See first impressions here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/hsi-mini-first-impressions.1787693/
Now that I've had some time to use it for chopping I wanted to give a quick review for the 11.5" Kailash Blades Historical Service Issue. With all the options I went with (Copper hardware, micarta wrap handle, salyani sheath) this came out to $177 USD. If you are less worried about aesthetics you can keep the cost down to around $98 USD and still have an excellent Khukuri — the blade length and handle material are the most practical options. So far I've been cleaning the blade with water and soap, scrubbing with 00 steel wool if it's really gunked up, and oiling with mineral oil when not in use. This seems to work well although I'll need to figure out a way to clean the inner part of the cho. As I mentioned in the first impressions I did file away a little bit of material to round-out the edge of the cho closest to the handle, just in case my hand slipped; the way it came was slightly sharp.
So far I have taken the HSI camping once and used it around the yard to remove some small tree limbs, trim hedges and a few bushes. No issues batoning some logs, knots and all, without damaging the edge (performance grind). Cutting through small limbs was very easy, although cutting is so easy while trimming some bushes I managed to swing the tip into some concrete once or twice and have some teeny tiny little chips along the very tip of the edge that will eventually get sharpened out. They're so small though I have trouble capturing the damage with my phone camera, but regardless that's 100% on me and not any fault of the blade. The only minor gripe I noted is the balance isn't perfect, it will balance on a pen but somewhat tilted to one side (See first impressions thread for a picture). Really this doesn't bother me as I doubt it makes much of a difference, and hand-made things won't be 100% perfect 100% of the time. The modern service issue I got from KHHI does not balance at all, and generally has poorer fit and finish / quality control. I do see videos of people balancing theirs on a nail so I know it's generally meant to be possible.
Regarding HSI vs MSI: I haven't chopped with the MSI yet, but given that my MSI is a smaller 9" version yet it has the same weight as the 11.25" HSI goes someway to show what a brute the MSI is. It definitely doesn't feel as nice in the hand — definitely less lithe and front-heavy. I'm sure it would chop just fine but you'll get tired faster and have less tip speed. For a ~11" blade around 500 grams or less seems ideal to me, so khukuri's that have ~6.5mm initial spine thicknesses or less. Again this is something you'll want to consider your use-cases for, if you need to carry it with you in a backpack saving weight can be important; if you need to rely on it to never break or bend yet chop chop chop non stop, a bit of a heavier khukuri might make more sense. More complicated designs with fullers seem advantageous but I had to have some of the classic flat blades first. I must admit the aesthetic and historical aspects are what attracted me to khukuri's in the first place, but they're really quite handy tools.
As for the options: Overall I'm very pleased with the extras I splurged for: The Salyani sheath is very pretty and well made. Fit and retention are decent; there was no damage on anything I received from Kailash, and the traditional DAP sheaths are really quite good, and not as heavy as they might look (about 200grams). Drawing from the hip was a little awkward at first but I'm getting the hang of it now. The performance grind has held up great, though if I were getting a more dedicated heavy chopper like the Pensioner I'd probably consider the thicker standard grind. Not because I've experienced any issues with the performance grind, it just seems wise to have a bit more durability on something that is going to be heavily abused. The HSI with the performance grind makes a great all-rounder so I've no issue recommending that, but the Mutiny also seems worth considering. Kailash has some other pluses here because the options include quite a variety of blade lengths along with recommendations per task, so it's very easy to navigate their website and find out what you need to know. I don't think I've seen a khukuri manufacturer yet that has a better designed and populated website. Kailash khukuri's don't come with a karda or chakmak, which I think is a good move. I imagine most people ordering a khukuri would have their own sharpening system and 'edc' knives anyway. Their prices are also competitive with the other manufacturers (with the option to go more expensive with exotic options like copper hardware, kydex sheaths and so on if you wish). So recommending Kailash is a no-brainer.
(Left to right, Kailash HSI, KHHI MSI, Kailash Mini 7", KHHI biltong)
TL;DR: Kailash good, Khukuri good.
