Kailash Blades Scourge Kukri: The Overview Redux

 (Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here. This review was originally posted a few years back, but things have changed with the maker since then. Andrew Lucas, the guy who designed the Scourge, has started a new company called Kailash Blades and he recently contacted me. He liked the original review and asked if I might switch things around to reflect his new company. See, KHHI was only able to produce the Scourge thanks to an agreement between Mr. Lucas and their CEO. That agreement has since expired and now Kailash Blades is the sole producer of the Scourge. Per an agreement with Mr. Lucas, I have edited my original post on the Scourge and will be deleting the original url. Any search results for Scourge kukri on my site will now redirect to this posting. Thanks for understanding, folks.)



Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with a brand new entry on something I've been waiting to get for a very long time.

Yes folks, it has finally happened. I finally got my hands on a real kukri. I am so happy I finally got one of these awesome knives. Now, this is technically not going to be a review since I instituted my new reviewing process, so it's more of an overview.

First, there's the matter of the background of the Scourge. The Scourge is the design from Australian blade designer Andrew Lucas. I first learned of the Scourge when Mr. Lucas posted a thread on a forum I frequent asking for opinions on his designs. There were several different designs and the one that ultimately became the Scourge is the result of multiple design changes to one of the entries. Despite a few setbacks during production, the Scourge became available to the public. Now, since this blade is relatively new to the market, there just aren't that many reviews online. Matter of fact, there's maybe a single YouTube video review. Other than that one video, no one has done a review of this kukri that I'm aware of.

Now, on to the overview of the Kailash Blades Scourge kukri.


The first thing I noticed about the Scourge is the fact the knife is huge. I mean, this thing is a beast rendered in carbon steel. Upon opening the box and holding the knife for the first time, I was immediately struck speechless by how pretty the blade was and how immense the entire knife is. Seriously, me being speechless is a rare thing since I'm a really talkative person in real life. Just ask my friends and family about that one. Until I received the Scourge in the mail, the largest knife I owned was the Aranyik E-Nep I reviewed a couple years ago. The Scourge is almost twice the size of the E-Nep and weighs a bit more, but that's due to the size of it.

 Thanks to a conversation with Mr. Andrew Lucas, I was able to find out the blade of the Scourge is made of 5160 spring steel and is about 12 inches in length with a very noticeable downward curve. There's an interesting little bit of trivia in that the blade material is actually leaf springs from old trucks. It's recycled into kukris by Kailash Blades and it's a way for the leaf springs to be turned back into something useful instead of just rusting away in a junkyard. The blade is also about a quarter inch thick at the spine and tapers down a bit towards the handle area to make it an almost perfect fit for most folks. This also helps cut down on weight since the Scourge, like most kukris, weighs about a pound and a half total.  The handle scales are made from rosewood (an early version was to use water buffalo horn) with finger grooves cut into them. The handle fits my hand almost as if the bladesmiths of Kailash Blades designed it with me personally in mind. They didn't, but it sure feels that way upon holding the knife in my almost gorilla like hands. Wielding the Scourge really makes me want to take a whack at things like coconuts, small tree limbs and maybe even a few zombies.

The wood is beautiful as is and with a little coating of varnish or sealant and I think the grain of the wood will really shine through. Thanks to a little info I was given by Mr. Lucas, I found out that they don't varnish the handles, they just oil them like they do with the blades. I'm not sure what kind of oil is used, but it's either an organic vegetable oil or some kind of rice oil being used. With that said, it's completely up to the customer whether or not they want to use any kind of wood sealer or varnish on the handles. One thing to be aware of is that it is possible to use too much varnish on the handles. Too much varnish and you run the risk of making it too slick and making it too slick in turn makes the risk of the knife slipping out of your hands even higher. Personally, I'd leave the handles alone and maybe put a very thin coat of sealant on the wood so it won't rot.

The Scourge's sheath is probably one of the nicest sheaths I've seen out there. It's made in the same way the sheaths the other kukris Kailash Blades makes have. It's made of two pieces of wood and wrapped in water buffalo leather and it fits the Scourge pretty well. I'd love to have seen some kind of retention strap, but that's just me. Maybe in later versions, Kailash Blades will put a retention strap on the sheaths. It's not a big deal if they choose not to since the end user can simply add a strap later on. I probably will since I plan on taking the Scourge with me on an upcoming camping trip.

Overall, I like the Scourge from Kailash Blades. I'll be making a YouTube video showcasing the blade's chopping ability in the coming months and I'll be doing a long-term durability review in a year. Keep in mind that this is just a simple overview of the Kailash Scourge and not a review. The reviews are coming up within the year and I hope you all will be reading them then.

Big thanks goes to Andrew Lucas for designing the Scourge and to Kailash Blades for making such an awesome blade.

As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.