How do you like them drops?

snowwolf

snowwolf

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To figure out what shape/weight I prefer, I had to try a few.

In my very short journey to the Khukri world (7 pieces in about a month, from heavy to feather) I like pretty much everything I got here.
HIFamily7Naked-vi.jpg


As a tool, my favorite weight/balance is the 20 ounce KLVUK and the least of my liking is this 28 ounce Villager. I'm not comfortable with such a drop.
HIVilager-vi.jpg



What exactly is the goal/purpose for a drop like that?
Can someone tell me how to make the best use of this pronounced angle?

What kind of drop do you prefer and why?
 
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I think the absolute best use of that drop is Bawanna's wall. That's sweet. My second idea is maybe a boomarang.

That's a beauty snowwolf. I think it'll grow on ya.
 
Feel free to print the picture and hang it on your wall :D
I'm not questioning its aesthetic. I just don't understand/appreciate the balance.

If I remember right what I read about khuks, throwing them is top ranked on the not to do list. As a side note, I know much more about boomerangs than Khukris.

But no need to be expert in one or the other to say if this thing leaves my hand, it will not come back (especially with you around) ;-)
 
I'd suggest experimenting with using the snap-chop on different materials and tasks to find where this blade design works well. (With the snap-chop, the thumb and index finger do most of the gripping, the blade can be pointing skyward with the wrist cocked back at the beginning of the arm swing, and the pinkie and ring fingers don't tighten until the wrist snap at the latter part of the swing, causing the handle to pivot and the blade to accelerate greatly before contact.)

Seems like a bigger drop like that would cause the blade to hit sooner in the swing, with more follow through possible at the end of the swing (perhaps advantageous in combat, or maybe with flexible branches?)

There's an analysis of various designs in the Khukuri Dynamics page:

study43.gif


from http://www.himalayan-imports.com/Khukuri_Dynamics.html
 
I thought I recently read where the gurka's were trained to throw their Khukri's up to a certain distance. I thought it was an incredibly long distance, like 40 or 50 meters which is almost a yard, I don't do metric.

It seems like most with the nose heavy balance would make decent throwers. I doubt that particular one would be much good for throwing, enter the boomerang theory.

I'm not greedy ya know. I grab em when I can but I'm not like a hoarder. Now I'm worried if anything ever happens to that you'll blame me and be hatin. I didn't do it...........

Good idea on the picture though, that has good merit.
 
I didn't realize the M43 had that much drop on the scale. It didn't feel like it but again I was focusing on overall beauty and not the finer details. That was Sluggers show and tell last trip.
He's local, so if it turns up walk about I could be a suspect in that one. Remorseful suspect but suspect none the less.
 
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

Mine is much more likely to see flexible branches than combat.
Its 28 ounce feels a little heavy for snap-chop, maybe I just need more practice with it.
 
The ASTK is supposed to be modeled after a historical Khukuri that was carried (early 1800s) by General Amar Singh Thapa. Since he was a military leader, not a farmer, the design was probably a high quality version of a combat khukuri.

That said, I think it's impossible to correlate the blade angle to the purpose. Looking at Steve Tall's diagram, the AK and M43, which are both good as heavy choppers, are at opposite ends of the angle spectrum. The models in the middle of the spectrum include both fighting and chopping blades.

Your comfort level might change with experience. I don't think 28 oz is very heavy for snap-chop, but it depends on the person and what you're chopping. For flexible branches I think one of the slimmer blades would be better, such as Sirupati or Chitlangi.

It can be dangerous to use a heavy khukuri on flexible branches; you have to be extra careful with every swing to make sure the blade doesn't go all the way through and come back at you.
 
Got to love Youtube.

Do not do this at home :-)
[video=youtube_share;JbxiOUqBdP8]http://youtu.be/JbxiOUqBdP8[/video]

More KLO than Khuk but the guy has a nice technique.
[video=youtube_share;ehRx5joO_RM]http://youtu.be/ehRx5joO_RM[/video]

Meanwhile, I don't think I will risk damaging my Villager on a throwing experience.
 
Yeah right! Like I'm not gonna be throwing a Khukri this weekend. I'll keep ya posted.
 
davidf99 said:
It can be dangerous to use a heavy khukuri on flexible branches; you have to be extra careful with every swing to make sure the blade doesn't go all the way through and come back at you.
Click to expand...

