The best Kukri knives

[Leshy]

Mine was given to me by a very generous Gurkha friend .
What a privilege .
I didn't want to just keep it as a show piece so I decided to take it with me for camp chores, and what an awesome tool it is.

I haven't used the axe or the mora for a while now ...
and I don't really need to imo .
Brilliant tool .
Razor sharp , holds the edge very well and you can beat on it like a rented mule ...

It's very quickly become the only sharp tool I need in camp .

 

[Insel Affen]

Feel very lucky to have a Kukri. Its a bit of a pig to sharpen (recently had it done by a Sgt in 2 RGR) and quite heavy, but pretty sure it's the real deal.

Luckily I bought it from 1 RGR shop in Church Crookham (yes I am old) when I was getting the wife's engagement ring made by the Sunar. Only paid about £15 (for the Kukri not the ring).

 

[airborne09]

Moving on over three years now . After a little absence away from knives and khukuris in general , I have resurected my interest in khukuris having looked not only at updated Nepalese khukuri manufacturers but also some newer kids on the block which I think might be quite some competition !
There are two khukuri manufacturers in Nepal who are turning out some pretty amazing products . My personal taste in khukuris are the traditional or Military ones and Im just not into khukuri like objects so I will stick to talking traditional here .
The new kids on the block I am talking about are "Heritage Knives" and "Kailash Blades" , both are doing that little bit extra research on khukuris going as far back as the early 1800s and making some good reproduction items . Not only are they making some lovely historical reproductions but they are now offering oil quenching and better heat treatment on their products which in my opinion make for far better quality khukuris . One other khukuri manufacturer who I must mention even though he has been around since 1992 I think , is "Great Gurkha Khukuri" (GGK) , who is also turning out some excellent products .
This is really an update for anyone thinking about buying a genuine , quality Nepalese made khukuri . Having looked at these companies , I have chosen a particular model I would like , I just havnt made my mind up yet which company to go for .

 

[Robbi]

Welcome back

 

[airborne09]

Thanks Robbi , Ive pulled the trigger on a customised khukuri from GGK and after looking a bit more deeply into Mr Purna Darnal who runs the company as well as being the main blacksmith , I dont think I will have any regrets . He is making quite a name for himself not just with khukuris but also any sword or knife you care to ask him about .

 

[Robbi]

I'll have a look at that.

 

[airborne09]

I'll have a look at that.

Yes Robbi , I have now carried out quite a bit of research of GGK and Mr Purna Darnal whs company it is and is himself a very good blacksmith by all his fans and reviews Ive read ,. He is now taking on a lot of customisation work and nothing seems to be a problem for him . I have in fact ordered two khukuris from him and am awaiting completion and delivery . Some of his customisation work on SBG frum is amazing but he has been doing this work for 25 years now , He genuinely seems to give priority to keeping his customers satisfied .

 

[Laurentius]

Apparantly there is a company, I think they are in the USA which has an entire warehouse full of vintage military kukris from an arsenal or something. Sadly the only Kukri I have is something I purchased from a stall in Birmingham's flea market when I was a mere youth, which I think is a text book example of everything wrong with a cheap tourist Kukri. I guess there is no more a standard Kukri than there is a standard Bowie knife, it is a type rather than a fixed pattern. You know one when you see one, but the quality and utility varies.

 

[airborne09]

Just updating from my last message here . I actually did go for a couple of khukuris with Mr Purna Darnal of GGK Khukuris and am I glad I did so . As I write this I have just received my third khukuri from GGK and I have to say after having gained a bit more knowledge and experience with khukuris in general GGK are hard to beat and are definitely up there with the new boys on the block who have taken khukuri production to a whole new level . Apart from GGK , if you are interested in a good quality hand made genuine Nepalese khukuri then at least check these out also , Kailash blades , Heritage knives , Khotang Khukuris and Knives , Blue Dragon Khukuris (based in the US) , these are the go to companies for a good quality blade that mostly give you the opportunity to customise your knife to varying degrees . With GGK Khukuris , Mr Purna Darnal is more than willing to work with what you are looking for in your choice of khukuris but if you are thinking of going with him then may I suggest that you send a drawing showing exactly what you want together with dimensions , he turns out some amazing products ..On a personal basis , I prefer the more either historic or traditional style of khukuri and this is where with a company like GGK you can customise your khukuri to whatever style you want making additions to his standard models . If you look back in the historic aspect of the khukuri there were no set standard models until the British East India Company and later the Crown British Army of India started recruiting the martial tribes people of Nepal to within the ranks which still exists today as the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army .

