Forgive my Ignorance.

J

justin

Joined
Sep 17, 1999
Messages
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Now before somebody tells me; I already did a search and came up with diddly about this so I thought I'd post it here. I know from nothing about Kurkris apart from a little backround on the Gurkhas and the shape of the knife makes it's purpose pretty obvious. However what's the deal with those tiny knives that most of them come with? Are they for utility? Are they something like the kozuka in a katana scabbard? Are they for throwing or decoration or what? They look too small in the handle to be of much use for cutting jobs or fighting with but maybe I'm way off base. Anyhow would somebody mind explaining their purpose and use? I'm really curious. Thank you for your time.:confused:
 
They aren't as small as you may think. In fact, they are very handy. The small knife, the "karda," is just that, a little knife for when you don't need a 15"+ khukuri! The chakma is used as a hone/burnisher/strop to maintain the edge on the khukuri and even the karda.

Read everything you can on http://www.himalayan-imports.com/ and you will have a lot of questions answered! :D
 
One, the chamka, is a sharpening-type tool. Used to align and smooth the edge, like a steel.

The karda is a small knife, and is perfectly functional for small or intricate jobs.
 
DISCLAIMER:

On the above comments on the functionality of the Karda and Chakma.

HI HIMALAYAN IMPORTS BirGorka Kardas and Chakma are functional. Although the Chakma on some are not as steel hard as they could be. That being said, the Karda and Chakma accompanying other MFR, are strictly for tradition and completely useless, IMHO. Trust me, I have bought two from another company and they bend like a cheap table knife.

HIMALAYAN IMPORTS is QUALITY...................
 
18" Ang Khola is 7.5 inches in length (3" handle, 4.5 inch blade). This is plenty of knife for three of four fingered use.

Keith
 
will be dependant on the size of the khuk. The karda on my little 12" siru would be okay for cleaning under your fingernails. And the chakma puts my fingers way too close to the khuks edge for comfort. On one of my 25" sirus the chakma is plenty long to steel the edge without worrying about counting my fingers when I'm done. The karda is a real knife. About as long as my 2 blded trapper with the clip blade out but considerably more stout. On my other 25" and my 18" WWII the karda and chakma are a little smaller but still very functional. I've seen the Atlanta Cutlery version, two kardas, no chakma and neither one was good for anything.

Frank
 
General rule of thumb is lenghth of khukuri handle should roughly equal overall length of the karda ( or chakma ).

18" horn handled WWII Bura

( OAL = 17 3/4+".
( Blade length = 11 15/16ths.
( Handle length from tip of buttcap to
front of habaki bolster = 6 1/4".
( Karda = 6 1/2" OAL, Blade = 3 3/4",
Handle = 2 3/4".
( Chakma = 6 5/8" OAL, Steel = 3 1/2",
Handle = 2 3/4+".

18" wood handled WWII Sher

( OAL = 18 3/8ths".
( Blade length = 12".
( Handle length from tip of buttcap to
front of habaki bolster = 6 7/8ths.
( Karda = 6 1/4" OAL, Blade = 3 1/4",
Handle = 3".
( Chakma = 6 1/4" OAL, Steel = 3 1/2",
Handle = 2 7/8ths".

The above should show that for the most part the kamis do fairly well at standardization for handmade products.
 
When you go hiking the khukuri is useful for making firewood or a shelter to sleep under. The little karda can be useful for other things.

I use mine for prepearing my foods. Like cutting some edible things off trees or cutting herbs. Just to keep the vitamin levels in me reasonable while I am out.

I also use it to clean the fish or prepeare the meat before putting them over the fire.

And if I made some stuff to apply on the food then I use the karda as a butter knife. It is my food knife really.

15 inch khukuris tend to be troublesome for such tasks.
 
Yep, the Khukuri with its tools reminds me of a Trousse, or hunting/game cleaning set. Usually comes with some heavy bone chopper/skinner blade, then a few smaller knives for skinning, sectioning, sometimes a saw or skewers, etc. A trousse is also used to describe an asian eating set which has a case w/chipstix and a slim knife.

Keith
 
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