Kailash Khukuri Review Megathread!

[philbrownell05]

Finished chopping down the dead parts of a pear tree in my front yard. Put my forearm through quite the workout, but had no issues holding on to the handle. I felt like I abused the edge pretty well, and there was absolutely no signs I did anything, except for the "guts" of the tree! Pictures of the job.

Yard work

I simply took the brown triangle sharpmaker stone afterwards, ran it down the edges 10-20 times per side, then stropped it. For a thick edge, it sure was shaving sharp by the time I was done. Wow am I impressed with the build quality of this Falo. It isn't the most bitey of their khukuris, probably a bit me needing to learn how to use it properly. But to call this thing tough, would be an understantement! Only thing I wish I would have requested is the handle ring. My previous model, the handle ring, definitely aided in retention. And it was comfortable.

I will be looking forward to purchasing a larger MK1 or Mutiny or Scourge Anniversary, for better chopping performance. But until then, I know I can use this beast and not be afraid of being rough with it.

The Regent Long Knife I purchased, my wife hasn't used as much yet. She is impressed/scared with how sharp the edge is. There was a moment of careless handling when we first got it, my finger ended up with a deep gash, but very clean and it has healed nicely. She is also used to a knife 3 inches shorter than the new knife. So she is still getting used to it, but slowly, as the sharpness has her in awe and respect.

It is absolutely beautiful in it's construction and edge geometry, and with a tiny bit of Flitz's on there, it cleans up so nice without tarnish at all on the finish. It makes me look forward to the Plain Jane Bowie I will eventually order as well!

I just can't say enough good things about this Company, the smith of my knives Bikram BishwaKarma, and Andrew for guiding me through the customization options for the long knife. I will be a customer for as long as you are at your incredible craft!

 

[Bill_Melater]

Just the dead parts eh?

I haven't really gotten to play with my Falo yet and I'm interested if I have the same experience with a non-ringed handle. Just doing some practice swings though, I think I would agree so far but, it's not unwieldy. I can't speak to the others (yet) but a Mk1 with a precision grind would be great for chopping like that.

On that note, question for Andrew: What's the rationale behind some blades having grind options that others don't? For example, could a precision grind be put on a Falo on the chance someone wanted it or is there more to the overall blade geometry that plays into that?

 

[philbrownell05]

Just the dead parts eh?

I haven't really gotten to play with my Falo yet and I'm interested if I have the same experience with a non-ringed handle. Just doing some practice swings though, I think I would agree so far but, it's not unwieldy. I can't speak to the others (yet) but a Mk1 with a precision grind would be great for chopping like that.

On that note, question for Andrew: What's the rationale behind some blades having grind options that others don't? For example, could a precision grind be put on a Falo on the chance someone wanted it or is there more to the overall blade geometry that plays into that?

Yes. The wood that is exposed is healthy. Most of the branches that were removed had dry and crisp wood that snapped rather than dug in like healthy wood. My wife wanted the tree gone, but I think it will bounce back next year. If it doesn't, I'll finish the job. I just love it.

 

[Kailash Blades]

Finished chopping down the dead parts of a pear tree in my front yard. Put my forearm through quite the workout, but had no issues holding on to the handle. I felt like I abused the edge pretty well, and there was absolutely no signs I did anything, except for the "guts" of the tree! Pictures of the job.

Yard work

I simply took the brown triangle sharpmaker stone afterwards, ran it down the edges 10-20 times per side, then stropped it. For a thick edge, it sure was shaving sharp by the time I was done. Wow am I impressed with the build quality of this Falo. It isn't the most bitey of their khukuris, probably a bit me needing to learn how to use it properly. But to call this thing tough, would be an understantement! Only thing I wish I would have requested is the handle ring. My previous model, the handle ring, definitely aided in retention. And it was comfortable.

I will be looking forward to purchasing a larger MK1 or Mutiny or Scourge Anniversary, for better chopping performance. But until then, I know I can use this beast and not be afraid of being rough with it.

The Regent Long Knife I purchased, my wife hasn't used as much yet. She is impressed/scared with how sharp the edge is. There was a moment of careless handling when we first got it, my finger ended up with a deep gash, but very clean and it has healed nicely. She is also used to a knife 3 inches shorter than the new knife. So she is still getting used to it, but slowly, as the sharpness has her in awe and respect.

