Kris Blade Style

Joined
Jul 29, 2000
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What is the point of having a kris blade, is it purely a traditional blade style, or does it offer advantages, such as when thrusting?
 
You may come across stories about how a wavy blade, like the kris, or the European flamberge, makes a special kind of wound -- not true. But maybe they look different enough to catch the bad guy's attention!

It's just a style. When it's done well, it shows off the bladesmith's expertise.
 
The Kris style is used to give a larger total cutting edge relative to the actual blade length. For example a Kris might have a 12" long blade if you measure from ricasso to point along the spine, but if you measure along the edge itself it would probably have about 15-18" total cutting edge, maybe even more depending on the waves themselves.

Danny
 
Most kris blades are actually straight. kris doesn't mean wavy. I admit that the wavy varieties are more striking, bu if I were going into battle, I think I'd prefer the straight kinds. The number of curves are always odd (one side has 1 more curve) and the # of curves usually has some significance, IIRC.

Check out:

Paul's Keris Page for more info.
 
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