AH3456 - Khukri (Regimental), o’ll 16.5” (w/Scabbard) [Reenactor Replicas by Deepeeka -- Miscellaneous | Swords]
Product Description
The Kukri or Khukuri is a heavy, curved Nepalese knife used as both tool and weapon. It is also a part of the regimental weaponry and heraldry of Gurkha fighters. It is known to many people as simply the "Gurkha knife".
The name is pronounced khu-khoo-ree. Although khukuri or khookree are more accurate transliterations, kukri is the most well-known and standard spelling of the name of this blade style. In early English writings there were many and diverse spellings of the name.
Kukri is deflected at an angle of 20° though some examples have a very steep angle. This angle causes the end section of blade, when the blade is used to chop, to strike square on, greatly increasing the effectiveness of chopping. The blade is 3 to 10 centimetres high, the length is 30 cm onwards, tapering towards the edge from the broad upper margin. It almost always has a single edge and almost never has a "false edge". It usually has a very thick spine and in many ways is a hybrid between knife and axe.
Kukris are often forged from leaf springs intended for the suspension of trucks. Traditional kukris usually have handles made from hardwood, water buffalo horn, or cast brass. With a wood or horn handle, the tang may be heated and burned into the handle to ensure a tight fit, since only the section of handle which touches the blade is burned away. Sometimes cast aluminum is used in modern specimens. The tang usually extends through to the end of the handle. Cast metal handles may be press fitted to the tang, since the hot metal shrinks as it hardens. Wood and horn handles are often fastened with a kind of tree sap called laha, also known as Himalayan epoxy, and a small portion of the tang that projects through the end of the handle is hammered flat to further secure the blade. Some kukris (such as the rough ones made by contractors for the modern Indian Army) have a very wide tang with handle slabs fastened on by two or more rivets, commonly called a full tang configuration.
The best traditional kukri has a hard tempered edge and a softer spine. This enables it to keep an edge, yet tolerate impacts. They are also balanced so that they will rest in a vertical position if supported on a fulcrum, e.g. a finger.
Blades are typically 30–38 cm (12 – 15 inches) but size varies. Blades longer than 15 inches are generally considered impractical. Ceremonial versions can be up to 70 cm (27 inches) long. Ceremonial blades used to sacrifice water buffalo are much larger. Traditional sharpening of the blade is achieved by one man alternating spinning a grind wheel forwards and backwards with a rope wound several times around an axle while the sharpener applies the blade. The wheel is made by hand from fine river sand bound by laha, the same adhesive used to the affix the handle to the blade.
Kukri sheaths are usually made of wood with a leather covering. The leatherwork is usually done by a sarki. Traditionally, the scabbard also holds two smaller tools called the karda and the chakmak. The karda is a small accessory blade used for many tasks. The chakmak is unsharpened and is used to burnish the blade. It can also be used to start a fire with flint. Attached to older style scabbards there is sometimes a pouch for carrying flint or dry tinder.
Kukris usually have a notch or a pair of adjacent notches at the base of the blade, the "kaura" or "cho", situated near the handle. Various reasons are given for this, both practical and ceremonial: that it makes blood and sap drop off the blade rather than running onto the handle; that it delineates the end of the blade whilst sharpening; that it is a symbol hat it represents the Hindu goddess Kali. Kukri can also have one or more fullers, including the "aunlo bal" (finger of strength/force/energy), a relatively deep and narrow fuller visible in the modern example above, as well as one or more "chirra", which may refer either to shallow fullers in the belly of the blade or a hollow grind of the edge. This groove is said to symbolize the spear of the god Shiva. There are other stories about the meaning of these decorations. Very often the knifesmith will put his own maker's mark near the handle as well.
The kukri is considered a very effective weapon. Despite the physical resemblance to a boomerang, the kukri is not really designed to be thrown, but if you have been trained and know how to throw a kukri it can be thrown to give your a opponent a devastating blow. The blade's distinctive kink is intended to translate and amplify lateral swipes into perpendicular motion. It is erroneously said that the knife is specifically weighted for the purpose of slitting the throat, but that is an urban legend. When held in the hand, it is evident that the kukri would be very clumsy for this as it is essentially a chopping tool. In the attack, the kukri is most effective as a chopping, slashing weapon, as photographs of kukri-swinging Gurkhas, with their weaponed hands raised overhead, would seem to indicate. Still, it is more commonly used as a woodcutting tool than a weapon, and is a very common agricultural implement in Nepal. The forward curve of a kukri means that even a somewhat dull example can cut furiously. It is however, a very poor stabbing weapon. The most effective kukri is about 16 to 18 inches (around 40-45cm) in overall length and weighs in at one to two pounds (around 450-900 grams). Bigger examples are impractical for everyday use and are rarely found outside of collections or as ceremonial instruments. Smaller ones are of more limited utility, but very easy to carry.
