"HI"- I've seen taht abbreviation used in this topic, but do not know it.

If it is a brand name... *shrugs* I'll stick with a real one. From Nepal.

http://www.himalayan-imports.com/

I think the steel in my knife is pretty good. I have a pretty sharp edge and have been chopping on a 10" oak log and have not rolled the edge. The steel seems to be as good in quality as a good ax. When I got the knife the edge was really blunt. I have been trying to thin out the cutting edge. These knives are really odd shaped for sharpening.

I read a post on outdoor magazine that shows how to make what they call a shearing cut with the Kukri that is supposed to greatly increase the cutting effect. I have tried it but not had much luck with it yet.
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=81

David Enoch

Invest in one of the CHEAP band sanders/grinders from Harbor Freight when they are on sell for $19.00.
You can get belts for them from differenat places up to about 6,000 - 12,000 grit, and can also get lether belts for stropping.
Remove the plate from behind the belt and you can put a good convex edge on your khukuri with it...
Then it will cut BETTER than a hatchet of the same weight...
HERE is a link with some examples and tips on chopping with a khukuri.
There is also a LOT of information HERE.

Then as JKR mentioned, it's probably your technique. That's just practice.

You don't want to hold it like a hammer. You want to hold it like a sword. At least in my experince.

Oh, it produces wonderfully effective trauma. That's just not it's primary role.

It's like my walking stick- yeah, I can give you joints you weren't born with it or send you off to a nap, but it's never been used for that. On the other hand, it works great for making a biped into a stable triped, poking places before I put my feet there, moving things I really don't want to touch with my hand, and getting water from the river into my nalgene without getting my feet wet. :P

All in all, the kukri is a knife. A nice knife, a big knife, but a knife, the most important tool you can have. *looking at fingers* At some point, we lost our claws. That wasn't a very smart choice....

Well I have read your posts and I want to say thanks for all your help. I was initially disappointed by the knife, but now, after I literally beat the crap out of it, I am much more enthusiastic.

After my initial disappointment, I really began a hate type relationship with the blade. I used it for all kinds of stuff, chopping, smashing, digging, fire poker, anything that I didn’t want to go back to shed and get the correct tool for the job, I used my kukri. I even used it to pull nails!

Well It has definitely changed my mind about the blade. After all the abuse I gave it, including digging and chopping all kinds of woods, I have a new found appreciation for it. I was about to order a new blade based on some of your recommendations, but this knife has definitely proven itself to me.

So I am going to keep it and continue to use it. My wife thinks I am crazy, as I carry it with my everywhere I go in the yard and in the woods behind my house.

I am going to replace the sheath that came with it. It is pretty cheap and not very user friendly in the woods if you are trying to use the knife, and then put it away, but then again, you can always stick in a dead tree or something like that.

All in all, I have a new found respect for this tool, and I think I will keep it with me for a while. I intend to trade up soon, and possibly get one of the cheap ones that were mentioned by DavidEnoch. It would be an interesting project I think.

Thanks again for all your help with your replies!

Garrett

Now what ??

After reading all the doc on HI web site + all the posts, now I HAVE TO buy one, too ....... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I followed the advice I found on M4040's webpage and bought a cheapo from sacroinc.com. After a few days of hitting the edge with my file set, my lansky kit and a few other sharpening tools and I now have a kuhkri I am proud of. I am making a new sheath out of some scrap leather I have lying around. Once I get that done, I will post some pictures.

Garrett

Its been a long time since I wrote this post. Anyway, an update is in order. I have modified the cheapo from sarcoinc.com from what I can tell, I have myself a pretty darn good knife. I have reshaped the handle to make it more comfortable to handle and I have blued and sharpened the blade with my belt sander so that it can easily cut paper. I dont want it shaving sharp....yet.

I have made a kydex sheath for it, but I am waiting on some parts to come in so I can finish it. I have some eyelets on order and once I install those, I will finish this sheath as a dry run. I have made some pretty big mistakes while I built this one, so I am using this as practice.

I have some pics of the knife, but I will need figure out how to post them, I will get some up, if there is any interest.

GArrett