Another fun half-baked theory: why's that ring there?

R

Ryan M

Joined
Aug 18, 2001
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360
A picture's worth a thousand words:

khukuri-ring.jpg


Though in this case, I think some of the words are "you idiot, you left the flash on again, had multiple types of lighting on, and there was a curious, furry animal in the frame."

Anyway, looks like it's not just to help your draw by improving the overall grip, but because you have to avoid the karda and chakma! And if you do accidentally snag one or both, your index and middle fingers aren't doing much to grip the handle. The checkering and lines are usually positioned to help, too.

Hm. Gripping hard with the ring and pinkie fingers, but leaving the index and middle fingers relaxed, also allows you to add a bit of a "whip" to your swing, when hitting soft targets.

I don't recall ever reading the "avoid the karda and chakma" theory, though it could be my memory going. I've been averaging about 8 hours of sleep per week lately, so remembering is hard sometimes. But anyway, it's what makes the most sense to me. And I'm guessing most people toss their karda and chakma in a drawer, so grip might never be an issue. Now I want to make a joke about Karda living in a drawer, but I don't think I can pull it off.
 
Wheres your theory?
The handle ring is there to aid in retention of the khukuri while chopping/swinging the khukuri.
 
Wheres your theory?
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That it's mainly there to help draw from the sheath, if you've got the karda and chakma in. A draw with your 2 weakest fingers and no thumb, isn't very secure. The bell does fine for emergency retention, but isn't so good for using to draw the khukuri, unless you were planning on holding further down, to begin with.

More editing: It does help when swinging, too, of course. But it looks like it helps a lot more when drawing, especially compared to checkering or other texture treatments, as opposed to a big old ridge. Sorta puts a 2nd, smaller bell, exactly where it's needed when drawing the blade, but it's small enough to still be beneficial (if uncomfortable for some people) when swinging it.
 
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The bell or flare helps keep the hand from sliding backward, the ring helps keep the hand from sliding forward. Look closely at some rings. Many of them have a profile that preferentially provides purchase in one direction.
 
Howard Wallace said:
The bell or flare helps keep the hand from sliding backward, the ring helps keep the hand from sliding forward. Look closely at some rings. Many of them have a profile that preferentially provides purchase in one direction.
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That's not it at all; Don't feel bad though, it's a common misconception. Killer the Dog invented the khukuri in a previous life. The incarnation of Killer the Dog living at the time had a prominent gap in the middle of his front teeth, and as he was forming the handle of the first khukuri (with his teeth, much like you or I might eat an ear of corn), the ring naturally emerged. He was about to correct what he saw as an error, when one of his peers came over to see what he was doing. Killer didn't have time to remove the ring, so he quickly thought up some reasons why such a feature might be desirable, and explained them to his peer. His peer agreed, and praised Killer's wisdom. Because of Killer's quick thinking, the true reason for the ring on the khukuri handle has largely been forgotten; Things may have turned out quite differently if not for the gap in Killer's teeth. Killer went on to become a great leader, but because of the lie he told, he suffered from low self-esteem and was racked with self-doubt for the rest of his life.
 
Oh, I almost forgot about the bell. Another little-known fact: Killer was known to drink with Edgar Allen Poe and Phil Ochs, and was present when they wrote "the Bells". He was so impressed by Phil's beautiful singing and the song itself (which truth be told was more Phil than Ed), that he immortalized them with the bell-shaped section of the khukuri handle (which he named the tintinnabulum).
 
Now that took the thread in a whole other direction...now it is truly "half baked".
 
Now that took the thread in a whole other direction...now it is truly "half baked".
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I'm thinking more like "one and a half baked." Anyway, though, I'm not sure if I agree about the ring being shaped mainly to prevent your hand from going forward. Yes, it's flatter on the side that's further away from the blade. So is the bell! That doesn't necessarily mean that the bell is primarily designed to be held in the palm of your hand while thrusting, although that would work pretty well.

Stuff for preventing your hand from going up will also work equally well at any place on the handle, especially right at the bolster (and some styles do have checkered bolsters, of course). If keeping the hand from going up were the biggest concern, putting the ring right at the bolster, like a miniature guard, would make the most sense. Putting it at the ring finger and pinkie kind of doesn't.

The ring is obviously multipurpose, but the placement means it's intended to enhance not the grip of your entire hand, but that of your 2 weakest fingers, which also happen to be the only 2 fingers you can use to draw the blade with the karda and chakma in, unless you're intentionally choking down on the grip.
 
i'm told by a hand specialist that the ring and middle fingers are the strongest fingers.

the pinky is obviously weak, and while it might feel like the index finger is stronger, it's probably not. might vary by individual, but overall, the above is probably fairly accurate.

all i know is that i can do strong things with the ring and middle, that i can't do with any other pair.

trivia: the ring is the only finger not capable of self-extension under compression. i think that's the right wording. hah. stupid body :)
 
Bladite,

What about thumb?
As far as i know you couldn't even crush an egg without the thumb.
 
