I've had my Windlass Mk3 for about 30 years, taken it out hiking and camping many times, cleared brush, split firewood. Excellent tool. Wouldn't want to be away from civilization without it.
I think there is a misunderstanding regarding the karda and chakmak. The Karda is a small utility knife and is supposed to have an edge and the chakmak is supposed to be like an emergency sharpener and both edges should be blunt.
People describe the chakmak as a "sharpener", but technically speaking, it's actually a strop. Sharpening removes material via abrasive mediums to establish a brand new edge. Stropping optimizes the existing edge by bending any microscopic burrs and deformations in the edge back into alignment. So technically the Chakmak is more like a mini "kitchen steel", not a sharpener.
Just get what you want do your research. The things good to chop a 4 inch branch then skin a fish kinda all around knife . Then kill a zombie if they pop up .
A Gurkha once told me that the best steel for making a Kukri came from the leaf springs of Mercedes Benz busses. I worked with them in Afghanistan for 2.5 years, I miss them all and wish them well.
I got one of these for my wife a few years ago. It took a bit of filing to shape the edge but now it is one of the handiest tools we own. Nicely balanced and not tiring to use.
Bought mine in Katmandu in 2000 from the 'official suppliers'. I had refused a great many 'tourist' kukris before. I ended up getting the heavy 'jungle' knife, simply because the 'normal' ones were too small in my hand. I love and treasure it, keep it sharp and oiled but I have to admit, I still find it difficult to work with, sometimes it will cleanly cut through a 1'' branch of green wood and sometimes it wont. I would like to say/explain that I have been cutting and splitting timber since I was big enough to swing an axe, I'm 56 now, when I was 15, I could split a match lengthwise and still can put a full force axe swing exactly into the spot I wish to hit (most of the time). I say this only to illustrate that I know how to cut timber and that there are 'good' angles to cut certain types of wood and 'bad angles' that just won't work, I do not have soft hands. My point? As much as I love this kukri, it doesn't 'feel right' in my hand and it's not for want of practice or technique, it is a beautiful thing when it cuts cleanly but a total 'dog' some of the time? I actually think it is too heavy for me to generate speed or 'snap' at the end of an arc, so do I just accept that I will never master the use of this blade or grind at least 1/16th of an inch off its width? I think I have answered my own question, there's no way I will mess with the blade except to sharpen it, it's up to me how to use it and I hope to 'pass it on' as a family heirloom, maybe in 200 years time, after much use and sharpening, it will be the ideal weight or just fit naturally into the palm of one of my descendants? Sorry if my ramblings have bored the shite out of you, lockdown and alcohol, what more can I say?
On I 93 in New Hampshire there is what appears to be a completely random memorial to the 5307th Composite Unit before a bridge. I passed it a bunch of times and always wonder who they where and why this memorial was where it was. Took me years, But I finally remembered to look it up. Those guys were badass, and deserve respect. The memorial wa on the interstate bridge because after the war Merrill was head of the NHDOT. Edit: Did you see this? news.yahoo.com/wwii-jungle-fighting-unit-approved-114143564.html
I inherited my grandfather's WWII kukri (he served as a paratrooper in India alongside Gurkhas) about 20 years ago. I've spent the evening watching a number of your videos on these knives and feel very much more enlightened. Thank you so much.
I bought two from Windlass (through Amazon) years ago. Around $25 US each, free shipping. Carbon steel, buffalo/brass sheath, acc knives. I put tinder and a magnesium firestick in the pouch. I keep one in my Jeep and carry the other one camping, fishing, hiking, etc. Only good things to say. Knife chops, cuts, slices and even digs- and keeps a sharp edge with little care.
I've had a Mk 3 from windlass for years, nothing fancy but it gets the job done. Doesn't compare to the earlier ones but nothing to sneeze at either. The karda generally have no edge they are meant to be used as a steel to true the edge if needed.
Had a hiccup with my first Atlanta cutlery order but they made it right at no cost to me and were professional and pleasant at every step. Great service. I will be ordering more things from them.
In the mid 70'ies I worked in Hong Kong and got to know one of the British officers from the Gurkha regiment. He told me a story where they had been on patrol near the Chinese border (in those days only farmland and villages) and in a disputed village just on the boundary a Chinese patrol tried to grab another officer. Upon seeing this the Gurkha sergeant immediately pulled out his Kukri and cut the arm off the Chinese soldier. Afterwards they left the severed arm sitting in the middle of the road propped up by sticks as a warning. I have no idea if it is true but certainly an entertaining story.
It may be a different incident but my father's company around 69-70 got the alarm to head up to the border. A Gurkha section was in a stand off with a Chinese company at a border crossing. At the time guards would stand only a foot apart either side of the white line marking the border and a Chinese soldier thought it would be fun to tease the Gurkha sentry. This wasn't wise as the Gurkhas had a real animosity to the Chinese due to the occupation of Tibet. Twice the Chinese soldier tried to grab the Gurkhas Kukri and on the third time the Gurkha drew it and chopped the Chinese soldiers hand off. The Chinese dragged their wounded comrade off and both sides were in a standoff. The Gurkhas were dug in and being only a section were expecting the Chinese company to attack, just as the company from the Dukes arrived. The British and Chinese both ran new companies up to the border and swapped out the troops manning the border crossing. So things came close but didn't actually kick off. Given how stories circulate it may be the source of the one told to you.
@@genericdave8420 Thanks.. yes that could very well have been the one I heard. No doubt the story would change slightly in retelling. I probably heard it in 1975. Gurkhas are incredibly tough guys and I have had the pleasure of meeting many of them when they were working as cruise ship security for some of the cruise lines I used to handle as a ships agent.
