To Cho, or not to Cho....

Or just wear gloves. If you are concerned about blood

The Cho might also help prevent a blade slipping down along your blade and slicing your fingers. I wouldn't be surprised if more battle-oriented kukris have a larger Cho to work as a minor crossguard.
 
Zixinus said:
... I wouldn't be surprised if more battle-oriented kukris have a larger Cho to work as a minor crossguard.
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Gurkha Army Khuk for reference.
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Very cool info Steve. I can see moving the stress to a thicker part of the blade being beneficial. A small crack at the edge would require less energy to propagate across the blade than the energy required to begin a crack at the cho. This is same principle that allows people to rip phone books in two.
 
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Zixinus said:
However, I have to ask and please don't take this too personally: are you sure you are having realistic expectations of combat and weapon use? Because if you are most concerned with blood dripping down the blade, you may want to re-evaluate your priorities and skills.
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I'll try not to take your condescending assertion too personally. :rolleyes:

I don't think I'm being unrealistic in my expectations at all. I haven't put any absolutes there, I was just asking questions. It would be nice to avoid having blood dripping down to my fingers if possible, that's all I was saying.
 
I have done a fair amount of slaughtering large animals (we used to raise 2 organic happy pigs each year) and when I stuck them-after a 230gr .45 to the noggin, mind-i had blood up to my bicep.
The stress relief aspect is fascinating. I bet the round closed cho (eye of the dove?) would work wonderfully-no cornwrs anywhere to create a stress riser.
The cho does serve as (I believe I'm quoting Jens here) an ouchy reminder that you're about to be on the edge.
I can vouch for that- it hurt, but it was better than live edge.
 
J W Bensinger said:
an ouchy reminder that you're about to be on the edge.
I can vouch for that- it hurt, but it was better than live edge.
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A good point. I personally don't see a reason for not having a cho and I know the OP decided to order one with a cho. However I would never believe that someone else can't come up with a good point so I would ask TheManiot what the benefit to not having it would be? Perhaps there is something I am missing about it so if there appears to be a reason other than aesthetics could you explain please?
 
Shavru said:
A good point. I personally don't see a reason for not having a cho and I know the OP decided to order one with a cho. However I would never believe that someone else can't come up with a good point so I would ask TheManiot what the benefit to not having it would be? Perhaps there is something I am missing about it so if there appears to be a reason other than aesthetics could you explain please?
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Well, as it is there for religious reasons, I'm less inclined to have it there as my religion is different. Having said that, if the open Cho serves a purpose then I'd rather get it.
 
TheManiot said:
Well, as it is there for religious reasons, I'm less inclined to have it there as my religion is different. Having said that, if the open Cho serves a purpose then I'd rather get it.
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The way I look at it, if the cho and the little pointy thing that hangs down from the cho (I don't know what that is called) is there because of a religious tradition, I can accept it for the tradition without having to worship the religion. If it has a real function, like relieving stress on the blade, that's one more reason to accept it.

There's also the sword-shaped decoration that most HI khukuris have just below the spine. It's called the Sword of Shiva, and it's part of the tradition with these blades, but you don't have to believe in or worship the Hindu god Shiva to accept it essentially as traditional art.

The kamis who make these knives are steeped in the religious connotations, although I imagine that for some it is a cultural tradition, while for others it might be more religious. In any case, the reverence for the tradition, handed down from generation to generation, is one of the reasons that this knife-making art has not been lost to history.
 
Nowadays a main concerns, right up there with taking a bullet, is blood borne pathogens. Most modern weapons are designed for use while wearing gloves. Originally it was cold conditions driven, now I know very few professionals that operate without protective gloves. With all the diseases and cross contamination horror stories, it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet as I know very little about Kukris compared to most folks around here.

In the spiritual/religious line of thoughts, many refers to a cow track/trace when talking about the Cho.
domesticcattletracks42006.jpg
 
I'm not sure if no cho will affect vampires the same and it may be very important in sighting in a boomerang throw.

This may not be cho humor...

Either way, enjoy, be safe and good hunting.

:)
 
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