JayGoliath said:
Bladite,

What about thumb?
As far as i know you couldn't even crush an egg without the thumb.
Click to expand...

have you tried? i think i can manage it :>

also, the thumb is not a finger right: :D
 
i'm told by a hand specialist that the ring and middle fingers are the strongest fingers.
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Very odd. Are you sure he meant "strongest" in that way? Though I'm not sure if the ring and middle fingers are the strongest as in "hardest to injure," either.

Did a quick test with a wimpy hand exerciser resting on my desk (so the thumb isn't involved), and my index finger is definitely the strongest, followed by the middle finger, then ring, then pinkie is obviously a very distant last place. I also checked, and my index fingers are the thickest, the rest getting thinner in the same order.

If you're checking pairs, it might be because your middle and ring fingers are closer to each other in length than middle and index.
 
I heard/read long ago that the middle/ring fingers were the strongest. If you need to open a difficult screw-cap bottle (e.g. 2-liter bottle or soda bottle or spice jar), grasping and twisting with the middle/ring finger may feel a bit awkward at first, but works better then grasping/twisting with the index finger and thumb.

I find the ring on all but one of my khukris fits right between my ring finger and middle finger and helps me "be aware" of my grip on the knife without having to look to confirm how/where I'm holding it. I grasp it in this position from the time I pick up the sheathed khukri, while I'm chopping and while returning it to the sheath.

I don't really have a problem with unsheathing or the tools getting in the way of my grip. I don't really "pull against" the ring, nor have I found that I "push against" it much.
 
Ryan M said:
Very odd. Are you sure he meant "strongest" in that way? Though I'm not sure if the ring and middle fingers are the strongest as in "hardest to injure," either.

Did a quick test with a wimpy hand exerciser resting on my desk (so the thumb isn't involved), and my index finger is definitely the strongest, followed by the middle finger, then ring, then pinkie is obviously a very distant last place. I also checked, and my index fingers are the thickest, the rest getting thinner in the same order.

If you're checking pairs, it might be because your middle and ring fingers are closer to each other in length than middle and index.
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Finger strength probably depends on the particular kind of grip, how you're pulling or twisting, etc. I've done Judo in the past and know that the way to grip an opponent's gi is with the three fingers nearest the edge of the hand (including the pinky). These fingers are not necessarily strongest individually, but they work as a unit, and they close into the palm rather than against the base of the thumb. I checked with my son, who is a long-time Judo black belt and instructor, and he confirms this.

I'm no expert on wielding a khukuri, as I just got my first one (18" UF, about 2 lbs), but in my hand it feels like most of the grip strength comes from the three edge fingers, while the fingers closest to the thumb are more for stability and control.

It seems to me that the one-way ring is to keep the hand from sliding forward into the blade if you deliberately or accidentally thrust the point into something, while the bell-shaped butt would help to keep the khukuri from flying out of your hand if it slips. The handle certainly can become slippery if used in damp conditions or combat.
 
I am inclined to agree with david99
In terms of individual strength, it's hard to argue against that index and middle finger are the strongest.
However when gripping a kukri (and other long objects), the ring finger and the pinky directly work against the base of your thumb forming a nice cylindrical shape. Not to say you can't form a perfect cylindrical shape with index and middle and the base of the thumb too, but it's not nearly as comfortable. This is shape provide a lot of surface area and friction for a grip, at least lot more than one might expect from the weakest of the fingers.
 
Let put a different theory on the table.

The ring isn't there to increase the welder's grip, since it doesn't significantly increase surface area and thus friction.

Instead, it is a tactile reminder or place holder to let the welders know exactly how they are holding the handle.
I think precise hand placement is more important for a kukri handle, since the handle has a rather radical contour, than other blades of its class.

What do you guys think?
 
Miyamoto Musashi, probably one of the most famous men to have ever held a sword/blade, expressed the view that a hilt is best held in the middle two fingers, i.e. don't use the index or pinky for gripping. Am guessing the ring forces you to hold the thing appropriately ;) And yes, I know he was Japanese, not Nepali, so likely never held a khukuri.

Ryan M said:
I'm thinking more like "one and a half baked." Anyway, though, I'm not sure if I agree about the ring being shaped mainly to prevent your hand from going forward. Yes, it's flatter on the side that's further away from the blade. So is the bell! That doesn't necessarily mean that the bell is primarily designed to be held in the palm of your hand while thrusting, although that would work pretty well.

Stuff for preventing your hand from going up will also work equally well at any place on the handle, especially right at the bolster (and some styles do have checkered bolsters, of course). If keeping the hand from going up were the biggest concern, putting the ring right at the bolster, like a miniature guard, would make the most sense. Putting it at the ring finger and pinkie kind of doesn't.

The ring is obviously multipurpose, but the placement means it's intended to enhance not the grip of your entire hand, but that of your 2 weakest fingers, which also happen to be the only 2 fingers you can use to draw the blade with the karda and chakma in, unless you're intentionally choking down on the grip.
Click to expand...
 
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