The name is pronounced khu-khoo-ree. Although khukuri or khookree are more accurate transliterations, kukri is the most well-known and standard spelling of the name of this blade style. In early English writings there were many and diverse spellings of the name.
Kukri is deflected at an angle of 20° though some examples have a very steep angle. This angle causes the end section of blade, when the blade is used to chop, to strike square on, greatly increasing the effectiveness of chopping. The blade is 3 to 10 centimetres high, the length is 30 cm onwards, tapering towards the edge from the broad upper margin. It almost always has a single edge and almost never has a "false edge". It usually has a very thick spine and in many ways is a hybrid between knife and axe.
Kukris are often forged from leaf springs intended for the suspension of trucks. Traditional kukris usually have handles made from hardwood, water buffalo horn, or cast brass. With a wood or horn handle, the tang may be heated and burned into the handle to ensure a tight fit, since only the section of handle which touches the blade is burned away. Sometimes cast aluminum is used in modern specimens. The tang usually extends through to the end of the handle. Cast metal handles may be press fitted to the tang, since the hot metal shrinks as it hardens. Wood and horn handles are often fastened with a kind of tree sap called laha, also known as Himalayan epoxy, and a small portion of the tang that projects through the end of the handle is hammered flat to further secure the blade. Some kukris (such as the rough ones made by contractors for the modern Indian Army) have a very wide tang with handle slabs fastened on by two or more rivets, commonly called a full tang configuration.
The best traditional kukri has a hard tempered edge and a softer spine. This enables it to keep an edge, yet tolerate impacts. They are also balanced so that they will rest in a vertical position if supported on a fulcrum, e.g. a finger.
Blades are typically 30–38 cm (12 – 15 inches) but size varies. Blades longer than 15 inches are generally considered impractical. Ceremonial versions can be up to 70 cm (27 inches) long. Ceremonial blades used to sacrifice water buffalo are much larger. Traditional sharpening of the blade is achieved by one man alternating spinning a grind wheel forwards and backwards with a rope wound several times around an axle while the sharpener applies the blade. The wheel is made by hand from fine river sand bound by laha, the same adhesive used to the affix the handle to the blade.
Kukri sheaths are usually made of wood with a leather covering. The leatherwork is usually done by a sarki. Traditionally, the scabbard also holds two smaller tools called the karda and the chakmak. The karda is a small accessory blade used for many tasks. The chakmak is unsharpened and is used to burnish the blade. It can also be used to start a fire with flint. Attached to older style scabbards there is sometimes a pouch for carrying flint or dry tinder.
Kukris usually have a notch or a pair of adjacent notches at the base of the blade, the "kaura" or "cho", situated near the handle. Various reasons are given for this, both practical and ceremonial: that it makes blood and sap drop off the blade rather than running onto the handle; that it delineates the end of the blade whilst sharpening; that it is a symbol hat it represents the Hindu goddess Kali. Kukri can also have one or more fullers, including the "aunlo bal" (finger of strength/force/energy), a relatively deep and narrow fuller visible in the modern example above, as well as one or more "chirra", which may refer either to shallow fullers in the belly of the blade or a hollow grind of the edge. This groove is said to symbolize the spear of the god Shiva. There are other stories about the meaning of these decorations. Very often the knifesmith will put his own maker's mark near the handle as well.
The kukri is considered a very effective weapon. Despite the physical resemblance to a boomerang, the kukri is not really designed to be thrown, but if you have been trained and know how to throw a kukri it can be thrown to give your a opponent a devastating blow. The blade's distinctive kink is intended to translate and amplify lateral swipes into perpendicular motion. It is erroneously said that the knife is specifically weighted for the purpose of slitting the throat, but that is an urban legend. When held in the hand, it is evident that the kukri would be very clumsy for this as it is essentially a chopping tool. In the attack, the kukri is most effective as a chopping, slashing weapon, as photographs of kukri-swinging Gurkhas, with their weaponed hands raised overhead, would seem to indicate. Still, it is more commonly used as a woodcutting tool than a weapon, and is a very common agricultural implement in Nepal. The forward curve of a kukri means that even a somewhat dull example can cut furiously. It is however, a very poor stabbing weapon. The most effective kukri is about 16 to 18 inches (around 40-45cm) in overall length and weighs in at one to two pounds (around 450-900 grams). Bigger examples are impractical for everyday use and are rarely found outside of collections or as ceremonial instruments. Smaller ones are of more limited utility, but very easy to carry.