@@Kim-the-Dane-1952 its very possible that may have happened. In a 1965 border escalation between India-China it so happened :::: Fighting Starts Major Joshi reached Rai Gap on the way to D Coy positions by 0915 hours. The sentry post at Pt. 15450 was visible from there. Just then he observed that the post was being surrounded by a section strength of Chinese troops. A second section was seen circumventing the D Coy platoon position along the northern cliff in a single file. Major Joshi at once informed Lt. Rathore of what he had seen. The later informed Major Joshi that the Chinese Coy Cdr. and the political commissar were staking claims to the boulder at the sentry post. Naib Subedar Gyan Bahadur Limbu was having a heated argument with his counterpart at the sentry post during which he rested his right foot on the boulder under dispute. The Chinese kicked his foot away. Gyan put his foot back and challenged them. Events were moving quickly. By this time the Chinese had taken up position, presumably because their commander had already taken a decision to escalate the incident. And one of the Chinese sentries bayoneted Gyan wounding him in the arm. The Gorkha's response was swift. Both arms of the Chinese who hit the JCO were chopped off with a Khukri. At this point the Chinese opened fire and the two sides engaged in a firefight at close range. Lance Naik Krishna Bahadur, the Post Cdr., then led a charge against the Chinese in the vicinity who were forming up for an assault. Although hit & incapacitated, he continued to harangue his men forward. Rifleman Devi Prasad Limbu directly behind his Post Cdr. was already engaged in a close quarter battle with the enemy and his Khukri took off five Chinese heads. www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/history/1960s/270-chola-incident.html
@@anupampaul7342 Thank you very much. That is an incredible story. Thank you also for the link which is a pretty good resource. In my later life I also worked with another alumni of the Indian Military who in his younger days as a Captain used to fly MIG's off the INS Vikrant (R11)
I have had my Mk3 for over almost 40 years. Your technique with chopping needs a slight change. If you hold the handle with your index finger and thumb snug and with your other fingers a loose grip. As you swing it use the other three finger to snap the blade it makes it easy on the wrist and uses the blades mass and shape to cut easier with far less fatigue. I cleared many mile of fenceline and split alot of wood. I really helps. The Mk3 is a tough blade.
George MacDonalds Fraser (author of the Flashman novels) excellent memoir of his time in Burma mentions the personal edge weapons carried by the Borderers he served with .
According to Windlass Steelcraft info I read about 20 years ago, they were the British approved India manufacturer of military issue swords during the 19th century British occupation. They were proud to be approved to apply the British Broadhead (arrow) as the official stamp of approval to those swords. Their swords were subjected to a "nail biting flex and return to true" test I have never seen duplicated by modern bladesmiths. Later this approval (not the flex test!) supposedly transferred to their military issue Khukuris. That said, I have never seen an India-made khukuri that matched a good traditional Nepalese kami (khukuri bladesmith) 19:03 version. I own about 5 or 6 Nepalese made khukuris, and my favorite are the Sirupate style, which are slimmer and have less of a sharp angle to the blade. Remember that the khukuri was AND STILL IS a farm tool (even kitchen knife on the farm) in Nepal, as well as infamous weapons. Thank you for pointing out the difference found when comparing mass produced, even issue blades, versus privately purchased higher end models. I have a number of Windlass knives and swords, but no khukuri knives. I do have 6 Khukuris from Nepal, plus 3 or 4 commercial ones. Each has its pros and cons, but I would trust the Nepalese made Khukuris as my only tool in a survival situation.
Thanks for the review. I wasn’t aware that Windlass had the Mk3 on the market. FWIW the chakmak traditionally was not sharpened and known colloquially as a sharpener. Which is a bit of a misnomer as it doesn’t sharpen, or an extremely poor one at best, but will correct a rolled edge nicely as a field expediency. The small knife is the karda. Just checked and I believe that Atlanta Cutlery Corp. in the US is selling the Mk3 as the Genuine Gurkha Regimental Kukri I don’t know about elsewhere.
The taper towards the handle would be proximal taper, ie taper towards the Center of the body or attachment ; as opposed to distal taper, or taper away from the Center of the body or attachment.
Hey Matt. I am a knife maker in New York in the USA. I mostly only do stock removal at this time. If you ever wanted to design a stock removal knife i would be interested in doing a Matt Easton design knife. I think you can contact me through TH-cam. My area of interest is modern ultra high performance steels with high performance grinds with new heat treatment techniques that have come out in the last 2 or 3 years. I work with a knife maker in Canada who was involved in a steel study by Doctor Larrin Thomas. He just released a book on Amazon called Knife Engineering that is both a bargain and a essential read for anyone who is really into blades. Let me know if you are ever interested. There would be no charge to you. I have been a fan of your channel for 8 or so years so I figure you already paid. Thanks for all your work. This is my favorite channel and has been for years.
Nice parallel cuts on that bottle. I'm not super impressed that a steel edge destroys a bottle. But I am impressed when a person can consistently cut parallel rings out 3 to 5 times out of the same bottle.
Great video, I learnt a great deal from it. Incidentally I also had a Great Uncle John who served in Burma in WWII with the Gurkhas. He served as an officer with 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles and I guess that's been a big influence on me and my interest in watching this video.
Great review, mirrors my experience and opinion. That's the shiniest, cleanest DehraDun kukhri Ive seen... Good "entry-level" kukhri, mine came duller than Sunday service so expect to do a lot of filing to get your preferred edge. Thanks for posting this! Windlass now thinks their blades are made of Unobtainium and prices accordingly- whereas other makers have kept their prices down for the same general blade. Served me well as a camp blade, possible weapon, not to mention being the first blade of my khukri collection. I gave mine to a friend and got a 1944 issue from Atlanta Cutlery (along with some others from the Nepali haul)... The only real issue I have with them is the lack of a guard. As Matt points out, the grip "ring" and general shape of the grip is made to prevent the fingers from reaching the blade, and these are not designed to be a stabbing weapon- but still. Word on the street has it the Gurkhas charged the Argentines on the Falklands with uplifted blades, and the Argies are still running...
I really like the one I bought from Atlanta Cutlery. It cleaned up real nice and was not really damaged due to rust. I'm still debating to fill it in with weld, but the integrity is not compromised by the pits. I'm more in mind to keep it as is. Its not like I'm going to use it on the neighbor's cat (regardless of how desperately it will deserve it. Over all, it is nice to have an actual one. It does handle quite nicely and does have some intricacies due to its shape.