It is absolutely beautiful in it's construction and edge geometry, and with a tiny bit of Flitz's on there, it cleans up so nice without tarnish at all on the finish. It makes me look forward to the Plain Jane Bowie I will eventually order as well!

I just can't say enough good things about this Company, the smith of my knives Bikram BishwaKarma, and Andrew for guiding me through the customization options for the long knife. I will be a customer for as long as you are at your incredible craft!

Glad to hear you're loving the falo! I'm really happy with the changes that we've made to it and think it's helped our lineup a lot. As the sides are unground the cross section is a little chunkier than other blades. It's closer tot he MSI and panawal than the mk1 for example. We're working on some new hammers which will help to get closer to final geometry before grinding and we might see some small efficiency benefits as a result

On that note, question for Andrew: What's the rationale behind some blades having grind options that others don't? For example, could a precision grind be put on a Falo on the chance someone wanted it or is there more to the overall blade geometry that plays into that?

Yeah so it's a more recent change we've made and is a bit of a weird one. Historically every knife was available with every grind but we've limited some options so that the grind isn't writing cheques that the rest of the knife can't cash.
EG- while we can do a HD grind on a salyani, the thin spine and general build around the ricasso etc is going to let the knife down if given the kind of intense use that a HD grind is warrantied for. Similarly while we can do a performance grind on a panawal the bulky spine, chunky upper grind and grind style/shape itself stands in the way of the kinds of performance improvements we're seeing at the apex. Limiting the options helps ensure that we are delivering a more optimised experience for users and it also helps to make our product lineup more varied and intuitive. EG I'm looking for a high performance cutter, the MSI isn't available with a performance grind so maybe I'll pick one of the more performance oriented blades that is.

 

[Bill_Melater]

As I understand it, the different blade grinds deal with how acute the convex grind is so it makes sense how the rest of the blades geometry (spine, cross-section, etc.) would lend themselves more to one grind type than another with diminishing effects in either direction depending on the parameters. Hard to go from a thick spine to an acute grind, etc. Though, I would have though the sirupate would be perfect for a precision grind but I won't hijack the thread anymore than I have and I'll take such questions in an inquiry email sometime.

All in all I think the direction with the Falo is a good idea. I showed my order update to an acquaintance and he seemed really interested in a model with a straighter spine like the new design. he wants to see it so I'll see if I can dangle this lure in front him this weekend!

 

[philbrownell05]

Just the dead parts eh?

I haven't really gotten to play with my Falo yet and I'm interested if I have the same experience with a non-ringed handle. Just doing some practice swings though, I think I would agree so far but, it's not unwieldy. I can't speak to the others (yet) but a Mk1 with a precision grind would be great for chopping like that.

On that note, question for Andrew: What's the rationale behind some blades having grind options that others don't? For example, could a precision grind be put on a Falo on the chance someone wanted it or is there more to the overall blade geometry that plays into that?

Yes just the dead parts believe it or not. The wood in the pile is mostly dark, split and crispy wood. I cut back to good healthy wood since we're approaching fall and winter so it can recover and hopefully come back next year. If not I'll chop it the rest of the way down.

My love of khukuris only grows each time I find a use for it.

 

[philbrownell05]

Glad to hear you're loving the falo! I'm really happy with the changes that we've made to it and think it's helped our lineup a lot. As the sides are unground the cross section is a little chunkier than other blades. It's closer tot he MSI and panawal than the mk1 for example. We're working on some new hammers which will help to get closer to final geometry before grinding and we might see some small efficiency benefits as a result


Yeah so it's a more recent change we've made and is a bit of a weird one. Historically every knife was available with every grind but we've limited some options so that the grind isn't writing cheques that the rest of the knife can't cash.
EG- while we can do a HD grind on a salyani, the thin spine and general build around the ricasso etc is going to let the knife down if given the kind of intense use that a HD grind is warrantied for. Similarly while we can do a performance grind on a panawal the bulky spine, chunky upper grind and grind style/shape itself stands in the way of the kinds of performance improvements we're seeing at the apex. Limiting the options helps ensure that we are delivering a more optimised experience for users and it also helps to make our product lineup more varied and intuitive. EG I'm looking for a high performance cutter, the MSI isn't available with a performance grind so maybe I'll pick one of the more performance oriented blades that is.

