Cordraven Hand Forged High Carbon Kukri with Cord Wrapped Grip | Raven Engraved Brass Bolster | Flared Brass Butt Cap and Leather Sheath | Norse Camp Gift | RK-2183

A heavy kukri built on the service pattern, with a mirror polished 1095 blade, a deep belly and a wide flare toward the point. The grip is black cord wrapped tight over the handle and pinned through the centre, held between a brass bolster with a raven head cut into it and a flared brass butt cap that stops the hand running off the end.

The flare toward the point is the detail that separates a service kukri from a lighter village one. Widening the blade in its last third moves mass forward, so the centre of percussion sits out where the edge meets the work rather than back near the hand. In practical terms that means the blade does more of the chopping and your arm does less of it, which is precisely why the pattern was adopted for hard use in the first place. Made by hand in the Czech Republic. Ransack Viking imports them, checks each blade, bolster and wrap, and ships from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse with a fitted leather sheath.

The forward angle is the whole point of a kukri, and what a kukri is actually for goes through where the shape came from. The raven is Odin’s bird before it is anything else, and the two ravens sets out the sources. If you want a shorter belly for dressing game, the skinner knives cover that job.

Specifications

Why the grip is wrapped in cord

A wrapped grip is not a cheaper answer than scales, it is a different answer to a different problem. Wood and horn scales are comfortable and handsome, and in heat and sweat they become slick. Cord does the opposite. The ridges between each turn give the palm something to key against, and the texture actually improves when the hand is wet, which is why cord and cloth wraps turn up on working blades in hot climates all over the world.

The second advantage is repair. A cracked scale means a trip to somebody with a workshop. A cord wrap that has frayed after ten years can be cut off and replaced by anyone with a length of cord and an evening. The pin through the centre of this wrap locks the turns so the whole thing cannot unravel if one turn is cut. The flared brass butt cap is the third part of the same system, giving the hand a hard stop at the back so the grip does not need to be squeezed tight to be safe.

Steel, brass and the raven

The blade is 1095 at 54 to 58 HRC. For a chopping blade that is the sensible range. It gives an edge that will take a hard impact and roll slightly rather than chip, and it can be brought back with a file and a stone in the field. There is no chromium in 1095, so it is not stainless, and the mirror finish will grey over with a patina in use. That patina is protective and is not a fault.

The bolster and butt cap are brass, chosen because it will not corrode where it sits against damp cord and because it can be filed and engraved crisply. The raven head cut into the bolster is engraved rather than cast, so the lines have the slight variation of a hand cut mark rather than the softness of a mould. Brass is soft, so expect it to pick up small marks with use and to dull to a warmer gold.

Engraving, runes and your own design

Use the rune converter on this page to turn a name, a date or a short phrase into Elder Futhark and we will cut it into the steel, the leather or the wood. If you would rather have a Viking pattern than a rune line, choose your own design in the engraving option above the add to cart button and tell us where it goes. Where a piece already carries an engraved design, your chosen engraving replaces it rather than sitting alongside it. On this kukri the wide mirror flat of the blade is the obvious panel, which leaves the raven on the bolster untouched. If you want your design on the brass instead, it will take the place of the bird. Engraving is done here in the United States after the piece arrives. See the engraving page.

Handling and balance

Hold it back near the butt cap and swing loose. The forward flare puts a lot of mass out at the belly, so the blade wants to fall through the cut on its own and fighting it with a tight grip will only jar your wrist. Let the weight do the work and guide rather than force it.

For close work, choke up so your hand sits against the bolster and your thumb rests on the spine. The straighter section behind the belly cuts like a camp knife from there. Keep the cho notch at the base of the edge clean and unsharpened. It is there to stop a cut running back into the handle, and it marks the end of the edge.

Care

Dry the blade after use and oil it with mineral oil, camellia oil or a light gun oil. Pay particular attention to the joint where the blade meets the brass bolster, since water sits there and it is the spot where rust usually starts on a kukri. The cord wrap should be allowed to dry at room temperature rather than near a heater, which will shrink it and loosen the turns. If the wrap picks up grease, warm soapy water on a brush and a slow dry will lift it. Brass polish restores the fittings if you want them bright. Do not store the blade in the leather sheath long term. More is in steel care.

A curve like this does not sharpen the way a straight edge does, and sharpening a curved blade works through the stroke.

Made in the Czech Republic

Made by hand in the Czech Republic. The blade is forged, ground and polished, the brass cast, filed and engraved, the cord wrapped and pinned and the sheath cut and stitched by the people who make it. Nothing here is drop shipped from an importer catalogue. Ransack Viking imports them into the United States, checks each edge, each bolster fit and each wrap for tightness, and holds stock in our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse so orders leave from a shelf rather than a queue. Processing takes one to two weeks and sits at the longer end if an engraving is ordered, because the cut is done after the kukri arrives. Shipping across the United States is free, returns run seven days, and the lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings has no end date and needs no receipt.

A note on handmade variation

Hand made, not machine made or bulk produced, so what arrives will not be a pixel for pixel copy of the photograph. A cord wrap is done by hand under tension, so the number of turns and the exact spacing between the ridges differ from one to the next, and no two grips feel identical under the palm. The raven head is engraved individually, so line weight and depth vary. Brass castings are hand filed. Hand polishing means one blade catches light a little differently from another. The steel, the hardness, the profile and the build are the same every time. The character is not.

Frequently asked questions

Will the cord wrap come loose

It should not. The turns are pulled under tension and pinned through the centre, so a single cut turn cannot unravel the whole grip. A wrap that loosens because it was not tensioned properly at build is a defect and the warranty covers it.

Can the wrap be replaced

Yes, and that is one of its advantages. A worn wrap can be cut off and replaced with new cord by anyone patient enough to do it, without a workshop.

How does it compare with a wooden scaled kukri

The blade does the same job. Cord grips better in heat and wet and is easy to repair. Wood scales are more comfortable over long sessions and look more traditional. It comes down to whether you want a working grip or a handsome one.

Is it sharp out of the box

Yes. It ships with a working edge and it is heavy enough to do damage carelessly, so unpack it with that in mind.

What is the small notch near the handle

That is the cho. It marks the end of the edge and stops a cut carrying back into the grip, and on traditional kukris it also carries a symbolic reading. Leave it unsharpened.

Does the sheath fit a belt

Yes. The fitted brown leather sheath has a belt loop sized for a standard belt and it is cut for this blade rather than being a generic pouch.

What is in the box

• One 1095 high carbon kukri with a cord wrapped grip and brass fittings
• One fitted brown leather sheath
• Your Elder Futhark rune line or chosen Viking design, if ordered
• Lifetime warranty against defects in forging, grind, heat treat and fittings
• Hand made in the Czech Republic, shipped from our Memphis, Tennessee warehouse

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