Why are khuk handles round instead of oval?

Sylvrfalcn

Sylvrfalcn

Joined
Jun 4, 2002
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Just picked up my 18" AK Villager, made by Sher, yesterday. The blade, even in it's unpolished state, is so well forged and ground that it's the absolute epitome of what this knife should be. The handle I'm going to have to work on a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's very well made, nice and beefy, with great attention to detail. Problem is it's almost perfectly round in cross section.

If you've handled the older khuks, and even some of the current ones, you'll observe that the ones most comfortable to use have a handle that's slightly oval in cross section. This helps your hand "index" where the edge is going, and helps prevent the handle from turning in your hand. A handle that's round will cause blisters and fatigue far more rapidly as a simple result of how tight you have to grip it to keep it from turning in your hand with every chop. Quick example; pick up a good axe and look at the handle. Now imagine how much less efficient it would be if the handle were round.

I strongly suspect that the noticeably rounder handles on current khuks are a result of production methods adopted in response to power tool availability. Sort of a Nepali industrial revolution.

So what's a fellow to do? Me, I'm going to break out the wood rasp, sandpaper, etc., and take my AK handle back to the "old school". :D

Sarge
 
I've found that my most comfortable khuk handles have more of a "teardrop" cross-section, just slightly wider across the top or back side.
 
Now that you mention it, I have the same problem with my 21" GS - round handle. The handle on my 20" AK is oval and much easier to use. The GS handle is fairly thin though, so I may cut a 3x21" sanding belt and use it like a shoeshine rag to change the profile. One thing thats kind of a drag is I already put about 15 coats of trueoil on it and will have to start from the beginning again.
 
All of my Bura handles are slightly oval.
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Mine too, as one would expect from the old master. Actually Raggy's choice of the descriptive term "teardrop shape" is much more accurate than my generalization of "oval", but y'all knew what I was getting at.

Sarge
 
Quote:
Quick example; pick up a good axe and look at the handle. Now imagine how much less efficient it would be if the handle were round.


I needed that analogy to fit a lot of things together that I'd never before connected
:eek:
 
Was just checking out the villager AK who's handle I'm working on(did the quick rough work with belt grinder already, going to hand sand this weekend). Fits my hands a lot better now(partly because I removed rings), but also, now that I think of it, because it is no longer as circular.
 
I don't think any of these handles are really round. I have never seen one even on a new kukri. The closest to round is a fairly rare grip from the mid 19thc called a 'barrel' and even that is ovoid.

Maybe I misunderstood or are you just talking degrees of roundness? For my small hand I'd have to say a teardrop M43 type grip is most comfortable. For pure power I would have to say the later K45 (Indian Mk III) grips.
 
Just the standard, ugly, basic pana butta grips. Well maybe not so ugly. The 2nd from the right on this Mk III is especially solid feeling.
4 grips.jpg
 
Originally posted by JDP ..... The 2nd from the right on this Mk III is especially solid feeling.
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I'm not sure I'm getting it.
:confused:
Need to floss my brain more often. :eek:

You're saying the most solid feeling feels the most powerful......

So.........solid means "not going anywhere / secure"?
You feel more comfortable swinging harder?

OK.....That makes sense.
I'm imagining the opposite........
Trying to swing a khuk with a pencil for a grip. :barf:
No control, insecurity............
Gotcha.

So then the question is;
Can a grip shaped like the pana butta but with an enclosed tang
feel just as secure / powerful?

Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Many of these later Indian (WW II and on) had chos that are stamped out by a press. The ivory is drilled which is more common than you'd imagine. When you see a single hole in a karda it was hot punched.
 
My Kobra is slightly oval, it's also fatter on one side so it fits my hand beautifully.
 
The Shop 1 khuk's as well as the early Shop 2, before it became BirGhorka, khuk's had significantly more egg or oval shaped handles. Quite a lot thicker from edge to spine than from side to side.
That's another thing that seems to have changed about the khuks as well as getting away from the fully convexed edge starting where the edge bevel starts today.
I still like the handles on the early models that weren't any longer than my hand, some I had to cover the bolster, but they locked into my hand with their pronounced curve much better than the longer straighter handles of today.
 
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