That was my first Khukuri back in the 90's,the scabbard on mine was wrapped with cardboard...I'm not kidding I had it maybe six months and one day I got wet working on some brush clearing and while grabbing my scabbard it looked like I sprayed my hand with paint,I looked at it and rubbed it with a wet paper towel and found it was shedding color like a sponge and I tugged at the "leather" and it tore away very easy...I'm pretty sure it was some kind of cardboard. That and a couple other experiences gave me a very bad taste about Windlass and I haven't bought anything of theirs for better then ten years.
Karda is a sharp knife. Chakmak is a blunt knife sharpener. And the Kukri is a tool used for everything in Nepal, such as cooking, cutting firewood, beheading animals for ceremonies.
I have 2 originals. A battle ready one, which my Grandfather, Lt Col HW Holt carried in Burma when fighting with the Gurkhas. I have a silver plated one with a horn handle that his soldiers presented him with when he was posted to Africa aftwr WW2
Picked mine up at a flea market a couple of years ago. The grip is flat, no bevel, where it meets the blade. Stamped with India on one side of the blade and on the other the broad arrow with maker's mark below it then 1975. Maker's mark, what's left of it, looks like KI II. No idea who or what company that would be.
I once missed a chance to buy a fairly cheap kukri in an antiques fair and I still curse myself for it. I couldn't tell whether it was very old or not (my completely uneducated guess would have been mid 20th century at the oldest), it did have a somewhat battered and dried leather scabbard and it came with the two little bladed tools. Both these and the kukri itself were rusty, but it looked like surface rust mostly. For 30€ (or was it 40?) it seemed a pretty decent bet, but I let it go.
What is the standard blade length of the Gurka's kukri as used in the war? Most other kukri videos talk about tangs, what type of wood or horn used on the handles... but absolutely NO ONE has given out blade lengths. What is (was) the average length of the Gurkha's military kukri? 14"? 16"? 18"?
With full width tangs like that I've read that "strength" wasn't the goal so much as being able to easily fix the handle when the scales broke or rotted. A thinner tang would be just as strong but harder to fix yourself. - You DO mention stuff about that just before the halfway point 😁
My Aunt is still here in Darjeeling..whose father was a Gorkha soldier. She's unmarried 🙏 all my regards to her. We still got the uniform, the medals and the legacy
I have a khukuri that I received (I bought it from him for $60) from a Gurkha who was working for DynCorp security back in 2008 when I was a Police Mentor in the Army in 2008. It looks very much like the example you have except it has Gurkha Army 20.. (the last two numbers were worn off by the grind. It also has a serial number of 5533 on it close to the handle like the one in the diagram. It also has a 9" blade. Do you think the one I have is made by Windlass?
The chakmak isnt meant to be sharpened. The steel is tempered very hard, so you can hone your kukri with it and use it for flint and steel firelighting. Great striker for a firesteel too. EDIT: Technically, only the blades made in Nepal by "kamis" (bladesmith) can be called kukri.
There are 7 Gurkha regiments (39 battalions) in the Indian army, and Windlass is the sole supplier of Khukris to them, since around the mid-1940s. Thus windlass mades a TON of these, and FAR more than any other khukri manufacturer anywhere in the world. This is not a cottage khukhri assembler using discarded truck springs to forge together a khukhri, but a full-fledged manufacturer using specialized steel used to forge khukris with consistent and repeatable quality. Considering the prices elsewhere, I am surprised that Windlass sells these true army-issue khukhris at such relatively reasonable prices. I would venture that other than the British army, the "best" gurkhas are present in the Indian army, and they are issued these khukris. This is the regimental version (12" blade) and then there's the more ornamental officer's version of the khukri, made by windlass, which is slightly smaller/lighter, in addition to a bigger 13.5" bladed version used by a police (paramilitary/non-army) unit.
Curious what the 'made in' logo would have been prior to independence? Also surprised that the tang has material that mates with the grip ring, surprising in that it looks like a fair bit of forging and effort for wartime expedient production.
Love these kukri episodes. I'm catching up on all of them now. What was like the top end in overall weight in grams for kukri's that would of seen battle? There is literally hundreds if different ones produced now. And I want to narrow them down by a realistic weight. Thanks
When I was growing up in Edinburgh in the 1980s our nextdoor neighbour had been a Gurkha Lt. Who was deployed to Aden in the late 1960s. He was involved in a hand to hand fight against the insurgents. They were attacked by machete and sword weilding locals when he was escorting a convoy. His handgun wasn't loaded due to engagement regulations so he and his patrol fought out of rhe ambush using their Kukhris. He said he whacked one of the enemy on the head with his Kukhri. I asked him what happened. He said 'i didn't hang around to find out!!'
Tora Blades still produce handmade Nepalese WWI & WWII reproduction military Ghurka kukuri. They're made specific according to WWI & WWII kukuri specs in every way. My only critique of Tora Blades kukuri is they don't put a large enough ring/rib around the kukuri handle for better retention. P.S. The original karda & chakmak were much larger than the very small ones sold with many modern commercial kukuri. The originals had 4-6" long blades.
I appreciate kukries but only for their historical value and I have a lot of them and use only for fun. I'm an old Italian hunter and backpacker and tried to bring a kukri of mine in my hikes and hunts but it was a failure: heavy, cumbersome potentially dangerous to use and not really good at anything: try to slice some meat and bread or chop an onion or also to cut wood. Not to speak of skinng a deer a hare or a wild boar. Yes it can do anything but nothing in a really safe quick and efficient way. While hiking or hunting I bring three light specialised items: a small hatchet, a five to seven inches hunting knife and a for inches folding knife. The total weight is less than that of a kukri and I can chop a ten inches tree in short time to skin a deer and a hare or preoare a meal in minutes. By the way by chance during a trekking in USA in the Adirondeck park I discovered that a famous wilderness author of that place, George Washington Sears aka Nessmuk, gave in his books the advice of bringing in a hunt or in a hike exactly the same items I bring. Seeing is believing!
I had a officer's model . As A attempt to cut down on size and weight. Which is still much, much more then my Bever tale machete or my Damacas Diston machete .
The British army allowed you to purchase your own weapons, I've heard of officers buying their own pistols, how common was it for officers and men to purchase other weapons? Did the army provide ammunition, magazines and other accoutrements?
