Thursday, January 7, 2010

Cheap Kukri Review

So, I got 2 cheapy modern Kukri knives, somehow. I wanted them for machete purposes.

A Kukri is a Burmese-style fighting knife and these are in no way as good as a real one. And there are lots of fake ones out there that even look like real ones from a distance, but they are kinda cheesy knockoffs, too. The real McCoy is legendary, and you never wanted to face an angry Ghurka armed with one.

One is from Cold Steel, one is from Ka Bar. Well, the Ka Bar one isn't exactly a Kukri. I't is Kukri-esque. It's got a heavier front end, but the blade isn't canted forward. The Cold Steel is the classic Kukri shape. Ka Bar DOES make one in a classic shape.


I wouldn't hesitate to buy another from Ka Bar, even though it is at twice the price. The edge came sharper out of the box, and, more importantly, the blade is twice as thick. It's thicker than a silver dollar at the spine. It's give the blade a lot more stiffness and weight for proper chopping. Though I can use the the Cold Steel for stuff where knicks to the blade are more likely. I'll care les about the Cold Steel, but if I can only take one short machete style knife afield it will be the Ka Bar.

I'm sort of curious about the Ka Bar Kukri now.

What do I need a machete for? Well, for clearing out a deer stand it's nice. And when you butcher a deer a chop to the pelvis to split it in 2 is good. As is chopping off the feet.

Don't get me wrong about the Cold Steel one. I've seen MUCH chinsier machetes. Cold Steel's version is halfway decent, and at least it isn't as thin as some of the one that look like they are made out of HVAC ducting sheet metal. The handle isn't as nice to grip as the Ka Bar but it's better than most others.

4 comments:

Paladin said...

Heavy choppers are handy tools to have around.

I wonder if TSA screeners would be suspicious of the guy in the pic? I'm thinking maybe he has a lighter in his pocket....

Mad Saint Jack said...

Well the CS machetes are machetes.

CS discontinued their LTC (Light Terrain Chopper) Kukri which was more in line with the Ka Bar.

I have an LTC and two CS Light Ghurka Kukris (also discontinued) which are some of my favorite blades.


I have beat the hell out of the LTC for over 10 years, and it is not dead yet. The Ghurkas I am saving for the zombie apocalypse.

Timmeehh said...

A Kukri is not Burmese. The Ghurkas are from Nepal.


Here is a Burmese knife:

http://therionarms.com/sold/ttoy359.html

Unknown said...

The Ka-bar kukri is a really nice machete. The Smith and Wessen kukri also comes extremely sharp and has a really comfortable grip. If you like machetes, this site if for you:
MacheteSpecialists.com