My girlfriend's sister went to Nepal and all I got was this little kukri... <br><br>Seriously, while I've never handled any American made versions, I've always considered kukris to be better weapons than tools. My understanding is that, in Nepal, all kukris come in pairs; a large machete/sword "big brother" and a small camp knife "little brother". Supposedly, they're made together at the same time and are not ever supposed to be split up. My girlfriend's sister didn't know about the fact that they're supposed to be a set, and she didn't get me the big one; just the little one.<br><br>It has a blade just under 5" engraved with a bird w/ spread wings on one side & miscellaneous Nepali designs on the other. The wood handle is just under 4", decoratively carved w/ a gold engraved metal accent piece. I think it's beautiful.<br><br>Not all of the blade is useable, because it has a crescent shaped notch, that's in all "real" kukris, near the hilt. Not all of the handle is useable, because of the way it comes back to two points at the rear. Judging from the weight balance, I'm just about 100% positive it is not full tang, nor even, so far as I can tell, even partialy "tanged". The blade just seems to be attached to the handle at the handle. The shape of the handle is traditional, which is to say, not ergonomic in the least; I either poke myself in the palm with one of the sharp points of the pommel or I hold it forward enough that my forefinger rests on the blade, just behind the crescent. I could whittle down the handle, but that would destroy it as a genuine Nepali kukri, and there's no way I'm ever going to do that!<br><br>Besides, even if I did that, I still wouldn't ever use this as a working tool if I had a choice. The blade is ridiculously thick for a knife of this size (5/16"!), the balance is awful, the downward curving blade gives me no end of handling trouble and I can't get the thing sharpened worth a darn! I've set out to sharpen it a few times. So far, each time, I've eventually worn out and decided I'll start again some other time. I've managed by now to get it sharp beginning at the tip and moving back down the blade about 3". The last inch & a half of useable blade before the crescent cut-out is still, well, flat. I refuse to take this piece to a grinder. With just a little bit more work, I'm... reasonably sure I can get the rest of the useable edge sharpened by hand.<br><br>The sheath is wood, wrapped tightly with black leather & accented with the same gold metal which the handle is decorated with. The belt loop is some sort of synthetic material... not real leather.<br><br>It's pretty. It's stout. It's the genuine article. But it's heavy, and, even once I've got it sharp, it'll still have that darned curved blade. If I had no choice, I'm sure I'd make due. If I spent more time practicing and working with it, I suppose it's possible I might even, someday, come to like it, once I figured out how to use the curve. (I mean, it's not a sword; it's a camp knife!) But, with all the nice knives to choose from, including inexpensive but quality pieces like mora & pukkos, why would I want to? There are knives, both expensive and not, with straight blades, all over the place that I think would out perform this piece by a mile.<br><br>Looking at the Cold Steel "Mini Gurkha Light Kukri", it looks a lot better than mine. First off, the handle is Kraton, and, I assume, should be long enough to actually accomodate your hand. Second, I would bet that Cold Steel would build it with a proper tang. Third, it's only 9/64" thick. Given that it's a 9.5" long blade, that makes sense... a whole lot more sense than a 5/16" thick less-than-5" long blade does. The negatives I see immediately are that the handle still has the points on it, it's 9/5" long - which is about 4.5" too long for what I'd personally want in a camp knife & 8.5" too short for what I'd personally want in a machete - and it's got that darned curved blade, which is to say, well, it's a kukri.<br><br>Speaking of machetes, the curve of a kukri might make it an excellent sword & a truly deadly weapon, turning every hack into a slash also, but I'd rather have a straight blade for clearing growth. The curve occasionally makes even my 5" blade want to twist in my hand. I'd never want to put any power into it... especially not with several extra inches of leverage to multiply that power. I'd be too scared that it would someday bite me. (Ask me next time to tell you what I really think of curved blades. )<br><br>Some day, someone from Nepal is going to read this post and hate me. I sincerely apologize in advance. I really feel bad writing such negativity, and I'm sure that if I understood why it was curved - assuming it's not something utterly unfunctional like, "so it will look just like its big brother" - that I'd like it better... assuming that I also understood why it's so darned thick... and why it has no tang. Oh, heck. I'm not helping myself.<br><br>It's gorgeous! I love owning it! But I would not rely on it if I had a choice. Maybe I'm just too American for it. Maybe I just live in the wrong environment for it (Texas). Maybe I'm just too used to something too different (my current favorite knife is my Cold Steel Master Hunter). Maybe it's simply me & I "just don't get it". I don't know. I guess I'll say that I sure would hate to be on the receiving end of a large kukri in a fight, but I'll stick to other options for peacetime tools.