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Out of the shadows!
- Thread starter Tommyd345
- Start date
By the way, on some of the kukris handles, there's a ring in the middle, what's it for? Is it an ingenious way of holding onto it? To aid grip? Or just traditional?
What cul4u01 said. Plus this:
The handle ring is on most authentic khukuris, HI and general Nepalese. The M43 is one of the exceptions, perhaps because it is based on a military design that was issued to many western soldiers during WWII, who would have found the ring strange and uncomfortable. It is easier to make in quantity without the ring, which of course would have been important in wartime, and it uses less wood since the traditional ring is made by starting with a thick piece of wood and filing it down except for the ring portion.
The ring is very functional, though it takes a bit of getting used to. The ring fits between two fingers, locking the hand into place. On the palm side it will dig into your hand if you hold the handle in a tight "death grip" as westerners tend to do, but it you use a loose grip as cul points out, the palm of your hand kind of "cups" the ring.
Some people file off the ring at the first sign of discomfort, but once you get used to it you probably won't want to do that.
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- Jun 15, 2006
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I would agree. We had one growing up. 283 with a three on the tree. It was later relegated to our farm truck. It was a beast and very quick. I would guess it had a very tall gear in the differential. Probably ordered that way from Chevy back in the day when such things were commonplace.