Genuine? Gurkha Kukri from Nepal

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VegasAR15

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I have always wanted to buy a kukri. I was browsing around amazon yesterday(bought a Case Trapper and a Buck 110 for my brother's high school graduation, and an extra Trapper for myself) and I came across these supposed genuine Gurkha kukris made in Nepal. I am thinking about ordering one of them, probably the biggest one, and trying it out. Anyone have any experience with one of these in particular? All three of them are sold by GK&CO. Kukri House on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IR4OD4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A9E0ZD2NVLIKU

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WD4SU0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A9E0ZD2NVLIKU

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00934BMEM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A9E0ZD2NVLIKU
 
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These are kukhris/kukuris. Ghurkas are famous Nepali soldiers, but the kukuri is the national knife of Nepal. You could certainly do much worse than Khukuri House.

A lot of people think Himalayan Imports make the highest quality Nepali kukuris.

Only your first link is an authentic historic pattern- the handles on both the latter have exposed tangs. Traditional kuks do not have full-length tangs.
 
JShirley said:
These are kukhris/kukuris. Ghurkas are famous Nepali soldiers, but the kukuri is the national knife of Nepal. You could certainly do much worse than Khukuri House.

A lot of people think Himalayan Imports make the highest quality Nepali kukuris.

Only your first link is an authentic historic pattern- the handles on both the latter have exposed tangs. Traditional kuks do not have full-length tangs.
Click to expand...

Dang, I knew that too. :banghead: I don't necessarily need one that is authentic historic pattern, mainly just a nice beefy strong one. It says these are 3/8" at the spine, seem a lot thicker than some of the cheap ones I have seen around.

Looks like some cool stuff on the Himalayan Imports site, I am going to have to look into some of their stuff a little more.
 
The Atlanta kuks Sam linked are genuine, and were found in an arsenal some years ago. Definitely the real thing.

My best suggestion would be go join BladeForums.com, and go to the Himalayan Imports forum. They usually post Deal of the Day (DOTD)s there. They could have a few rust spots, or a handle crack (both easy fixes), or they could just have a lot of stock of a certain model. (This is how I really got into big blades, some 15 years ago.) In any case, they're usually considerably less expensive than the standard prices on the website, which are fair enough, in any case.

John
 
JShirley said:
The Atlanta kuks Sam linked are genuine, and were found in an arsenal some years ago. Definitely the real thing.

My best suggestion would be go join BladeForums.com, and go to the Himalayan Imports forum. They usually post Deal of the Day (DOTD)s there. They could have a few rust spots, or a handle crack (both easy fixes), or they could just have a lot of stock of a certain model. (This is how I really got into big blades, some 15 years ago.) In any case, they're usually considerably less expensive than the standard prices on the website, which are fair enough, in any case.

John
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will have to do that and keep an eye out for DOTD.

I think I am going to pick up one of the ones from Atlanta Cutlery, if nothing else just to add to my military weapons collection. I wonder if it is worth the extra 130 for the sheath and two extra smaller knives? I will definitely get at least the $10 handpick.
 
Sure, can't go wrong with the Atlanta deal. Please clean the rust gently, and post a thread of before and after- and after you cut stuff!

The "two small knives" should actually be a chakma and karda~ a steel to profile out dents, and a small task knife. Most of HI kuks come with both of these- they advise if not.

With a large blade like this, start slowly. ALWAYS hold the spine side of the sheath with your non-weapon hand while drawing. NEVER hold the sheath in a way where your fingers would be in contact with the blade if the sheath wasn't there. A properly maintained blade will outlast traditional sheath materials (IOW, an old sheath could fall apart), and this habit will serve you with modern materials, too- I've seen two good friends cut themselves with large sheath knives because of holding the sheath with their fingers on the cutting edge side. Think of this like keeping your finger out of the trigger guard of a firearm- just don't let your fingers go across the edge side of the sheath.

With a large blade, never over-extend. Keep the rest of your body behind the sharp parts! Let the blade do the work. Listen to the knife. Eye pro is a good idea. Be safe and have fun. :)

John
 
5160 is still one of the best large blade steels out there. All of the Camp Defenders Sam has sold so far have been 5160.

John
 
No. Windlass is Indian.

Do NOT buy an Indian kuk. Almost all the bad press about kukuris over the years has come from Indian kukuris.
 
I have an Atlanta Cutlery kukri that is most likely Indian made that I got about 20 years ago, for about $20 and I never had any problems, the two small knives that came with it OTOH were trash.

Dan
 
There aren't supposed to be "two small knives", despite what some crap ads say. With kuks should come a steel to use on the blade, and ONE small knife, the karda. If you look at the steel, and think it's supposed to be a knife, you will be disappointed.
 
The old blades offered by Atlanta Cutlery and International Military Antiques are genuine 19th century Ghurka blades from the old royal palace arsenal in Katmandu. They may not be the latest, greatest high-tech steel alloys, but they are the real deal, and seem to do the job. The I.M.A. video of the arsenal shows piles of them being recovered, including the extra-large version, which was used to behead a steer for a BBQ for the workmen on the crew.
 
You wouldn't want men hunched over bellows-driven open fires to try to use the latest alloys. With their technology level, simpler steels work better.
 
those blades look like they are directly from the Nepalese products sold at "Himalayan Imports". sorry I don't have the web address, but look them up and compare prices.

if they are true Himalayan Imports kukri's then yes ... they are genuine and made from the leaf springs of old cars. that's how it is done in Nepal and there is nothing the matter with that. definitely make sure that the pix you are seeing are not cheap knock-offs of the products from Nepal.

If you want a real blade from Nepal - buy from the Himalayan Imports web site. I would not trust Ebay for a good blade.

good luck,
CA R
 
Vegas,

I suggest instead you get one of the following from HI:

15" Ang Khola
16" BDC
16.5" WWII
17" (B)GRS
19" Chitlangi

Any of these should give you a well balanced, powerful but not huge khukri that should last the rest of your life with reasonable care. (Wipe them down with mineral oil or CLP after you used them, and if not using them, once a month.)

I have owned examples of all of the knives I'm suggesting. Still have the 15" AK and the 16.5" WWII (my first kuk). The others got given away, as I'm prone to do with weapons.

John
 
That first link is identical to my Nepal Kurkuri Gurka style knife brought back from Nepal by my close friend who brought me a gift from there. I believe it was around $40 (However, I had another friend that said you could haggle and get these a lot cheaper 10 years ago for as little as a couple dollars; not sure how accurate that was).
 
I think you mean it looks identical- which is no surprise, considering that style is the most popular khukuri in the world. All the butter-soft cheap Indian kuks also look like that, at a glance.

There is a wide variance in the quality of kuks in Nepal. The ability to buy a knife of dubious quality for a few bucks in the third world is unsurprising.
 
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