any thoughts, oppinions or experiences with the mini gurka light kukri? ive been eyeing it for a while and found one for $70, cant really beat that. also do any of you know if the seconds are all that bad, could possibly get one for around $50 that way.

Is this the Cold Steel mini? The folks over at knifeforums have several comments pro and con about kukris, Cold Steel's efforts and their seconds.

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.

Harrison,<br><br>I have no experience with the Kukri, but I have ordered a second from Cold Steel. I got a great knife. The problem was cosmetic in nature. I had the knife for two weeks before I found the "flaw". It's a good deal.<br><br>Andy

The kukri is an ancient design, and was the short sword used by the Greek Hoplites. The curve was an early solution to bending with early metallurgy with some added benefits. You are right, it is a weapon and primarily a chopper ( earlier examples have a multitude of mini tools on the scabbard, much like a SAK.) It is such a good chopper, that the Himalayan foothills now have a crisis in erosion from loss of woodland. The weight forward ergonomics make it a supreme chopping tool. So in essence you have a regional approach to the axe with the same pros and cons.

Well, I don't know anything about that particular knife, but a while back I went through an evolution with a big sharp that has "kukri" as part of its name - even tho I don't think it's really a kukri. I'm still thinking about it, because I *really* like this knife - but I'm uncertain about buying one for myself. It depends on what I might use it for and what my present life-long habits are... let me elaborate a bit:<br><br>When my eldest son wanted a kukri, I resisted. We discussed it at length (proposed uses, pluses, minuses). Did *some* research (heavy on WWW; light on printed material). Eons ago, I had a "real" handmade kukri & sheath given to me - not as pretty as J.T.s, just plain and sharp. Never did figure out any use for it, but then I never really tried, either. That bent blade really put me off (I share J.T.'s concern about rotating in the hand). No idea where it is now - think one of my sibs sold it at a garage sale when I was away at school. Don't miss it; had forgotten about it until son asked for one.<br><br>Son and I peered at pics pretty hard. I was not encouraging "kukri types". I gave him, oh, three "big knife" choices from various makers. Of those, he chose a CS LTC Kukri, which to my eye is not really a kukri. Maybe a little more like a parang or a bolo, but not really in any of those categories. At the appropriate time I ordered one and gave it to him. I examined it very closely and after he had the "new" glint out of his eye, I used it enough to be convinced that it's a heck of a useful multi-purpose edged tool.<br><br>It looks and feels "right". It chops a boatload better than a machette, although a machette would be better at "Jungle Jim" type hack 'n slash trail carving in a jungle, cutting cane or corn, etc.. Manipulating the LTC side-by side with known knives, it appears that it will be great for belly un-zipping large game and the gross skinning of same (grip is moved to back of blade - handful near the tip - sorta ulu-like - easy to show, hard to say). It trims with authority - pointing/shaping stakes/handles is easier with this than anything else I've used (save a drawknife). Speaking of which, if shaping a length of wood is required, it also works well as a drawknife - carefully. I haven't tried making a self bow with it - think that would take more skill than a regular drawknife, but maybe it would serve. It splits wood with ease and no distress (a hand axe still is "better", of course). And so on. I don't think I'd care to carve the holiday turkey with it, but it would get by.<br><br>I looked at the pics of the blade Lofty Wiseman sells and to *MY* thinking, the LTC is much better shaped for what he describes in his book than the knife he sells (sorry, but that's how it looks to me). <br><br>Frankly, I really like the darned thing! My son hides it from me now <grin>. He's experimenting with altering the factory carry configuration, but it's not bad as-is if you don't mind belt carry. I tend to carry big sharps like this on or in my pack, personally, but his point is that he wants it ON him in case he loses his pack. I'm thinking the whole thing through and am not at the point where I want one to carry for myself.<br><br>The thing is, I see that LTC "kukri" as a multi-purpose edged tool, and I guess I'm pretty much in the habit of using the tool I like best for the task at hand. What would it replace for me? <shrug> that's the rub - it would be an addition, not a replacement, unless I changed my habits. No matter where I am, if I have pants pockets, I have two folder sharps in my pockets (errr, three - but they're *small*, honest!). If I don't have pants pockets, like at the swimming pool, I have my "daily carry" sharps in an outer compartment of my "Be Prepared" pack on the pool deck, along with the other impliments that habituat said pack. In my mind, their uses don't overlap - each is best suited for different things on a daily basis. Deliberate outings get other "preferred" sharps added, depending on the intent of the trip - my prefered skinner doesn't get packed unless I'm hunting big game, for example.<br><br><shrug> I'm not so set in my ways that I cannot use my sharps alternatively - life has not been that orderly for me, at least <grin>. And I'm not a knife nut or anything - these are just ordinary sharps that serve me well. But it's still a fundamental question for me - "What does this replace?" If it was an ugly looking thing, that would be easy - one for each vehicle kit as the "big multi-purpose edged tool". But darn it, after handling it and using it a little, it's not ugly enough to be condemened to that oblivion. Darned cute thing oughta be used.<br><br>YMMV, but the point is, what do you need it for? I guess I can truthfully say that I want one, but I don't need it, so I haven't purchased one for my self. Food for thought, at least.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Scouter Tom

