A little better look at Terry Sisco's leg. Pix & safety reminder.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

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Mar 5, 1999
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Here's a little better look at the damage done to Terry Sisco's leg by a khukuri that fell maybe a foot before it hit Terry's leg. Keep in mind Terry is an experienced knife person. It can happen to anybody and when it does here is what you can expect. Terry is lucky. It could have been worse.

Remember, brothers and sisters, a khukuri can be very, very dangerous. As the HI Range Safety Officer constantly reminds us, respect and take great care.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (33,000 + posts)
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Terry, tell the story of how it happened? Was it deep enough to do mussle damage? I am glad you survived.

Will
 
Will,
I was up late (2:00 am) working on a old 20" village khukuri. I had recently sharpened it and was in the process of repairing a crack in the handle when the little needle file I was using broke. When the file broke I hit the handle and knocked the khukuri out of my hand. It fliped over and hit point and edge down on my calf. The muscle was visible but wasn't cut, I did lose quite a bit of blood though. The length of the cut was 5 inches.
The moral of this story: DON'T WORK ON KHUKURIS AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING!!!!!!
Terry
Uncle,
Thanks for posting the pic.

[This message has been edited by T.Sisco (edited 06-06-2001).]

[This message has been edited by T.Sisco (edited 06-06-2001).]
 
Terry's message can be made more general - be careful when you're working with khukuris, even if you have a lot of practice!.
Unlike John Powell, who displays his khukuris firmly attached to the wall in their scabbards, I (stupidly - don't follow my example) display a lot of my khukuris standing on bookshelves so that their naked blade shapes can be appreciated. A while back I (stupidly - don't follow my example) tried to change the arrangement while juggling several khukuris at one time. A large 19th century dui chirra fell about three feet, hit a hardshell guitar case on the floor, and slid sideways into my ankle, barely missing the anterior tibial tendon but nicking the bone. I picked up and reshelved the khukuri, thought no more about it, and only several minutes later began to wonder "Why is my foot wet?" Duh - can you say blood? I know you can
eek.gif
. Please be careful with the big curvy knives, fellas. Take it from a stupid guy
redface.gif




[This message has been edited by Berkley (edited 06-07-2001).]
 
Ouch. I cut myself on my junk kukri three years ago. I was chopping some wet wood. I had my right arm too close to the wood. I came in at a too low angle, the kukri bounced off and hit my wrist. I barely felt it, but looked and realized that it had cut a neat and clean 1" gash on my wrist, between two good sized veins. The cut was deep enough to expose my fatty tissue. I was very lucky; the wound hardly bled, and after bandaging it (toilet paper and packaging tape
smile.gif
), I drove myself to the local hospital to have it stitched up.

Bob

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The Milk Snake: Beautiful, harmless, good-natured, eats venomous snakes for lunch.

[This message has been edited by Big Bob (edited 06-07-2001).]
 
BERK: you're a regular teacher with all the links that you thoughtfully provide us! Thanks. I saw the picture of the big Gurkha inspecting his khukuri edge amidst the books and khuks in your link "naked blades". Please could you possibly give me the correct CAPTION for that pic? I have never seen a caption for that pic that gave more than the most spartan of facts (viz. "Gurkha with khukri"). I DO believe it to be pre-WW I. But that's only a suspicion on my part...

TERRY: My condolences with your injury. I'm in the process of making my first scabbard, and as you know, the khuk is forever lying on the workbench so that it can be close at hand to fit. Fortunately I'm leaving the sharpening job for afterwards. This specific khuk must have been chopping wood ever since WW I, so it is harmlessly dull at the moment. I must express my admiration for you to selflessly put your calf in the way of the falling khuk to prevent damage to its edge. Such devotion! Greater love hath no man... (Insert Smilie here)
 
Johan,
The picture is from the Illustrated London News for Saturday, February 22, 1908. The large type in the caption reads: "A Type Of The Most Determined Fighters On The Indian Frontier - A Gurkha Sharpening His Khookree".
Berk
 
Hey guys,
While working on a handle or sheath wrap a hand towel around the blade and tape it securely (electrical tape works well) you will have very little chance of cutting yourself. Make sure not to stick tape to the blade. Some tape will leave gunk on your blade.

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Good advice, Sandi. The bottom line is if you don't respect the khukuri it is going to teach you a lesson in respect as it did Terry and most of us. I've been lucky -- in handling, working on and playing with maybe 20,000 khukuris I've suffered only minor cuts and a couple of stab wounds. But, I was taught by the best.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (33,000 + posts)
Himalayan Imports Shopping Site
 
Just ordered my first one and it's on the way from Reno. Yippie! On the edge thing, I use a double layer of the blue Dupont masking tape over the sharp bits when working on my other knives. No nicks so far and the good tape doesn't gunk up the blade.
 
I lost around one unit at the hospital and probably about the same amount on the kitchen floor. I lost enough to make me weak and light headed.
Terry
 
TERRY: On the matter of scabbard-making - Whew! I'm REALLY learning the hard way. I'm struggling with my first scabbard and making a lot of stupid mistakes, mainly due to my impatience and tendency not to plan ahead properly. I'll get there in the end, but I'll not be proud of the route I took.
redface.gif
I should actually discard this particular scabbard and start afresh. However, I still maintain the inner "liner" is worth spending a lot of careful time on. And then I also assume flat paper or plastic "patterns" are part of the success story.
 
Johan,
I'll try to get a couple of pics up on how I trace the blade on the wood for the right fit inside the sheath. Also a couple of pics on how I sew on the wet leather.
I think this will help you alot more than me trying to explain it.
Don't give up, my first few weren't that great lookin and I made quite a few mistakes.
Terry
 
Wow! Terry's injury really makes you think about the destructive power of the khukuri if applied to human flesh. His injury was from a khuk that merely FELL onto his leg. Just imagine if it was powered downward by a strong arm---horrible to even think about. Terry's injury could easily have been fatal if he had lost enough blood--I don't imagine you would have time enough for help with a wound from a "swung" khukuri.
I absolutely am not trying to glorify violence--if fact the exact opposite. We often talk about self defense, but I for one had'nt truly understood what these knives could do to a person until now.

ROb
 
Since I got my first, the "little" 12" Sirupati, I've wondered about what Rob has said. All humanitarian considerations and "weapons value" aside, the thought struck me that an incident involving a Khukuri would end up as one whale of a cleanup job. Sorry you had to confirm this, Terry.
 
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