic) as I found it stuck into the heel of my hand when swung. I have big hands and I found the handle was plenty big enough.
Overall its a bit rough and ready but I still think its value for money.