Bill Bagwell on Khukuris

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I just finished reading "Bowies, Big Knives, And The Best Of Battle Blades" by Bill Bagwell. He has a couple chapters devoted to the great khukuri. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he thought very highly of the khuk. (He disparages several other blades, including the tomahawk and the dagger, that many believe to be great weapons.)

Bagwell is obviously biased toward the Bowie knife for pure fighting purposes. I tend to agree with him here.

As far as survival knives go, he seems to place the khukuri at the top of the list. But he also shows that the khuk is a great battle blade as well. One of his chapters is devoted to Gorkha sentry disposal by way of the khuk. He states that the Gorkhas "have a simple and straight forward approach... After slipping within reach of the target, they simply split his skull like a coconut or cut his head off. None of this risky and shaky business of grabbing the guy with the hands and bending him backward over the knee... When a Gurkha has a choice, he doesn't touch his target with his hands. If the target is wearing a helmet the Gurkha strikes a horizontal blow to the base of the neck. This severs the spinal cord and often results in complete decapitation. If the enemy sentry is bareheaded and there is no helmet to contend with, the blow is simply a vertical chop to the top of the skull. The Gurkha's blade usually doesn't stop until it reaches the chin. Very simple, very basic, and very effective." (p.82)

Bagwell's book is enjoyable as hell. I disagree with his position on tomahawks (I wonder why he doesn't think the hawk can pull off the same sentry attacks as the khuk) But that's about it. The book makes for a great read.
 
A khuk to the head ought to ruin one's day. Sort of the same images of Yvsa and his watermellons on another thread. :)
 
The Bowie knife isn't anymore than a straightend out khukuri.;) :p :rolleyes: :D

I don't understand the stance on the 'Hawk as a weapon not capable of doing many things the khukuri can do.
And yet on the other hand many of the old 'Hawks are really scaled down versions that truly aren't worth much for anything.
However there were also many made with blades as much as 6" wide more than capable of taking a head or splitting a skull.
These were usually single edged 'Hawks and often were made lighter by having different shaped holes in the head.
And however they were made or the style I will always have a love for the 'Hawk.
The 'Hawk is a descendent of the warclub which was the favorite weapon of the Cherokee.:cool: :)

However this Cherokee/Osage/possible Creek ndn loves the khukuri on an equal footing, the khukuris sorta remind me of the gunstock style of warclub.;) :)
 
I have a Riflemans hawk from Cold Steel and believe it would make an excellent weapon, I know it makes an excellent tool. However with only around a 3inch cutting surface as compared to 10 to 12 inches for a khukuri you would have to have better aim to hit a vital area off the body. I guess when I think about it either one generates enough force that it makes little difference where it hits on a body.

YVSA,
Is a gunstock war club what is being carried by the older Mohawk, in the newer version of the film The Last of the Mohicians?
 
A staek knife makes for a good weapon, and in some situation a number 2 pencil will work better than most knives. The challenge has always been finding a good field tool. The weapons part has seldom been a problem, as long as you have the initiative, most anything will work.

BTW, I enjoyed Bill Bagwell's book. it's a refreshing look at many popular knives.

n2s
 
Originally posted by Randy Rawson
YVSA,
Is a gunstock war club what is being carried by the older Mohawk, in the newer version of the film The Last of the Mohicians?
Click to expand...

Do you mean the one Russel Means used in a full swing to take out Wes Studi?

Yup.:)

To do a little name dropping here, have I ever said anything about getting my Cedar Gourd Dance Box autographed by Russel Means?
For those of you who don't know who Russel is, he's one of the old founders and leaders of The American Indian Movement.:)

There's been a couple of guys ask me about warclubs with e-mail, guess there's more interest in them than I would sometimes think.:)
The gunstock warclubs are a later version and patterned after the gun stocks of the old flintlocks.
My favorites are the much older ones carved with a fetish or ball at the business end.
One really has to appreciate the craftsmanship of the old ndns who made such beautiful fearsome weapons with only stone tools for carving.
Although stone tools can be extraordinarly sharp they are also quite brittle and carving with them are much different than steel as you can't twist the blade to remove chips without breaking or chipping the edge on a stone cutting tool.
What really fascinates me is the beautiful smooth polished finishes the old clubs have.
The highly polished smooth finishes portray many, many hours of work with rubbing of varying degrees of rock or loose sand.
And such work, as well as the beautiful quill and bead and bark work, and the beautifully made baskets, denies the thoughts of many archeologists and anthropologists that the hunter gatherer spent most of their time hunting and gathering.
There was a study several years ago of a small band, about 14 people, of indigeous people living in So America that were hunters and gatherers that spent only about 3 hours a day getting what the needed to live well with.
A far cry from those of us who work or did work many hours a day for sometimes less than desireable wages to even make ends meet, ainnit?:rolleyes: :eek: :D

There's still a few places where a man could live like that, but I'm much too old and feeble to live in such places anymore.
If I had only known 55 years ago what I know now I may have 'turned back' and never came outta the woods.;)
 
Does anybody have a used copy of that book they would like to sell? Or, alternatively, does anybody know where I can get a used copy for cheap? Sounds like an interesting read.
 
My wife obtained a used copy through Amazon.com. I think it was about $21 or $22, and it was in brand new condition when it showed up.
 
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