If the picture in front of the lorry is your uncle he was 2nd division 14th army because my great grandfather was a major in royal engineers in India and Burma
What is the purpose of those two mini knives? They look identical but since they apparently have different names i assume they are in fact not. So what is the difference?
Karda is usually called a small skinner/utility knife but is actually more akin to an eating knife, Chakmak is a hone cum fire starter (use it as a steel along with a flint).
I have one of the originals also. I bought 2 of them for 15 dollars at a gun show in Texas in 1979, and gave one to a friend around 1983. It still has cosomoline on the blade. Still not very sharp though.
He told me that he bought it from an American or Canadian trader. I'm afraid I don't know any more details than that. He was issued a rifle (I presume an SMLE at that date) originally.
Not really. tommies were much more expensive than stens, but that mattered only for large scale production/purchases, not for private purchases. I dont remember the numbers exactly, but the cost of producing a sten was something under 4 pounds and tommies were imported from USA and were priced just under 20 US dollars. So yeah, it made total economical sense to make stens, but the price couldnt stop someone from buying a tommie if that someone wanted it.
@@MrDrboomstick Not gonna argue with you here as I just dont remember my sources. Could be that you are right, but you gotta keep in mind that not only USA produced tommies, so prices varied, plus I wouldnt be surprised if private purchases were (at least partially) subsidized by the Crown.
I have an original Reinhardt kukri made by Blackjack Knives. It was a gift from Hank Reinhardt himself. We were close friends from the mid-60s until his death. God, how I miss him.
I was told that an Indian paramilitary unit, the Assam Rifles, still use this version of the khukuri. I can't verify thst, but it would be interesting if it were true. Thanks for this video.
I had a book on soldiers color written for early teens on the history of troops that fought in wars that most American history books only gave general white people information. Fantastic adventure was how I would describe the style of the writing so it may have been embellished . Or not becauseit mayhave tried to don't play The Bravery and heroism hope soldiers of color. You know like white people do. The chapter on the Gurkha troops i recall claimed that during some battle somewhere at some point in time their adversaries saw the kukri and decided to hightail it rather than fight because of the reputation the Gurkhas had with their kukri. Don't ask me about when we're or anything that's the only part of that book that I really remember.
Legend :) proud to see our national knife I got loads of khukuris but I got one special one which has been hand down for long time in my family since 1632
They don't sell them sharp any more ,if they ever did at that ,because a dull Kukri is just a waste of steel and probably not even heat treated to hold a edge.
@@adrianjagmag I'm pretty sure that Matt mentioned in the video what their weights were and he certainly mentioned the difference just a few ounces, like 2 or 3.
Total weight for both was 20oz or 567g for the WWIIish Mk 3 and 22oz or 624g for the "new" Mk3 - bearing in mind he wasn't exact about the ounces :-) So basically the difference was about 2oz or 56g
My boss gifted me a kukri. but I'm having trouble identifying it. I believe it may be a mk2 but it dose not have any stamping's or any modern/20th century markings just the word "India" and the initial "B" hand chiseled above the hilt
So Matt. What is the longest Kukri you have ever seen? Like are all of them knife length or can they reach up to one of a machete or sword? I'm just a layman but I think the Kukri looks like a better design than the Kora.
I've had my Windlass Mk3 for about 30 years, taken it out hiking and camping many times, cleared brush, split firewood. Excellent tool. Wouldn't want to be away from civilization without it.
I think there is a misunderstanding regarding the karda and chakmak. The Karda is a small utility knife and is supposed to have an edge and the chakmak is supposed to be like an emergency sharpener and both edges should be blunt.
People describe the chakmak as a "sharpener", but technically speaking, it's actually a strop.
Sharpening removes material via abrasive mediums to establish a brand new edge. Stropping optimizes the existing edge by bending any microscopic burrs and deformations in the edge back into alignment.
So technically the Chakmak is more like a mini "kitchen steel", not a sharpener.
Just get what you want do your research. The things good to chop a 4 inch branch then skin a fish kinda all around knife . Then kill a zombie if they pop up .
"Iron sharpeneth iron" @ Proverbs 27:17 😄
@@HipposHateWaterchakmak is fire sticker . Flint stone is used with chakmak to strick fire
A Gurkha once told me that the best steel for making a Kukri came from the leaf springs of Mercedes Benz busses. I worked with them in Afghanistan for 2.5 years, I miss them all and wish them well.
I got one of these for my wife a few years ago. It took a bit of filing to shape the edge but now it is one of the handiest tools we own. Nicely balanced and not tiring to use.
Hope u dont upset her, good luck
"For my wife". Yeah, i bought my wife an air fryer too lol
Bought mine in Katmandu in 2000 from the 'official suppliers'. I had refused a great many 'tourist' kukris before.
I ended up getting the heavy 'jungle' knife, simply because the 'normal' ones were too small in my hand.
I love and treasure it, keep it sharp and oiled but I have to admit, I still find it difficult to work with, sometimes it will cleanly cut through a 1'' branch of green wood and sometimes it wont. I would like to say/explain that I have been cutting and splitting timber since I was big enough to swing an axe, I'm 56 now, when I was 15, I could split a match lengthwise and still can put a full force axe swing exactly into the spot I wish to hit (most of the time).
I say this only to illustrate that I know how to cut timber and that there are 'good' angles to cut certain types of wood and 'bad angles' that just won't work, I do not have soft hands.
My point? As much as I love this kukri, it doesn't 'feel right' in my hand and it's not for want of practice or technique, it is a beautiful thing when it cuts cleanly but a total 'dog' some of the time? I actually think it is too heavy for me to generate speed or 'snap' at the end of an arc, so do I just accept that I will never master the use of this blade or grind at least 1/16th of an inch off its width? I think I have answered my own question, there's no way I will mess with the blade except to sharpen it, it's up to me how to use it and I hope to 'pass it on' as a family heirloom, maybe in 200 years time, after much use and sharpening, it will be the ideal weight or just fit naturally into the palm of one of my descendants?
Sorry if my ramblings have bored the shite out of you, lockdown and alcohol, what more can I say?
My wife's grandfather was in Merrill's Merauders in WWII. I'm sure he appreciated your great uncle's efforts in Burma.