 

[airborne09]

Apparantly there is a company, I think they are in the USA which has an entire warehouse full of vintage military kukris from an arsenal or something. Sadly the only Kukri I have is something I purchased from a stall in Birmingham's flea market when I was a mere youth, which I think is a text book example of everything wrong with a cheap tourist Kukri. I guess there is no more a standard Kukri than there is a standard Bowie knife, it is a type rather than a fixed pattern. You know one when you see one, but the quality and utility varies.

Hello Laurentius , sorry for the late reply . You are right in mentioning the company in the US who bought the whole stock of the Royal Nepalese Armoury a number of years back , I think the company was IMA (not sure though) there were literally thousands of old khukuris for sale , some on Ebay I think . The best ones were most likely cherry picked by collectors but I believe there are still some for sale . Unfortunately as you have said there are many cheap really poor quality knock offs being sold in flea markets etc and even on some antique sites which are not worth 50p in some instances and many people with no experience of what constitutes a good or decent quality khukuri are conned into buying this utter rubbish . I dont know if you are already aware but many of these poor quality blades have the lion head on the pommel which in some cases may be alright as a cheap wall hanger but rarely turn out to be manufactured from good quality steel or even forged steel . I actually saw one of these real poor quality so called khukuris for sale on an antique site a few weeks back going for around £400 (unbelievable that the dealers actually believed it was worth anywhere near that amount) but there you go, so buyers beware .

 

[Laurentius]

HI dont know if you are already aware but many of these poor quality blades have the lion head on the pommel which in some cases may be alright as a cheap wall hanger but rarely turn out to be manufactured from good quality steel or even forged steel . I actually saw one of these real poor quality so called khukuris for sale on an antique site a few weeks back going for around £400 (unbelievable that the dealers actually believed it was worth anywhere near that amount) but there you go, so buyers beware .

Yep Lions Head on the pommel and a chrome plated blade!

 

[airborne09]

Just as an update for anyone who is starting out with an interest in the Nepalese Khukuri , please do not be taken in by just one persons perception and ideas of what constitutes a good khukuri (many of these people are usually wrong in their own theories). Take the time to carry out some research into both the history of the khukuri and the culture of the traditional Nepalese khukuri in particular , a great starting point for reference is a website written by Viking Kunwor called "Sir Khukuri" , everything on this site is well researched by Viking who is from Nepalese stock and is held up as a font of knowledge on anything khukuri and Gurkha related , he now has his own khukuri manufacturing company in Nepal under the name of "Heritage Knives" who make some excellent historic and genuine quality khukuris at reasonable prices as do the following companies , Great Gurkha Khukuris , Tora Blades , Khotang Khukuris and Knives , Kailash Blades , Khukuri House Handicraft Industry . If you stick with these companies and maybe the odd other up and coming new manufacturer then you cant go wrong . There are many other smaller operations in Nepal but in all honesty many of the smaller companies are illegally stealing and copying other peoples hard work as the copyright laws in Nepal are not that strong to prevent this sort of thing . One other point to be aware of is that some of the khukuri manufacturing companies and one in particular have a large partisan following in a country across the opposite side of the Atlantic and in my opinion and many other khukuri enthusiasts these khukuris , for all they are strongly built are in fact overbuilt and in most of their models do not represent what many afficiandos would consider to be an aesthetically good representation that are available from the above mentioned companies . It has been a misinterpreted fact for a long time in the West that a heavy khukuri is a good khukuri and anything less is not worth the bother and this is not necessarily true . Reproduction of khukuris has moved on a long way due to historical research by certain individuals and this has led to those companies above embracing new concepts to offer a more true and traditional representation of what people expect when buying a genuine hand made Nepalese khukuri .

