Mk43 Martial ?
- Thread starter bigeard09
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Kailash Blades
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Not a lot of m43 martials getting around really.
It's in a bit of a strange middle ground- it has the grind, thickness and weight for martial arts and high performance use but then that's paired with a full tang. Most people who want full tangs also want a beefier more beatable blade. Most people who are into martial arts are going to go with a more traditional model. We have done quite a few beefed up m43 martials for user blades and also some rat tail versions with regular thicknesses which perhaps demonstrates this well. When we first started out the handle shape was great but since then our traditional handles became available in custom sizing and we can remove handle rings and add a guard at the front easily as a semi custom process. A sized-to-user traditional handle without handle rings plus a small guard just kind of has the standard m43 handle beat so a lot of the time I will suggest this avenue rather than the m43 martial if people are enquiring.
I would say that its days are numbered as a standard website model and we'll probably be giving it the axe in favour of a historical replica full tang design eg mk2/mk4 etc.
Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash
It's in a bit of a strange middle ground- it has the grind, thickness and weight for martial arts and high performance use but then that's paired with a full tang. Most people who want full tangs also want a beefier more beatable blade. Most people who are into martial arts are going to go with a more traditional model. We have done quite a few beefed up m43 martials for user blades and also some rat tail versions with regular thicknesses which perhaps demonstrates this well. When we first started out the handle shape was great but since then our traditional handles became available in custom sizing and we can remove handle rings and add a guard at the front easily as a semi custom process. A sized-to-user traditional handle without handle rings plus a small guard just kind of has the standard m43 handle beat so a lot of the time I will suggest this avenue rather than the m43 martial if people are enquiring.
I would say that its days are numbered as a standard website model and we'll probably be giving it the axe in favour of a historical replica full tang design eg mk2/mk4 etc.
Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash
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I had wondered about the M43 handle myself. I like the overall design of the blade but thought of pairing it with either a traditional handle or the MK-1 style. I'd be curious to see your designs for the other standard issue models as well, however many there have been. The write ups and historical information would be a really interesting read. I wasn't really interested in getting a Mutiny until I read your information about how historically significant that model is. Even if there was just a page showing the different issue models and approximate service years, it'd be a great read and might lead to some custom orders.
Jack
Jack
Kailash Blades
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It's a bit of a weird one because we've never really considered the website to be some central resource for khukuri related information, more just what we do. There's some really great resources on service issue models around online already so we didn't feel the need to include broader information outside of what we make. However if that's the way that people are interacting with the website then maybe we should expand it to be a broader educational page.
Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash
Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash
Sirkukri has a really detailed blog about Khukuris and Gurkhas
https://sirkukri.blogspot.com/?view=sidebar&m=1
The website is a bit dated and can be a little tricky to find exactly what you're looking for as there's just so much detail. Easiest method is to type Sirkukri M43, or whatever you need on Google.
The website was created by Viking Kunwor long before he started his company 'Heritage Knives'.
You can even find some information on various blades on his website kilatools.com
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Thanks C Chandra , that's very helpful. It looks like there were 5 officially issued models. That site also provides approximate years of issue as well. I AM curious why the issuing agency doesn't require them to be produced to a better (usable) level of quality. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the governing agency would want their Gurkas to have khukuris that could be used to... I don't know, CUT? From what I've read on KB's site and elsewhere, the MSI is mostly a "kukri shaped object" instead of being a sharp, well balanced tool/knife that could be used to fill it's traditionally used role. Maybe I'm mistaken, I'm really new to all of this.
Jack
The military always looks for two main criterias, it should be affordable, and should be good enough to perform the most basic functions. In the old days, when bladed weapons were relied on more, it made sense to make them of a decent quality.
Now, when almost all enemy engagement involves bombs and bullets, knives take a back seat. This is why it's not considered important to spend extra money for commissioning a superior Khukuri.
Besides, most of the Gurkhas carried their own personal Khukuris during operations. To them, the issued Khukuri are mainly just for show/part of their uniform.
Kailash Blades
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Chandra has hit the nail on the head here really.
In recent decades the contract for making service issue khukuris has been awarded to the lowest bidder, which many houses have been keen to get for perceived prestige and marketing benefits. A competitive, hyper price oriented environment with lax performance standards can have an almost reality warping effect on the end product. If performance or utility is not a key metric then cost pressures will optimise that out of the blade. These modern issued blades are more dress knives than anything else. I would not be surprised if in future they transitioned into unhardened stainless steel. I think the only barrier is that salvaged leaf springs are cheaper.
In recent decades the contract for making service issue khukuris has been awarded to the lowest bidder, which many houses have been keen to get for perceived prestige and marketing benefits. A competitive, hyper price oriented environment with lax performance standards can have an almost reality warping effect on the end product. If performance or utility is not a key metric then cost pressures will optimise that out of the blade. These modern issued blades are more dress knives than anything else. I would not be surprised if in future they transitioned into unhardened stainless steel. I think the only barrier is that salvaged leaf springs are cheaper.
Agreed , Our Gurkhas should be issued with an exacting khukuri that whilst sticking to the original and traditional lines of the iconic khukuri knife , should also have manufacturing standards that provide a well balanced and weighted ergonomically efficient fighting blade with in my opinion a length of 12 inch blade or so which wouldnt make it too long to be cumbersome and which would obviously have to fit within the compatible combat equipment issued today . Now try telling that to the MOD !
Any clue to when the replica Mk2 will be available
Kailash Blades
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We have no timeline on when we'll be making one a stock blade. However we have the orignal blueprints available for an mk4 that we can make right now if you're interested.