On I 93 in New Hampshire there is what appears to be a completely random memorial to the 5307th Composite Unit before a bridge. I passed it a bunch of times and always wonder who they where and why this memorial was where it was. Took me years, But I finally remembered to look it up. Those guys were badass, and deserve respect. The memorial wa on the interstate bridge because after the war Merrill was head of the NHDOT.
Edit: Did you see this?
news.yahoo.com/wwii-jungle-fighting-unit-approved-114143564.html
I was at an event for the surviving Merrill’s Marauders at UNG here in Georgia. It was a huge honor.
I inherited my grandfather's WWII kukri (he served as a paratrooper in India alongside Gurkhas) about 20 years ago. I've spent the evening watching a number of your videos on these knives and feel very much more enlightened. Thank you so much.
I bought two from Windlass (through Amazon) years ago. Around $25 US each, free shipping. Carbon steel, buffalo/brass sheath, acc knives. I put tinder and a magnesium firestick in the pouch. I keep one in my Jeep and carry the other one camping, fishing, hiking, etc. Only good things to say. Knife chops, cuts, slices and even digs- and keeps a sharp edge with little care.
I've had a Mk 3 from windlass for years, nothing fancy but it gets the job done. Doesn't compare to the earlier ones but nothing to sneeze at either. The karda generally have no edge they are meant to be used as a steel to true the edge if needed.
You have it backwards. The karda is the smaller sharper utility blade and the chakmak (the sound of sharpening) is used to sharpen the blade.
Had a hiccup with my first Atlanta cutlery order but they made it right at no cost to me and were professional and pleasant at every step. Great service. I will be ordering more things from them.
In the mid 70'ies I worked in Hong Kong and got to know one of the British officers from the Gurkha regiment. He told me a story where they had been on patrol near the Chinese border (in those days only farmland and villages) and in a disputed village just on the boundary a Chinese patrol tried to grab another officer. Upon seeing this the Gurkha sergeant immediately pulled out his Kukri and cut the arm off the Chinese soldier. Afterwards they left the severed arm sitting in the middle of the road propped up by sticks as a warning. I have no idea if it is true but certainly an entertaining story.
It may be a different incident but my father's company around 69-70 got the alarm to head up to the border. A Gurkha section was in a stand off with a Chinese company at a border crossing. At the time guards would stand only a foot apart either side of the white line marking the border and a Chinese soldier thought it would be fun to tease the Gurkha sentry. This wasn't wise as the Gurkhas had a real animosity to the Chinese due to the occupation of Tibet.
Twice the Chinese soldier tried to grab the Gurkhas Kukri and on the third time the Gurkha drew it and chopped the Chinese soldiers hand off. The Chinese dragged their wounded comrade off and both sides were in a standoff. The Gurkhas were dug in and being only a section were expecting the Chinese company to attack, just as the company from the Dukes arrived. The British and Chinese both ran new companies up to the border and swapped out the troops manning the border crossing. So things came close but didn't actually kick off. Given how stories circulate it may be the source of the one told to you.
@@genericdave8420 Thanks.. yes that could very well have been the one I heard. No doubt the story would change slightly in retelling. I probably heard it in 1975. Gurkhas are incredibly tough guys and I have had the pleasure of meeting many of them when they were working as cruise ship security for some of the cruise lines I used to handle as a ships agent.
@@Kim-the-Dane-1952 its very possible that may have happened. In a 1965 border escalation between India-China it so happened ::::
Fighting Starts
Major Joshi reached Rai Gap on the way to D Coy positions by 0915 hours. The sentry post at Pt. 15450 was visible from there. Just then he observed that the post was being surrounded by a section strength of Chinese troops. A second section was seen circumventing the D Coy platoon position along the northern cliff in a single file. Major Joshi at once informed Lt. Rathore of what he had seen. The later informed Major Joshi that the Chinese Coy Cdr. and the political commissar were staking claims to the boulder at the sentry post. Naib Subedar Gyan Bahadur Limbu was having a heated argument with his counterpart at the sentry post during which he rested his right foot on the boulder under dispute. The Chinese kicked his foot away. Gyan put his foot back and challenged them. Events were moving quickly.
By this time the Chinese had taken up position, presumably because their commander had already taken a decision to escalate the incident. And one of the Chinese sentries bayoneted Gyan wounding him in the arm. The Gorkha's response was swift. Both arms of the Chinese who hit the JCO were chopped off with a Khukri. At this point the Chinese opened fire and the two sides engaged in a firefight at close range. Lance Naik Krishna Bahadur, the Post Cdr., then led a charge against the Chinese in the vicinity who were forming up for an assault. Although hit & incapacitated, he continued to harangue his men forward. Rifleman Devi Prasad Limbu directly behind his Post Cdr. was already engaged in a close quarter battle with the enemy and his Khukri took off five Chinese heads.
www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/history/1960s/270-chola-incident.html
@@anupampaul7342 Thank you very much. That is an incredible story. Thank you also for the link which is a pretty good resource. In my later life I also worked with another alumni of the Indian Military who in his younger days as a Captain used to fly MIG's off the INS Vikrant (R11)
@@Kim-the-Dane-1952 So , were you in the Navy too, pre-retirement ?
I am so glad to learn you you found the link interesting.
I have had my Mk3 for over almost 40 years. Your technique with chopping needs a slight change. If you hold the handle with your index finger and thumb snug and with your other fingers a loose grip. As you swing it use the other three finger to snap the blade it makes it easy on the wrist and uses the blades mass and shape to cut easier with far less fatigue. I cleared many mile of fenceline and split alot of wood. I really helps. The Mk3 is a tough blade.
I absolutely love mine! It's a great camping, hiking, and kayaking knife.
Well, my birthday and Christmas are coming up soon, this just got wishlisted. Thanks Matt!
George MacDonalds Fraser (author of the Flashman novels) excellent memoir of his time in Burma mentions the personal edge weapons carried by the Borderers he served with .
According to Windlass Steelcraft info I read about 20 years ago, they were the British approved India manufacturer of military issue swords during the 19th century British occupation. They were proud to be approved to apply the British Broadhead (arrow) as the official stamp of approval to those swords. Their swords were subjected to a "nail biting flex and return to true" test I have never seen duplicated by modern bladesmiths. Later this approval (not the flex test!) supposedly transferred to their military issue Khukuris.