 

[airborne09]

On the chance that I really dont want to over do " Who makes the best khukuris" argument , I will say that peoples perceptions can and do change over time and research and experience can open up a whole new world , and so it is with me and genuine reproduction khukuris made in Nepal ! If I were to buy another reproduction but genuine hand built khukuri now ( and I am considering it ) , there are only" Four " companies in Nepal I would buy from, and they are Tora Blades , Kailaish Blades , Heritage Knives , and GGK .
why ? it is all down to research and pros and cons of the different manufacturers presently operating out of Nepal . Some who I may have sung high praises about a few years back in my opinion have either failed to move with the times or concentrate on making any way out style of zombie blade that a customer wants ! I myself like many other collectors am a traditionalist and as such enjoy the more purist approach to what a khukuri knife symbolizes both in manufacture and style and this includes not only a well built , usable khukuri but also one that falls within the parameters of being a well balanced in relation to weight ratio tool / weapon that has a professional fit and finish and feels robust but light enough to wield and work with in a practical working environment . Far too many khukuri manufacturers are still making the mistake of over building their products making them in many peoples opinions although strong , just overweight , unbalanced pry bars , and once you get into the history and the ergonomics of what a well built khukuri actually is and what each style was intended for it was never meant to be just a hunk of unbalanced metal . Depending on what you are after in a genuine Nepalese manufactured khukuri , the four companies mentioned above will no doubt supply you with a beautiful bit of kit with a good choice from their websites . If I had to narrow it down In my personal opinion I would go for a khukuri from either Tora Bladeds or Kailaish Blades both of who seem to turn out excellent practical use khukuris that appear to be well forged steel blades with good overall balance , fit and finish of scabbard and accompnying kardas and chakmaks on some models .
I am not an expert regarding khukuris by any means but have gained a fair bit knowledge over the years and with this will hopefully give anyone wanting to purchase a genuine khukuri made in Nepal a better idea of which companies can accomodate your choice .

 

[Moondog55]

Just as an aside thought.
I like khukris and have a couple at the moment. While mine are from KKHI and are reasonably good large blades just be aware that while most big khukris are excellent tools the Nepalese don't seem to place much value on small blades and I've not yet found any small blade from Nepal worth paying for; and I've bought quite a few trying to support workers in one of the poorest places on the planet.
Also don't buy too big a blade for general bush use but don't buy too small.
There is a reason for the 12" blade being the issue size for most units. my 10" is really too small and my 15" is a very specialised weapon

 

[ONE]

I've not yet found any small blade from Nepal worth paying for;

I quite like the Churi from KHHI, although if I were getting another I'd take it unpolished.

 

[Moondog55]

I've got one, it's like an axe compared to many of my other and preferred blades and I ordered mine to be made sharp, preferable scalpel sharp and they ground it more like a sabre. The steel is reasonable so when I get access to a Linishing machine I'll regrind it to a better profile.
The blade has no finesse

 

[ONE]

I've got one, it's like an axe compared to many of my other and preferred blades and I ordered mine to be made sharp, preferable scalpel sharp and they ground it more like a sabre. The steel is reasonable so when I get access to a Linishing machine I'll regrind it to a better profile.
The blade has no finesse

Ah, yes okay, I see what you're after and no, you're not going to find it in Nepal.

 

[Moondog55]

I do like and use my big blades all the time tho

 

[airborne09]

Probably for the last time IVe pulled the trigger on a Tora Blades Forces Mk3 which I ordered last night ! Tora now have a top drawer reputation for robustly made well balanced practical use khukuris , and their Forces Mk3 in my opinion is just what I need for some medium bushcraft use in our temperate climate , forrests / woods etc .Once I get it I might do a small review on it .

 

[KieranB96]

Ninja knives are brilliant. I recently bought a set from Argos and they were really cheap because I used an SPAM LINK REMOVED

They're incredibly sharp and have an aesthetic that fits my kitchen.