# My new toys



## Flying Crane (Feb 21, 2020)

these little fellas were my Christmas present, made in Katmandu, Nepal.  Blades are 1/4 inch slabs of 5160 spring steel.  Blade lengths are: right piece, a bit shy of 9 inches.  Middle piece, 11 inches.  left piece, 13 inches.

Thought you folks might like to see them.  There is nothing subtle or refined or elegant about these.  Just a sharpened slab of steel.  Zombie killing knives, to be sure.


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## Buka (Feb 21, 2020)

Ahh, Santa is to Zombies what hot sun is to snowflakes.

Nice presents, Flying Crane!

I can see next Christmas Eve at your house now....


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## Tez3 (Feb 21, 2020)

Flying Crane said:


> these little fellas were my Christmas present, made in Katmandu, Nepal.  Blades are 1/4 inch slabs of 5160 spring steel.  Blade lengths are: right piece, a bit shy of 9 inches.  Middle piece, 11 inches.  left piece, 13 inches.
> 
> Thought you folks might like to see them.  There is nothing subtle or refined or elegant about these.  Just a sharpened slab of steel.  Zombie killing knives, to be sure.




Very nice! You can also use them as kitchen knives, in the garden and anywhere you want a blade, it's what the Gurkhas do as well as use them to slaughter the goats. Non Gurkhas have a few myths about kukris which amuse the Gurkhas no end. I have one my Gurkha shift partner gave me as a retirement present.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 21, 2020)

There is nothing like having a solid knife that didn’t cost so much that you are afraid to use it.  The two smaller knives were well under $100 each and the big kukhri was about $160.  If they had been made in the US, the difference in the economy would have priced them well above that.  But at the price that I paid, I would not hesitate to take them camping for clearing brush, shopping wood, etc.  If I lost one, or if I managed to abuse the hell out of one and broke it (unlikely, they are massive), while it would be a bummer, at that price I could replace it.  

In contrast, I have a friend who is a dealer in high-end folding knives.  I hopped onto his website recently, and noticed a bali-song knife priced at $1800.  At that price I would be afraid to ever take it out of the house or use it for anything, even to cut open a box.  

Knives can be a work of art.  But I think sometimes people get so hung up on finding the perfect (exotic) steel blend, and minutia of design, that they end up with something so expensive that it does not make sense.  In the end, a knife is a tool.  It should be used, frequently.  It can get broken or lost or damaged or stolen.  It should be replaceable if that happens.  When the cost is so high, it becomes a relic that is never taken out of the drawer.


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## pdg (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> Very nice! You can also use them as kitchen knives, in the garden and anywhere you want a blade, it's what the Gurkhas do as well as use them to slaughter the goats. Non Gurkhas have a few myths about kukris which amuse the Gurkhas no end. I have one my Gurkha shift partner gave me as a retirement present.



As a non Gurkha, here's my myth about kukri:

The ability to use one in a precision manner is genetic.


Source: Trying to 


As a slash device they're brilliant - for precision I do not have the genetic capability to handle the weighting and shape induced torque.

After I'd cut my finger, and the blade's owner managed to pick himself up from laughing at my cack handed attempts he took it back before I lost a head or two.


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## Tez3 (Feb 22, 2020)

Flying Crane said:


> In the end, a knife is a tool.




It certainly is, in Nepal they are the everyday tool


pdg said:


> As a non Gurkha, here's my myth about kukri:
> 
> The ability to use one in a precision manner is genetic.
> 
> ...




It is a myth, I use mine in the kitchen chopping onions etc, the use of it isn't genetic, it's taught like using any other tool.


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## pdg (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> It is a myth, I use mine in the kitchen chopping onions etc, the use of it isn't genetic, it's taught like using any other tool



I did say it was my myth...

But maybe it's not a myth if you approach it from a different angle - I just have the "can't use a kukri" gene.

I also have the "can't sit on a beach for more than a couple of hours" gene.


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## Tez3 (Feb 22, 2020)

pdg said:


> I did say it was my myth...
> 
> But maybe it's not a myth if you approach it from a different angle - I just have the "can't use a kukri" gene.
> 
> I also have the "can't sit on a beach for more than a couple of hours" gene.




All can be learnt though...….


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## pdg (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> All can be learnt though...….



That assumes I don't have the "you can't teach me what I can't be taught" gene 



In seriousness, I think everyone has that - in that unless there is reason or motivation to learn something it's very difficult to teach it.

I could probably learn, but I have valid alternatives that I have already learned.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> It certainly is, in Nepal they are the everyday tool
> 
> 
> 
> It is a myth, I use mine in the kitchen chopping onions etc, the use of it isn't genetic, it's taught like using any other tool.


I would have a hard time using the big kukhri in the kitchen.  That 13 inch blade is just massive.  I could see using a smaller one though, and they do come in many sizes.  The maker from which I bought mine has them ranging from about 6 inch to over twenty.  Some of the larger ones have an extra long grip and are meant to be used two-handed.  others of that size are still one-handed, and I personally think I hit my limit at about the 13 inch mark, for one-handed.  Its a size i'm comfortable with, it could be an effective yard or camp tool, and I can still be nimble enough with it to consider it a weapon.

I considered one of the two-handers, but i have swords so that category of weapon is already covered.

These items are not perfect, there are some design flaws that I will need to rectify.  They all have grips that are a bit on the large side, too thick for my comfort.  I'm not a big fellow, my hands are not oversized, but I feel like the grips are designed for a larger fellow.  So I may decide to grind them down a bit and refinish the wood.