That said, I have never seen an India-made khukuri that matched a good traditional Nepalese kami (khukuri bladesmith) 19:03 version. I own about 5 or 6 Nepalese made khukuris, and my favorite are the Sirupate style, which are slimmer and have less of a sharp angle to the blade.
Remember that the khukuri was AND STILL IS a farm tool (even kitchen knife on the farm) in Nepal, as well as infamous weapons.
Thank you for pointing out the difference found when comparing mass produced, even issue blades, versus privately purchased higher end models.
I have a number of Windlass knives and swords, but no khukuri knives. I do have 6 Khukuris from Nepal, plus 3 or 4 commercial ones. Each has its pros and cons, but I would trust the Nepalese made Khukuris as my only tool in a survival situation.
Bought mine from Atlanta Cutlery back the late 70's.
Thanks for the review. I wasn’t aware that Windlass had the Mk3 on the market. FWIW the chakmak traditionally was not sharpened and known colloquially as a sharpener. Which is a bit of a misnomer as it doesn’t sharpen, or an extremely poor one at best, but will correct a rolled edge nicely as a field expediency. The small knife is the karda. Just checked and I believe that Atlanta Cutlery Corp. in the US is selling the Mk3 as the Genuine Gurkha Regimental Kukri I don’t know about elsewhere.
“Let’s have a little look at the gurkha cookery.” -TH-cam subtitles
To be fair it's almost what is written on the blueprint
No need for subtitles he’s speaking English
@@DeepseaSteve On the app, the thumbnails start playing with subtitles and no sound ;)
Khu-curi
0:33
Those Guys look as happy as a Matt in a ancient weapon Museum with a full head of hair.
Soon as I get paid. I'm buying one! What a great knife. right up there with My favorite the Bowie.
The taper towards the handle would be proximal taper, ie taper towards the Center of the body or attachment ; as opposed to distal taper, or taper away from the Center of the body or attachment.
Hey Matt. I am a knife maker in New York in the USA. I mostly only do stock removal at this time. If you ever wanted to design a stock removal knife i would be interested in doing a Matt Easton design knife. I think you can contact me through TH-cam. My area of interest is modern ultra high performance steels with high performance grinds with new heat treatment techniques that have come out in the last 2 or 3 years. I work with a knife maker in Canada who was involved in a steel study by Doctor Larrin Thomas. He just released a book on Amazon called Knife Engineering that is both a bargain and a essential read for anyone who is really into blades. Let me know if you are ever interested. There would be no charge to you. I have been a fan of your channel for 8 or so years so I figure you already paid. Thanks for all your work. This is my favorite channel and has been for years.
Nice parallel cuts on that bottle.
I'm not super impressed that a steel edge destroys a bottle. But I am impressed when a person can consistently cut parallel rings out 3 to 5 times out of the same bottle.
That is impressive
I mean, he IS a professional
Apart from all practicalities, I really wish to throw it like a boomerang just to see how it flies!
Better have good gloves, or a good sense of humour!
My dad was in the invasion of the Philippines and he carried one. He spent 5 and a half years in a military hospital when he was sent home
Absolutely fascinating video about the WW2 version of the iconic Kukri.
Great video, I learnt a great deal from it. Incidentally I also had a Great Uncle John who served in Burma in WWII with the Gurkhas. He served as an officer with 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles and I guess that's been a big influence on me and my interest in watching this video.
Great review, mirrors my experience and opinion. That's the shiniest, cleanest DehraDun kukhri Ive seen... Good "entry-level" kukhri, mine came duller than Sunday service so expect to do a lot of filing to get your preferred edge. Thanks for posting this! Windlass now thinks their blades are made of Unobtainium and prices accordingly- whereas other makers have kept their prices down for the same general blade. Served me well as a camp blade, possible weapon, not to mention being the first blade of my khukri collection. I gave mine to a friend and got a 1944 issue from Atlanta Cutlery (along with some others from the Nepali haul)...
The only real issue I have with them is the lack of a guard. As Matt points out, the grip "ring" and general shape of the grip is made to prevent the fingers from reaching the blade, and these are not designed to be a stabbing weapon- but still.
Word on the street has it the Gurkhas charged the Argentines on the Falklands with uplifted blades, and the Argies are still running...
I really like the one I bought from Atlanta Cutlery. It cleaned up real nice and was not really damaged due to rust. I'm still debating to fill it in with weld, but the integrity is not compromised by the pits. I'm more in mind to keep it as is. Its not like I'm going to use it on the neighbor's cat (regardless of how desperately it will deserve it. Over all, it is nice to have an actual one. It does handle quite nicely and does have some intricacies due to its shape.
That was my first Khukuri back in the 90's,the scabbard on mine was wrapped with cardboard...I'm not kidding I had it maybe six months and one day I got wet working on some brush clearing and while grabbing my scabbard it looked like I sprayed my hand with paint,I looked at it and rubbed it with a wet paper towel and found it was shedding color like a sponge and I tugged at the "leather" and it tore away very easy...I'm pretty sure it was some kind of cardboard.
That and a couple other experiences gave me a very bad taste about Windlass and I haven't bought anything of theirs for better then ten years.
Karda is a sharp knife. Chakmak is a blunt knife sharpener. And the Kukri is a tool used for everything in Nepal, such as cooking, cutting firewood, beheading animals for ceremonies.
I have 2 originals. A battle ready one, which my Grandfather, Lt Col HW Holt carried in Burma when fighting with the Gurkhas. I have a silver plated one with a horn handle that his soldiers presented him with when he was posted to Africa aftwr WW2
G þ threw
Picked mine up at a flea market a couple of years ago. The grip is flat, no bevel, where it meets the blade. Stamped with India on one side of the blade and on the other the broad arrow with maker's mark below it then 1975. Maker's mark, what's left of it, looks like KI II. No idea who or what company that would be.
Really cool to know Windlass still makes legit blades of war even now, not just ceremony/theater, etc... lol.
