Would a Kukri cut just as well with a stright blade?

the angle of attack when the edge is angled to the direction of travel improves the cutting action of the kukhri,

As we can see from this insight into the french national character, the design of this early pre-television group entertainment device includes as part of the design, an angled section to transform the vertical chopping motion into a more efficient and less damaging (to the blade that is) slicing action. when entertaining the masses with the slaughter of their previous governments, there was usually too many customers and not enough time to sharpen between them.

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subsequent improvements in the availablity of theatre and the cinema brought about a gradual decline in this particular art form, relegating it eventually to secret rooms in government buildings, and the last official entertainment was shortly after the introduction of television.

i do not collect these particular sharp pointy things, but i am sure they must be for sale on the french ebay site, everything else is for sale on ebay.
 
"The belly in the blade, as with any recurved blade, puts a slicing action into what would otherwise be a straight hit. In any given cut, the target is forced to travel along a greater length of blade than with a straight knife. So the target is cut more severely, being exposed to more cutting edge. But any recurved knife will do this - bent or not."

From this I would think that a Kukri would be best at slicing/chopping material that somewhere in between soft leafy material (which the machete excells at) and hard dense wood (which an ax is best suited for). I think tough fiberous material like Bamboo and other semi hard plants are just made for the Kukri. Am I right in this? Does your average Kukri work best at material like that or am I wrong? I have never cut bamboo with a Kukri so I have no idea how it would cut.

I also notice that the weight of most Kukris really limits the speed at which the average man can swing them. With a light thin blade like a machete, you can build up insane speed and zip through hanging vines and plants like they weren't even there. With the Kukri, you have to have something somewhat solid to hit or it will just bounce off because the edge is thicker and the blade is heavier which means that it is always going slower.
 
Haven't tried chopping bamboo, but I find that my 16 1/2" WWII does very well on softwoods to 6" or so - either green or dry - and equally well on green hardwoods of moderate size. Green branches of sugar maple or oak, up to about 4." For either, I find the efficiency's greatest at diameters of 3" or less - more than that, and I find an axe more efficient. Probably an 18" chopper (AK or GRS) would bump that size up somewhat.

I agree with the vines thing - but in addition to the blade speed, I think it's a geometry issue. A khuk, even nicely convexed, is a much thicker blade than a machete - can't zip through without having to push material out of the way. It does well to chop up vines, brambles etc. if there's a backstop though.
 
I also find that the forward angle on a khuk less fatiguing to use for long periods of time... I don't have to compensate with my wrist as much to achieve an optimum contact angle with the target, hence, less forearm work, more arm.

I would love to see these guys make some more conventional western-type knives, but then that would take them away from building these khuks that we love so much. We can't have that, now, can we?
 
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