Great Gurkha Khukuri

We take a look at a Khukuri made by Great Gurkha Khukuri of Nepal. A lightweight but beautifully made Khukuri produced in Nepal using traditional forging methods. Let's take a look.

[@finbarscanlonwolf]

Got two a couple of days ago, 3 days too Ireland. And they are fantastic

[@arctodussimus6198]

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the kukri. I’ve had a few over the years, but always seem to give them away. But since learning of the history behind this knife, I have a greater appreciation of it, and I now have one that I will not get rid of. This was a good review, and I may have to get another kukri now. 😊

[@glenh4971]

I live in Panama and have 3 GGK kukri's. I have them because I like them. They vary in quality. The best quality piece I have is the BSI which is a beautiful light military style kukri with 11 inch blade. The fit and finish is superior. I would not use my kukri's to chop wood for the camp fire. My Kukri's are works of art and too expensive to be abused in this way. They are self-defense tools. Not camp ground Axes. I have machetes and hatchets for camp ground chores. I can buy a machete for 5 dollars. A hatchet for 9 dollars and I know how to sharpen these tools using files. Yes, you can buy heavy duty kukri's that can be used like a hatchet or a machete. Why? I have a kukri like this. It is very sharp. It is heavy. It does not cut wood as well as a hatchet. It does not cut brush or grass or branches as well as a Latino style machete. The heavy kukri was a waste of money. You did not waste your money when you purchased that light weight kukri from GGK. However, you must take care of that kukri. Respect it. It is expensive and well made for what it is designed for. Which is self-defense. It will last a life-time if you take care of it. It won't last very long if you abuse it.

[@pennsyltuckyreb9800]

The GGK SFFT is definitely more of a fighting/hunting khukuri than a woods work/farmers khukuri. I still love it in the woods though because it's just so dang sharp! What I do is bring along either my larger axe or Cold Steel Trailhawk (and saw) if I plan on doing HEAVY chopping, especially on pine trees/knots which are notoriously bad on thinned out edges. There's a video of a guy here on YT chipping out his Gransfors Bruks AXE on Eastern Hemlock. That pine resin is no joke and can be as hard as glass! I've never been one anyway to do heavy tree chopping with any knife, even big heavy chopper blades made for that kind of abuse. If I plan on doing some heavier tree chopping on wrist sized stuff with a blade, I'll go with my 18" Tramontina machete.

[@bundufundi]

It definitely is a well made blade, very sharp and nicely finished. I agree that it is best kept for knife tasks, that pine resin is brutal on blades as you say. Thanks for watching.

[@Gopalpur02]

My grandfather made these he is verry good in makiing it he used it out of train springs and very sharp from India

[@billmelater6470]

I think if they gave this model a convex grind, it would be top dog.

[@richardhenry1969]

I have a sirupate from GGK it’s about 3years old. I absolutely love it. They are a amazing company to do business with. I believe I need to get another one just can’t decide what model. Oh well choices.

[@lukyguy1240]

I made myself a kukri to cut woody green vegetation. It's great. However, it's not very good for clearing the small, viney stuff. As a result, I've always liked a longer thinner blade. I would really like to go to the villages in Nepal and see what they use and how. I'm sure then my appreciation for the design would grow. Interesting to hear your thoughts and see your experiences.

[@bundufundi]

I have always been intrigued by the design and the history of the khukuri. I agree it would be very interesting to visit Nepal and see how they use them and which designs are most common. Thanks for your comment!

[@pennsyltuckyreb9800]

