HI Falcata/Kopis

Loki

Loki

Joined
Mar 23, 2000
Messages
740
Bill:

I saw this on the Swordforum -

"But I'm totally with you guys. There just aren't enough dedicated cleaving weapons on the market. I was looking over at Himalayan Imports and I got this CRAZY idea. Since they seem to be branching out in more culturally diverse areas, with the developement of their BirGhorka Everest Katana, maybe someone should suggest a Falcata, or Kopis, which could be probably be made with their existing khukri blades. They would fill a very overlooked niche, IMHO, especially with all the people that like to test cut things, as these are extremely effective for that kinda fun.......I bet a longer blade could do some truly nasty draw cuts too. Anyone think it's even remotely possible?"

Is it possible that in addition to Katana's your guys could take on these short swords? It would be really interesting to see a 25" Falcata weighing in at 2.5 pounds.

 
Great minds think alike... I had the same idea about a year ago.

I'd wanted to own a machaera (note on terminology; in the opinion of the leading academic expert on ancient Greek arms & armor, Prof. Anthony Snodgrass of Cambridge University, the correct term is 'machaera', though 'copis' or 'phasganon' were also used to describe this blade type; the word 'falcata' is a modern term drawn from a misunderstanding of a passage in Ovid) ever since I was a kid and saw the almost perfectly preserved example in the British Museum in London. I approached several custom swordsmiths and asked about the project, but they all figured it was too difficult (I didn't want the Museum Replicas 'falcata', even though it's a close copy of the British Museum sword, because of bad experience with their workmanship. Basically, IMHO, they don't know spit about tempering)

When I stumbled across the HI page on the Net, and saw how closely some of the village khukuris resembled the ancient type, I wrote to Bill Martino and asked him if he'd consider the project. He kindly agreed and I sent him a picture of the British Museum machaera. I felt HI was just the outfit to undertake the job because (a) I support the view that the khuk is a direct descendent of the machaera, introduced into the northern subcontinent by the armies of Alexander the Great (b) the HI kamis use basically the same techniques that the ancient smiths used.

In due course, the HI machaera arrived... It turned out to be a quite superb, beautifully made, finished and decorated *khukuri*, bearing only the usual generic resemblance of all khuks to the machaera - not that it mattered a damn, since the HI khuk is a thing of extreme beauty and utility in its own right, and taking it from me will entail a certain amount of uncurling cold, dead fingers from around the handle.

If you want a pretty close working copy of a machaera, buy a Gelbu Special; it's a bit on the short side, but easily close enough for Government work. The GS, from all I've read about it on this forum, handles just like a machaera; whereas the traditional sirupatis and the Kumar Kobras are *improved* machaeras...

As Bill Martino explained at the time, it's not much use sending the kamis a sketch, since all they'll do is look at it with an air of polite interest and then proceed to make the khukuri they were planning on making all along (and, since they know more about making khuks than anybody else on the planet, it's best to let them get on with it)

Since I first ordered the HI machaera, a talented young smith here in the UK has made me a pretty sensational accurate copy of the original Greek pattern; it's similar to a khuk in many ways, very different in many others.

The machaera is a magical weapon, with a definite 'life' to it - it seems to launch itself before you've actually made the decision to make the cut, if that makes any sense. It's fast in the hand, will cut anything, and would probably survive most any abuse, up to and including a direct hit from a tactical nuke. It's also a 2,500 symbol of liberty (in ancient Athens, the hero Harmodius used a machaera to kill the tyrant Hipparchus and set Athens free).

For cutting stuff up with, however, the 20" villager and 25" Kumar Kobra are even better...
 
"...the machera is a magical weapon...it seems to launch itself before you've actually made the decision to make the cut, if that makes any sense."

Exactly why I will not strap a 12" Sirupati on my belt. It not only *wants* to hunt, it lives in perpetual anticipation, like a falcon.

P.S. - what do you think of HI putting out a Jack Ketch signature line for the professional trade Tom?
 
Thanks for good input, Tom. If we can get the wood model to the kamis they do pretty well. Blueprints, forget it. Dimensional sketches with a lot of explanatory notes, maybe.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 05-22-2000).]
 
Acually Ketch might not be the one HI should get as an endorser. It did take him EIGHT GREAT WHACKS with a big old axe to take off the Duke of Monmouth's head in 1685. But for two hundred years afterwards, executioners were still being called Jack Ketch.
 
I had the same idea with a design I submited in a design competition promoted by G.H.
Did not win...
But I believe it would be a great tool and with a better hanle than a traditional kuhk.
And since I am portuguese, thus "Lusitanians" it would be great to have a copy of the weapon used by my ancestors to fight the Romans!

If no one is willing to make a Falcata I´ll make one!

Mr. Martino: do you have spare blades?

Luso

 
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