Bill Siegle
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2000
- Messages
- 6,743
Here is a fun one of a kind I just finished up 
About thirty years ago, I found a very cool Kukri like object at a dealer's shop in upstate NY. He wasn't really sure what it was called but it had come out of the Philippines. He said the guy who acquired it bought it from a guy cutting bananas so it became the Banana Knife 
I long ago traded it off but when I owned it, I learned a lot about curved blade advantages. It cut and chopped very well for it's light weight. I have always wanted to make my own version and finally got around to getting a design off paper. Here is my version of the concept in green canvas micarta and 1/4in 5160 steel. It is 15in overall with a 9 3/4in blade tip to handle. Weight it just as midge over 16oz. I am pretty pleased with the result. It chops pretty well on my test block in the shop. It is a pretty versatile cutter being able to slash and chop but by choking up on the blade, can do finer carving too. I tend to think of it as a Kukri Lite as it has that mechanical advantage while being a lot less bulky in weight and dimension to a more traditional kukri.
About thirty years ago, I found a very cool Kukri like object at a dealer's shop in upstate NY. He wasn't really sure what it was called but it had come out of the Philippines. He said the guy who acquired it bought it from a guy cutting bananas so it became the Banana Knife I long ago traded it off but when I owned it, I learned a lot about curved blade advantages. It cut and chopped very well for it's light weight. I have always wanted to make my own version and finally got around to getting a design off paper. Here is my version of the concept in green canvas micarta and 1/4in 5160 steel. It is 15in overall with a 9 3/4in blade tip to handle. Weight it just as midge over 16oz. I am pretty pleased with the result. It chops pretty well on my test block in the shop. It is a pretty versatile cutter being able to slash and chop but by choking up on the blade, can do finer carving too. I tend to think of it as a Kukri Lite as it has that mechanical advantage while being a lot less bulky in weight and dimension to a more traditional kukri.
