Jange is not really a traditional kukri pattern, or commonly available model from Himalayan Imports. That is not to say it's not a good kukri though. On the contrary, I find it visually very appealing and as far as performance goes I am sure it will do the job more than great. Anyway, I saw Jange the other day in UBB and couldn't resist the temptation. it just looked too good. Later on I've asked on HI forum at Bladeforums about the history of this kukri, since there was no info about it on HI page. Here's a link to reference thread. In short the name is after the original kukri owner. Nepali prime minister Junga Bahadur used to carry a kukri like this one. That would be somewhere in the early 1900s I think. Later, these days royal kami Bura went to the museum and made a sketch of Junga's original kukri. What came out of all that you can se on the pix at the end of this page. For the record my specimen was made by another well known kami - Sher.
General
- Like I already said above, Jange is a beautiful one. Rather rare specimen, as far as I am concerned there were less then a dozen sold so far. Anyway, attention to detail and quality are very good. Even comparing to other similar caliber kukris from HI. This one has the handle made of American wood. Not sure what wood, but sure it's well done, and no buttcap to annoy me by developing a gap :) The rest is as usual, leather sheath plus karda and chakma. NIB kukri was in great shape, no signs of rust or any other damage. Sharpness was reasonably good, although not as sharp as I like. Which is the case with 95% of the knives I buy anyways, so I never really complain about that anymore. I sharpen my stuff the way I like it.Blade
- Jange blade is rather large. Even for the kukri it is a large one. Overall the whole thing is 20" long and weighs over 3 lbs. One mean piece of a cutting tool. However, it is not as heavy as one might think. My 20" Ang Khola being the same 20" in length weighs whole pound more. As you already guessed it is much thicker, especially the spine. Nevertheless, Jange being kindda "thin" is a formidable chopper not to be taken lightly. Although, in my experience nobody is taking kukris lightly, even when shown just the pix.As for the blade... Made of usual HI material, that is 5160 spring steel, differentially tampered with the edge closer to 60HRC. Blade geometry is interesting. Actually it's not like any other kukri I have had so far. Tip is more like that of M43 and the back and curve more like WW II(proportionally). There are 2 small fullers alongside the spine, and that's pretty much all the decorations the blade has. Oh, almost forgot, the cho is there too. Unlike Ang Khola which is primarily a chopper Jange has much longer belly and gentler curve. Allowing more slicing surface. I am sure it'll do pretty good for chopping too. May be not up there with 20" AK but still, very few blades and probably even small axes will be able to match its performance. As for the edge, it is the kukri usual convex edge.
Handle
- I think one of the best handles I've seeon on the kukris and I've seen quite a bit of them by now. I donno about its durability in harsh conditions and if exposed to elements or fire for prolonged time, apparently wooden handle won't last too lon in conditions like that, however I have no dire need for doing so, i.e. exposing the handle to elements or sticking it into fire. And even when outdoors I think with minimal care even wood handl can survive long time, let alone in hands of a programmer in bay area. So I think I am covered. As for the handkle geometry and ergonomics, it's an usual kukri handle, just quality is very good, but the ergonomics aren't the best, so you have to know what are you doing. In other words hold it tight and properly when chopping.
Specifications:
- Blade - 381.00mm(15")
- Thickness - 6.35mm
- OAL - 508.00mm(20")
- Steel - 5160 steel at 58-60HRC
- Handle - Wood
- Acquired - 05/2004 Price - 200.00$
Last updated - 05/19/19