So between the Scourge Anniversary and MK1, which is a better chopper and has better cutting efficiency? MK1 has some hollow forging, but the tall flat grind on that Anniversary would be very efficient. Just curious which will be my next order.

 

[Bill_Melater]

Yes just the dead parts believe it or not. The wood in the pile is mostly dark, split and crispy wood. I cut back to good healthy wood since we're approaching fall and winter so it can recover and hopefully come back next year. If not I'll chop it the rest of the way down.

My love of khukuris only grows each time I find a use for it.

Hopefully the tree bounces back! But if it doesn't, I'm sure it will make for another good blade review at least.

Oh, I know what you mean. Not that other designs can't perform well, but after using well made ones I'm surprised the design wasn't more widespread.

 

[Kailash Blades]

So between the Scourge Anniversary and MK1, which is a better chopper and has better cutting efficiency? MK1 has some hollow forging, but the tall flat grind on that Anniversary would be very efficient. Just curious which will be my next order.

The actual cutting efficiency is pretty similar between the two blades, but the mk1 pulls ahead a bit as a chopper. It has a much lighter handle which in turn gives a stronger forwards balance that helps it transfer more power when chopping into solid targets. Total maximum power is probably a touch higher with the scourge anniversary when chopping from the shoulder with full force, however the mk1 can produce a lot of power in more relaxed wrist based chopping with lower levels of fatigue.

 

[Bill_Melater]

The actual cutting efficiency is pretty similar between the two blades, but the mk1 pulls ahead a bit as a chopper. It has a much lighter handle which in turn gives a stronger forwards balance that helps it transfer more power when chopping into solid targets. Total maximum power is probably a touch higher with the scourge anniversary when chopping from the shoulder with full force, however the mk1 can produce a lot of power in more relaxed wrist based chopping with lower levels of fatigue.

Where would you put an Ek Chirra in that mix?

 

[Kailash Blades]

I'd say cutting efficiency on a rat tail 13" ek chirra is a bit lower than on a scourge anniversary. For chirra styles where the fullers run all the way up to the edge bevel at a defined ridge this naturally produces a slightly thicker geometry behind the edge vs something like the mk1 or scourge anniversary where the edge bevel can be blended into the upper grind for reduced cutting resistance. I'd say the chopping power of the scourge anniversary beats the ek chirra also- it's got more mass in the blade and in the handle. A rat tail ek chirra can feel really nice though and it makes a good hard use workhorse with a nice moderate weight and length.

 

[philbrownell05]

The actual cutting efficiency is pretty similar between the two blades, but the mk1 pulls ahead a bit as a chopper. It has a much lighter handle which in turn gives a stronger forwards balance that helps it transfer more power when chopping into solid targets. Total maximum power is probably a touch higher with the scourge anniversary when chopping from the shoulder with full force, however the mk1 can produce a lot of power in more relaxed wrist based chopping with lower levels of fatigue.

That settles that. MK1 sounds like exactly what I'm looking for! And I am excited to order a blade with a hamon on it. It looks incredible to me! And I noticed that Buffalo horn isn't an option with the MK1, but is with the Mutiny. What's the difference in the handle that doesn't allow the option for one but does for the other? I really like the looks of the Buffalo horn is all and was curious if it couldn't be done on the MK1.

 

[Kailash Blades]

The issue is that the mk1 handle is just too big! particularly the flare at the rear. When we first started selling the mk1 we could find pieces of horn that large reasonably frequently, but since then horn supply has dropped and demand for our knives has risen. We removed the option because we couldn't reliably offer it. These days if the team find a piece of horn that large they let me know and I offer it to a contacts list I have of customers who have asked for one over the previous years.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

I just recently received a large order from Kailash and after talking to Andrew decided to review them. I don't normally review knives because, frankly, I don’t like to give away my sources. But Kailash Blades is my favorite knife company ever, there's not even a close second, and they deserve the praise. So I thought I'd share...

https://imgur.com/SPXtWS3

https://imgur.com/4bpv0mv

I was trying to get the broadest range of items possible so I could cover all the gaps in my collection. I went with the large handles on all of these, because that's always the best option. In fact I think the option to get longer handles is one of the best options Kailash offers. The extra-long (8") handles are a bit extreme, but I could see them being valuable if you're going for a much longer (like 21-24") blade.

