Best Kukri for general camping

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Jul 2, 2010
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*Carried over from the general section*

I'm planning on buying my first kukri, as I believe the unique blade would be the best all-round tool for me to carry on hiking/backpacking/camping trips. I'm a tall guy, 6'1" with long arms and fairly big hands, and I'd need the kukri for some wood chopping, brush clearing, possible setting up shelters, scaling fish, cutting meat, and the off chance that I'd need it for self defense.

My question is, What would the overall best style and size of kukri be for my purposes? From what supplier? I've done a lot of research, and I might be willing to spend up to $100 on a quality made (meaning very durable) kukri from wherever. I'm also thinking of just spending around $40 for a sharpened windlass cutlery kukri if anyone here can confirm that its quality is near satisfactory for the relatively infrequent use I'll be giving it. Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Ascalon,
Welcome to the H.I. forum!
Are you asking specifically about a Himalayan Imports product?
This forum is for discussion of the H.I. product and not a general khukuri topic subforum.

If you look around our forum here, in the DOTD threads you may find something that will suit your needs and be roughly in your price range. As for the Windlass, they are alright for a "beater" Khukuri, if you don't mind their quality and somewhat spotty HT.
 
In here that is all we discuss. ;)

I am sure you will hear many calls for the 15" OAL Ang Kolas in this sort of application.
They tend to be a bit lighter and are well suited to chopping and camp work.
Myself, I wold suggest the 18" ASTK for this sort of thing.

Go ahead and take the time to sharpen your karda no matter which you choose.
 
For a good all around camp tool, the WWII, BAS, Ang Khola, Chiruwa Ang Khola and Amar Singh Thapa would all suit the needs you described. The 15"er's are suitable for camp use as well a camp kitchen duty, but given your stature you could probably go up to an 18"er. Then we could add the M-43, which usually comes in at 18". The problem is though that most any of these will probably run you a little bit more that $100, unless you happen to shark a great deal in one of the DOTD's we have here.
 
I'm going to have to say that an 18" WWII with a wooden grip is REALLY tough to beat in the camping role if you are wanting a base camp khuk.

If you are wanting something for hiking, the 15" AK or ASTK would serve you really well.

Oh, and welcome to the forum:):thumbup:
 
Yeah - at 6'1, I could see an 18" m43 or WWII being a good choice. I'm about 5'3, and while I prefer 18"ers for wood chopping, 15"ers tend to be a bit more manageable for just about everything else (still plenty of bite for chopping, but with a lot more finesse and easier to strap to a pack or my hip).

I believe I actually picked up my 18" m43 for $100 on a DotD a year or so ago but prices have gone up a bit since then as Aunty needs to keep HI running. These days, a blem one will probably run you $100+shipping (which I think is still a great deal :thumbup:)
 
Thanks for the advice guys. The M43, Ang Khola, and Chiruwa Ang Khola look pretty damn tempting. Would a Sirupate kukri with its thinner spine perform the same as those other kukris on these sorts of tasks (but with the obvious benefit of being much lighter)?
 
Ascalon

The M-43 will far outchop the Sirupate. However the sirupate will still perform very well.

Where you would really really miss the added performance of the M-43 is if you were having to chop lots of poles over 5-6 inches in diameter for shelter building. The Sirupate is quite capable of being batonned through wood for splitting firwood etc.

the 18" M-43 weighs about the same as a 15" Ang Khola. And cuts better than a 20" Ang Khola. It gives unbelievable performance for the weight carried.

The Sirupate is lighter yet. While it will not perform as well as an M-43 it WILL easily outperform any other 9-10" blade survival knife on the market hands down.

If you contact Yangdu she may make you a deal on a blem or villager. Send her an email.
 
I own a couple of Windlass Khuks, in addition to my HI Tamang and Bonecutter.
I'd pick the HI Tamang khuk over the Windlass for camp duty. The Windlass has served me well through the years, don't get me wrong but the HI knives are much better made. My Tamang is about 15.5" oal, and my Bonecutter is 18"oal.
The Tamang is a little bit thicker than the Windlass and is also a better chopper.
The Bonecutter is at least 3 times as thick as the Windlass and chops through saplings like a razor sharp meat cleaver through hot dogs.
If I were to need to use a Khuk to survive, it would be an HI Khuk.
At your height, I can see an 18" WW2, M43, or AK being perfect.
 
Does this look like one of HI's AngKholas to you?

(( Link Removed ))
 
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To answer your question, Ascalon....
No, it's not an H.I. khukuri. It is made by one of the other makers.
 
To answer your question, Ascalon....
No, it's not an H.I. khukuri. It is made by one of the other makers.

Thanks for at least answering my question. How can you tell it wasn't bought from them though? I want one of theirs, though it shouldn't matter to them if I buy it from someone distributing their products second hand or from them directly because either way they sell more, to be logical about it...
 
If you tell me which ones you want to see, and if I have one, I will gladly post a picture for you.

Here is an HI AK
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This one is an ASTK-Villager Finish
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Bone Cutter
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My Bonecutter doesn't have the ring in the middle of the handle. Surprisingly enough, it actually feels better that way. The ring on my Tamang handle caused hot spots on my hand and I had to use 320 grit to round it off to a comfortable shape in my hand. I've given it 6 coats of linseed oil and 2 coats of tung oil, so far. I'll add another coat of tung oil tonight, and another coat tomorrow. It sucks up the tung oil so fast, it'll take 5-10 coats of tung to do the job.
 
Thanks for at least answering my question. How can you tell it wasn't bought from them though? I want one of theirs, though it shouldn't matter to them if I buy it from someone distributing their products second hand or from them directly because either way they sell more, to be logical about it...
I can tell by several ways. Himalayan Imports makes its own khukuri, in it's own shop and sells them in their online store and in the DOTD's here. It does not wholesale to secondary vendors, nor sell on Ebay. If you can find an H.I. khukuri on ebay, you are buying it second hand from a customer. All H.I. khukuri are marked with several symbols (kami marks,Kami initials,UB mark, Devangari for "ha"and "ee") denoting them as made by H.I. The Nepal khukuri link you posted are a khukuri house product.
 
You want a 17" (B)GRS.

Obviously others feel differently, but the M43- and the Sirupati- just feel wrong to me. The 15-18" AKs, 16.5-18" WWII, and 15-18" BDCs, on the other hand, feel terrific. :)

John
 
I have a lot of knives but i find that i keep going back to what i call my workhorse. The kabar kukri is not that expensive and it works really well and feels good in the hand. i would put it up against anything else. Another benefit i think is because of the price range i never feel that bad about beating the crap out of it.
 
Miles,
Welcome to the Himalayan Imports Forum.
The kabar model is a KLO, a whole 'nuther subject matter. You' havent truly lived until you've fielded an honest to goodness traditionally made true nepalese khukuri. As this is the Himalayan Imports forum, other brands should be discussed in the Cantina or the General forum.
 
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