Kukri vs Machete

[CLEAR CUT]

I just picked up one of those Cold Steel Kukri Machetes myself and I love it. It took a little work on my motor hone to bring it up to my specs, but, it's got a great edge on it now. My only complaint is the sheath. I think it's a piece of crap and I have to make something better.

Here's a few pics of mine and the motor hone I used to sharpen it.

[TheLastRifleMan]

That's a roger on the crappy sheath. It sucks bilge water.

I had to put an egde on mine as well. I need to make it a little better though. It is sharp enough but I want to shave with it if I hve to.

[HEX]

Just got my cold steel kukri, it's great but there is a plaec where the black coating has falked off, i think its an isolated flaw because the rest of the blade is fine, but do you think i should send it back. I still think its a hell of a blade, and it dosent seem to affect its performace.
Oh and yes the sheath is crappy.

[CLEAR CUT]

Where did it chip? If it was on the edge itself I wouldn't worry about it. Mine took on a nice shiny look after I sharpened it on my motorhone. If it's somewhere else, I think you could get away with giving the spot a touch up with a flat black enamel paint. I think if you choose to leave it alone you'll need to keep a close eye on keeping it moisture free. The chipped area may allow rust to form easier.

I like this Cold Steel Kukri for what I paid for it was a good deal. I still need to fashion a better sheath and make a lanyard for it.

[Damage187]

Personally, I tend to prefer a machete. Something about the balance on the kukhris I've used left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. I'm probably going to try out one of those Cold Steel ones, though (thanks for the linkage!).

[Juice]

Well I would opt for a good kukri. I like how they are shaped, it lets you strike with the force of a hammer, but has a sharp heavy blade.

Also; I heard that if you get the right leverage they make a good thrower, but I have not tested this.

[Markedcards00]

I recently bought a 3"-blade kukri from Atlanta Cutlery... fairly cheap, it's got a great edge, and, as most of the previous posts mentioned, deliberately imbalanced to give the blade more hacking ability. They're good multipurpose blades- the larger ones can chop wood, the smaller ones make for precision cuts when working with meat or other things like that, and in the case of zombies, the extra weight in the blade would come in handy. You could send a zombie's head flying a good distance if you swung right... we could almost make a Z-PAW competition out of that.

[ais]

In terms of practicality, i think they're pretty much on par with each other. I personally voted on the Machete, but only because i'm much move familiar with it as a weapon than the Kukri. (That, and i greatly prefer lighter blades to heavier ones.)

[Jonas]

I decided to do a test on a downed maple limb that is somewhat relevant to this thread.

I wanted to chop the limb into forearm sized pieces to start a fire; it was roughly 8" around. I decided to see which would work the best: a 14" handled carpenters hatchet, my Cold Steel bolo machete, an actual heavy bladed bolo knife or my buck knife with a bowie style blade. (Note: all the blades would easily cut through paper)

The Cold Steel bolo was able to chop straight through (no flipping it over and starting from the other side) in 20 seconds with roughly no fatigue.

The actual bolo took 28 seconds and was noticably more tiresome but still reasonable. You could feel more of the shock as the blade hit the wood.

The hatchet took 1 minute and 9 seconds to make its way through and caused the most fatigue. This really surprised me as its sole function is to chop through things.

For the buck knife I carved a baton so that I could hammer and chop through the wood. My first attempt took 5 minutes but after getting the hang of it I could manage in 2.

My next test was to split the logs. The hatchet accomplished this the best, cracking through the wood like it wasn't there.

I intially thought I would have to baton my way through the logs to use the machete. It can be done with this method but both the Colo Steel Bolo Machete and the actual bolo could split the log with one stroke.

The Buck knife was easy to baton through the wood causing no problems.

The Bolo Machete seemed to be the overall winner but the fact that the Buck knife was able to acomplish all the tasks really impressed me.

I'm curious on how this design would stack up against the kukri in an overall utility test.

[ednemo]

One of the more eclectic training I used to offer my students was training with Khukris. They worked very well for what they were, (though they are admittedly rather heavy). Of course a good Khukri can take the place of a hatchet, long knife, and hammer. Just look at the Ghurkas who have been using them for years. They also throw pretty well, similar to a hatchet. I will say this. The Pakistani Khukris that are offered through companies like Atlantic Cutlery and the like are not ghurka made Khukris. (Even though they say they are). Most Khukris that Ghurkas use or Bando members use are traditionally made by Kamis in and around Nepal. Himilayan Imports offers some great ones! However the cheaper Pakistani models work great as practice models. Dull down the edge with a file and they can be used for practice and they are tough enough to practice throwing as well. I personally love the Khukri but when I have tried the Cold Steel and other varients that use thinner blades it loses a lot of what makes the Khukri such a great weapon/tool. But that's just my preference. Also, unlike most knives, Khukris can be stored in their sheaths as the wood covered leather actually draws moisture away from the blade. Give one of these a chance sometime.

