Cho creep

firkin

firkin

Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
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Is there really "cho creep"?

Sometimes it looks more like "ricasso bloat".

The latter would fit in with the thicker is always better philosphy that seems to be in vogue at Bir Ghorka.
 
Forgive a relative newbie, what exactly is meant by these???

BAD guesses:
Ricasso = Lucy's husband is quieter on the congas?
Cho Creep = Similar to famed "domino effect," only instead of all of asia going communist, all of your belongings HAVE to have Cho's?
 
Originally posted by FallingKnife
Forgive a relative newbie, what exactly is meant by these???
Ricasso Bloat
Cho Creep
Click to expand...
I tried to think of something funny,
but I'll just have to give straight info,
& write it for other new khuk fans as well.

Cho is the cutout in the blade in front of the handle.
Older traditional blades had the cho much closer to the handle.
I've gathered that in HI blades,
over the years the cho has gradually gotten
further & further from the handle.

The philosophy of the 'factory' / kamis is that none of the
crazy HI customers should ever break a blade.
(Even doing things that shouldn't really be done with a blade.)
The most straightforward way to enhance durability is to
'beef-up' the blade by making it thicker.

I'd imagine if the kamis hear that someone broke a blade near the handle,
their response would be to make that area thicker.
Thus, the blunt area in front of the handle (ricasso)
gets thicker & longer (bloated).
 
Hope this works, I should find two identical models but... Two examples from today:

Old khuk:
attachment.php


New khuk, second from left and two on the right:
9-8-3blems.JPG


Note the position of the cho in relation to the end of the handle. The extra inch almost on some of them means a safety margin off the front of the handle, but also losing an inch of good sharp blade.

Actually when looking through the HI site for examples, I didn't really find any egregious examples of difference between old photos and new of HI khuks, so I'm somewhat relieved. Perhaps it is just in comparison to old khuks that are posted here that the differences become apparent.

It could be ricasso bloat but my theory is the kamis want more room to put their initials and symbol :D Check out the field-grade Hanuman Uncle posted for sale, Kumar's initials are right up against the enclosed cho Hanuman page
 
To the best of my recollection it made no difference before they started marking them, but what the hell, it's the first logical explanation of it I've heard of, so unless UB disagrees, we may as well adopt a reason that makes sense.

( Even if it has nothing to do with whatever the real reason is if we ever find out. )
 
While I dislike the cho creep as well, when I stop to think, it really makes little difference in the cutting ability of the khuk. I at least do most of my cutting with the sweet spot, or I try to anyway. I don't believe I've ever used the inner curve to actually cut anything. I will agree that it doesn't look as good though.
 
Cho creep = Margaret's annoying brother.

Ricasso bloat = a symptom of overindulgence at the Olive Garden.
 
Some funny stuff.

I somehow think the cho creep is related to the Americanization of the handles. It gives another inch or so for your index finger to slide or grip before you get to the sharp edge.
 
Like training wheels on a bicycle?:confused: The cho on my Bura New model is close to the bolster like on the old khukuris, and I'm still proudly sporting all ten digits.;) Still, for an American market used to knives with guards on 'em, maybe an unsharpened ricasso makes good sense.

Sarge
 
Given the smaller average body size of a Nepali,

I wonder what the 'proportionally equivalent'

Khukuri size is for, say a BAS or an M43.

If we could pull some height vs hand size info from

Pendentive's data, maybe we could come to a good approximation.
 
Good answers so far!!

I thought of the initial space thing after I posted.

Just now I realized that they can make the knife an inch longer without hardly any extra work.

Anyway, it occured to me that the real difference was that ricasso seemed to be bigger than on the old stuff.
 
I enjoy the slight differences of the H.I. models made for us, versus the 'antique' khuks of old. That includes the cho creep, and the thickness is awesome in my book. I would not want them thinner!

And like Uncle Bill says, regarding the Americanization of the handles, this really is a good thing folks. For those of us who go out there whackin' away, a little extra safety room is not a bad thing at all.

The differences between khuks kicks ass, IMO. It gives collectors such a variety of choices, and so much to go after. I would'nt want that to change, and hope it never does. :)
 
I do not mind the cho creep so much. Depends on the size of the khukuri. On my 18" WW2 and larger khuks it is fine. I like having a little room for the finger behind the cho.
HI khuks are so strong that they all don't need to be super thick, but it is nice to have some variation.
If I could change anything, I'd make the testing paramount. Once that is solved, it would be nice to go back to convex edges. I've gotten a few with a convex edge, such as the Bura New Model and Sher's 12" Villager AK. It's a wonder to behold.
 
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