The village khukuris offered by Himalayan Imports are rough user models sold in addition to their standard line. It was a method by which traditional village kamis could greatly expand their market. This particular khukuri had a large fold in the blade near the handle so it was used as an evaluation piece.
This khukuri is about the same length as a fifteen inch Ang Khola, with a similar handle size and blade balance. However the village khukuri is significantly slimmer and much lighter, weighing a mere 472 grams. The spine is also straighter, it doesn't have the pronounced curve of the Ang Khola line. The finish on the blade is low, rough grinding marks are present over the blade face and the spine has sharp edges. However the stitching on the scabbard and handle polish were first rate. The scabbard was a bit too small though and had a slight split from the khukuri being drawn. The chakma and karda are very roughly done, with a poor edge on the karda and the surface of the chakma was not flat. They were also much thinner than the regular Himalayan Imports versions and the handle setting weak and easily broken just by applying pressure with my thumb.
Some chopping on some old scrap and seasoned wood lying around showed the village khukuri to be a solid blade. It held up fine with no chipping or indenting of the edge and no loosening of the handle. The khukuri chops at a similar level as the Cold Steel Trailmaster. The also had no problems digging in thick wood and the spine easily broke up several concrete blocks with just a slight. pebbling along the spine. The butt-cap however came loose after about fifty hits, but the handle remained secure. Some epoxy easily fixed the butt cap. Some light chops into some rocks showed less edge indentation than on my eighteen inch Ang Khola. The edge is obviously harder on the villager which was also evident when I did some shaping to smooth out the rough initial edge profile.
The performance of the village khukuri was evaluated over a wide range of tasks using several other knives as reference points, the results can be seen on the following page :
In short, the villager fared well and showed a very durable edge. It has an excellent combination of high hardness and toughness making for an edge which is very difficult to damage. The only drawback is that the initial rough finish does require some work to develop the full performance, so be prepared to do some initial honing.
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| Last updated : | Mon Apr 14 11:32:29 NDT 2003 |
| Tue Jul 20 13:47:06 NDT 1999 |