Sunday, October 25, 2009

Random Thoughts # 7 update

Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with an update to my last post.

It seems after a bit of internet investigating, I have found out some things about my kukri.
( for the full report, see Random Thoughts # 7 ).

The first thing I found out is the steel used for the blade is 440 stainless steel, which is good for corrosion and rust resistance, but not so good for heavy use knives, such as the kukri. Now a good working knife, like the kukri, is made from high carbon steel, as high carbon steel can withstand the abuse a kukri is normally put through.

The second thing I found out was that the handle was a bit loose, but it's nothing a little epoxy can't fix. Now it's not a bad knife, but since finding out it is nothing more than a cheap " tourist " kukri, it will now be limited to a display or light duty knife. It does come with a supposed " lifetime " warranty but since I bought it at a flea market I'm screwed if the thing breaks. I'll only be out a couple bucks, but still, this knife will not see heavy use.

I did find a couple sources for actual Nepalese made kukris. All I need to do now is find a kukri model I like, place my order and then wait a week or two until it arrives from Nepal. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Well that'll do it for this update, as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Random Thoughts #7: I got a Kukri knife ( Finally )

Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with yet another edition of random thoughts.

This past Saturday I went to a local flea market in a town about an hour or so from my place. They had the usual overpriced garage sale fodder with a few interesting knick knacks thrown in for variety, but one thing that caught my eye was the fact that one vendor had knives and not just the usual crappy knives either. This vendor had a kukri, a knife that I had been looking for ever since I started rebuilding my knife collection.

I might need to explain just what exactly a " kukri " is, just so no one is confused. A kukri is a traditional fighting knife used by the Nepalese Gurkha's, it has a large curved blade and is suited for everyday tasks in addition to being a fearsome fighting knife. There are various sizes and styles of kukris, most blades measure 12 to 18 inches, with some examples being even longer. In fact the British Army still issues the kukri to certain units. Ok, I think thats enough explaining for now, on to the review.

The kukri I purchased is not a traditional styled kukri, in fact it's not even a true kukri. True kukris are made by a Nepalese company whose name escapes me at this moment, but true kukris are imported into the country from time to time. There is a certain process that every true Nepalese kukri must go through to be called a kukri, usually a sacred blessing of the blade by the master bladesmith or a religious official. Anyway, my kukri is made by a company that also supplies blades for numerous high end knife companies, of which I will not name because I don't remember all of them.

My kukri has a relatively heavy blade, the curve of which is very pronounced. This is good since a kukri is mostly used for hacking and other tasks. It has some sort of anti rust coating on the blade and the handle has a very rough textured grip, which is good because you really don't want this knife to slip out of your hands when hacking vines and end up losing a toe or finger. Another thing to mention is the blade is sharp and I mean SHARP. Most factory edged knives need to be sharpened a bit further to get a working edge on them, but this knife has a fantastic edge to it. I've almost cut myself so many times since buying it. While its not exactly " shaving " sharp, it will get the job done, whatever that job might be. My one complaint about this knife lies in the crappy sheath that is provided. Seriously, all the effort was put into the knife and it's like they just assembled a sheath for it as an afterthought. I will be replacing the factory sheath with either a better aftermarket sheath or I'll try to make a sheath for it using some Kydex or leather material.

That's going to do it for this edition of random thoughts, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all later. As always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Random Thoughts # 6: Buying a new gun

Hey guys 12-Gauge Chimp here with another edition of Random Thoughts.

Well it's that time again folks, time for me to add a new gun to my collection. Over the last few months I have been scouring the internet for the best deal on an AK-47 or similar rifle. So far I've found a few places that seem to have a good selection and all I really need to do now is narrow my choices down as to which rifle I'm going to get. I'm kind of stuck choosing between a Romanian WASR-10 AK and a Hungarian AMD-65 AK, now both are AK-47 pattern rifles, but they each have their pros and cons, which will be explained below.

-The WASR-10 is a standard military rifle with classic AK looks.
The pros of the WASR-10 are:
1. It has a full military style wooden stock
2. It accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is the cheapest version out there
4. Easy to customize
The cons are:
1. The front sight and rear sights may be canted( or off to one side)
2. Since the gun comes into the country in a " sporting " configuration, the fit and finish may have defects

-The AMD-65 is a Hungarian copy of the AK-47 with a unique side folding stock.
It's pros are:
1. With the stock folded, it's very compact
2. It too accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is also one of the cheapest AKs on the market
4.It has a standard forward pistol grip
The cons of the AMD-65 are:
1.The stock looks kind of weird and unstable
2.It needs to have a certain number of U.S made parts to use imported AK magazines

Overall both rifles have advantages and disadvantages, but it's nothing a couple extra bucks and some work in my spare time can't fix. The real hard part is choosing which rifle is right for me
Well whatever rifle I end up with, I'll be sure to post a review and a range report as soon as I can.

That's going to do it for this edition of 12-Gauge Chimp's Random Thoughts and
as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Random Thoughts # 5: Shotgun slugs

Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with another edition of Random Thoughts.

About a week ago, I was in my local Walmart just walking around and trying to find the sporting goods section ( My local store is undergoing a remodel, so I'm steering clear of that place for as long as I can). I found the sporting goods section and looked for some cheap shotgun shells. While I did not find any cheap shells, I did end up buying a 15 round "value pack" of 12 gauge slugs for my Mossberg and I plan to try out a box in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that.

Now, I have zero experience firing slugs from a shotgun, so I'm kind of wondering what the recoil is going to be like. I can stand heavy loads like buckshot, so I'm hoping it will be similar, but with my luck I will walk away from that range trip with a sore shoulder, which is why I'm only taking a single 5 round box for testing purposes.

Well that wraps up another edition of 12-Gauge Chimp's Random Thoughts. Stay tuned for the upcoming range report and subsequent sore shoulder from firing the aforementioned slugs.
As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.