Hi the Bushcrafter Kukuri is my design, made by TOPS. The traditional Nepalese version is spelled Khukuri, so to make the name unique to TOPS, I dropped the ‘h’ and it is still said the same way. The “kukri” spelling was from Lynn Thompson at Cold Steel. The Bushcrafter Kukuri is not supposed to be a ‘big chopper’, though it does that well for its size (7.5” blade, 13 3/8” overall). This knife is designed to be an all around Kukuri, doing all sort of tasks from small to large. People have gone crazy with the knife, even chopping down small trees, though that would tire most people out. Questions? Drop a line anytime. I am also on IG under the same channel name.
PS- I haggled for the OD or Coyote Brown color. It ended up in milspec cordura. TOPS stopped doing those a year or two ago,, and I encourage people to call TOPS and ask them to bring it back as it is what most prefer.
Wow you're the guy! I love your design with a passion. It works wonders here on eastern coast hardwood!! I have the Olive Cordura Sheath and I love it as well. Really trust it with my life if it's what I had on hand
I have a Tops El Chete, it's a great heavy duty chopper. The Nepalese Kukri that I have was presented to me and has sentimental memories when I was overseas, so it is not used. For a lighter weight chopper, I really like the Terava Skrama 240, it is also a great bushcrafting tool.
“Buschcraft” haha. I have a guy that makes awesome leather goods. He made me a custom multi carry Molle compatible leather sheath out of buffalo for my el Chete. The system is a bit heavy compared to the cheap kydex sheath the el Chete comes with. But now I have an heirloom chopper with an heirloom sheath. Really love this chopper. One of the few knives that tops does a good job at heat treat wise since it’s easier to dip during heat treat. The knife also makes a great draw knife on top of being such a tough chopper. Good vid 👍
A bit of an apples to oranges comparison, large competition styled chopper vs a small belt kukri. Both have their place, neither model is on my radar but I do love my Tops blades and I am a khukuri fanboi!
Both look awesome, except the price. I only found the ElChete for $330 on the Tops site, and $300 for the Kukuri - probably not for the weekend warrior.
Those are Msrp prices. All of the authorized dealers have them priced much lower. The actual retail price for the el Chete is about $190 at most dealers. You can find the kukuri around $160-170. I don’t have any experience with the kukuri but the el Chete is a monster of a chopper. It’s modeled after competition choppers so the geometry for it is spot on. If you want something similar to the el Chete. Terava makes an awesome chopper called the skrama for $90. Don’t let the price fool you. The skrama is bad ass all the way. Much lighter too but chops very similarly like the el Chete. Hope this helps 👍
Most things will do a good job on birch. Notice no youtube channels ever test these products on a REAL hardwood like southern oak that a maul bounces right off of 😂
Hi the Bushcrafter Kukuri is my design, made by TOPS.
The traditional Nepalese version is spelled Khukuri, so to make the name unique to TOPS, I dropped the ‘h’ and it is still said the same way. The “kukri” spelling was from Lynn Thompson at Cold Steel.
The Bushcrafter Kukuri is not supposed to be a ‘big chopper’, though it does that well for its size (7.5” blade, 13 3/8” overall). This knife is designed to be an all around Kukuri, doing all sort of tasks from small to large.
People have gone crazy with the knife, even chopping down small trees, though that would tire most people out. Questions? Drop a line anytime. I am also on IG under the same channel name.
PS- I haggled for the OD or Coyote Brown color. It ended up in milspec cordura. TOPS stopped doing those a year or two ago,, and I encourage people to call TOPS and ask them to bring it back as it is what most prefer.
Wow you're the guy! I love your design with a passion. It works wonders here on eastern coast hardwood!! I have the Olive Cordura Sheath and I love it as well. Really trust it with my life if it's what I had on hand
Stop this nonsense. There have been multiple spellings for a very long time, definitely long before that particular item ever hit the market.
I have a Tops El Chete, it's a great heavy duty chopper.
The Nepalese Kukri that I have was presented to me and has sentimental memories when I was overseas, so it is not used.
For a lighter weight chopper, I really like the Terava Skrama 240, it is also a great bushcrafting tool.
Awesome
The El Chete for the win
Splitting the big round with the kukri was impressive. I would likely not have tried it.
Thank You for this review. Both got their advantages. Decided own preferences. I use Ka-Bar BK-21 Kukri (BR) because of it's length. Good luck!
Right on
“Buschcraft” haha. I have a guy that makes awesome leather goods. He made me a custom multi carry Molle compatible leather sheath out of buffalo for my el Chete. The system is a bit heavy compared to the cheap kydex sheath the el Chete comes with. But now I have an heirloom chopper with an heirloom sheath. Really love this chopper. One of the few knives that tops does a good job at heat treat wise since it’s easier to dip during heat treat. The knife also makes a great draw knife on top of being such a tough chopper. Good vid 👍
Thank You for sharing! Really like field review. Who makes what you would consider a budget machete?
could you do a standalone review of the tops kukri? Please and thank you
A bit of an apples to oranges comparison, large competition styled chopper vs a small belt kukri. Both have their place, neither model is on my radar but I do love my Tops blades and I am a khukuri fanboi!
Getcha one 🙂👍🏻
Both look awesome, except the price. I only found the ElChete for $330 on the Tops site, and $300 for the Kukuri - probably not for the weekend warrior.
Those are Msrp prices. All of the authorized dealers have them priced much lower. The actual retail price for the el Chete is about $190 at most dealers. You can find the kukuri around $160-170. I don’t have any experience with the kukuri but the el Chete is a monster of a chopper. It’s modeled after competition choppers so the geometry for it is spot on. If you want something similar to the el Chete. Terava makes an awesome chopper called the skrama for $90. Don’t let the price fool you. The skrama is bad ass all the way. Much lighter too but chops very similarly like the el Chete. Hope this helps 👍
What's more versatile
Most things will do a good job on birch. Notice no youtube channels ever test these products on a REAL hardwood like southern oak that a maul bounces right off of 😂
1 was designed specifically for chopping another was designed to be a multi purpose bushcraft device
The Bestia wrecks the El Chete
I have them both and you are correct.
Both are absurdly overpriced for 1095.
This character looks an sounds like a cop to me
So..