In terms of grind, I went with performance (sharpest/leanest option) for all options except the Sirupate. The Sirupate isn't offered in a performance grind so I went with standard on this one.

I got a mix of satin and raw finishes on these. One thing I didn't know was the raw finish isn't "brute de forge" but is ground to shape and weight specs and then hammer finished, with the scale left on the blades after heat-treatment. This means you should expect roughly the same performance from this as the other finish options without adding weight or overall chunkiness to the blade.

For sheaths, I went with olive drab kydex for the Khukuri and black kydex for the Bhura. I love the look of olive drab and it gives a very military look to the blades. All of the kydex sheaths fit nicely except the Bhura is a bit loose, which is understandable given the design. I would still go with kydex for this one anyway if I were to do it again.

https://imgur.com/9dOKuiz

One item I always wanted to try was the Sirupate. I never owned a Sirupate style blade before but always admired the simple design and lean profile. I wanted this one to be a true worker so I went with the stacked leather handles and 12" blade for ease of carry and packing. The result is almost spartan and certainly very tool-like… it feels like a large framing hammer in the hand and will certainly make a robust user with its wide convex edge bevel and hollow forged blade.

https://imgur.com/A1PVZA9

The next item is the Mutiny, which I've noticed gets compared a lot to the Sirupate due to the narrower blade profiles. But these are completely different knives - the Mutiny is a Baspate style blade which is wider than the Sirupate and much leaner with a full convex edge. I went with the 14" blade version as the 15.5" is a bit large for me and the 12" seemed a bit short for this more fighter-styled blade. Even with the longer blade this feels much lighter and more balanced than the Sirupate. In the hand this thing moves like a Filipino short sword (similar to a garab or talibon), it reminds me a lot of several I've handled in the past and has more affinity with those than with its fellow khukuri. This certainly can be used as a utility blade and could handle grass, vines, and brush quite well, but as an Arnis buff I'll likely use it for target practice more than anything.

https://imgur.com/4S7Thva

Last in the khukuri line-up is the Dui Chirra. I wanted this one to be similar to the Panawal in terms of being a rougher/heavy use blade with a full tang, but with the stylistic flair of the double fullers. I went with the short blade (11") and large handle of course (about 5.5"). This makes it quite distinct looking and gives it a very heavy and solid feel, like it could chop a car in half. I would likely get this in stick tang instead of full if I did it again just because of the balance, but I certainly don't have any regrets and feel like this is the one to have in any serious situation where a tool with unyielding toughness is required.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

https://imgur.com/gbngI65

Finally, we have the Bhura. This is a newer model and isn't considered a traditional design, but it fits right in with the others in terms of overall aesthetics. I got the 6" blade and, in this case, the large handle isn't in the 5" range, but comes in around 4.75". Personally this is as small as I'd ever get on a knife this size and anything shorter would be nearly unusable. The blade is full convex with a really nice distal taper and is sharp as hell. I mean, it is REALLY sharp. The Mutiny is also pretty damn sharp and certainly these two scare me the most, I would really not want to cut myself with one.

I hope this was informative and helps some of you with decision making. It can be hard to pick a Kailash blade because there are so many options and it's easy to second-guess your choices. My best advice is to go with the large handle unless you have seriously small hands, and get the blade length that is best suited for your uses. Anything with a blade longer than about 12-13" isn't going to be easy to carry without strapping it to your leg or belt, so be mindful of how you want to transport/carry them. For instance, the 14" Mutiny barely fits in my tool bag and will be a home knife for sure since there's no way I'm going to put this on my belt for a day hike. I would rather carry something like the Sirupate in a backpack and fish it out when I need it.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

I'll drop one last review in here just because. These are my Regent Long Knives…

https://imgur.com/TKTcNJi

https://imgur.com/f7DmsXx

This is Kailash's best kept secret. It's thick and solid but with excellent tapering and grinds, giving it a heavy use feel with finer task capabilities.

