Well I FINALLY got over to the homeplace and got my grubby mitts on a tasty piece of HI work this weekend. We all know and love this khuk from the pic of Broken Arrow's boy Kenshiro. Yes yes, I know youre all waiting white knuckled to give me the "I told you so's!" over the weight....
Well... okay here goes. I thought it was the well-meant advice of the vertically challenged, figuring I could make up for it proportionately. Oh well, back to that later. The thing is gorgeous, better made than ANYTHING handmade Ive come across to this day. The sheer SIZE of it, Im just loathe to admit Im wrong on this one. The spine is somewhere around 5/8 of an inch thick! Thats amazing to someone who's been around "practical tacticals" for WAY too long. The blade sweep is seemingly self-motivated, with the balance towards the striking zone of the curve. The handle is lots better done than I expected- honestly- being as my only experience from the general area in knives are the Pakistani "Mercedes Bumper" specials. Im not a big wood afficianado, so I cant tell you what it is, but its a nice red-stained hard (oak?) wood, very nicely fitted to a great-looking bolster. The blade work is very uniform, with a well-defined distal taper of around 5/8 at the bolster to around 1/6 or so at the tip, sorry I wasnt there for long, I had to haul back to college or Id have taken real measurements. Chakma is well-done, Karda seems a little hokey really, I dont know for sure if Id get down to anyhing beyond eating and opening things with it...but then what else are they meant for, right? Try as I might I cant find a kami mark on this blade. The HI script is there, but no crossed hkuks or kami marks, just a little crescent sort of shape outside the script that MAY be a mark...dunno. Ill try my darndest to get some pics in here ASAP for yall. The most impressive note in my dealings with this knife was Uncle Bill himself. Stand up for applause Uncle, you were magnificent. USPS's idea of "priority" was around 8 or 9 days. I was rather worried at first, but Bill promised me another should it not show up. I was impressed enough by his courtesy and good form that I will order from him with certainty in the future, as well as refer him to my brother. In any case, this is a beautiful knife. The only problem is, well, being a typical collegiate knucklehead Im short of cash for one Im not going to actually use. This one is great for well...whatever youd use a 5 pound knife for. I was assuming it's weight to be around 3 or 4 lbs for SOME reason. Anyways, I find myself wishing Id ordered a Kobra of equal length like everyone SAID to (yes I know, insert foot) but due to Uncle Bill's customer service magnificence Ill order more from him as time and money permit. A last musing... Is it kosher for me to ask the possibility of an exchange? If not, Ill just keep this bad boy handy for the next buffalo attack...
Cheers to the big Martino and his fabulous business
JMH
Well... okay here goes. I thought it was the well-meant advice of the vertically challenged, figuring I could make up for it proportionately. Oh well, back to that later. The thing is gorgeous, better made than ANYTHING handmade Ive come across to this day. The sheer SIZE of it, Im just loathe to admit Im wrong on this one. The spine is somewhere around 5/8 of an inch thick! Thats amazing to someone who's been around "practical tacticals" for WAY too long. The blade sweep is seemingly self-motivated, with the balance towards the striking zone of the curve. The handle is lots better done than I expected- honestly- being as my only experience from the general area in knives are the Pakistani "Mercedes Bumper" specials. Im not a big wood afficianado, so I cant tell you what it is, but its a nice red-stained hard (oak?) wood, very nicely fitted to a great-looking bolster. The blade work is very uniform, with a well-defined distal taper of around 5/8 at the bolster to around 1/6 or so at the tip, sorry I wasnt there for long, I had to haul back to college or Id have taken real measurements. Chakma is well-done, Karda seems a little hokey really, I dont know for sure if Id get down to anyhing beyond eating and opening things with it...but then what else are they meant for, right? Try as I might I cant find a kami mark on this blade. The HI script is there, but no crossed hkuks or kami marks, just a little crescent sort of shape outside the script that MAY be a mark...dunno. Ill try my darndest to get some pics in here ASAP for yall. The most impressive note in my dealings with this knife was Uncle Bill himself. Stand up for applause Uncle, you were magnificent. USPS's idea of "priority" was around 8 or 9 days. I was rather worried at first, but Bill promised me another should it not show up. I was impressed enough by his courtesy and good form that I will order from him with certainty in the future, as well as refer him to my brother. In any case, this is a beautiful knife. The only problem is, well, being a typical collegiate knucklehead Im short of cash for one Im not going to actually use. This one is great for well...whatever youd use a 5 pound knife for. I was assuming it's weight to be around 3 or 4 lbs for SOME reason. Anyways, I find myself wishing Id ordered a Kobra of equal length like everyone SAID to (yes I know, insert foot) but due to Uncle Bill's customer service magnificence Ill order more from him as time and money permit. A last musing... Is it kosher for me to ask the possibility of an exchange? If not, Ill just keep this bad boy handy for the next buffalo attack...
Cheers to the big Martino and his fabulous business
JMH
