Kukri Knife, Hand Forged Carbon Steel with Olive Wood Handle

A kukri is the forward curving knife from Nepal, and this one is built at the length most people use. The blade is 11 inches of 5160 spring steel, the handle is olive wood with a strong wavy grain, and it runs 16.5 inches overall. Buyers reach for it on brush, vines and small limbs around camp, or collect it for the olive wood, which almost nobody uses.

Specification

The blade

5160 spring steel is the steel the traditional makers use and name. It takes a hard chop without chipping and comes back on a stone. The flat keeps its dark gray forge finish and the bevel is polished mirror bright. The blade leaves the handle narrow, sweeps forward and down in a deep curve and widens toward the tip, so the heaviest steel sits furthest from your hand. The trade off is carbon steel, which darkens and wants drying after use. The cho at the base of the edge stops a cut running back into the handle.

The handle

Olive wood is dense and oily, long used for tool handles around the Mediterranean, and it lives with damp hands. The grain is the reason to buy it, running in strong waves, honey colored in places and brown in the rest. A raised ring at the middle sits between your fingers so the grip does not travel in your palm. The tang is hidden, running inside the wood in the traditional way.

The karda and the chakmak

Two small knives ride in pockets on the back of the scabbard, each about four inches long with olive wood handles. The karda is the sharp one, for cord, food and close work a curved blade is clumsy at. The chakmak is blunt, for truing up a rolled edge and traditionally for striking a spark. Nepali makers include both and name both. Ours do.

The leather

The scabbard is water buffalo leather over a wooden core, so it keeps its shape. Brass caps the tip, a belt frog is stitched to the back, and the pockets for the karda and the chakmak sit behind it. Every stitch goes in by hand. The face is hand tooled with a carved wheat sheaf inside a stamped border, cut and shaded into the leather rather than printed.

Who it suits

An 11 inch blade is long enough to chop with weight behind the tip and short enough for tight brush.

• Anyone clearing brush, vines and small limbs
• Campers who want one blade for camp chores
• Collectors after a Nepali shape in a new wood

What comes in the box

• The 11 inch kukri
• The karda and the chakmak
• The tooled leather scabbard
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two come out alike. Olive wood varies more than most timbers, so the grain in your handle will not match the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. The gray patina that builds is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen with a stone or a file following the bevel already there, working the belly of the curve. Oil it lightly before storage and let the leather dry away from heat. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits on the blade or the handle, and clean line art works best. We send a proof image before the laser runs, adding 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a kukri? The forward curving knife from Nepal, built so the heaviest steel sits near the tip.

Why does the blade curve forward? The curve puts the weight ahead of your hand, which turns a swing into a chop.

What are the karda and the chakmak? The two small knives in the back of the scabbard. The karda is sharp for fine work, the chakmak blunt for truing an edge.

Will this steel rust? It can. Dry it after use and oil it before storage.

Will my blade look exactly like the photo? No. Every piece is finished by hand and no two olive wood handles match.

Can you engrave it? Yes, 20 dollars per piece for about 30 characters, with a proof image first.

For the same shape in a size you can carry all day see the mini kukri in camel bone, and for the classic pattern the service pattern kukri in rosewood. More sits in kukri knives, bushcraft and survival and gifts for him.