I once missed a chance to buy a fairly cheap kukri in an antiques fair and I still curse myself for it. I couldn't tell whether it was very old or not (my completely uneducated guess would have been mid 20th century at the oldest), it did have a somewhat battered and dried leather scabbard and it came with the two little bladed tools. Both these and the kukri itself were rusty, but it looked like surface rust mostly. For 30€ (or was it 40?) it seemed a pretty decent bet, but I let it go.
Sturdy and reliable, a match between a knife and a hand.
New sub and bel love the amount of information
What is the standard blade length of the Gurka's kukri as used in the war? Most other kukri videos talk about tangs, what type of wood or horn used on the handles... but absolutely NO ONE has given out blade lengths. What is (was) the average length of the Gurkha's military kukri? 14"? 16"? 18"?
I like the much larger khukuri machete that Cold Steel makes. It really hacks through tree limbs pretty easily.
The butt plate connects up with the tang? Wow that looks strong!
With full width tangs like that I've read that "strength" wasn't the goal so much as being able to easily fix the handle when the scales broke or rotted. A thinner tang would be just as strong but harder to fix yourself.
- You DO mention stuff about that just before the halfway point 😁
That Works said the thick part there on blades also reduces breakage by focusing vibration from impact on that part.
That notch is a huge stress riser. It cannot flex in that area without failure. It must be kept ridged.
@@stormiewutzke4190 notice that tiny point sticking out in the middle of the Kaudi/Cho? Well done Kaudi are rounded on either side of the point.
You should do a video on the best kukris on the market. I'm really interested in a good kukri but It's hard to find good, consistent reviews for one.
For the money, the modern one he showed seems like one of the best at least.
I've same khuk by windlass and I'm ❤💖🤗✌loving it ...🙏 namastey to you...
My Aunt is still here in Darjeeling..whose father was a Gorkha soldier. She's unmarried 🙏 all my regards to her. We still got the uniform, the medals and the legacy
I have a khukuri that I received (I bought it from him for $60) from a Gurkha who was working for DynCorp security back in 2008 when I was a Police Mentor in the Army in 2008. It looks very much like the example you have except it has Gurkha Army 20.. (the last two numbers were worn off by the grind. It also has a serial number of 5533 on it close to the handle like the one in the diagram. It also has a 9" blade. Do you think the one I have is made by Windlass?
The chakmak isnt meant to be sharpened. The steel is tempered very hard, so you can hone your kukri with it and use it for flint and steel firelighting. Great striker for a firesteel too.
EDIT: Technically, only the blades made in Nepal by "kamis" (bladesmith) can be called kukri.
what is the little cut out for wright above the handle ?that little tooth it intriges me thank you
Search on this channel for kukri notch - I have a whole series of videos on it :-)
Now I know what kind mine is. exactly the same . Brilliant tree cutter..
Taper towards the handle reduces shock
There are 7 Gurkha regiments (39 battalions) in the Indian army, and Windlass is the sole supplier of Khukris to them, since around the mid-1940s. Thus windlass mades a TON of these, and FAR more than any other khukri manufacturer anywhere in the world. This is not a cottage khukhri assembler using discarded truck springs to forge together a khukhri, but a full-fledged manufacturer using specialized steel used to forge khukris with consistent and repeatable quality. Considering the prices elsewhere, I am surprised that Windlass sells these true army-issue khukhris at such relatively reasonable prices.
I would venture that other than the British army, the "best" gurkhas are present in the Indian army, and they are issued these khukris. This is the regimental version (12" blade) and then there's the more ornamental officer's version of the khukri, made by windlass, which is slightly smaller/lighter, in addition to a bigger 13.5" bladed version used by a police (paramilitary/non-army) unit.
Curious what the 'made in' logo would have been prior to independence?
Also surprised that the tang has material that mates with the grip ring, surprising in that it looks like a fair bit of forging and effort for wartime expedient production.
Love these kukri episodes. I'm catching up on all of them now. What was like the top end in overall weight in grams for kukri's that would of seen battle? There is literally hundreds if different ones produced now. And I want to narrow them down by a realistic weight. Thanks
Gurkhas: kukri charge!
Everyone else: Run away! Run away!
Theres definitely a movie to be made about Uncle John.
A Thompson and a kukri? Nice choices, Uncle John!
When I was growing up in Edinburgh in the 1980s our nextdoor neighbour had been a Gurkha Lt. Who was deployed to Aden in the late 1960s. He was involved in a hand to hand fight against the insurgents. They were attacked by machete and sword weilding locals when he was escorting a convoy. His handgun wasn't loaded due to engagement regulations so he and his patrol fought out of rhe ambush using their Kukhris. He said he whacked one of the enemy on the head with his Kukhri. I asked him what happened. He said 'i didn't hang around to find out!!'
Tora Blades still produce handmade Nepalese WWI & WWII reproduction military Ghurka kukuri. They're made specific according to WWI & WWII kukuri specs in every way. My only critique of Tora Blades kukuri is they don't put a large enough ring/rib around the kukuri handle for better retention. P.S. The original karda & chakmak were much larger than the very small ones sold with many modern commercial kukuri. The originals had 4-6" long blades.
I appreciate kukries but only for their historical value and I have a lot of them and use only for fun. I'm an old Italian hunter and backpacker and tried to bring a kukri of mine in my hikes and hunts but it was a failure: heavy, cumbersome potentially dangerous to use and not really good at anything: try to slice some meat and bread or chop an onion or also to cut wood. Not to speak of skinng a deer a hare or a wild boar. Yes it can do anything but nothing in a really safe quick and efficient way. While hiking or hunting I bring three light specialised items: a small hatchet, a five to seven inches hunting knife and a for inches folding knife. The total weight is less than that of a kukri and I can chop a ten inches tree in short time to skin a deer and a hare or preoare a meal in minutes. By the way by chance during a trekking in USA in the Adirondeck park I discovered that a famous wilderness author of that place, George Washington Sears aka Nessmuk, gave in his books the advice of bringing in a hunt or in a hike exactly the same items I bring. Seeing is believing!
So I have a kukri that I picked up is a second hand store about 20-23 years ago. Where could I find some information about it's maker and stuff?
I had a officer's model .