They actually use one-handed sickles more than khukuris from what I've seen, but both sickles and khukuris are always present and used. They use them for farming, food, even wood processing. For major wood processing they have axes as well...no different than we do in the West. I think too many folks expect way too much work and results out of large knives in general. The KZbinosphere seems to be obsessed with using a large knife for everything for "survival" from digging, chopping, batoning, etc.... I mean, the khukuri is probably the best "one tool option" for such a goal but in the end it's always going to fall short. If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of vegetation clearing, I'm bringing my 18" Tramontina machete. If I know I'm going to be needing tons of large wood, I bring my axe. I still don't know how to feel about the khukuri, though I love them. I'm always going back and forth between my GGK SFFT and ESEE Junglas when it comes to large knives. I do view the khukuri as a superior fighting knife compared to a "bowie" style. And another advantage to khukuris are the convex edges (though you can convex any knife edge) and differential heat treatments which makes them tougher for chopping abuse (although what happened here was disappointing...that said, pine knots are notoriously terrible for thinned out edges, the GGK SFFT has a real thin, slicey, convexed hollow grind...a fighting khukuri more than a woods/farmer style khukuri). I think I'd rather my 18" Tram (with a small knife in sheath) and Cold Steel Trailhawk, then just a lone khukuri (with small knife in sheath).

[@abhishekrai7073]

@@bundufundi Sirupate khukuri is the most famous one it's villagers khukuri but their are lot of models of khukuri Nepal army style,british era victorian era, indian mutiny lambhed, lot more

[@nickashton3049]

Where did you get the larger kukri that you showed at 30 secs into the video?

[@bundufundi]

Hi, it is a MK2 from Tora Blades. torablades.com/shop/

[@floydb9100]

super sharp! Cheers

[@brettbrown9814]

Great to hear about the excellent customer service. While it takes awhile to get use to, the blade shape can be quite functional.

[@bundufundi]

Thanks for watching Brett!

[@kurts64]

Cool review mate! Bit surprised at the damage. Is the blade hollow ground? I'd agree , not necessarily a heat treat issue, more that the grind is too thin for that heat treat, in that application. Great of the company to send you a new one. Definitely would make a good slashing tool. The backup blade looks handy sized. I reckon you ought to fire up your belt grinder, re-grind the chipped one to a solid convex for chopping, grind a bevel and edge on the two sharpeners, and have six blades for the price of one. I know you've thought about it!

[@bundufundi]

Six blades for the price of one.😂 I will definitely have a go at reprofiling to see what I can do with it. I agree the profile seems too thin for a chopper which is normally what khukuris excel at. Thanks for watching mate!

[@kurts64]

@@bundufundi 🤣 DOO-IT, DOO-IT!

[@pennsyltuckyreb9800]

Yep. This particular model has a convexed hollow grind from the way the large fuller is ground. Combine this type edge with winter temperatures and you will risk chipping out that edge doing heavy chopping and splitting. This is more of a fighting/military/hunting style khukuri design than a much thicker and different edged khukuri.

[@northernembersoutdoors1045]

Hi Trev, you always give the tools a real good test and workout, I really like them, the goat skin leather is something I never even knew existed or was used, interesting, also I chipped my axe once, it really bothered me, good that you got a replacement, hope you're keeping well bud, cheers

[@bundufundi]

Thanks Chris, all good here. You are doing some cool stuff with your campfire cooking.

[@simonbelak]

How do you find the handle size? I'm aching to get one but am a bit concerned about the handle being only 4.72"

[@bundufundi]

@@simonbelak I would describe my hands as medium to large and the handle is fine for me.

[@simonbelak]

@@bundufundi perfect, thank you. That's exactly how I would describe mine as well.

[@suzycumming6596]

Really good review, thanks.

[@bundufundi]

Thanks!

[@KuukkeliBushcraft]

It looks very nice, just a little too thin behind the edge to be a heavy chopper. Wich is unfortunately exactly what I would be using this kind of knife for. Sounds like a great company, if I get one one day it will be one of the heavier ones. With a bit of work though you can remove the damage from the old one and give it a far more robust grind on exactly the section that you will be chopping with. Great video Trev

[@bundufundi]

Thanks Tim, I will have a go at reprofiling the edge.

[@KuukkeliBushcraft]

@@bundufundi thought you might

[@JUANORQUIO]

W❤️W! That’s Awesome Review! 🤗❤️✨

[@RobEvansWoodsman]

Great review Trev, I'm looking forward to the Tribute knife review! That's a really nice package, shame about the chipping but excellent service. Just waiting for the "he should use an axe" crowd to pipe up 😜

[@bundufundi]

Yup, someone is definitely going bring that up! Don’t worry, I’m loving the knife, just want to put some time into it first. Honestly, it’s my favourite bushcraft knife.