Now that I've had some time to use it for chopping I wanted to give a quick review for the 11.5" Kailash Blades Historical Service Issue. With all the options I went with (Copper hardware, micarta wrap handle, salyani sheath) this came out to $177 USD. If you are less worried about aesthetics you can keep the cost down to around $98 USD and still have an excellent Khukuri — the blade length and handle material are the most practical options. So far I've been cleaning the blade with water and soap, scrubbing with 00 steel wool if it's really gunked up, and oiling with mineral oil when not in use. This seems to work well although I'll need to figure out a way to clean the inner part of the cho. As I mentioned in the first impressions I did file away a little bit of material to round-out the edge of the cho closest to the handle, just in case my hand slipped; the way it came was slightly sharp.
So far I have taken the HSI camping once and used it around the yard to remove some small tree limbs, trim hedges and a few bushes. No issues batoning some logs, knots and all, without damaging the edge (performance grind). Cutting through small limbs was very easy, although cutting is so easy while trimming some bushes I managed to swing the tip into some concrete once or twice and have some teeny tiny little chips along the very tip of the edge that will eventually get sharpened out. They're so small though I have trouble capturing the damage with my phone camera, but regardless that's 100% on me and not any fault of the blade. The only minor gripe I noted is the balance isn't perfect, it will balance on a pen but somewhat tilted to one side (See first impressions thread for a picture). Really this doesn't bother me as I doubt it makes much of a difference, and hand-made things won't be 100% perfect 100% of the time. The modern service issue I got from KHHI does not balance at all, and generally has poorer fit and finish / quality control. I do see videos of people balancing theirs on a nail so I know it's generally meant to be possible.
Regarding HSI vs MSI: I haven't chopped with the MSI yet, but given that my MSI is a smaller 9" version yet it has the same weight as the 11.25" HSI goes someway to show what a brute the MSI is. It definitely doesn't feel as nice in the hand — definitely less lithe and front-heavy. I'm sure it would chop just fine but you'll get tired faster and have less tip speed. For a ~11" blade around 500 grams or less seems ideal to me, so khukuri's that have ~6.5mm initial spine thicknesses or less. Again this is something you'll want to consider your use-cases for, if you need to carry it with you in a backpack saving weight can be important; if you need to rely on it to never break or bend yet chop chop chop non stop, a bit of a heavier khukuri might make more sense. More complicated designs with fullers seem advantageous but I had to have some of the classic flat blades first. I must admit the aesthetic and historical aspects are what attracted me to khukuri's in the first place, but they're really quite handy tools.
As for the options: Overall I'm very pleased with the extras I splurged for: The Salyani sheath is very pretty and well made. Fit and retention are decent; there was no damage on anything I received from Kailash, and the traditional DAP sheaths are really quite good, and not as heavy as they might look (about 200grams). Drawing from the hip was a little awkward at first but I'm getting the hang of it now. The performance grind has held up great, though if I were getting a more dedicated heavy chopper like the Pensioner I'd probably consider the thicker standard grind. Not because I've experienced any issues with the performance grind, it just seems wise to have a bit more durability on something that is going to be heavily abused. The HSI with the performance grind makes a great all-rounder so I've no issue recommending that, but the Mutiny also seems worth considering. Kailash has some other pluses here because the options include quite a variety of blade lengths along with recommendations per task, so it's very easy to navigate their website and find out what you need to know. I don't think I've seen a khukuri manufacturer yet that has a better designed and populated website. Kailash khukuri's don't come with a karda or chakmak, which I think is a good move. I imagine most people ordering a khukuri would have their own sharpening system and 'edc' knives anyway. Their prices are also competitive with the other manufacturers (with the option to go more expensive with exotic options like copper hardware, kydex sheaths and so on if you wish). So recommending Kailash is a no-brainer.
(Left to right, Kailash HSI, KHHI MSI, Kailash Mini 7", KHHI biltong)
TL;DR: Kailash good, Khukuri good.
Last edited:
