how do you?

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nagod

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Jun 29, 2005
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how do you define a khukuri as opposed to a bent blade knife? is a sher attitude a khuk?i leave this to more knowledgable forumites for an answer.thanks
 
Yep, it's a KLO. "It just doesn't go, if it ain't got that cho":D The cho, or the little hoof looking cut out, is usually what defines a khuk from a KLO. The cho has a purpose, but the exact purpose is sort of..well, forgotten. It could be a break in the blade to allow blood to drip off so that it did not make the handle slippery. Or, it could be religious in meaning. One thing is for certain, it probably will have to have a cho to be considered by many to be a khuk.
Now, what about things that DO have a cho, but are not bent? like the AK bowie?;) The mind boggles.

Jake
 
I sort of disagree, a Khukuri may very well be whatever the Kamis call a Khukuri
 
Although different...I still think of my sher attitudes as khuks. They just have large undifferentiated, square cho's. Some could argue though that a traditional cho and handle rings make it a khuk even more than the bend of the blade.
DanR
 
whatever the kaudi started out as , it seems that it now embodies all of the theoretical possibilities mentioned. no reason it could not have started out for a practical reason, been embellished as a decoration, and then assigned religious and traditional meanings, feel free to swap the order around, which came first or next not terribly important. i think the kami's once said it was not a kukhri unless it had the kaudi and been thru the proper blessing ceremony. wonder if the 'attitude' has been so blessed?

p.s. - so far the most important use some people subscribe to is that it is there as a sight for throwing the kukhri accurately. of course as we all know it's flight dynamics, and that it may make a respectible and deadly boomerang if thrown accurately by a master, one would need a good sighting system.

some experiments with optical sights were somewhat inconclusive, but laser sighting systems now show promise. ancient armouries in fact frequently show chain mail gloves on suits of armour which of course are there to protect the hand when catching the returning kukhri. these were so successful that you frequently see chainmail gloves on western armour and even plate ones in latter suits. like the cho, their original use has been largely forgotten and often mistakenly ascribed to other protective uses.

we of course do not recommend throwing of your kukhri until you have completed the full course of instruction and are at least 15th dan and wear the coveted fluorescent yellow and orange striped belt with the gold tassles and the little silver and black ducky that squeeks, of that rank. if you are below that level serious damage to yourself, your surroundings and to your kukhri are the most likely result. and you will probably not damage the target. if you are at or above that level, you of course recognise the gravity and seriousness of this course of action and are thus likely to never use this skill.
 
Its actually the red and gold ducky that sqeeks. Silver and Black is very low rank;)
 
i always get them mixed up. silver and black ducky is only 13th dan kukhrido and has one less international orange stripe. i do not keep track of the lesser ranks anymore, after all it only takes 43 years on average to get the 1st dan belt.

p.s. - the dancing girls chained to the belt with gold links is an appreciated touch at levels above 15th dan, and you get to exchange them for new ones when you reach 20th dan. (female belt holders are issued with chippendales of course)
 
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