The 21" Chitlangi was a lucky buy on the Bladeforums. Fellow forumite was selling this excellent piece of cutlery for a good price, so I just couldn't miss it :) No questions asked, this is the best quality kukri I own so far. Very well done. Even the buttcap which is the constant problem with all the kukris I have seen so far, is round and smooth. Though it might've been fixed by previous owner. Anyway, it's a beauty. Scabbard is also fancier than on other kukris, and so are the karda and chakma. In short this Chitlangi really stands out :)
General
- The name Chitlangi comes from the village in the western part of Makwanpur district of Nepal - Chitlang, hence the name. Chitlangis have characteristic bell at the end of the handle, and the cho is closed, "eye of the dove" (pariwa ki aka) vs. more conventional, open cho on majority of the kukris - click here to see the close-up picture of the cho. Can't say that affects cutting or chopping ability of the kukri, but does give a different look :)Generally Chitlangi is similar to Sirupati, Kobra, Chainpuri. Compared to Sirupati Chitlangi is lighter, that is - generally, and made by the same kami :) Otherwise your results may vary. Anyway, being lighter Chitlangi is easier to handle, faster, however somewhat lesser chopper. For an average user the loss of chopping ability won't be noticeable, the user's technique will play a lot more important role I guess. At least that's the case for me.
For the knife with 21" overall length Chitlangi is quite maneuverable and light. Double fullers definitely add the looks :) Well, they help to make the blade lighter too. balance is obviously forward heavy. As I've mentioned above no complaints about quality. Very nicely done kukri. Sharpness isn't satisfactory as usual, but on the other hand I do like sharpening my knives, thus I don't mind that fact at all. Although, frankly this Chitlangi is too pretty to be used hard. We'll see. Karda and chakma are the match to the kukri. Nicely done, fancier than usual models.
Blade
- Well, that's the longest kukri I own so far and it sure looks very impressive. In general kukris look quite menacing for the non knife people, but on top of all that this Chitlangi does look very elegant. It's more of a fighter knife than a worker. Although, I don't doubt it will do any knife job if necessary. The steel apparently is the same 5160 spring steel, well known and well respected by knife makers, especially for the large knives. Chitlangi doesn't have as much of the belly as Ang Khola, however the blade is longer, and you get plenty of the cutting edge. The edge as usual is the convex grind.The blade features very nice filework. Definitely more work in it than on the other kukris. In two places from both sides of the blade there is apparently brass forges into the grooves. Looks nice - here, take a look at the close-up and one more pic.
Handle
- This is the most comfortable and the best executed handle I've seen on the kukris up to this day :) No sharp or pointy edges. The bell is kindda bulky, but on the other hand you're not holding onto it anyway, and even though I haven't used this kukri hard, I've tried few swings, didn't irritate my palm as other kukri handles before sandpaper processing.
Specifications:
- Blade - 431.80mm(17")
- Thickness - 4.76mm
- OAL - 533.40mm(21")
- Steel - 5160 steel at 58-60HRC
- Handle - Wood
- Acquired - 08/2004 Price - 155.00$
Last updated - 05/19/19