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- Oct 3, 1998
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- 3,264
I took another picture with the digital camera. Same kami - Kumar. Two knives - a khukuri (12" Sirupati) and the karda done up, not as an khukuri accessory, but as a medium size stand-alone knife.
Click on the medium size pic for the large pic.
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/images/HI-KumarKardaAndSirupatiDetail.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
</A>
The khukuri seems to be a done up as an Important Cultural Heritage that can handle either combat or hard work. The karda is done up as a knockabout utility knife. It seems to be a cross-cultural phenomenon in the knife trade that something that is at least partly an edged weapon gets more attention to detail than a tool for daily use.
Notice the surface finish on the steel. Aside from the engraving, the khukuri seems to have been completely surface-finished prior to assembly. With the karda, it looks like a lot of finishing was done after assembly, because the area near the handle is still rough, the hammer dings and scratches having been shined up but not ground away.
Also, the brass bolster on the karda is a much simpler and rougher assembly than it is on the khukuri.
These differences are, of course, reflected in the price of the two knives.
But I think the karda is a good enough design in its own right that it deserves to be done up as a done up to khukuri standards (engraving not necessary), with the better brasswork and finishing and maybe even a full-length tang with a brass buttcap. Just remember to keep the butt-end rounded and not pointed! Give the handle a slight swell toward the front (as we see on both a khukuri and a Lappland leuku) along with the flaired butt-end, and it would work in a North Country type deep-pouch sheath.
The "upgraded" karda would, of course, be priced accordingly.
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
Click on the medium size pic for the large pic.
<A HREF="http://www.chaicutlery.com/images/HI-KumarKardaAndSirupatiDetail.jpg" TARGET=_blank>
The khukuri seems to be a done up as an Important Cultural Heritage that can handle either combat or hard work. The karda is done up as a knockabout utility knife. It seems to be a cross-cultural phenomenon in the knife trade that something that is at least partly an edged weapon gets more attention to detail than a tool for daily use.
Notice the surface finish on the steel. Aside from the engraving, the khukuri seems to have been completely surface-finished prior to assembly. With the karda, it looks like a lot of finishing was done after assembly, because the area near the handle is still rough, the hammer dings and scratches having been shined up but not ground away.
Also, the brass bolster on the karda is a much simpler and rougher assembly than it is on the khukuri.
These differences are, of course, reflected in the price of the two knives.
But I think the karda is a good enough design in its own right that it deserves to be done up as a done up to khukuri standards (engraving not necessary), with the better brasswork and finishing and maybe even a full-length tang with a brass buttcap. Just remember to keep the butt-end rounded and not pointed! Give the handle a slight swell toward the front (as we see on both a khukuri and a Lappland leuku) along with the flaired butt-end, and it would work in a North Country type deep-pouch sheath.
The "upgraded" karda would, of course, be priced accordingly.
------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
