Tops TPBKUK01-BRK Bushcrafter Kukuri

I do a lot of hiking, camping, and amateur bushcrafting, and I bought this rather expensive knife on a whim. For the money, you get a lot of knife. It is extremely well crafted, comes razor sharp from the factory, is made of a luxuriously thick slab of great 1095 carbon steel, and is pretty darn heavy - an advantage if you want to carry one absolutely bomb-proof tool.As I'll discuss below, this knife is a great compromise tool if you want to carry something that can mostly replace a hand ax and a belt knife. But it's not the best at anything. Some people might say that that's perfectly fine and to be expected from a compromise tool. However, when out in the woods trying to get a fire started in a cold rain, you don't want to expend extra effort and time to perform basic wood processing tasks that could be more efficiently completed with something else. With use and comparision to other tools, this knife has become more of an expensive curiosity for me that I'll happily take out for some fun once in a while, rather than the knife I'll depend on when out in the woods. Read on for the details.CONSTRUCTIONThis knife is incredibly well built and will probably outlast me. For this price point, that's what I'd expect, but it's nice to see them deliver. The steel is very thick (but read below for why this isn't always great) and has a full tang. Fit and finish is great. The coating on the blade is extremely resistant to wear - which is nice in a knife that's going to see a lot of abuse. I don't mind when my knives wear, because it's inevitable and a sign of distinction, but it's nice to know the coating on this will last longer than most. The handle is made of micarta and is very solid. Generally this is an amazingly over-built knife and a joy to hold and behold.HANDLINGI have medium sized hands and this knife feels very good in hand. The curve of the handle combined with the subtle finger grooves gives a very good grip. The bottom hook of the handle is helpful to keep a solid hold on the knife when chopping while still keeping the fingers loose - which is essentially if you want to get a good swing. There is some pretty aggressive jimping on the top of the spine which feels very solid under your thumb when choking up on the handle and helps a lot with control during fine carving. The weight of the knife is well balanced and the geometry of the blade ensures there is a forward bias that feels nice when chopping.SHARPNESSNo complaints here. This knife came razor sharp from the factory. I have done some mild touching up after heavy chopping and the edge returns easily. Beginners may find it hard to sharpen the curved blade. I have found that V-shaped pull-through sharpeners such as can be found on the Lansky Blade Medic are great for these kinds of knives. You don't need them shaving sharp for good wood work but I can easily get this knife to paper-slicing sharpness.CHOPPINGThis is the biggest drawback of the knife and the dealbreaker for me. This knife is intended to showcase its chopping ability, and while it is a competent chopper, it's just not great. After much experimentation with this and other chopping tools, I think it basically comes down to the length of the knife and the grind and thickness of the blade. The length is what it is - not everyone wants to carry a 14" chopping blade (like the excellent Condor Pack Golok) or a hand ax. That's OK but you should be aware of what you're giving up in chopping ability. The saber grind on this knife is not great at splitting and doesn't seem to have as much bite as other tools with a convex edge, and the thickness of the knife seems to contribute to shallower bites when chopping as it doesn't want to sink as deep. To be fair, the designer of this knife has some youtube videos where he shows how to reprofile the edge to be convex. I might give that a try but don't expect it will solve the issue with the thickness or length. And let's face it - if you're willing to cary this large and heavy of a knife already, then a more competent 14" blade is not a big step up and depending on what you buy will actually look less intimidating. This is my view based on my experience - your mileage my vary. Hope it is useful to someone.CARVINGThis knife is a good carver. The inner curve of the blade near the handle is great at capturing the wood, and the heft of the knife and the jimping make it very easy to control. In addition the saber grind works to its advantage here and is good for fine slicing. This is a good knife for making feather sticks or doing other fine work. I will note again, however, that the thickness of the blade is a little more than you'd want for fine work.BATONINGThe internet bushcrafting experts seem divided on whether a person even needs to baton firewood. Personally I like to do it because (1) it's fun and (2) it's a quick way to get to some dry wood in the center of a thicker piece. This knife is wonderful for batoning, and if it came at a much, much lower price point I would consider still having it for just this purpose. The curve of the blade is great at slicing into the wood as you baton, and the thickness and heft of the blade, combined with the wide flat spine, give you the confidence to bang away as hard as you want.SHEATHLike the knife, the sheath is very well made but is way too big and a little too "jungle warfare" themed for me. It is a very solid green nylon and holds the knife well in a plastic sleeve, and has a generous front pocket for keeping knicknacks like a fire steel, sharpening stone, multitool, etc. It is molle compatible if you like that kind of thing and also has a belt loop. Personally I usually keep the knife in my pack as I am a little embarassed by the look of the sheath when out in the woods with regular folks.FINAL THOUGHTSI probably would not buy this knife again. It is enjoyable to hold and use but just doesn't excel at any of its intended tasks. For the money and the weight, I would prefer (and now use) a dedicated chopper like the Condor Pack Golok and a small folding or belt knife for fine work.

