Kukri knife and sheath

The Kukri or Khukuri (Devanāgarī: खुकुरी) 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". Species 50 to 60 known species Oligodon, common name kukri snake, is a genus of snakes native to East and South Asia. ... Image File history File links Nepalese khukri knife. ... Image File history File links Nepalese khukri knife. ... () is an abugida script used to write, either along with other scripts, or exclusively, several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Marwari, Konkani, Bhojpuri, languages from Nepal like Nepali, Tharu Nepal Bhasa and sometimes Kashmiri and Romani. ... This article is about the tool. ... Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal and parts of North India, who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ...

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. Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...

Design and manufacture

The kukri is designed for chopping and in use resembles a cross between a knife and an axe. Blades are typically 3 - 10 cm wide and 30 – 38 cm long, but size varies. Larger, less practical ceremonial blades may be as long as 70 cm. Blades are deflected at an angle of 20° or more, with a thick spine and a single sharp cutting edge; this causes the end section of the blade to strike square on, greatly increasing chopping effectiveness. Khukris can be broadly classified into two types: 'siropate' are used for warfare, while 'budhuni' are used for woodwork. Siropate have sleeker and thinner blades, while the budhuni have thicker wider blades shaped more like fish.

Kukri blades are often forged from leaf springs intended for the suspension of trucks. The tang of the blade usually extends all the way through to the end of the handle; the small portion of the tang that projects through the end of the handle is hammered flat to secure the blade. Kukris blades have a hard, tempered edge and a softer spine. This enables it to maintain a sharp 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. A traditional leaf spring arrangement. ... The front suspension components of a Ford Model T. Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. ... For other uses, see Truck (disambiguation). ... The tang of a sword or fixed-blade knife is that part of the blade extending into and usually through the grip that is fastened to it. ...

Traditional kukris usually have handles made from hardwood or water buffalo horn. These handles are often fastened with a kind of tree sap called laha (also known as "Himalayan epoxy"). 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. In more modern kukri, handles of cast aluminum or brass are press-fitted to the tang - as the hot metal cools it shrinks and hardens, locking onto the blade. Some kukris (such as the 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.

Traditional profiling of the blade edge is performed by a two-man team; one man spins a grind wheel forwards and backwards by means of 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. Routine sharpening is traditionally accomplished by passing a chakmak (smaller, harder, unsharpened blade) over the edge in a manner similar to that used by Western chef's to steel their knives.

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. For people named Leather, see Leather (surname). ... Sarki is respected family caste in Pakistan. ... This article is about the sedimentary rock. ...

Kukris usually have a notch or a pair of adjacent notches (the "kaura" or "cho") at the base of the blade. 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 representing 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 [1]. 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. This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Prussian bayonet, with a prominent fuller A Fuller is a rounded or beveled groove on the flat side of a blade, such as a sword, knife, or bayonet (shown). ... Types of grind: a)axe b)saber c)flat d)hollow e)chisel The grind of an edge refers to the angle and curvature of that blades cross section. ...

History

A Gurkha officer of the Gurkha Contingent, Singapore Police Force patrols around Raffles City during the 117th IOC Session. The distinctively tilted Hat Terrai Gurkha and the Kukri can be seen affixed to the back of his belt.

The kukri was used by the Gurkha forces in the Anglo-Nepal War as well as in First and Second World War. The Nepalese handle these knives from the age of five. During World War II, Gurkha recruits preferred their village smith's (kami) blade to mass-produced issue ones. The quality of the blade varies widely. They come in every size from miniatures to enormous sword-like implements. The people who make them are called Kamis (knifesmiths) and the Kamis are a member of the "untouchable" caste. Another term for the smiths who make the blades is biswakarma which translates as "worldmaker". Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x1202, 250 KB) Summary Description: A Gurkha trooper at Raffles City during the 117th IOC Session. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x1202, 250 KB) Summary Description: A Gurkha trooper at Raffles City during the 117th IOC Session. ... Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal and parts of North India, who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ... Gurkha Contingent troopers guarding a car park entrance to Raffles City where the 117th IOC Session was held. ... The Jurong Police Division Headquarters at Jurong West Avenue 5. ... Raffles City is a major multiplex located in the civic district of Singapore. ... Tight security was highly visible during the 117th IOC Session. ... Gurkha Contingent troopers in the combat uniform and wearing the Hat Terrai Gurkha guarding a car park entrance to Raffles City where the 117th IOC Session was held. ... Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal and parts of North India, who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ... Combatants British East India Company Gorkha Commanders Francis Rawdon-Hastings David Ochterlony Rollo Gillespie† Bennet Marley John Sullivan Wood Bhimsen Thapa Amar Singh Thapa Ranjur Singh Thapa Bhakti Thapa† Strength 34,000 at height 12,000 Casualties Unknown Unknown The Gurkha War (1814 – 1816), sometimes called the Gorkha War or... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal and parts of North India, who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ... For other uses, see Blacksmith (disambiguation). ... Kami (Nepali: कामी) is a Dalit community from Nepal which belongs to Indo-Aryan ethnic group. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social classification, that evolved due to the enormous diversity in India (where all three primary races met, not by forced slavery but by immigration). ...

