Hey, everyone. First time posting at BladeForums & wanted to ask a semi-hypothetical question: Which one would work better all-around? I have some thoughts & figure other people can add/argue/agree as they see things. I figure I'd do a pros & cons in two sections for each- combative & utility.
Khukuri (combative):
Pros are that it's intuitive (meaning that you can just swing it like an axe or a hammer, instead of having to run it along whatever you're cutting like a knife as you would with a sword or a long machete), that it's devastating with a big swing, that you can just propel it (whatever the word is for when you don't really need to get a lot of momentum behind it like you might with an axe or hammer), that it'll cut deeper than normal because of the shape (it'll intersect/collide with the cutting surface), that it's a stronger foward stab because of the shape (like a regular punch), that it can be used to hook & redirect things like gun barrels & other weapons, and that it'll do damage by hooking with it like a scythe (behind the knee, back of the ankle, anywhere on the arm or neck, right where the leg meets the hip, etc...).
Cons are that it's hard to do upward stabs (and downward ones, if the back isn't sharpened at the tip), it's hard to do loop-around stabs (kidney from in front, heart from the back, etc...), and it's hard to do a loop-around cut (like if you were wrestling with someone & you went all the way around the back of their neck to haul on the side of it with the back edge). Also that it's a bit end-heavy & harder to get out of the sheath- particularly if you have to do it "wrong" (like you potentially would in a dangerous/injured situation & at the very least would benefit from having the option of).
Khukuri (utility):
Pros are that it works well for pretty much anything you can use a large knife for, but it's a little bit better for using as a drawknife & possibly as a "rounder" (making things rounded with the curved part of the blade by running it side-to-side across what you're carving). Also seems to be pretty good for clearing brush & using as something of a small scythe (cutting vines, bundles of grass for mats, etc...).
Cons are that it's a bit harder to sharpen & you seem to have to get the knack of swinging it so you chop good. Harder to get in & out of the sheath. Sheath is harder to make, if it comes up.
Smatchet (combative):
Pros are that it's able to do pretty much everything a dagger can do (slash, stab, backcut- both blade-up & blade-down), makes a massive wound on the stab & can chop (different targets available & quicker incapacitation because it goes right through everything that makes the area work), gets out of the sheath like any other knife, and isn't a problem to do the things you have issue doing with a khukuri (upward stabs, loop-around stabs, and loop-around cuts), maybe a bit better balanced- and better for throwing so the point goes in.
Cons are that it can't HOOK. That ability to hook around things translates to some serious things (redirecting a rifle barrel at the last second, deflecting other weapons mid-swing, moving/injuring the limbs, catching the neck for shielding purposes, opening up an angle for another knife). Also, that it might not be as intimidating- as the khukuri has a reputation & something of an exoticness that draws attention to the weapon & what it can probably do. Plus, while it seems like it would damage an area to the level that it would be functionally prettty close to severing whatever it is- it's not QUITE severing it & see whatever it is being taken OFF in a fight is probably a very shocking & very menacing thing.
Smatchet (utility):
Pros are that it's able to do everything a large knife can do, because that's what it is. If it has an unsharpened area on the back that's long enough to put your thumb on & baton against, you've pretty much got everything a short machete will do. If there's a sharpened area on the back, it would make cutting rope or vines easier because you don't have to spin the blade to cut upward with it. The hole on the side of the blade that isn't totally sharpened (so you know which way the blade is turned in the dark) can be a bolt-wrench. Can be something of a makeshift trowel because of how broad it is.
Cons are that it doesn't have that scything ability & it doesn't work as well as a drawknife by itself (you'd need to stab the point in a piece of wood in order to use that for a handle). Can't round things out as well as the khukuri seems like it would. For clearing brush, using as a sickle, and using it as a drawknife or a rounder are all things the khukuri has better potential for.
This is probably pretty long, so I'll wrap it up by asking: "Which would you guys go with?" As much as I like the smatchet (particularly the ability to get it out of the sheath any which way & being able to move the blade in more ways), I think I'd go with the khukuri (because of the hooking/catching ability & the stronger stab- plus the sheath lets you carry a small knife & a sharpener, but I guess that's also possible with the smatchet).
