Sorry, but I really don't know were Kukri's fit on the knife/hatchet spectrum. Other than a few manufacturers pieces, Ka-Bar etc., decades ago.... this is my first ''real'' Kukri. I had no real demands from my first, other than it be big/tough/useful for wood processing/fire making. So in this regard my choice came out well. I grabbed this thing early winter last year. Sharpened it up enough to be useful, then took it to the edge of town one night. Made a fire, then packed it away for 3/4 of a year. I pulled it out of the tub yesterday.
My initial impressions still stand. It is a big, but not huge piece. The weight feels fine to me, it's not an irritating boat anchor in hand. The balance point is about an inch forward of the Cho, or that little cut out doohickie near the grip on the cutting edge. The tool feels basically neutral to slightly blade forward in balance, but almost imperceptibly so, I'm fine with it. The grips are very hand filling even for an XL glove. And I am considering the sanding down of the sides to narrow the grip out a tiny bit. I don't totally care for the hoe handle feel. Overall, just pulling it out and using it, no outstanding irritating flaws stand out. It is a big, thick and robust tool.There was enough grip room even for a large hand in leather gauntlets, or mitts. The spine was semi rounded off, no real sharp edges, and it tossed so/so sparks off a fire steel, out of the box. I ended up using my Speedy Sharp to ignite the natural local materials, grass etc. for the fire.
Chopping wrist thick dead wood was not a problem (Manitoba Maple I believe). Chips flew similar to one of my smaller hatchets. I haven't even put it on a belt to hump around with yet. I did swipe fire carbon all over it before I left as I hated the bright cream sheath cover. And, the sheath....The tool itself rattles around in it a little, but the kukri is so long that drop loss from the sheath is not a concern to me. The belt loop of the rawhide? is quite long and wide to accommodate pretty much any belt. And as you see it came with the traditional tiny, skinning ?, knife and sharpening tool set.
This thing was kind of a spontaneous buy out of curiosity. I believe that it was a bit over 100 Canuck bucks with shipping, which only took about 10 days or so I believe. When it arrived I saw that the handle by the base of the grip had a wood chip busted out and glued back into it. I don't care, and it will be an interesting test of their glue over time, use, and the cold, to see its retention. B.T.W., the blade was anything but sharp when I got it.
I am keenly aware of how amateurish this review is, because I read them. What is its overall weight ?, etc. I understand.... These are just my impressions of a tool that I bought spontaneously then forgot about, but actually kind of like, on second handling. I also wanted to make use of some of the pics I took of this thing late last year. It's called a British Gurka operation Iraqi Freedom Gripper Blocker, or whatever.
Here are a few specs from a site:
Authentic Hand Forged khukuri Blades directly from Official Supplier to the Gurkhas in Nepal
Handmade by "Bishwakarmas" (Born khukuri Makers) using the top quality materials in a very traditional way with predictable tools
10" Blade with 5" Rosewood handle, Overall length 15 Inches, Thickness about 9mm at Spine
Unolished blade, sharp edge, Full tang rosewood Blocker Gripper handle, Refine Buffalo leather sheath
Razor Sharp blade, Easy to sharp, Balance water tempered.
