Schempp Kukri?

[chkn]

Do you happen to remember where you got that kukri on the top? While I've been intrigued by them I've never wanted to pull the trigger on one till I saw that one.

[Reject]

Do you happen to remember where you got that kukri on the top? While I've been intrigued by them I've never wanted to pull the trigger on one till I saw that one.

About 1982 Holsworthy barracks, a Gurkha Sargent came in to the canteen wanting to trade a Kukri for a pair of issue boots.
Never really knew if was issue knife or a tourist knife.

[sal]

Hey Reject,

The story is worth the knife. Thanx for your service.

sal

[Reject]

Hey Reject,

The story is worth the knife. Thanx for your service.

sal

Interesting thing you yanks have with saying thank you to people who served in the military.
We should do more of it down here.

I didn’t do anything in my time in the military to be worthy of the need to be thanked. But I do know many Vets that most certainly are worthy.

So, for them and all the Aussie Vets on the forum, may I say; Thank you for your kind words and that such thanks are always appreciated.

[Kevinim82]

Hey Reject,

The story is worth the knife. Thanx for your service.

sal

Interesting thing you yanks have with saying thank you to people who served in the military.
We should do more of it down here.

I didn’t do anything in my time in the military to be worthy of the need to be thanked. But I do know many Vets that most certainly are worthy.

So, for them and all the Aussie Vets on the forum, may I say; Thank you for your kind words and that such thanks are always appreciated.

As US history goes we’ve not been as kind as we should to our vets.

My dad returned from the Vietnam war being spat on.

Grandpa didn’t talk about the Korean War theatre.

Both my father and grandfather served full military careers 20+ years.

These generations of men, came home, and the news/people at home saw them not as service men.

Sal’s gesture is to acknowledge them as patriots. This is beyond a political gesture. It’s the way we as civilians have chosen to acknowledge and respect our vets.

[chkn]

About 1982 Holsworthy barracks, a Gurkha Sargent came in to the canteen wanting to trade a Kukri for a pair of issue boots.

Oh well, at least I have some kind of idea what time period it may be from. Also echoing what Sal said, it is an interesting story and I appreciate the response.

[Ed Schempp]

I have been working on a Hmong blade in an unusual folding version. It is a large folder capable of light chopping! I hope to be able to present this concept to Spyderco by the Blade show in Atlanta. I have some other pieces on the bench for a cutting experiment for Sal and develop more to finish forging for part of this experiment.
I've been sidetracked developing some property on a subdivision and working on a mini storage project that has been consuming a lot of time. I'm listening and thinking, I love to give people good innovative knives the exceed expectations.

[Matus]

Dear Ed, that sounds very interesting! I hope the project will be a success and get a green light. I am enjoying the finesse and intricacies of the folding bowie every day.

[Peter1960]

Do you happen to remember where you got that kukri on the top? While I've been intrigued by them I've never wanted to pull the trigger on one till I saw that one.

Some years ago I visited Nepal and in Kathmandu at „khukuri house“ (the manufacturer) I bought a Kukri identical or at least very similar to Rejects … https://www.thekhukurihouse.com/

[chkn]

Some years ago I visited Nepal and in Kathmandu at „khukuri house“ (the manufacturer) I bought a Kukri identical or at least very similar to Rejects … https://www.thekhukurihouse.com/

Thanks for the link, Khukuri House was one of the sites I stumbled across while looking for a similar blade and the Jungle Kukri there looked pretty darn close.
In the end I picked a Historical Service Issue from Kailash. It had the blade shape I was looking for as well as having way more options I could apply to the blade length, handle material, furnishings, etc.

Also (so this post isn't entirely derailing the original topic) looking forward to what Mr. Schempp has in store for us. His designs are always eyecatching to say the least.

[sal]

As I understand it, the opening at the back of the blade that has the small point sticking out, was to draw your own blood if you pulled the knife out and didn't draw someone else's blood. Blood had to be drawn i the knife was deployed. Some Bowie makers did the same thing here in the the US.

sal

[Wartstein]

As I understand it, the opening at the back of the blade that has the small point sticking out, was to draw your own blood if you pulled the knife out and didn't draw someone else's blood. Blood had to be drawn i the knife was deployed. Some Bowie makers did the same thing here in the the US.

sal

As one who is very interested in such historical stuff and "old traditions" this is most interesting to me, and I never heard of it so far.

Thanks!

[Peter1960]

Yep Sal, this is well known especially among Gurkhas (in combat situations only), other meanings say the „Cho“ is the sign of Shiva or Kali (depending what form it has) followed by different myths … however a Kukri is more than a simple knife or tool, it‘s a piece of history and often in the middle of legends.

[ZrowsN1s]

Not sure where this was made. Picked it up 25 years ago in San Diego. It's my 'coffee table' knife.

[Reject]

Without questioning any of the traditional beliefs about kukri Cho or notch.

What is your take on the view that practical purpose of the Cho is for stress relief for the hardened blade edge?

Any of the videos I have seen on the making of the Kukri, show the blade being differentially heat treated. Resulting the in the spine of being in the low 40s and cutting edge coming near 60.

Without any practical experience to back my opinion on this; it seems to make sense. Under impact when blade the flexes; the hardened edge doesn’t due to the relief notch.

Would be interested to hear the view of the experts on this.

PS. Just looking around at Kukri adds and seeing tempering descriptions like this; "Hi carbon tempered steel blade, steel hardness- spine=22-25 RC, belly=45-46 RC, edge=54-55 RC."

[sal]

I would like to hear Ed's thought on this?

sal

[Michael Janich]

When I worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Hong Kong, it was still a British colony. They guarded the border between the New Territories (the northern part of the Hong Kong territory) and Communist China very diligently. For that purpose, they chose Gurkhas. On several occasions, I traveled with other members of the Consulate's Defense Liaison Office to visit border outposts and got to meet the Gurkha border guards. Being a knife guy, I asked them about their kukris and the belief that they had to draw blood every time they were drawn. They explained that was a myth, but if it made people more afraid of them as warriors, they were OK with it.

While I was still on active duty and stationed in Hawaii, the 25th Infantry Division hosted a group of Gurkhas for a joint exercise. I visited their "tent city" and purchased an officer's kukri with a patent leather-covered sheath. I asked the same question there and received the same answer.

Two of my most prized knives are kukris given to me by the late Hank Reinhardt, who was the wizard behind Museum Replicas and one of the most knowledgeable edged-weapon historians I've ever met. One is a mid-19th century antique and the other is one that Hank hafted himself on an unfinished blade he brought back from Nepal.

Kukris are both fascinating and incredibly functional.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Ed Schempp]

Khurkries are interesting and have several evolved geometries. These geometries all promote balance, longitudinal and rotational and the cutting abilities of these tools. There are many overlapping similarities in these geometry between a khukuri and even though a much different profile a Japanese Katana.
I'll see what I can do for Spyderco users!

[VooDooChild]

The idea that the notch allows a place for blood and sap to drip off, so that it doesnt interfere with the grip, always sounded reasonable to me.

[Reject]

How not to build a kukri.

Yeah; this is just a blatant attempt to revive this topic.

I can be very patient Sal, but I am getting old and with my life style, I could go keel over at any time.

Plus; I am really keen to see what Mr Schempp can do with this.