[Jonas]

What are your thoughts on the light weight kurkis? I think the blade style is called sirupati or something.

I've been finding that thin rigid blades cut like lasers and the shape of the kurki would be great because it forces things through the blade.

[ednemo]

The Sirupatis have a thinner profile, yet still have a good 1/4" think spine. Unlike the super thin Cold Steels. Still, I prefer the larger knives. The basic rule of thumb with Khukris is to buy the largest knife comfortable for you, usually between 15"-20".

[Nomad77]

i love kukri knives vs machetes , i love there versatility and having studied bando treasure the knife as the modern day sword and my melee weapon of choice

[Raindog]

Rather fond of my kukri...

[gearguy141]

talk about dragging up an old thread guys!

[cbr900]

Id rather go with a Parang but it all depends on the type of brush/woods near you. For me its dryer and a little thicker so the Parang is the way to go for me far more chopping power

[Turtlewolf]

I have a Kabar Khukri and a Tramontina Bolo machete, you specified "head cracker" so there is only one answer, a true machete has a very thin whippy blade that dosen't chop bone worth shit and they are generaly soft as well and will bend before they chip. Work great on light stuff but as a head cracher they fail.
The Khukri chops very well as it is thicker and harder than a good machete and makes a superior "head cracker" without giving up any versatility to the bolo machete design.
Now a real Khukri in the 5/16 or thicker category (the Kabar is a bit thin but I love the design and it is the only one designed with a clip point) realy is a "head cracker" and that may be what you actualy want.

[Marxist]

Kukri's will give you more chopping and utility ability. Machetes will give you longer reach, but maybe a bit less power. It's also harder to chop wood with. Get a kukri from Nepal, or india, try this one
http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Gurkha-Kukri-Knife-Authentic/dp/B005IR4OD4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1338240860&sr=8-8
For machete, try the cold steel model, or maybe something that was actually made in latin america.

[pahwraith]

I see a good machete first and foremost as agricultural tool and in this sense it's indispensable. It's a jack of all trades, master of none kinda tool. Well, that's not entirely true it's badass in clearing brush.

A kukri is more of a weapon, it's one bad ass dagger. Perhaps not so great at non-chopping, non-killing tasks.

It really depends on what you do more. If you're cracking heads and chopping limbs then Kukri. If you're clearing brush and need to chop bamboo or sugar cane then go with the Machete. You don't want to slam a $150 blade into a buried rock, that's what the 20 dollar machete is for.

[Nalukai]

i have the cold steel magnum kukri in my pack... way more reach than a standard machete and twice the chopping power once you go to a saw blade shop and spend 5 bucks to have it sharpened to surgical precision...

[GOODdaysir]

get a combo of both! this is the Ka-Bar ZK chopper, its an Old WWII design

[Stonedog]

I bought a condor golok.....best of both worlds IMHO; It is the new model with the full tang. I hated the shape of the tip though....so going slowly with my dremel I cut the tip off of it forming what I can only call a tip like a Malaysian parang. It still has a hell of a long reach and heft out the @ss. It handles the local hard woods and doesn't bat an eye. At the same time it is short enough for melee and with the tip modification, it can still stab with ease due to the blade thickness and rigidity.

I looked at the village parang and I do like the looks of it, but it is 100% chopper and the reach is much shorter.....so six of one, half a dozen of the other!

You still get the reach of a machete with the curved design of the kukri, which gives it awesome chopping power.

I also have the CS Kukri machete and last year I cleared out a crap ton of blackberry briars and assorted brush from the back of my property cut like a dream and worked great!

For the money I think it is the best value chopper out there....for me it is my modified golok all the way! There are more expensive choppers out there....but it will hang with the best of them and then there is the 100% lifetime guarantee against defect.....which is OK with me.....because if I abuse it enough to bust it...then that is MY fault!

There is a reason these traditional knife designs have been around hundreds (if not longer) years....they are simple and they simply work!

For a weapon only option, I would want a Condor Dadao all the way! That thing is wicked!

[deadcat7382]

There we go. Smoeone will real expirience.
I'm trying to find somewhere to learn bando.
I'm fond of my cheapo $30 kukhri. They're carbon steel, from india but they're still just the cheapo export models. Your best bet is Ebay or a good army surplus dealer for anything real. i doubt it's something anybody would be able to keep a stock of.

Have you looked here? I'm assuming this is what you mean by "real."

That is where I got mine from and it rocks. The customer service is outstanding. Quick to respond to an email. I am thinking about getting a second one!

[Neddog]

I prefer a machete and hatchet combination.
If I could only have one blade though, that's when I would pick the kukri.