The Gurkhas, noteworthy as brave soldiers who have used the kukri as a fighting knife while in British service, are members of the Kshatriya caste. Invaders into India historically have remained there, and added to the social/ethnic/cultural life of the country. The Gurkhas are an East Asian-looking people, though it is a matter of debate when they migrated to the south side of the Himalayas, or just where in the North they migrated from. A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya (Hindi: , from Sanskrit: , ) is one of the four varnas, or castes, in Hinduism. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

It is a matter of debate where the design came into Nepal from or who promoted it first. It may be indigenous to the Indian region, but ancient Egypt, the Spanish Celts, and the Greeks used similar designs. One weapon of Spanish origin, the Falcata, shows some similarity with the weapon, and the Greeks used forms called the Machaira and kopis. Alexander the Great's men used weapons of this type and may have spread it into India when Alexander moved into the Punjab. Also there were Greek kings in Afghanistan and India in later centuries who kept in touch with Mediterranean culture. After the time of Julius Caesar, Roman merchants, who had a huge commercial presence in India, seem to have used tools like the khukri also, and probably were promoters of it. The Romans were always buying items such as tigers, spices, precious stones, handcrafted goods and fine steel from India during antiquity, as India had a vast population and very old civilization. That said, Roman armies never saw fit to use such a design, as the khukri did not fit with their tactics; the Roman military never got far east of Azerbaijan. Instead, the classical Romans used another short sword design that the Celtic and Basque Spanish tribes had used, the "gladius hispaniensis", which had a straight two-edged blade though sometimes it had a "wasp waist" that saved weight and increased cutting ability. 4th century BC Iberian falcata. ... Makhaira (μάχαιρα, also transliterated machaira or machaera; an Ancient Greek word, <PIE *magh-, to fight) is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve. ... An illustration showing a kopis with a hook-like hilt. ...

It is unknown if the Aryans had a similar weapon, but another Eurasian steppe people, the Turks, did. The Turkish forward-curving sword is called a yataghan. But the yataghan seems to have been developed independently as it first appeared in centuries after the Battle of Manzikert. This article is about the term Aryan. For Arian, a follower of the ancient Christian sect, See Arianism. ... The yatagan (Turkish spelling yata&#287;an) is a type of Turkish sword (which even became known in other countries as the Turkish sword) used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Great Seljuk Sultanate Commanders Romanus IV #, Nikephoros Bryennios, Theodore Alyates, Andronikos Doukas Alp Arslan Strength ~ 20,000 [1] (40,000 initial) ~ 20,000 [2] - 70,000[1] Casualties ~ 8,000 [3] Unknown The Battle of Manzikert, or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turkic...

Usage

The kukri is considered a very effective weapon. Despite the physical resemblance to a boomerang, the kukri is not designed to be thrown. The blade's distinctive forward drop is intended to translate and amplify lateral swipes into perpendicular motion. It has been erroneously stated that the knife is specifically weighted for the purpose of slitting the throat. In the attack, the kukri is most effective as a chopping, slashing weapon - though stabbing attacks are also used. Despite usage in the military, the khukuri is most commonly used as a woodcutting and general purpose tool, and is a very common agricultural and household implement in Nepal. A khukuri designed for general purpose is commonly 16 to 18 inches (around 40-45cm) in overall length and weighs 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. This article is about the wooden implement. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... BIC pen cap, about 1 gram. ...

A kukri

Although a popular urban legend states that a Gurkha "never sheaths his blade without first drawing blood", the kukri is most commonly employed as a multi-use utility tool, rather like a machete. It can be used for building, clearing, chopping firewood, digging, cutting meat and vegetables, skinning and also for opening tins. A kukri photographed by Securiger on 11 Jan 2004. ... A kukri photographed by Securiger on 11 Jan 2004. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

The kukri also has a religious significance in Hindu religion and is blessed during the Dasain sacrificial festival. This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Dasain (दशैं) is the 15-day national festival of Nepal. ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). ... A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. ...

See also

• Ancient weapons