Design -- Khuk vs Axe

ddean

ddean

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
Messages
3,397
Interesting comparison pic from several angles.
Axe is 'bearded viking' style manufactured as
'Firestone Belt Axe'.
AxeKhukCompare800x600.jpg
 
Thanks for the photos. Good insight. I really liked your idea.

A larger axe has the advantage of the long handle, but when you put the short carrying axe up against a Khukuri the competition becomes interesting.

munk
 
What struck me most about this pair was the
close alignment of the angles and profiles
of the cutting edge and the grip.

I had found the axe a couple of weeks ago & noticed
the resemblance to a khukuri in edge and grip.

I had been keeping my eyes open for a blade
that matched it closely when the hanshee
thread gave me the right khuk.
 
wow! that pic makes a great comparison. However, i just thought - isn't the axe heavier at the end, where its blade is. Wouldn't ya get more force with the same swing?
 
Originally posted by ddean
I had found the axe a couple of weeks ago & noticed
the resemblance to a khukuri in edge and grip.
Click to expand...

Wanna share your secret supplier? :D

Dan
 
Years ago, on a summer job, I operated a large hydraulic paper shear. This thing would cut 6-8" of virtually any type of paper, to within 1/16" of a marked measurement. I don't remember how many tons of pressure it exerted on the blade, but the blade was angled about 20 to 25° (adjustable), like a Guillotine. The tech who serviced it said that the blade angle increased the cutting ability by as much as 40% over a blade set 90° to the paper. This is the advantage of a Khuk or an angled-edge axe - it slices as it bites on a chop, and on a draw cut, more of the edge is forces into the target. Call it a "force multipier" effect.
 
Originally posted by Walosi
Call it a "force multipier" effect.
Click to expand...

I like it...
Nice theory - now I'm going to go put it to practice.
 
I noted a similar thing with my 18" AK and my francisca, Frankish belt/throwing axe. I lay the AK down, then line the axe handle up on top of the khuk handle, and -- voila! -- The axe blade lines up perfectly with the tip and belly of the khuk blade. certainly backs up my stance that the AK is an Axe in a knife package.

a_punker: I think that the axe's POB would be closer to the head,
where the POB for a khuk is much closer to the hand. The khuk's more neutral balance allows for better maneuverability, and with the correct snap you can still generate force comparable to the head-heavy axe. The khuk would have more control.

Keith
 
Walosi, you are a smart man. Just thought I'd tell you, in case you didn't know.


munk
 
Originally posted by Walosi .... the blade angle increased the cutting ability by as much as 40% over a blade set 90° to the paper.
Click to expand...
Another way to look at it is that the angle presents only
part of the cutting edge to the target at any moment.
So the majority of the force is presented to only,
say, 20% of the blade at any moment.
So the force on that % of the edge would be several times more
than if it was distributed the full blade length.
Hadn't thought in those terms before.
 
Don't tell me - tell my inlaws. Then, maybe they'll stop addressing mail to "Dear Barb and Dumb Butt":rolleyes:
 
Seems like you'd be exerting an enormous force on the end of the axe handle each time you strike - more so than with a conventional axe design - concentrated at the junction of the head and handle.

Of course the point is moot if the handle's built to take it.
 
..appeared to be taken into consideration on several of the battle axes I've seen. They had a straight edge, angled toward the handle at as much as 35°, but the upper point was strengthened - almost like a tanto point - to support strikes to armor or mail. The handles on the ones I remember were steel, to keep the user from being caught in the middle of a battle with just a short stick in his hand.
 
never take a baloney sandwich to a knife fight. never take tweezers to the knife fight. never take a knife to a cannon fight....

how many years have you been saying this stuff, Bill Martino?

munk
 
the blade angle increased the cutting ability by as much as 40% over a blade set 90° to the paper.
Click to expand...

Just call it a flanking rather than a frontal attack.

BTW, I always take a baloney sandwich to a knife fight. I hate to watch a good fight on an empty stomach.

n2s
 
Originally posted by Walosi
Years ago, on a summer job, I operated a large hydraulic paper shear. This thing would cut 6-8" of virtually any type of paper, to within 1/16" of a marked measurement. I don't remember how many tons of pressure it exerted on the blade, but the blade was angled about 20 to 25° (adjustable), like a Guillotine. The tech who serviced it said that the blade angle increased the cutting ability by as much as 40% over a blade set 90° to the paper. This is the advantage of a Khuk or an angled-edge axe - it slices as it bites on a chop, and on a draw cut, more of the edge is forces into the target. Call it a "force multipier" effect.
Click to expand...

The angle makes the area of contact between the blade and the paper much smaller. If the blade is 90 degrees to the paper, the whole edge contacts the cutting material. With an angle, that goes down to maybe a millimeter or less of edge/paper contact. So for the same pressure on the edge, you get much larger pressures - maybe 1000x or more.

Think about floating in a lake - if you lay on your back (large area) you can float, because the weight of your body is distributed over a large area. However, if you take the same weight, and try to walk across the lake, you sink, because the weight is distributed over a much smaller area (except maybe for Saint Tsimi :D )
 
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