03/13/2026
Michael Lavallee
Cold Steel Kukri
Hidden in the accessories section of Simply Rugged I found a surprise. The older style Kukri from Cold Steel has been difficult to find for people who like the older style blade without the new style finger guard above the grip.
Rob also makes a very nice, practical sheath with a basic belt hanger for these.
I remember a post he made about finding a supply of the knives with no sheaths, and seeing an opportunity he grabbed them and made sheaths.
A kukri normally comes with a thin leather and wood sheath with look very cheaply made. These sheaths from Simply Rugged are of the same quality and craftsmanship as Simply Rugged holsters.
And like kukris from other places, this sheath allows both hanging from the belt, and carried in a sash around the waist, with the edge of the blade up. The curve of the sheath inside the sash gives just enough tension to stay in place, while drawing the blade.
Of course, I get asked why I would want a Kukri from Cold Steel and not one of the multitude of options available from India or Nepal. It’s a complicated reason but makes sense if you understand injury recovery.
Years ago, I had a Sensei who I paid to beat me up 3-4 times a week. I know, it makes sense to those of us on the sharp end of life.
He was adamant about a few things .
The first was if you can fight with a stick you can fight with a blade. And double sticks translated to double blades easily, as long as you had the technique for double sticks down well.
Its not difficult at all to cut yourself with double blade manipulation. That’s all I have to say, YMMV.
He had some experience using short and long sticks, and knives, short swords, kukri and long swords.
He preferred the Kukri over almost any other blade because of its ease of manipulation, ease of use and its multi function. You can chop in your yard or out of a tight place in the dark.
He actually had experience in his travels with Gurkas. He got his information directly from the soldiers he talked with and not from endless articles rehashed online.
He made a point of telling us the Gurkas had a very simple philosophy about using a Kukri.
You chop at whatever is close enough to hit with the blade, and keep chopping, until 1 of 3 things happen.
They fall over dead.
They surrender.
Or they run away.
Its rare a martial philosophy is kept so simple. And pretty much anybody can chop if taught the blade is dangerous. It will work itself out, one way or another.
And he liked Cold Steel versions.
The one advantage the CS blades have over any of the “traditional” manufacturers is consistency.
Grips, blade length, blade angles, grinds and especially weight.
CS stamps them out, puts the same grip on them, and they are very close to exactly the same weight.
And they hold a vicious edge.
You cant get this kind of consistency with one off, production blades.
When training with double weapons, as close to identical weight in both hands allows your balance to remain at your center of gravity, not causing issues while moving.
As you can see in my pictures, light sticks, heavy sticks, knives and Kukri , as well as swords, shovels and axes are all matched as close as possible.
Now for the injuries
I had a double, total replacement of both shoulders in 24-25. Both in 4 months and recovery has been slow but steady.
Internal and external rotation, with a light weight in my hands has proceeded faster than expected because I’m back to using light sticks, heavy rattan sticks and a training Kukri from CS. No its not identical as the blades, but its very close.
I could tell you I bought an expensive complicated knife target, but I ran a piece of rope through a pool noodle and hung it from my ceiling in my home gym.
Fore and back cuts, high reps and footwork is getting my rotator cuff back to normal faster than physical therapy can believe.
Cheap, easy to make, and $20 for rope, duct tape and a pool noodle is in anyone’s training budget. Use a sand bag or a kettlebell attached to the bottom to hold it in place. Duct tape, layers in the target areas you strike a lot, and it will last 6 months of vigorous use with training knives and sticks.
Do not use a live blade on this target, it lasts a maximum of 2 strikes, if your technique sound.
Get your gym put together, and layer your self defense styles to cover all the bases. Sticks, knives, wrenches, all the way through to short swords. And unlike firearms, you can do this training in almost any room.
Keep moving forward and keep getting better. It only has to save you once to be worth it.
Simply Rugged has very few of these left. Jump while you can or spend your days on ebay looking.
