Why is it better?

• A full-tang blade provides exceptional balance.
• A black finish protects the blade from rust.
• It includes a basic nylon sheath with a belt loop.

Overall, this is a great all-around kukri that mixes the best of kukris and machetes into one knife.

The sharp 12-inch blade can handle tough campsite jobs like clearing brush and batoning wood, while also being great for general yard and field work.

This USA-made quality tool can get the job done, whether you want a kukri for survival, bushcraft, or even just to work around the yard.

Pros

• A 12-inch, sharp blade with a flat ground edge
• The durable G-10 handle has finger grooves for a secure grip.
• A black finish protects the blade from rust.
• A full-tang blade provides exceptional balance.
• At 1.1 pounds, it is lightweight and nimble.
• It includes a basic nylon sheath with a belt loop.

Con

• It might be too light for people who want a heavy-duty kukri.

Features

It is a great flat-grind kukri that mixes the best of machetes and kukris into one reliable tool. Furthermore, its USA-made construction and limited lifetime warranty ensure its durability.

Great for Chopping, Slashing, and Hacking: The flat grind helps this kukri chop and slash through vegetation, vines, and other materials with ease. While the flat grind isn’t as great for splitting wood, you can still baton wood to split it without much issue.

The durable high-carbon steel blade will keep its edge great over time while still being easy to sharpen. A black finish protects the blade from rust, which is a nice bonus since carbon steel is more prone to corroding.

Durable Full-Tang Blade Construction: This kukri has a full-tang blade that extends through the handle. This improves the knife’s durability and balance, making it easier to swing, chop, and slash with. Looking at the handle, you’ll find durable G-10 with finger grooves for a secure grip.

Great for Hiking and Camping: If you want to backpack, hike, or camp with this kukri, you’ll be pleased to know that while it is larger than a typical bushcraft knife, it’s lightweight and nimble at 1.1 lbs. The included nylon snap sheath and optional belt loop make carrying this kukri easier.

2. Runner-Up: Condor Heavy Duty Kukri Knife

Overall, this is a great kukri for anyone who wants a heavy-duty tool that can do it all.

This kukri can do it all, from chopping and slashing brushes and vines to a hunting knife useful for skinning animals and even splitting kindling for a fire.

It’s a great choice for bushcraft, backpacking, camping, hiking, and self-defense, making it one of the overall best kukris for the money.

Pros

• A sharp 9-inch blade packs a punch.
• Durable high-carbon steel (1075)
• An excellent blade finish protects coated steel from rust.
• A full-tang blade provides exceptional balance.
• The 5-inch hardwood handle is comfortable and has a great finish.
• The heavy-duty kukri, weighing 1.82 lbs, comes with a great black-leather sheath.

Con

Blade grinding occasionally necessitates an unconventional approach.

Features

The Condor Kukri is a tool that packs serious power. This survival knife can cut, chop, and slash through tough brush, trees, and logs with ease.

Heavy-Duty, But Not Too Heavy: It gets its heavy-duty label from its heavyweight of 1.82 lbs, but don’t let this mislead you. This kukri doesn’t feel unwieldy or too heavy; it has a great balance that comes from its full-tang design.

This kukri also has an excellent kukri bend in the blade, as well as a sharp edge that extends all the way to the blade’s base, making it ideal for chopping anything that comes your way.

Built to Last: Durable tempered 1075 high-carbon steel is used for the blade, making it great for tough, high-impact jobs like splitting and batoning wood.

The blasted satin blade finish, which protects the non-exposed steel from moisture and corrosion, is another feature that keeps this blade free from rust. While you’ll still need to occasionally oil the blade to prevent rust, it’s a nice feature that helps keep this kukri low-maintenance.

Some people have reported issues with the blade edge having a convex grind rather than a flat grind, which hinders its ability to chop and slash through vegetation like a machete. Although it seems to be a rare issue, a few passes with a rat file over the blade edge should fix it.

Great Quality Grip: You may have noticed the beautiful hardwood grip with its great finish. You’ll be pleased to know that it’s as comfortable as it is beautiful, giving you a great grip to control the kukri with.

Included Black Leather Sheath: This kukri comes with a basic black leather sheath that makes carrying it easier when hiking, backpacking, or bushcrafting. Over time, the quality of this sheath has slowly improved, and these kukris now come with a very capable sheath that will serve you well.

3. Best Handmade: EGKH Handmade Kukri Knife

Overall, this Gurkha kukri is an excellent tool and one of the best real-deal Gurkha kukris.

We’d say it’s 95% of the way to being the perfect Gurkha kukri. When you get this knife, the other 5% comes from polishing and oiling the steel, as well as sourcing out a better sheath for it.

If you want one of the best Gurkha kukris, I’d recommend you check out this excellent tool.

Pros

• Genuine hand-forged kukri offers stellar quality.
• The 10-inch blade has an excellent kukri angle, resulting in superb power.
• A beautiful 5-inch rosewood handle with finger grips is comfortable and effective.
• The razor-sharp, full-tang blade has excellent balance.
• Tempered steel blades are strong and built to last.
• This product is great for camping, skinning, homesteading, and self-defense.

Cons

• The blade arrives unpolished.
• The blade will need regular oiling to prevent rust.
• Scabbard is dry and hard; it could be better.

Features

If you’re looking for one of the best real-deal kukris out there, this genuine Gurkha kukri may be the right tool for you. The real Gurkha, who formerly supplied kukris to Nepal, now manufactures these kukris for the commercial market.