[@gianpalacio5635]

Great Ghurka Kukri is THE BEST

[@Dao_Meo_Nguyen_Yen_Bai]

Quá tuyệt vời bạn ơi, tôi cũng có cùng đam mê, và tự thiết kế những con dao để cung cấp cho khách hàng của tôi, nhưng thi thoảng tôi vẫn xem kênh youtube của bạn từ đó đã học hỏi thêm được nhiều điều, rất tuyệt vời, xin chúc công việc của bạn sẽ ngày càng phát triển. Nếu có thể hãy giao lưu và giúp đỡ nhau để thành công hơn nữa b nhé

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Pretty cool, good company

[@bundufundi]

Thanks Ben, very impressed with their customer service.

[@Joey-L]

I've always been on the fence about a kukri. The design seems to be a cross between a knife and a sword (or manchette) I would assume they are multi function as a result. Great review !

[@bundufundi]

Thanks Joey, always loved the design and history associated with Khukuris.

[@iam-mp1pe]

Same Kukri same issue I had, but I did not contact them about it. I figured it had such a sharp & thin edge on it that it was unavoidable. Now is that a tempering issue or should it be able to handle the harder parts of the wood regardless?

[@bundufundi]

Interesting that you had the same issue. It could be the tempering but the more I have thought about it the more I think the geometry of the blade is too fine for chopping where you can encounter very hard but small sections focussing the impact on a small part of the blade. When I chopped through the twisted piece with no knots, the force was spread across the blade and there was no damage at all but the knots were almost like nails focussing the force on a very small section and that is when the damage was done. I think this model is best suited to cutting and slashing tasks which it is very good at, but not suited to heavy chopping.

[@iam-mp1pe]

Thanks for the reply man, well said. Haha and when I saw you taking it to that wood I remembered what happened to mine. Then it happened. GGK is one of the best though. Take care brother

[@iam-mp1pe]

I should of reached out to him though either way, so thanks for the video. It helped what happened to me make a little more sense

[@bundufundi]

@@iam-mp1pe Thanks for the comment man, appreciate it!

[@pennsyltuckyreb9800]

This model is more of a fighting/hunting style. Super sharp, convexed hollow grind. Hollow grinds on khukuris aren't a new thing. They've been around for a long time, along with various other types of grinds and thicknesses on khukuris. I think it's the combination of the cold temperatures and trying to do heavier wood chopping and splitting. Not what this particular model is designed for. I don't think it's necessarily a tempering issue. I've chopped green wood and some dead hardwoods with mine in the summer and fall, and it held up OK. I wouldn't push it past that, though. This one is for cutting up bad guys, not trees, haha.

[@enricomantales5744]

How to order this Khukuri knife?

[@bundufundi]

I ordered mine straight from Nepal, here is the website: www.greatgurkhakhukuri.com/shop/military/12-inch-super-fast-full-tang-khukuri/

[@maureencumming9440]

Very interesting

[@richardschneider4775]

obviously your kukri is not meant for battoning wood

[@pennsyltuckyreb9800]

This model will chop and baton wood just fine, actually. Not as much as a larger/heavier model but it will do it. The only issue is you always want to keep fine edges (of any blade) away from chopping pine knots and branch bases where hard resin accumulates. You can even chip out axe edges doing this, especially in the cold. If you're really determined to use a knife for pine chopping, get a much more fatter edge for sure. Something like you'd see on a Fallkniven A1 or larger. I have this exact model khukuri and it blasts through other wood types/species like a lightsaber without edge damage. But it's definitely more of a fighting/hunting khukuri than chopping wood all day model. I wouldn't take this model out in the cold winter Temps and start chopping and splitting wood, especially resinous pines. You can even chip out heavy axe edges doing the same thing! I keep this one for self-defense and hunting as designed.

[@movieofficial7709]

Khukuri ought me.

[@Gopalpur02]

Its not good steel khukri never gets its edges bad