What kind of khukuri is that?

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May 30, 2002
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What kind of khukuri is this? It is completely beautiful!

What is the price?

How big is it? Weight and length.

What is it good for? Chopping, bush clearing or battle?

I would like to buy one one day, not now, but when money has grown from the money trees I recently planted.

yangdu-birgorkha.jpg
 
That's the one Yangdu uses to keep Bill in line.

S.

PS. I actually think that it's the pic of a hanshee-style blade from some collection (JP's or a museum's) which Beo, in his role as Resident Magician, placed in her hand.
 
Well, I had a look at Beoram's pages. And I fell for this one also:

hanshee.jpg


The curve is beautiful!

Beoram has one more of those good looking oldies in his signature line photograph. Very nice.

Why are there so many nicely curved old ones? Why are the newer ones more abruptly bent? Is there any difference in function and handling?

I am going to have myself some kind of hanshee one day.
 
I think this one was made more for weapon. Later models geared more toward tool.

A couple of questions/musings along these lines...

People are generally more likely to put extra work into a weapon as opposed to a daily-use tool. Curved handles/tangs (at least now) and obviously, the decorations are extra work.

Could it be that older khuks are predominantly "weapon-khuks" simply because the mundane "tool-khuks" are less likely to have been retained and well cared for? And more likely to be "used-up" or recycled? Could there have been straight-handled "work-khuks" in common use in the past, but relatively few survive because they had greater value as a source of metal to be made into newer tools?

Or is the use of any kind of drill very recent and it used to be just as much work to assemble a straight-handled knife as a curved-handled one (by burning in the tang), and curved handles were preferred, but about the same amount of work?

Maybe J.P. can comment?
 
I've wondered along those lines, too, Firkin. I've only ever come across two very old khuks that were clearly peasant/agricultural tools (this was many years before I cared about blades - I knew what a khuk was from my military history books, but that was it). Both were in horrid shape - basically solid blocks of rust. They did have straight handles, though, IIRC (and were small 12-14" OAL, I believe).

I think that all of us would love to see an HI hanshee. And I don't think Bill would have much trouble selling them. But, getting the kamis to make them might be a different story.

S.
 
Good thinking Firkin. Good theories.

Curved ones for battle... Are curved ones better for fighting and cutting people?

I am all up for a hanshee if Uncle Bill decides to run a production line of them.
 
Eik, the 27" HI Falcatta I have is certainly a weapon (being an ancient sword pattern), and it has the same smooth curve to the spine that the m43s and YCSs have.

Yep, that Hanshee rocks. Hey,I could etcha pattern like that. It oculd be a nice deep etch...

Keith
 
The knife that she is holding has a pattern that first reminded me of a mackrel's back. But there are no marine fishes in Nepal. Maybe the pattern is supposed to resemble the back pattern of a snake.
 
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