My Ang Khola arrived in the mail today.
I was impressed. It is by far one of the most solid knives I have
ever handled. The blade spine is slightly over 3/8 inches thick.
The balance is excellent, and it is one of those knife designs that immediately
feels good in your hand. The craftsmanship is also quite good.
To be honest, I was expecting something less in terms of fit and finish.
I have to give the kami credit. This knife is comparable to smaller,
custom blades I've handled at much higher prices.
Size comparison. Sheathed 15" Ang Khola, Leatherman SuperTool, and tape measure extended to 16 inches. (Sorry about the shadows.)
I had a small cherry tree in the backyard that needed removing. Cherry is a hard wood, and living trees are much more challenging to cut than dead and dried 4x4s. I'd postponed getting out the chainsaw or axe, waiting patiently for my khukuri to show up.
I started by limbing some small branches. The khukuri performed quite well. Clean cuts with a minimum of effort, the blade very controllable. Moving on to the larger branches, the Ang Khola performed equally as well.The first test. Three inch thick, live cherry tree.
Clean cut on larger branch. About four strokes to chop through.
For comparison, I also used a small hatchet and a flea market special Indian khukuri. The Ang Khola easily outcut both. The cheapie khukuri is headed for the garbage can now. The best analogy I can give is comparing a Randall to one of those plastic-handled, "survival" knives with the compass in the pommel.
Ang Khola (top) with cheap Indian khukuri. There is no comparison. The Himalayan Imports khukuri far surpasses the cheap junk typically found on the market. You definitely get what you pay for (and in the Ang Khola's case, much more).
Then it was then on to the main trunk of the tree. It took about thirty five chops to get through. The shock at the handle was less than expected (especially compared to the cheap khukuri). I'm sure my cutting and chopping technique is completely lacking compared to a skilled Bando practitioner. But I thought it would require much more time and effort to do this job.
Ang Khola 1, Cherry Tree 0. The khukuri is an effective cutter and chopper.
I only have one minor nit with this well designed and constructed tool. I have relatively large hands, and the handle may be just a tad too small for me. The point where the bone handle flares out to meet the brass pommel, digs into the lower part of my palm. This is a relatively minor complaint, that can be addressed with eventually building up a callus, taping the area, or perhaps recontouring slightly with a Dremel tool.
Obviously, removing one small cherry tree isn't an effective test of a knife. But I definitely liked what I saw and felt, and will be putting this khukuri to further use and abuse. I'm involved with wilderness search and rescue, and the Ang Khola will be going out on missions with me.
Joel McNamara
November 5, 1998