We both agree. I guess I didn't express my concern properly. I prefer a firmer grip when I swing at small branches with a heavier blade to make sure I stay in control if things don't go as expected.

The snap-chop is very effective when the target stops the blade. I wouldn't mind using it for that. What I didn't say at first is that I don't picture this ASTK as a chopper
 
I built a hanshee, just to do some testing ( since even if I had an old one I'm not gonna smack anything with it)image.jpg
I haven't done a lot of soft target cutting, but it's lousy for splitting, and bounces alot chopping heavy stuff. It cuts small limbs ( or limbs bundled to simulate, say, a radius and ulna) veeery well. You can also do some wicked, wicked drawcuts with it. At that level of drop and distal taper this one's purely a weapon. They also turn in your hand more readily . I like the drop on my Gelbu:
image.jpg
Point's still usable but can still shear , and drawcut when needed
With the deeper drops I've found you really have to have the timing down fir the snap-chop (or as it was called when I learned it, the "gurkha snap".)
 
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Some folks believe the drop puts the wrist at a more natural angle during use. I tend to agree and have become more fond of khukuri with a nice curve. I can imagine the drop would also cause the blade to have a shearing effect during a cut as opposed to hitting the target flat like a traditional blade. Who knows for sure. It also causes the tip to hit first, which can be tricky. That's one reason I like a khuk with a well hardened tip. I can use the tip area for cutting near the ground or in tight spots. In the end, it's what feels good in your hand and that can evolve as you try different khuks. Take care.
 
So in a nutshell: position/ergonomic,function and range.

Position: how do you stand for the task
Ergonomics: efficient and comfortable in the position for a given task.
Functions: chop, slice/cut/slash, stab
Range: distance between you and the object.

If I take the combat mind set that big ASTK drop would be good for
-powerful and deep draw cuts at very close range (elbow draw)
-strong stabbing with very little wrist flex
-blocking/catching opponent blade in the recurve

The purpose as a tool is less obvious to me.

Here's a link to the Khukuri Dynamics page Steve was referring to, this is a must read -> Khukuri_Dynamics
It provides an extensive study on Khukuri shapes but gives very little info on the purpose. I'm sure each of these blades were designed with something in mind. I wish we had this "historical information".

The bottom line is all about the striking angle.
 
snowwolf said:
Here's a link to the Khukuri Dynamics page Steve was referring to, this is a must read -> Khukuri_Dynamics
It provides an extensive study on Khukuri shapes but gives very little info on the purpose. I'm sure each of these blades were designed with something in mind. I wish we had this "historical information".

The bottom line is all about the striking angle.
Click to expand...
Wonder why the lines (in the diagrams) end not in the Kuks business ends (the belly) but somewhere between the belly and the tip?

I like drops because I use my wrist movement in addition to my arm and body movement. All these movements add to max power and while a straight "sword" would make my wrist joint hit the end of its range, the bend forward tip of a Kukri will hit the target before that happens. Thus it feels more natural/less painful and would reduce long term wrist damage. Also at the end of a chopping movement I like to draw the knife back towards me. The belly which hangs down will do a a nice draw cut during that portion of the move. So arm wrist and knife do a chop/cut combination thing which works well as a tool for softer materials (green wood). Now if its a solid tree I would be more chopping than chop/cutting.
I wish I could make some slowmo video for you.

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Never received any Gurkha training and didnt observe Nepalese villagers using their Kukris. Its just what I think based on my experience with stick fighting and other martial arts, how the blade is shaped and what feels right to me personally :)
 
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Jens- with you there. The drop on the khukuri and on a good Filipino or Indo fiighting shape aren't too far off- difference being that it occurs in the khuk blade itself, rather than the hilt/blade junction. The ASTK drop isn't too far gone for me, but the hanshee loses its utility quite a bit (and if you come from a FMA/silat backgroung they're downright weird to handle- chamber a #2 strike and you gotta watch out for your deltoid and your ear...:)
Without slo mo video, i think you can best liken the movement to snapping a bullwhip with muscle tension at the terminus, like a properly delivered hand technique.
 
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The drop does provide one final lever poin in the hip-shoulder-elbow-wrist whip, especially with the snap-chop at the end of the cut. I also drawcut a little when chopping- helps to keep the blade from sticking (especially thinner/more aggressively ground khuks).
 
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