The middle sized piece has some blackening on the blade, meant to inhibit rust.  I don't know what that blackening is made of, but it is causing the blade to stick in the sheath.  The sheath is cotton wood wrapped in leather, and that blade just locks in there and is proving to be quite difficult to remove.  When I wiped some light oil on the blade with a paper towel, it did not slide smoothly through the paper towel, so that was my first clue.  It did not slide easily like the non-coated blades did.  So I need to grind/sand that coating off and see how that affects it.  If worse comes to worst, I have a good friend (one of my first martial arts teachers from the 1980s, actually) who does leather work and I can commission him to make new sheaths for any of these.  I've had him do a number of such things in the past.

The other two have that pommel that comes to a point.  Well, that point is actually rather large and somewhat sharp.  I don't like it, as it turns out.  I want to grind it back a bit, but it is clear that the pommel is a hollow-form.  I might have chosen a different model if I had realized that.  So if I grind the point back, I will likely open up the hollow form.  I don't see any way around it, so I'll probably cram the form full of some kind of epoxy or something and smooth it over.  It'll last and be fully functional, though will definitely have the look of a repair.

What I really like about them is that they all have the finger guard, and they all have the full tang, visible all the way around the grip.  Many kukhri do not.  I have two others that I bought years ago, and they do not.  One of them has a fully visible tang, the other has a disappearing tang into the grip, so I don't know how robust it is, although in full fairness this is a common manufacturing design for these knives, so it is likely just fine.

But the lack of a finger guard always bothered me.  I could see poking and hitting something hard, and my hand sliding right up over the blade.

All in all, design issues aside, I feel these were a good purchase.  The price was more than fair, and they are what they are:  big, robust, simple, durable, not expensive, something utterly useable.


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## Tez3 (Feb 22, 2020)

Flying Crane said:


> That 13 inch blade is just massive




Use it to cut up turnips and swedes 

I think you are going to get a lot of enjoyment out of your purchases.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> Use it to cut up turnips and swedes
> 
> I think you are going to get a lot of enjoyment out of your purchases.


Swedes?  From Sweden?


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## Tez3 (Feb 22, 2020)

Flying Crane said:


> Swedes?  From Sweden?




Swedes


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## Flying Crane (Feb 22, 2020)

Tez3 said:


> Swedes


Ah!  So I was half right!


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## geezer (Jun 19, 2020)

Oh you mean rutabagas. Thanks for the link though. I had no idea they came from Sweden. Or that the name means "red bag" in Swedish. Unless you say _rutabaga_ with a goofy Swedish accent like the Swedish Chef on "The Muppets". _...a rood-a-bag-a... =  red uh bag uh.... 





_
Honestly, this is not a racist dig against Swedes. I'm actually a goofy white person of mixed British and northern European descent myself. I could probably claim some % of Swedish descent if I weren't so damn short!


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## Razznik (Feb 17, 2021)

Flying Crane said:


> these little fellas were my Christmas present, made in Katmandu, Nepal.  Blades are 1/4 inch slabs of 5160 spring steel.  Blade lengths are: right piece, a bit shy of 9 inches.  Middle piece, 11 inches.  left piece, 13 inches.
> 
> Thought you folks might like to see them.  There is nothing subtle or refined or elegant about these.  Just a sharpened slab of steel.  Zombie killing knives, to be sure.


The first one looks epic tbh. Definitely a zombie-killing knife. that's for sure. XD Looks like it was made for piercing a human skull??? I dunno if you are an assassin or something, but I definitely don't recommend walking around with that in public.


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## Flying Crane (Feb 17, 2021)

Dark Sovereign 193 said:


> The first one looks epic tbh. Definitely a zombie-killing knife. that's for sure. XD Looks like it was made for piercing a human skull??? I dunno if you are an assassin or something, but I definitely don't recommend walking around with that in public.


Oh gawd no, I don’t carry them around.  That would get the kind of attention I don’t want.


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## Razznik (Feb 17, 2021)

Flying Crane said:


> Oh gawd no, I don’t carry them around.  That would get the kind of attention I don’t want.


Yes, just imagine this conversation:
Police Officer: Sir, you're under arrest for carrying a knife!
Flying Crane: No! I was just carrying a knife!
Police Officer: Yes, exactly! *munches donut*
Flying Crane: Why am I under arrest then? That doesn't make any sense! I've even got a license!
Police Officer: Show it to me then! 
Flying Crane: *scribbles on a piece of paper* Here!
Police Officer: HMMMMM it says "License 2 use le Zombie-Killing Knife!" Sounds legit to me! Ok sir, I apologize for waisting your time!
Flying Crane: *murders someone*
Police Officer: Wait Waaaaaaaaa


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## Razznik (Feb 17, 2021)

geezer said:


> Oh you mean rutabagas. Thanks for the link though. I had no idea they came from Sweden. Or that the name means "red bag" in Swedish. Unless you say _rutabaga_ with a goofy Swedish accent like the Swedish Chef on "The Muppets". _...a rood-a-bag-a... =  red uh bag uh....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I know that XDXD but it never gets old


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## Razznik (Feb 17, 2021)

Which one is ur favorite? My personal Favorite is the left one


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## Razznik (Feb 17, 2021)

It's like a machete had a kid with a sabre and a knife at the same time


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## Flying Crane (Feb 17, 2021)

Dark Sovereign 193 said:


> Which one is ur favorite? My personal Favorite is the left one


Was this directed at me, regarding the original three knives?


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## punisher73 (Mar 6, 2021)

I bought a SOG Kukri at a knife outlet for around $30.  My wife and I do a lot of camping/hiking and are also "trail adopters" for a local section of the North Country Trail.  It comes in handy and at a price that you aren't afraid to use it.

I agree with FC, some people pay way too much for a knife that they never use because of the cost.


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