Help me justify or talk me out of a wajaski or kumar karda

S

slee05

Joined
Jun 3, 2015
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I've seen some very tempting and well priced wajaski's and an extra large Kumar Karda recently.

I'm curious what use owners get out of them. The Karda I saw was 14 inches, 20 oz, while I've seen some 15 or 16 inch wajaskis at 12 oz.

I primarily use a BAS for camping, but the wajaski's have been calling out to me for aesthetic's sake. And if the kami's ever put out something similar to a chinese jian or dao, I'm not sure I could stop myself...
 
slee05 said:
I've seen some very tempting and well priced wajaski's and an extra large Kumar Karda recently.

I'm curious what use owners get out of them. The Karda I saw was 14 inches, 20 oz, while I've seen some 15 or 16 inch wajaskis at 12 oz.

I primarily use a BAS for camping, but the wajaski's have been calling out to me for aesthetic's sake. And if the kami's ever put out something similar to a chinese jian or dao, I'm not sure I could stop myself...
Click to expand...

A few of my knives would cover every possible use, so most of my collection is for the aesthetics. It's way less expensive than collecting cars.

I also have a very small collection of microscopes. Have to really restrain my impulses, because microscopes can break anybody's budget.

Here's a picture of my matched pair of HI Katana and Wajaski with koa wood handles. The Katana was made by Young Sher and the Wajaski was made by Kumar. The aesthetics speak for themselves. As for "using" them, I hope that in this lifetime I never have the need to use either of these blades for the purpose for which they were designed.

P8250011.JPG

Kumar Karda's are more practical for many kinds of cutting, but some of them are also quite beautiful. Here are some nice ones:

This one is 13" overall length and 13 oz, with a carved handle of chandan wood. My records show that it was a collaboration of Bura and Dil. Probably one did the blade and the other carved the handle, but I don't know for sure how they divided the work.

KumarKarda13in-BuraDil13oz-Chandan-01r.JPG

This is one of my favorites, a hybrid knife that has the blade of a Kumar Karda, the handle (horn) of a Chainpuri, and a brass guard. It was made by Sher Kami. It's 15.5" overall length and weighs 20 oz. Very elegant shape and feels great in the hand.

KumarKarda15.5in-Sher20oz-02.JPG

Then there are the YCS Kardas. This one by Kumar Kami is 14" overall length and 18 oz, with a carved chandan wood handle.

YCS-Karda11-Kumar10-Chandan-02.jpg

The significance of chandan wood is that it has been listed as an endangered species by the government of Nepal, so you can only find it on some of the older knives.
 
slee05 said:
I primarily use a BAS for camping, but the wajaski's have been calling out to me for aesthetic's sake.
Click to expand...
Considering you use a BAS for camping, and that the wajaski primarily appeals to your aesthetic sense, you certainly might want to think about the new Thamars that are currently in stock. His work has a fabulous old-school look to it with curvy lines reminiscent of vintage khukuris.
 
I have both:) I couldn't pick between these two children. One is back up to the full size Everest Katana next to my bed.

While a smaller version, the humble Kumar Karda just completed a business trip with me as my fixed blade of choice.
 
I sincerely doubt that anyone on this forum would make an effort to talk you out of buying anything from HI. No one has ever done it to me and I've never regretted it.
 
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