Hi all,<br><br>This is my first post on this forum. I have been lurking for quite a while, and I am constantly impressed with the amount of knowledge and experience here.<br><br>I am a big khukuri fan, so I want to to throw in my two annas. I have a bit of a collection of them (some of them are quite old, going back as far as the 1820s), and it is still possible to find good examples still being made today. I am not a fan of the CS versions, the handles aren't very robust or comfortable for extended chopping, and I don't think stainless steel suits these blades very well. The best khukuries are made of good old 1095 (these days old truck springs are recycled into khuk blades), and are zone tempered so that the "sweet spot" chopping area is the hardest, followed by the tip, the area near the notch (called the "cho"), and the spine which is normally dead soft. The scabbard normally carries two additional blades - a little sharp knife called a "karda", and an unsharpened blade called the "chakmak". The chakmak should be tempered harder than the main blade, and is used to steel any dings out of it. Sometimes the spine of the chakmak is cut like a file, and can be used with a flint to strike sparks. The CS kukri is a copy of the most common khukuri (refered to by khukuri fans as the M43) issued to Gurkha troops and other divisions attached to the 14th Army who fought in Burma during WWII. A classic blade shape and very well suited to it's task, but IMO the CS khukuri is not the best example.<br><br>The shape of khukuri blades vary depending on where they were made. The Rai and Limbu people of eastern Nepal tend to make thinner faster blades called sirupatis which make awesome weapons. As a generalisation, the further west you go, the blades are thicker and more of the weight is concentrated toward the tip.<br><br>Personally, I always keep an 18" sirupati in my BOB. Though it is a lighter blade than most and thin enough to gut a fish, it is still thick enough for chopping firewood, or cutting branched to make a pole bed. There is a very good manufacturer in Kathmandhu who seels through an agent in the US. I am not in any way associated with the manufacturer or agent, but if anyone is interested I will be happy to post contact details here (if that is OK with the administrator).<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Gary.

Gary,<br>Welcome to the forum. It's always nice you see another lurker go "active".<br><br>Tom & Gary,<br>What excellent reviews & information. Food for thought, definitely. I know I, for one, certainly aappreciate it. Thank you both!

After reading Gary's informative post (welcome to non-lurking, Gary!), I realized that maybe I drifted away from your question (?). Starting over, I still think it depends on what you expect. I think - just intellectually - that if you expect a kuhkuri, you should get the real McCoy, although from what I had read, the CS interpretations are very good sharps. And $50 sounds like a great price to me.<br><br>[Sidebar: Gary - "two annas", eh? <grin> - took me a second. CS "kukris" are carbon steel, not stainless - basically carbon spring steel. The alloy is similar enough to not matter - it is, as you point out, the differential heat treatement that may matter. I have made a few sharps myself and and they all are differentially tempered on pupose, each according to what its use is. None as complex as a kuhkuri, but it's one of several aspects to a truly custom tool, eh? Enjoyed your post - do tell more!]<br><br>As Gary pointed out, some users have written that the "pommel" or "flare" on the back of the various CS models abraids naked Westerners (soft?) hands. We found that a minor amount of wet sandpaper work solved the problem for us on the LTC - YMMV. Others have mentioned more handle "sting" than good quality genuine kuhkuris when using them as an axe (!!!) - but note that they honestly reported "sting" in even the best kuhkuris - just a matter of degree. Also related to axe-like chopping: it is my understanding that a genuine (handmade by a kami) kuhkuri usually has a convex edge that is less likely to stick in the wood when chopping than the "conventional" flat edge on CS "kukris". [J.T. - maybe that's why you had trouble getting an edge??? Shouldn't have to hone a kuhkuri often if the edge is re-shaped with the provided steel from what I've read]<br><br>Rather than reporting what I've read in my research, here's a link to Himalyan Imports, from which you can find the Kuhkuri FAQ, which is an absolutely fascinating read some evening. You can also find a few comparisons of CS kukri vs kami-made kuhkuris, although the comparisons tend to be mostly "used like an axe". <br><br>Some comparisons/evaluations are on-site and some link to discussions on Blade or Knife forums, IIRC. On those (less-biased???) forums, the consensus seems to be that CS has done a superb job of interpreting the knife into a quality low-cost tool mass produced by modern industrial methods - and that for a little bit more money, the genuine (quality) kami-made kuhkuris are "better" and thus perhaps a better value. Sorta like comparing a decent factory blade to a wowzer one-off custom job, IMHO - but the kuhkuris cost far less than they would if made by a Western knife maker.<br><br>Hope this helps! Gary sounds like an expert on kuhkuris - this is all I know about them.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Scouter Tom<br><br>[url

Thanks for the welcome!<br><br>Thank you for the nice comments, but I wouldn't call myself an expert. I think the real experts are the Nepalese who carry these things around daily (and use them for everything from building houses to preparing food and defending themselves). I have used a variety of khuks on many trips out in the boonies though, and I have been sold on their utilitarian value for quite some time. There is also quality about a great blade handmade by a true master that is very difficult to put into words. The kamis say that a good khukuri will teach you how to use it to it's best advantage, and I think there is certainly something to this. <br><br>Himalayan Imports is the company I was refering to in my previous post: IMO their khuks are amazing value for money when you consider you are buying a craftsman quality blade for a very reasonable price. The American agent Bill Martino is also a great guy to deal with, he offers a pretty amazing guarantee on his khuks. They might cost a little more than the CS khuks, but you will get a lot more for your money (and one day a work of art to pass down to your kids).<br><br>You are right about the CS khuk being carbon rather than stainless, sorry to get my facts wrong. I do think the zone tempering is a very big deal though. Yes, the best khuks do have a convex edge, and once they are sharp they are very easy to maintain in the field. With a convex edge they are much less likely to stick in whatever you are cutting. For those interested, there is a "how to sharpen your khukuri" area on the HI web site.<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Gary.