This replica WW1 and WW2 Khukuri has a blade crafted from 5160 high carbon steel. It has been differentially heat-tempered to optimize the blade to give it a shock-absorbing spine of softer steel and a harder edge that will stay sharper for longer. The edge has a hardness of 58-60 HRC, the body is 45-46 HRC and the spine is 22-25 HRC.
The large grip is of carved rosewood and has been riveted into the thick blade tang. It is surmounted by a bolster of steel. It has a pre-drilled hole for a lanyard.
The scabbard is of carved pinewood and crafted with the traditional Nepalese ”Laha” tree gum glue. It is fitted with a layer of tight black leather. It has an integrated belt loop and decorative, colored leather stitching on its front. It has two internal retainers for the ”karda” utility knife and the ”chakmak” sharpening tool – the traditional companion survival tools of the Khukuri knife. These are likewise crafted from high carbon steel and are fitted to handles of rosewood.
In WW1 some regiments of British Gurkhas opted to make their own Kukris for the war; this beefy, no-nonsense Khukuri is what they settled on. It is heavily constructed with a thick tang, large grip and a wide blade – clearly a Khukuri like this in the hand of a Gurkha would have made for a daunting prospect for a foe in a trench raid. The design would be revived for action in WW2 where it would be used in North Africa and Burma.
Over 200,000 Gurkhas would serve the British military in WW1 and they would be fighting not only in France, but as far afield as modern day Iran. Their most notable victory was at Gallipolli, when Gurkhas would storm a heavily fortified Turkish position whilst suffering few casualties. Their successful assault would go down in the history books as the action at Gurkha Bluff
The Gurkhas and their battalions would be decorated with about 2,000 awards for gallantry by wars end and 20,000 would lose their lives. In the words of one who fought alongside them, the British Captain Ralph Turner, the Gurkhas were; Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had a country more faithful friends than you.
C. B. –
Nice Blade I have owned many Khukris over the years and finally decided it was time for another to use hiking, camping, at work, etc. After a lot of digging, I settled on this one, since it looked to be the best quality for the price.
Overall impressions are that it’s a pretty solid blade. The grips are very sturdy and the spine of the blade is incredibly robust and thick! Sharpened up like a charm and used it the first day to trim back some tree branches in the back lot at the store and had zero issues.
I do have a few issues with the product as it were, however: The first is the sheath. It appears to be a wood core wrapped in leather. That’s not really the issue, the issue is that when I first took the blade from the sheath, it took me a good five or six minutes to figure out how to get it back in. Never had this issue with any of the other Khukris I’ve ever owned, but it appears this one has a “sweet spot” that the blade has to be inserted just right or it locks itself out. My thinking is that the wood core has somehow shifted or dried out in storage and has settled to a point that the thick spine of the blade needs to be wiggled and loosen it back up every time it’s re-sheathed.
Another issue is the frog that holds the Khukri on the belt. It is made from an extremely thin and cheap chrome-tanned leather and the weight of the blade and accessories causes the frog to fold and bend, and rather than keeping the blade upright, tended to droop and cause the blade to start falling out. Luckily, this was within my leatherworking skills and I popped out a much heavier, thicker frog in about an hour and was on my way!
The last assessment is the Karda and Chakmak. Unlike cheaper ones on the market, these are the real thing and actually function, which is great! The knife sharpened up really well and is usable, and the honer works like a charm re-honing the blade after use. However, after only drawing the knife from the sheath a handful of times, I went to draw it and the blade stayed in the sheath, while the wooden handle was in my hand! It appears these are simply epoxied in and it had broken down and dried out. Again, luckily, not a bad fix since a drop of Gorilla Glue fixed it right up, but still.
Overall, I’d still recommend this Khukri, especially for the price, but only if you’re willing to put in the work to make it truly “yours” in the end. As it comes out of the box, I wouldn’t recommend taking it straight out into the woods camping. But after some days of tweaking and messing around with it and customizing it to your liking, it makes a great carry blade!