Kukri Machete, Hand Forged 15 Inch Blade with Walnut Handle

There is a fence line gone to saplings and thorn and somebody has to take it back. You swing, the blade lands, the stem is off. That is the job. This is a 15 inch blade in 1095 high carbon with a walnut handle, and the spine drops forward partway along, so the heavy part of the steel gets to the wood first.

Specification

The blade

The steel is 1095 high carbon, forged to shape and left with the dark skin of the fire on the flat. The bevel is ground bright along the inside of the curve, which is the part that does the work on this profile. The blade drops forward and widens into a broad squared tip, so the mass sits ahead of your hand. That is how 15 inches takes a stem a longer straight blade would bounce off. Carbon steel goes grey with use and it spots if you put it away wet.

The handle

Walnut scales held by three brass pins, and no guard. The tang is full, so the steel runs the whole way through the handle and there is nothing glued in to work loose when the blade lands hard. Five inches is a short handle and that is on purpose. Your hand stays in one place through the swing. There is a lanyard hole at the butt. Use it, because a blade with the weight out front wants to keep going once the stem gives way.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, cut here to this blade's own outline. A kukri does not sit in a straight pocket, so the pattern follows the drop and the wide tip. It is hand stitched with a welted edge, which puts the thread inside the seam where the edge cannot saw at it. The face is stamped. Belt loop on the back, snap strap over the handle. Put it away dry. Leather holds damp against steel.

Who it suits

This is for someone who wants chopping out of a blade they can still carry.

• Woody stems and thin saplings rather than grass
• Anyone a longer blade tires out by mid afternoon
• Smallholders cutting back a fence line
• People happy to keep an edge with a file

What comes in the box

• The kukri machete
• The stamped leather belt sheath
• A care card
• Engraving quote

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so no two land the same. The hammer leaves what it leaves. Walnut runs from pale brown to nearly purple and the grain goes where it wants. Yours will not be a copy of the one in the photographs, and that is the point of buying one.

Looking after it

Wipe it down when you finish and oil the steel before it goes back in the sheath. Sap is worse than rain. Get it off the same day. The edge is kept with a file, not a fine stone. It is left thick and slightly convex because a long blade meets a hidden stone eventually and a thin edge chips. File out damage, then stone it. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade. Around 30 characters fits, which covers a name, a date, or both. A proof image goes out to you before the laser runs, and it puts 3 to 5 business days on the order. Engraving is free on orders of 10 or more, which is how the group orders usually arrive. The engraving page covers the rest.

Questions buyers ask

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Will it rust? It can. 1095 is carbon steel. It darkens to a grey patina with use and spots if left wet. Dry it and oil it.

Why is the blade bent forward? The bend puts the mass ahead of your hand, so when the edge lands the weight is already there instead of trailing.

Is 15 inches long enough? For woody stems, yes. The drop makes up in placement what it gives away in reach, though open grass still suits a longer straight blade.

What is the squared tip for? It carries width out to the end, so the fastest part of the blade still has mass behind it.

How is the handle fixed on? Full tang, three brass pins across it, steel running the whole length.

If you want the forward weight with a longer sweep, the parang machete on a stacked leather handle curves rather than drops. For open grass the 18 inch machete with the oak handle is plainer. The rest sit in machetes, the same steel sits under 1095 high carbon steel, and every blade we make is in one place.