who EDC's a karambit?

Midget

Midget

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Jun 1, 2002
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are they practical? can you use a karambit for anything other than SD and cutting rope?

i can't even see them being useful for SD... but nonetheless, i'm interested in one for some reason.
 
I used to think pretty much along the same lines as you until I actually held one lol. If you have a MA background or any modern combative skills then you will easily understand the self defense applications of the Karambit. As for being practical it depends on what your looking for. Something like a Busse WarBoar is a serious self defense tool and it's practical applications are limited but a Karambit with less of a curve and more of a hawksbill or wharncliffe shaped blade are extremely practical. And yes I do edc one. If you think you might like it go plop 10 bucks down on a pos maxam and see it how it feels to you if you decide you like it then go get a real Karambit and a trainer and some lessons.
 
I don't know what's so controversial about a kerambit or why everyone qualifies statements about their usefulness with "as long as you know how." I mean, sure it helps to know how to use anything, but a kerambit is a sharp, edged, hooked steel claw. Meaningful uses spring to even the untrained mind. Even dumb animals use similar implements, the ones they grow naturally.

At home and sometimes around town, I carry a CRKT Bear Claw, which is no kerambit but is a very sharp, forward-curving blade with a finger hole. I find it very handy and practical for everything from opening letters to scribing cut lines in wood. I don't know how it could fail to be practical.
 
Karambits are very useful tools, and are great for SD, assuming that you have some idea of how to use them. One of the things I've always liked about karambits is the fact that they are fairly hard to disarm, which is definitely a good thing.
 
Hawkbills are very useful, practical blades.

Karambits are basically hawkbills with better grip retention and argueably better ergonomics.

While their self defense history is more talked about, karambits have always been practical work knives in its native countries and regions.
 
Well, from what I've read, the karambit originated in Indonesia as a tool, and was later used as a weapon.
 
it was an assasin's weapon, hidden in the sash. usually tipped with poison, as were most kerises. that's my understanding tho'.
 
Keris are very different then karambits. The karambit is not at all a piercing weapon, and was tipped with poison so that even a small cut would be lethal. Keris, on the other hand, were traditionally long weapons made for piercing, but were also practical for slashing. Traditional keris were originally fairly straight, but over time they developed into the waved blades that we now know as keris. A waved keris or kris was meant to scare the hell out of an opponent, as any slash could be lethal because the waves act like large serrates. Any thrust that hit a person would likely be lethal, and they were meant to be twisted up entering the body, causing a wound that wouldn't heal, and would bleed like hell.
 
When I was a kid, they called em "linoleum knives." Had one under my dash on my first car and hit a bump and bounced it out and into the foot of a girlfriend. :thumbdn:
Not a good move.:D
 
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