Kailash Khukuri Review Megathread!


Well that's quite the endorsement. If you were thinking about raising prices now seems like a good time to do it ;)

Also interesting that the Salyani got updates somewhat similar to the Mutiny changes (Greater initial spine thickness with more distal taper)
 
HJA said:

Well that's quite the endorsement. If you were thinking about raising prices now seems like a good time to do it ;)

Also interesting that the Salyani got updates somewhat similar to the Mutiny changes (Greater initial spine thickness with more distal taper)
Click to expand...

I think the best time to raise prices might've been last week! And yes it's a pretty glowing review from Matt here. He's interested in having us manufacture some blades for him in future which would be an awesome opportunity.
You're very much right- this past year's refinement on the salyani has been a part of what's influenced some of our spec changes as well as the development of an unreleased modern project.
Thanks for sharing the video- it's always awesome to see the community picking up on things before we do :)
 
My Pensioner got a decent workout this weekend.

https://imgur.com/JTxa1zN

The cuts look pretty gnarly, but that's only because these shrubs grow amongst rocky creek beds. It's tough to land a good hit on the twisted branches without smacking a rock. The khuk excelled regardless.

I've had mine for nearly 2 years now. It honestly took time to warm up to it as, initially, the steel did not seem to hold an edge for very long. My first major cutting task was on a downed crepemyrtle - the edge dulled without much effort. However, after several rounds of sharpening I think I finally hit pay dirt this weekend as there was minimal dulling after an hour of hard chopping. In fact, I missed one swing and smashed the last inch up to the tip into a rock. The rock broke and the edge was a tad bit less sharp (as could be reasonably expected), but the knife kept chopping and cutting well.

https://imgur.com/7WFvRAq

It's a fun knife to use. My only gripe now is that the mid-rib tends to cause blisters in prolonged use. I know the rib is a traditional feature and I know that it serves a purpose, but mine is a little aggressive. This is an easy fix, i just haven't gotten around to it yet.

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20210814_143826.jpg

After reflection, I'm glad I ordered this knife and recommend Kailash Blades. It is an excellent cutter and chopper and is light enough to use without fatigue. Someday I plan to order a Mutiny model with a leather stacked handle to add to my collection.
 
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Thanks very much for putting a review together- especially one 2 years in the making. I'm glad the blade is treating you well now and is standing up to some serious use. I think a mutiny could be a great companion- would you go for the lighter 14" or the bigger 15.5"?

The phenomenon of increased edge stability and retention after repeated sharpenings is something that's also been experienced by other customers on some of our blades as well as other Nepalese made blades. It's a strong sign of unideal heat control post HT and as a result it's something we've been spending some time this year to try and correct. We now limit the types of abrasives smiths can use post HT, have altered our sharpening methods and are just about to roll out some new grinding equipment to help get this post sharpening experience to happen out of the box. We'll be testing some blades afterwards and if the results aren't quite there yet we've got some other tricks up our sleeve we can try. These kinds of process improvements are quite hard to put in place in Nepal- methodology is deeply ingrained with a traditional mindset, a huge amount of normal tooling and materials just aren't available and importation is very uneconomical due to import tarrifs.

Regarding the handle ring I hope you feel comfortable filing it off- it won't impact warranty and we want to encourage modifications. If you're looking for a halfway step you can try removing the angled section, keeping the thinner disc portion and slightly rounding the edges. it might sound backwards but sometimes a narrower ring can slip between the fingers a bit more nicely, even if it does localise pressure a bit more.

Take care,
Andrew and the team at Kailash.
 
Andrew,

Thank you for your response. When the time comes I think I will go for the 15.5" Mutiny. No reason not to maximize leverage and cutting power.

As for the steel, I'm not too bothered by having to sharpen past a suboptimal initial edge. I'm not new to handmade tools and the imperfection is part of the charm for me. Heck, I've had other Khukuris that appeared to have no hardened steel whatsoever, which have since been disposed of. However I know that first time buyers and non knife-nuts may not be as understanding and am glad to hear that yall are exploring reasonable improvements.

Indeed, I am comfortable modifying the handle ring. I'll try your method and take it slowly. I'm sure it won't take much effort.

Thanks,
Will
 
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Fort William MK1 review with some insights into brush clearing, handle sizing and blade feel at large sizes :)
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Kailash Blades Fort William Mk-1 khukuri

For some time I’ve been massively overthinking whether to get a meat cleaver. The kind of meat prep I do doesn’t really demand one and I could wind up dropping a load of money on a big …
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A review of a 17.5" salyani and 13" tin chirra

"Sharpness out of the box is excellent. Probably the best I ever received stock (with only my second-hand SkyJiro Katana being in the same league).
They're almost shaving sharp, both 'bite' on the fingernail and have one smooth bevel from the fuller's shoulder to the edge. I can't make out a step or micro-bevel - it's perfectly blended edge polish."
We're getting there!
 

Review - Kukri comparison

I wanted to know which Kukri performed best and did some tests. The Kukris I used are the SK5 Gurkha Kukri Plus(full flat grind, 5/16"), Carbon V LTC Kukri (full flat grind 3/16") and spring? steel Kukhuri House Operation Iraqi Freedom Kukri(sabre grind 2/5"). The LTC still had it's shaving...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Kailash Mutiny did very well in my kukri chopping comparison
 
Rowan McDirk said:

Review - Kukri comparison

I wanted to know which Kukri performed best and did some tests. The Kukris I used are the SK5 Gurkha Kukri Plus(full flat grind, 5/16"), Carbon V LTC Kukri (full flat grind 3/16") and spring? steel Kukhuri House Operation Iraqi Freedom Kukri(sabre grind 2/5"). The LTC still had it's shaving...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Kailash Mutiny did very well in my kukri chopping comparison
Click to expand...
This is amazing stuff! Thanks so much for taking the time to do the side by side. Can't believe I hadn't seen this sooner.
Would it be okay if we shared some parts of this on social media?
 
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