Customer Reviews

SZ90119-BK - 17 in. Gurka Kukri with black sheath

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, it's not sharpened, and I've spent four hours in front of the TV with a whetstone, and there's little progress. Also, it has developed a big wiggle, and came with a big chip along the (again,unsharpened) blade. If it can't stand up to a whetstone, how can I trust it while backpacking? All in all, disappointed. Try a different producer.

This blade is decent for the price. when i recieved it, it was oiled, and wrap with plastic twice. which for packaging a blade is a good idea. It has a slight wiggle but only if i try to move it. The sheath could have been better built. The End it cheaply glued on but over all the knife is nice this blade will be going on every trip i go on.

"Received knife and it was in lousy condition! Wasn't sharp, handle not securely fastened to the blade. The wood on handle spins & part of wood didn't get stained. Case it comes in is cheesy, plastic or cardboard! Not easily retrievable once attached to belt, & knife really doesn't stay in the holster once on your belt, which is a stupid way to attach this type of blade, heavy and big! Don't buy!"

I do not own this particular knife here (and it "is" considered a knife), but i've seen their kind in stores,..right next to the other chinese and pakistani made knives. If you want a functional khukuri, to chop wood,etc.,you may want to do some research. Check out nepalesekhukuri.com. This is a website connected to several khukuri houses in Nepal. Nepal is where all of the "authentic" khukuris come from. They are pretty affordable for the amount of knife ya get. I do have one of these. Most of the knives on the site are under $60, plus about $30 shipping. Good customer service too. I got an email from them every other day insuring me that my new knife was coming soon. It came in 6 days. Pretty good considering it came from the other side of the planet.Their 3/8" thick blades are made from old leafsprings from trucks. This is a very strong type of steel, as you might imagine. The handle is made from buffalo horn, or wood. I'm not too fond of the buffalo horn. I looks and feels like plastic to me. The buffalo hide and wood scabbard is decent, but of questionable durability. Over all, this is a great buy. I have chopped tree limbs off with this thing, and not a mark on the blade. Oh, and they come sharpened. Also, "Himalyan Imports" and "Tora Blades" have very nice ones too, but they are much more money, starting at around $100 + shipping.

I am trained in a very old asian martial "art" that teaches the use of khukris, as well as other little known edged weapons native to that area of the world. In fact, the system was founded by several Gurkhas who served in British Army. I own and have used (since the late 1980's) several authentic khukris from Nepal, Burma, and India (yes, all three countries have authentic Gurkhas...not just Nepal.) None of these sword types is "better" than the other. The user must learn the personalities of each.

Anyway, the khukri being reviewed here is that of the Indian variety. Those of you who are trained to use a khukri understand that it should remain very dull until one is trained to use it properly. Also, those of you who have bought khukris that were pre-sharpened have known them to cut through packaging during shipment. It is *much* safer to keep them dull until a trained user takes custody of them.

Further, a *flat* whetstone is difficult to use for this kind of *curved* edge.
More skill is required to sharpen it than is required for a straight-edged weapon.

To be frank, it is surprisingly easy for an untrained novice to make unintended cuts with it. Even the scabbard can be cut up, and worn out in places when the khukri is drawn by novices. Dropping the sword is a disaster if it thrusts its way into a foot or leg. That has happened in the past to uninformed, self-trained users because the balance of the sword is different from that of a regular straight-edged weapon. The use of a curved sword becomes intuitive *only* after proprer training.

Novices should not sharpen them at all.

If it were simple to use them safely, anyone could just pick one up and become an instant Gurkha "in one easy lesson."
It's kinda like picking up a kama (another sickle-shaped weapon from Okinawa) and suddenly becoming an instant Ninja by waving it around. There are no instant Ninjas...There are no instant Gurkhas.

This kind of sword (yes, a khukri is a military short *sword* designed after the ancient Kopis...NOT a "knife") is supposed to be a dull *training tool* until the user acquires enough skill to use and sharpen it safely. Kinda like not being a Jedi until you can make your own light saber.

As to the quality of this type of khukri, swords *always* vary in quality. The student and teacher need to tweak each one in certain ways for maximal performance. Consistent maintenance is a must, otherwise it will rust and pit rather quickly. Though the product description says it made of stainless steel, it is not. It is spring steel and requires maintenance.

By the way, one of the other reviewers complained that the wooden grip "spun" anound. Nonsense. That's the whole point of having a "full tang": The blade and the grip are one chunk of metal...with wood billets to widen out the grip. I own a khukri of this type and I know that the "spinning" complaint is NOT even possible. The wood billets are riveted to the full tang in two places...they are NOT screwed on and do not "spin."

Even if the billets were neglected and rattled against the tang, there are ways to tighten them up so the weapon would no longer rattle and would easily endure very high impacts. But of course, one needs proper instruction to safely make such tweaks...as I said.