Khukuri (combative):
Pros are that it's intuitive (meaning that you can just swing it like an axe or a hammer, instead of having to run it along whatever you're cutting like a knife as you would with a sword or a long machete), that it's devastating with a big swing, that you can just propel it (whatever the word is for when you don't really need to get a lot of momentum behind it like you might with an axe or hammer), that it'll cut deeper than normal because of the shape (it'll intersect/collide with the cutting surface), that it's a stronger foward stab because of the shape (like a regular punch), that it can be used to hook & redirect things like gun barrels & other weapons, and that it'll do damage by hooking with it like a scythe (behind the knee, back of the ankle, anywhere on the arm or neck, right where the leg meets the hip, etc...).
Cons are that it's hard to do upward stabs (and downward ones, if the back isn't sharpened at the tip), it's hard to do loop-around stabs (kidney from in front, heart from the back, etc...), and it's hard to do a loop-around cut (like if you were wrestling with someone & you went all the way around the back of their neck to haul on the side of it with the back edge). Also that it's a bit end-heavy & harder to get out of the sheath- particularly if you have to do it "wrong" (like you potentially would in a dangerous/injured situation & at the very least would benefit from having the option of).
Khukuri (utility):
Pros are that it works well for pretty much anything you can use a large knife for, but it's a little bit better for using as a drawknife & possibly as a "rounder" (making things rounded with the curved part of the blade by running it side-to-side across what you're carving). Also seems to be pretty good for clearing brush & using as something of a small scythe (cutting vines, bundles of grass for mats, etc...).
Cons are that it's a bit harder to sharpen & you seem to have to get the knack of swinging it so you chop good. Harder to get in & out of the sheath. Sheath is harder to make, if it comes up.
Smatchet (combative):
Pros are that it's able to do pretty much everything a dagger can do (slash, stab, backcut- both blade-up & blade-down), makes a massive wound on the stab & can chop (different targets available & quicker incapacitation because it goes right through everything that makes the area work), gets out of the sheath like any other knife, and isn't a problem to do the things you have issue doing with a khukuri (upward stabs, loop-around stabs, and loop-around cuts), maybe a bit better balanced- and better for throwing so the point goes in.
Cons are that it can't HOOK. That ability to hook around things translates to some serious things (redirecting a rifle barrel at the last second, deflecting other weapons mid-swing, moving/injuring the limbs, catching the neck for shielding purposes, opening up an angle for another knife). Also, that it might not be as intimidating- as the khukuri has a reputation & something of an exoticness that draws attention to the weapon & what it can probably do. Plus, while it seems like it would damage an area to the level that it would be functionally prettty close to severing whatever it is- it's not QUITE severing it & see whatever it is being taken OFF in a fight is probably a very shocking & very menacing thing.
Smatchet (utility):
Pros are that it's able to do everything a large knife can do, because that's what it is. If it has an unsharpened area on the back that's long enough to put your thumb on & baton against, you've pretty much got everything a short machete will do. If there's a sharpened area on the back, it would make cutting rope or vines easier because you don't have to spin the blade to cut upward with it. The hole on the side of the blade that isn't totally sharpened (so you know which way the blade is turned in the dark) can be a bolt-wrench. Can be something of a makeshift trowel because of how broad it is.
Cons are that it doesn't have that scything ability & it doesn't work as well as a drawknife by itself (you'd need to stab the point in a piece of wood in order to use that for a handle). Can't round things out as well as the khukuri seems like it would. For clearing brush, using as a sickle, and using it as a drawknife or a rounder are all things the khukuri has better potential for.
This is probably pretty long, so I'll wrap it up by asking: "Which would you guys go with?" As much as I like the smatchet (particularly the ability to get it out of the sheath any which way & being able to move the blade in more ways), I think I'd go with the khukuri (because of the hooking/catching ability & the stronger stab- plus the sheath lets you carry a small knife & a sharpener, but I guess that's also possible with the smatchet).
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