I've had these for several years and use them all the time. They easily chop wood and cut small branches, butcher game, slice/chop food, and do all your basic bushcrafty stuff (drilling, planing, whittling, carving, shaving both wood and your face, etc etc). It wouldn't be a good choice for a dedicated kitchen knife but for anything else it's pretty much the best option I've found.

The only real issue, if you could call it one, is the blade tip doesn't hit as hard as a wider blade, of course. This is mildly annoying and partly precipitated the khukuri order I reviewed above. But this is inherent in the design and with the broad applicability you get with one of these, I would say anyone who wants or needs a chopper-style knife should try one. They are really quite different than anything else on the market, and that's saying a lot considering the absolute flood of products today.

The very presence of these makes the Bhura almost a novelty item, but I wanted to try it out anyway, even if I know it's not going to get the air time that the Long Knives will.

 

[Kailash Blades]

Wow- when it rains reviews it pours! Thanks a tonne for sharing your thoughts on the very wide range of knives you've experienced from us. I'm sure that there's lots of people out there who will find this valuable.

Love the look of the worn acid wash finish on that regent long knife. It'll be useful to show that to customers in future who are asking about how it wears.

I'm sure I say it every time that someone brings up the regent long knife but it really is my favourite knife we make. Out of every knife of mine it gets the most use and can handle just about everything. For a camp knife it will handle food prep, split, baton, carve, chop, butcher whatever. If you need to do serious all day hard chopping then you'll be better served by a bigger blade, if you need to do ultra fine carving and food prep you'll be better served by a slim, lean folder or fixed blade sure. However it is shockingly adequate at a very broad range of tasks and offers surprising performance in a comfortable and easy to use package.

I think one of the things that really helps it out is the hefty plate bolster just behind the heel of the blade. When you're choked up on the heel this bolster is inside your palm and so it sits just behind the pivot point of your index finger. This gives a lot of control and a handle heavy, light bladed feel in hand. Slide back to the butt of the handle though and now that big heavy bolster is an inch or more in front of your index finger pivot point. Here it makes the blade feel quite heavy and gives it a lot of solidity in the chop. A lot of our designs historically aimed to focus in on the versatility gained from adjusting your grip like this to varying degrees of success. It's kind of funny that perhaps the most successful example of the concept is seen on a blade with a pretty normal sized handle rather than something that's been extended with the utility in mind. Weight distribution keeps on proving itself to be a massively underlooked aspect of mainstream blade design.

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

Hey Andrew! Yeah the Long Knife is a killer, it has effectively replaced so many other knives that it basically became my granola option.

I should also mention that I scoured forums, blogs, and video channels for Kailash reviews before committing to my purchases. I think the main takeaway for me is that your blades have full convex and “scandivex” options and that the model chosen will determine whether the blade has a super lean grind or a wider/shorter edge bevel with hollow forged “flats.” This has a major influence on weight and cutting physics and will be very evident to someone who compares a performance ground Angkhola versus a Pensioner or MK1.

The other takeaway is handle width/girth. A wide blade will have a wider handle than a narrow blade and getting a full tang Sirupate doesn’t change the fact that the handle is still quite narrow, but just heavier.

 

[Kailash Blades]

Yep- recently we've limited which grind types are available for certain blades (eg performance, HD ,stanrdard). This is because the grind style of that blade (zero ground convex, short bevel, large bevel) impact the cutting performance significantly enough that some can't really hit the same performance grind as others. It also helps customers to understand where the ideal performance for a blade is- it=f it's got a performance grind as default it's best as a PG blade. If it's got standard as default and no performance grind available then it's got beefy, tanky geometry.

 

[Bill_Melater]

Yep- recently we've limited which grind types are available for certain blades (eg performance, HD ,stanrdard). This is because the grind style of that blade (zero ground convex, short bevel, large bevel) impact the cutting performance significantly enough that some can't really hit the same performance grind as others. It also helps customers to understand where the ideal performance for a blade is- it=f it's got a performance grind as default it's best as a PG blade. If it's got standard as default and no performance grind available then it's got beefy, tanky geometry.

Just to clarify something on that: do the grind options differ from blade to blade? For example, would a standard grind on a Pensioner be leaner than the standard grind on a Sirupate?