Nepal is a small country nestled in the Himalayas with a northern border with China and southern border with India. It is the home of the famous British Army Gurkha soldiers and their distinctive knife, the Kukri. Although I was generally aware of the Kukri, it wasn’t until I was a contract security advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan and had 26 former British Gurkhas under me that I truly began to appreciate this unique, multipurpose knife, as well as the Gurkhas themselves. Historians debate the origin of this particular design, but in Nepal it is possible that they copied it from the famous Greek cavalry sword, the Kopis, which Alexander the Great’s soldiers carried when romping and stomping through this part of the world.

I was truly honored by my Gurkhas when they presented me a beautiful half sized honor Kukri in a red felt scabbard trimmed in German silver. This was a real honor as these loyal professional soldiers do not give these away unless they have absolute respect for you. I then decided that I wanted a full sized military issue Kukri for my kit. These are hand made in Nepal and the one pictured is the official military Kukri I bought from Kukri House in Nepal. Their website is http://www.khukurihouseonline.com/ and the picture on the left is from their website.

The handle is buffalo horn and the scabbard is buffalo hide. With the two smaller blades, one is a small knife and the other is actually a blade sharpener. A number of other companies in Nepal are also making Kukris.
The unique design of this knife makes it a multi cutting tool. It can be used as an effective fighting knife

Gurkhas in Tunisia 1943

(The Gurkhas terrorized Axis soldiers in North Africa in WW2with them) and the Nepalese have a martial art devoted to fighting with it. It makes a good heavy duty slicing knife for big game, and the weight and angle of the blade makes it an excellent chopping tool for wood. It is like having a fighting knife, skinning knife, and hand ax all rolled into one.

Kukurihouse makes a wide variety of Kukris and one of their newer models is geared towards the soldier or survivalist. Called the “Black Ops” it is pictured below.

A number of American knife companies make Kukri like knives and may be a good option for your survival kit. I just preferred an original from Nepal. The Kukri is an outstanding design that certainly merits your consideration.