Becker Machax as a "Fighting Kukri"???

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Plainsman

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Apr 5, 1999
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I just purchased a Becker BK-4 Machax and one of my first thoughts upon picking it up was the similarity to a Kukri!

Dwight McLemore has a fighting book on the Kukri and I'm thinking the Machax would work well with his techniques.

What are your thoughts on thinking of the Machax as a Kukri and using it with Dwight's methods?

Thank you!
 
They used to make one with a sharpened swedge, but I dont know much about knife fighting.
 
I'll start by saying that I've never been in a knife fight, so I don't have any first hand experience really. The little I do have is from my time as a Marine Corps Infantryman. We were learning the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program(MCMAP), not Scottish orienteering. It drew from many other established fighting styles, so we spent a few days on knife fighting. The BK4 is a great tool, I own a few. The latest Ka-Bar style is probably the best built of the BK4s for fighting, in my shallow opinion. It's a lot lighter in the hand than most would expect. That lends well to a "fighting" knife. It's not overly large. The only problem I could forsee is that the point is offset. It's not the best tool for stabbing I suppose, the BK5 would be yourbest option there.
 
the warrior variant was designed more for fighting
 
This is a warrior machax.

IMAG0345.jpg
 
If you try thrusting with a Machax, you'll find that it is perfectly angled for a accurate high-line thrust. You wouldn't think so to look at it, but it's true. The point comes right in line with the knuckles. The only point of concern with the thrust is that the Machax doesn't have the usual Becker protruding finger guard, so the possibility of the hand riding up onto the blade, though unlikely, is still there.

DSCN0054.jpg


The Machax is reasonably fast in the hand for slashes and snap cuts. The reverse curve works great for cutting into meat. I've taken a pig apart with mine, and it can chop through a jawbone and skull pretty easy, not to mention whipping through rib bones like they aren't even there.

If you sharpened the swedge, you could deliver a good back cut with it, too. The Warrior Machax's longer swedge would be better for back cuts, but the Warrior's are rare.

Any of the Dwight's fighting techniques will work with the Machax, only faster, since the 4 is lighter in the hand. You could do a lot worse than the 4 as a fighting blade.
 
I think I'll be ordering the Fighting Kukri book now! :) I have all of his books except that one and the Fighting Sword. I love his Fighting Hawk Books and Videos as well as the Fighting Staff book.
 
Plainsman said:
I think I'll be ordering the Fighting Kukri book now! :) I have all of his books except that one and the Fighting Sword. I love his Fighting Hawk Books and Videos as well as the Fighting Staff book.
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You'll be happy with it. Dwight fills the nearly 300 page illustrated manual with virtually everything you need to know about fighting with the big choppers. For the price, you can't go wrong.
 
I concur; After I purchased my Machax, I immediately bought the McLemore book; the techniques mesh perfectly with the Becker.
 
Well, unfortunately, I know all too well that a Machax will puncture heavy clothing and flesh quite easily.....I threw an early machax proto and it came zinging back and put 37 stitches worth of puncture in my left leg.....Bled quite a bit and it actually was fairly painful........ It could not have been travelling very fast considering the distances involved and it was a ricochet.......I have been a bit cautious abot throwing blades ever since, especially now that I move a bit slower.......With some arm behind it and intent to do harm the Machax is quite impressive.....I separated a deers head from it's body with a single blow some years ago and it was a 175+ buck.......mind it was skinned at the time but I hardly felt it slow down as it went through......

Ethan
 
Ethan Becker said:
Well, unfortunately, I know all too well that a Machax will puncture heavy clothing and flesh quite easily.....I threw an early machax proto and it came zinging back and put 37 stitches worth of puncture in my left leg.....Bled quite a bit and it actually was fairly painful........ It could not have been travelling very fast considering the distances involved and it was a ricochet.......I have been a bit cautious abot throwing blades ever since, especially now that I move a bit slower.......With some arm behind it and intent to do harm the Machax is quite impressive.....I separated a deers head from it's body with a single blow some years ago and it was a 175+ buck.......mind it was skinned at the time but I hardly felt it slow down as it went through......

Ethan
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It's the internet Boss, pix or it didn't happen.:D
 
Murphnuge said:
It's the internet Boss, pix or it didn't happen.:D
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Easy there killer.....I'm still teachin' him how to log in under the Ethan Becker account and not the Jeff Randall one.

Pix are a.........work in progress.

:D

Moose
 
What am I gonna do...... The scar is so old it's damn near gone...... Happened before the first production started so maybe'84 or '82 ?...... Moose is gonna be around this weekend so maybe then.....

Ethan
 
I'd like to hear of an actual use of a Khuk in a lethal manner (barring homicide). I heard tale of a Marine around the R.S.S. Hammond,La area that was known for a confirmed kill with an E-tool.

I'd like to hear some actual accounts, if any, of kukri success in the modern world.

Caution: Please don't take that comment as snarky, it's an honest interest, not a sarcastic one.. I have no knowledge of the kukris use as a weapon and just recently became aware of it's existance as a blade shape at all. Thus I wallow in my own ignorance on the subject and have no sarcastic remarks to be made. Only GENUINE intrigue.
 
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stvpourciau said:
I'd like to hear of an actual use of a Khuk in combat. I heard tale of a Marine around the R.S.S. Hammond,La area that was known for a confirmed kill with an E-tool.

I'd like to hear some actual accounts, if any, of kukri success in the modern world.

Caution: Please don't take that comment as snarky, it's an honest interest, not a sarcastic one.. I have no knowledge of the kukris use as a weapon and just recently became aware of it's existance as a blade shape at all. Thus I wallow in my own ignorance on the subject and have no sarcastic remarks to be made. Only GENUINE intrigue.
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Look up British Ghurka. Thems some tales of kukri killin fo' ya.

Moose
 
Moosez45 said:
Look up British Ghurka. Thems some tales of kukri killin fo' ya.

Moose
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Yep, that.

Seems to me the most recent account I can remember was a Ghurka in Afghanistan who used his kukri to remove the head of a terrorist so they could ID him later on. Apparently they were on foot and couldn't take the guy's whole body with, so WHAM!--off with his head and into the gunny sack it went. The press was indignant as usual.
 
Is no joke..... The Gurkha still have the rep of preferring to do their killing with a blade rather than
a gun....

Ethan
 
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