Forward Curving Khukuri (Posted for Broken Arrow)

Howard Wallace

Howard Wallace

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Feb 23, 1999
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Here is a photo Broken Arrow asked us to post.

forwardcurvekhuk2.jpg
 
Thanks Howard and Rusty! My friend Cecil has this Khukuri for a while. The blade is 13 1/4" long and has a 6" handle. You can also see a temper line near the edge. The temper line is about 1/2 " wide. What style is this Khukuri? Thanks again Rusty and Howard for helping me out on this picture!
 
Wasn't it an old rule of thumb in the aircraft industry that if it had pretty lines, it probably flew pretty too?

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Horse sense is what a jackass ain't got.
 
I really like the curve on this one. Yvsa, is this something like the forward curving that you were designing? If so I want one too.

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"Clear a path for the Kukhri or it will clear one for itself"
 
A very nice khuk, indeed! Being partial to forward curving khuks, I would be very interested in getting an HI version. I especially like the sweeping curve of the handle and blade. To me, this is what khuks are all about!
 
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Now that's a lovely khukuri!!!
Wouldn't y'all say that's a sorta Sirupati style?

Matt the one I am designing has similar lines, but with a much wider blade. It is more a really sexy one with broad hips with the blade swelling out to 3" or so.
A good rule of thumb to get an idea is to make about a 20" staight line on a pieceof paper and then mark it at 4 1/2" above and parellel to it then draw a nice arc 18" long and that will give you some idea of the top profile. The thinnest part of the blade is 1 1/2 inches swelling out to 3" toward the point. I made other designs with more drop than this and they look nice, but I am concerned about how they would feel in the hand.
When I get the wood prototype done that will give me a much better idea. I may have to make 3 or 4 before I come up with the exact full curving khukuri I want. I do want the 2 3/4" to 3" wide blade though.

I have took an idea from one of Terry's old ones he brought and showed me that had horn and bone diamond inlay in the wooden handle. Those would look nice with a yin Yang symbol in the top part of the handle on both sides.
redface.gif


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ
 
We should be getting a couple of khukuris almost identical to the one in the pix -- probably by April. I'm looking forward to seeing what Bura does with this model.

Stay tuned!

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Uncle Bill,
I was wondering if there would be enough interest in this style of Khukuri? Cecil of Kris Cutlery owns this one, and would like to have a modern copy of this for actual use.
 
Broken Arrow,

What is the thickness of the blade? The HI offerings seem to run thicker and heavier than the historical khukuris.
 
Uncle Bill, I think i can find room for one of these on my dresser.

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"Clear a path for the Kukhri or it will clear one for itself"
 
Uncle Bill, do you have any idea what the price range might be like on these?
 
Those in the works are 18 inches straight across and will probably give the sarkis fits making the scabbards but I have hopes they'll get it all together.

Price will be $175 best we can figure.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Howard, this Khukuri has a 3/16 " thick blade. Not as thick as some of the H.I. offerings. I wonder if this blade started off thicker. Maybe over time, after many polishing/sharpenings the blade got thiner. Many antique Japanese katanas today are alot slimmer compared to when they were first made due to the number of times they got polished/sharpened.
 
Perhaps, Broken Arrow, but some of the old khukuris I've seen obviously haven't been polished a lot, and they're still lighter and thinner. I think in the old days people weren't so desirous of breaking padlocks and prying up blocks of cement with their knives.

The HI kamis are right, their thick blades won't fail. Many of us use our khukuris around our property, or carry them in our vehicles, and the heavy blades are great for that. But I think the utility of a heavy blade is compromised simply because the owner won't pack the heavy blade around like they would a lighter one.

Many of the village khukuris are also lighter than standard HI models. People carry these knives up and down steep mountain trails every day. Sure, a lighter khukuri might not take as much abuse, and could conceivably (unlikely) even break after a few years. But at least the owner hasn't carried an extra pound or two up several hundred thousand feet in the interim.

I would love to debate this topic with Bura.
 
Bill,
I think that knife is one of the most graceful I've ever seen without a lot of embelishments. I'm just going to have to get one.
Dan
 
Almost unlimited supports available from Uncle Bill and BirGhorka is one thing, but
what if they live NEXTDOOR?? ...quite another thing! I'm sure I'd take the lightest and thinnest khukuri out everywhere, for every chore!


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\(^o^)/ Mizutani Satoshi \(^o^)/
 
Just a comment on the blade thickness questions. Weren't most "classical" users considerably smaller than modern, over fed, Norte Americanos? IMHO we can utilize heavier blades, if properly balance, because we are, ourselves, larger (on average, no offense to any of the vertically challenged).
 
Jack, welcome to the forum, and you have a valid point. If you look at handles on old khukuris you will see some as small as 3 & 1/2 inches. Would that work for the average American?

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
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