Powerful Kukri Blade: Starting with the blade, this kukri has a full-tang blade that goes through the handle for better balance and durability during tough chopping. Its 10-inch blade, which is large and powerful, can handle tough jobs around the campsite and along the trails.

Whether it’s skinning animals, clearing heavy brush, or chopping and batoning firewood, this kukri is a tool you can trust to get the job done. In classic fashion, this kukri is also great as a self-defense weapon. You can dish out some serious damage with powerful chops and slashes.

High-carbon steel gives this Gurkha kukri a sharp, long-lasting edge. However, it’s important to regularly oil the steel, ideally after each outing. If you oil your blade, it should be rust-free and stay sharper for longer.

To help prevent rust and protect the steel of this kukri, you can polish it once you get it. The blade comes unpolished, but rubbing it down with some knife polish and a clean rag should seal the steel and protect it from getting pits and pores.

Comfortable and Practical Grip: The polished and sealed rosewood handle boasts a smooth finish. The tool’s finger grooves ensure a firm grip, even during heavy chopping in damp conditions.

The scabbard was one aspect of this Gurkha kukri that disappointed me. We would’ve expected better, but we guess it works alright. The scabbard’s leather is a bit dry and loosely constructed. It seems like it was an afterthought when compared to the quality of the kukri itself.

If you want a serious sheath, I recommend you find somebody who can make you a snap-sheath from leather or kydex. If you’re more handy and inclined, you could even try making one yourself.

4. Best for Hunting: Cold Steel Kukri Knife

It is hands-down one of the best cheap kukris on the market. It doesn’t sacrifice quality and strikes a unique and effective balance between kukri and machete designs.

Whether you want to camp, backpack, bushcraft, do yard work, or even use this kukri for self-defense, this knife offers something for everyone. If you’re looking for the best cheap kukri, I recommend checking out this one.

Pros

• Very affordable, low price
• A sharp 13-inch blade can handle tough jobs.
• Durable synthetic handle
• Includes a great Cor-Ex form-fitted sheath
• It has the power to do tough clearing, chopping, skinning, and self-defense.
• It’s lightweight, making it ideal for backpacking.

Cons

• It may be too light for those wanting a super-heavy-duty kukri.
• The handle can be a bit uncomfortable after long use.

Features

Versatile and Powerful Blade: Starting with the blade, this kukri combines elements that strike a great balance between traditional kukri and machetes. The blade is kukri-shaped but has a machete-flat grind, making it ideal for clearing bush, chopping vines, skinning animals, and defending yourself.

The blade is full-tang into the handle, giving it good balance and making this light, nimble Kukri swing easier. Depending on your view, the lightweight may be either an advantage or disadvantage. This kukri only weighs 1lb, making it easy to carry when backpacking or hiking along the trails.

But if you want to do heavy-duty work, like split kindling for a campfire, you might want to try a different kukri. I will say that while this kukri isn’t too great at splitting wood, you can still use it to baton wood, achieving the same result, just using bushcraft skills instead.

Includes Cor-Ex Fitted Sheath: To help you carry this lightweight kukri, Cold Steel includes a Cor-Ex Form Fitted Sheath.

This sheath slips right over the blade, making it easier to carry while protecting it from dirt, damage, and rust. The sheath itself is also lightweight, making it easy to take this kukri camping, hiking, and backpacking.

5. Best for Camping: KA-BAR 2-1249-9 Kukri Knife

Overall, the KA-BARS Kukri knife is a good mid-range tool that can handle anything from splitting kindling for a fire to precise skinning jobs and even self-defense scenarios.

It’s a dependable, rugged, and reliable blade that serves as a good all-around kukri with few downsides.

Pros

• A sharp, 12-inch-high carbon steel blade
• Black rust-resistant coating
• Comfortable Kraton handle
• Black rust-resistant coating
• The product includes a nylon sheath with a d-ring for easy carrying.
• It weighs 1.7 pounds and has an excellent full-tang balance.

Cons

• Less traditional Kukri curves sacrifice a small amount of balance.
• The black coating tends to come off in small chips near the blade.

Features

Ka-bar Kukri mixes traditional and non-traditional aspects to make a whopper that packs enough power to handle tough campsite brush, wood splitting, and bushcraft.

A powerful 12-inch blade can handle tough jobs. The sharp 12-inch blade can chop, slice, and lash through most anything in your way without much difficulty.

While the blade angle isn’t as curved as a traditional kukri, it still has great balance and power. Its chopping ability is still just as good as you would expect from any other kukri.

Rust-Resistant Black Coating: We apply a black coating to steel to protect it from rust and corrosion. I think the coating could be a bit better, as some tend to chip off near the edge when you’re hacking away. It isn’t too much of an issue, however, as it’s mostly cosmetic and has no impact on performance.

Durable Kraton Handle: A kraton handle, molded to fit nicely in your hand, provides a great grip. There’s also a ridge to help the kukri stay firmly planted in your hand, with no chance of slipping forward or backward while remaining comfortable to use.

Included Snap-Sheath: Included with this kukri is a synthetic snap-sheath that protects and secures the blade with no chance of the knife accidentally falling out. On the end of the sheath is also a d-ring that helps it hang freely if you choose, making it less clunky and awkward to carry.

Wrap-Up

Kukri knives are essential tools for outdoor enthusiasts and survivalists alike. They have unparalleled versatility and power.

You’re now equipped to make an informed decision and find the best kukri knife that suits your needs perfectly. 

Whether it’s for outdoor adventures, survival situations, or collection purposes, the right kukri is out there waiting for you to wield its power.