I was on the search for a good Kukri to use as a chopper / wood processing knife. Was looking to buy a South American made blade when I came across this one. After a lot more looking and comparing, I chose this one. I couldn’t be happier with my decision!The knife is a great chopper. While it will never replace a full size axe, it can easily replace any of my hatchets. It excels at batoning, and is great at curls and feathering. This one is a keeper!

Fit and finish is perfect, its sharp, the blade is super thick and Its 100% worth the 200ish dollars. My first Tops knife and im blown away. thank you

This thing is amazing! It's a bit heavy but not too heavy, it's perfect. Maybe a little too heavy if you're purchasing this for battle, but if u work with it enough, you'll get strong enough to split skulls on the regular. But I personally see this more as a tool than a weapon. It's perfect for cutting down a tree or some branches for a fire. Speaking of fires, it's got a dent on both sides of the handle to help use a bow drill, which I probably will never use, I hope anyway. If it comes down to me having to use a bow drill, that means there has been an apocalypse, which I'd love, but I'd hope I'd still have a lighter or matches or flint and steel at the very least. But if not, with this bad ass knife, I can easily watch someone else use a bow drill. :) And the last thing that I wanted to say about this bad ass knife is that IT'S MADE IN AMERICA!!! Be proud and support American made products. Way too much s*** is sent over seas to make cause it's cheaper. F that!! Made in USA!!!!

I bought this for my husband and imagine my disappointment when it came. Try advertising what you actually send. Knife itself seems to be good. We’ll see I guess. Not off to a good start.

As others have written, very well built, strong. The spine of the knife is very thick and strong, perfect for chopping and camp/survival chores. The powder coating new is well done, very attractive. This is a full tang knife with the tang and the handle having a perfect fit. It is very sharp and can be used for skinning larger animals but due to its size and heft, it isn't best suited for tasks needing fine blade control. Choking up on it and grasping it at the very top of the grip with your index finger over the serrations on the spine help control the blade for finer operation. The knife is heavy so overall a great camping and survival tool. If you're looking primarily for a skinning knife or whittling knife, this isn't for you. The substantially constructed sheath with pockets for accessories such as a fire starter or a sharpening stone/rod is a bonus. I would surely purchase this again.

Overall good quality. Be warned however- the sheath pictured in the product description, and described in the product write up, is NOT the sheath sent with this knife. A kydex sheath is now being used, and while good, has no place on board for stowing a small kit. This seller has not resolved the issue so far. And still is displaying inaccurate and misleading information. Regrettably this detracts from a premium product, and a good company (Tops) making a fine product.

This is hands down the best made knife probably in the world and I’m being 100% serious. I have friends who have bought from tops knives and shown me theirs. Every one is made like an American juggernaut. This knife I bought is razor sharp out the box, full tang, and made from top materials. It’s a mean piece and can take some force. I’m sure I could fell a tree with this thing. Beast knife and best knife I have owned in my life time and will probably stay that way.