As A attempt to cut down on size and weight. Which is still much, much more then my Bever tale machete or my Damacas Diston machete .
The British army allowed you to purchase your own weapons, I've heard of officers buying their own pistols, how common was it for officers and men to purchase other weapons? Did the army provide ammunition, magazines and other accoutrements?
If the picture in front of the lorry is your uncle he was 2nd division 14th army because my great grandfather was a major in royal engineers in India and Burma
Salute to your great uncle mate
I have one of these. The blade is slightly bent to the left and that really annoys me. Although it is still very usable.
Private purchase Thompson! An expensive and difficult to obtain weapon in the UK.
Not in the States .
They wore selling them out of the hardware stores . And not preferred over Lever Action or Shot Guns .
@@markbravo7737 They weren't the most practical weapons for going out and taking a rabbit or deer.
@@Matt_The_Hugenot
G- Men & Fascist
is that the same model they sell at the knight shop?
Any one noticed the spelling on the blueprint referring to the knife as Kookrie.
YES, Indeed.
were kukris ever used for duelling?
What is the purpose of those two mini knives? They look identical but since they apparently have different names i assume they are in fact not. So what is the difference?
Karda is usually called a small skinner/utility knife but is actually more akin to an eating knife, Chakmak is a hone cum fire starter (use it as a steel along with a flint).
I live in uk, can you give me a buying link for this kukri
I have one of the originals also. I bought 2 of them for 15 dollars at a gun show in Texas in 1979, and gave one to a friend around 1983. It still has cosomoline on the blade. Still not very sharp though.
Can you do a comparison between machete and the kukri
How hard is it to maintain the sharpness with this shape?
i love this thumb nail need context, please they look so happy.
Matt, any thoughts on who is making the most useful modern kukri that would serve as a tool and a weapon?
@@VETERANPREPPER1 Thx Vet, I will check them out.
What does the # 3035 stand for?
Bought his own Thompson, weren't they crazy expensive guns?
If I lived on base and knew I was going to war I would pay more than a few months wages to have an edge. Expensive is relative.
He told me that he bought it from an American or Canadian trader. I'm afraid I don't know any more details than that. He was issued a rifle (I presume an SMLE at that date) originally.
Not really. tommies were much more expensive than stens, but that mattered only for large scale production/purchases, not for private purchases. I dont remember the numbers exactly, but the cost of producing a sten was something under 4 pounds and tommies were imported from USA and were priced just under 20 US dollars. So yeah, it made total economical sense to make stens, but the price couldnt stop someone from buying a tommie if that someone wanted it.
@@darkart7176 i just checked 2 sources that had them at 45$ by the end of the war when they were cheapest.
@@MrDrboomstick Not gonna argue with you here as I just dont remember my sources. Could be that you are right, but you gotta keep in mind that not only USA produced tommies, so prices varied, plus I wouldnt be surprised if private purchases were (at least partially) subsidized by the Crown.
Have you looked at the becker reinhardt kukri's?
I have an original Reinhardt kukri made by Blackjack Knives. It was a gift from Hank Reinhardt himself. We were close friends from the mid-60s until his death. God, how I miss him.
a fact is about khukri.
if you pullout the khukri from its cover then you must be give blood to Khukri its the fact
That was a great video. They musta been pretty sharp to slice those milk jugs like that. I wonder how much they cost?
I’m sure someone has already said they were issues by a US army unit. I believe they were in Burma as well.
Whom were the WWII Allies fighting in 1946?
Sorry that was a brain fart on my part. It's been a long week...
@@scholagladiatoria Isolation broken only by pilum throwing will do that!
The best I seen
I wish Wilkinson still made Sabres 😞
I was told that an Indian paramilitary unit, the Assam Rifles, still use this version of the khukuri. I can't verify thst, but it would be interesting if it were true. Thanks for this video.
Indian Gorkha regiments still use the MK3 or variants of it.
Are they now stainless steel, or still carbon steel?
Carbon
Khukuri the pride of gurkha.
Have you looked at Tora Blades. WWII replicas.
I had a book on soldiers color written for early teens on the history of troops that fought in wars that most American history books only gave general white people information. Fantastic adventure was how I would describe the style of the writing so it may have been embellished . Or not becauseit mayhave tried to don't play The Bravery and heroism hope soldiers of color. You know like white people do. The chapter on the Gurkha troops i recall claimed that during some battle somewhere at some point in time their adversaries saw the kukri and decided to hightail it rather than fight because of the reputation the Gurkhas had with their kukri. Don't ask me about when we're or anything that's the only part of that book that I really remember.
Legend :) proud to see our national knife I got loads of khukuris but I got one special one which has been hand down for long time in my family since 1632
Proud of Nepali🇳🇵
They don't sell them sharp any more ,if they ever did at that ,because a dull Kukri is just a waste of steel and probably not even heat treated to hold a edge.
They don't sell them sharp because they are made in India and they have weird export laws for weapons.
The writer George Macdonald Fraser carried one at the end of WW2.
Weight difference between old MK3 and newer Windlass MK3? 🙂
He mentioned it in the video. There was only like a 2 0 3 oz difference between the Windlass and his antique Mkk 3.
@@Riceball01 I'm curious what the weight of both is and the difference. 🙂
@@adrianjagmag I'm pretty sure that Matt mentioned in the video what their weights were and he certainly mentioned the difference just a few ounces, like 2 or 3.
Total weight for both was 20oz or 567g for the WWIIish Mk 3 and 22oz or 624g for the "new" Mk3 - bearing in mind he wasn't exact about the ounces :-) So basically the difference was about 2oz or 56g
My boss gifted me a kukri. but I'm having trouble identifying it. I believe it may be a mk2 but it dose not have any stamping's or any modern/20th century markings just the word "India" and the initial "B" hand chiseled above the hilt
So Matt. What is the longest Kukri you have ever seen?
Like are all of them knife length or can they reach up to one of a machete or sword?
I'm just a layman but I think the Kukri looks like a better design than the Kora.
I don't know if you mean traditional or modern, but Cold Steel makes a big one that is the size of a machete.
Very skillfull and very sharp blade..
An appleseed grind is also better for woodwork...