Why not a Kukri

[Teliliad]

I’m just curious here… why didn’t frontiersman carry Kukris? I figure that if a single tool could be pressed to replace three then why not? Kukris are a curved blade that were used by the Nepalese Gurkhas in combat and survival. They performed the tasks of an axe, machete, fighting knife, kitchen knife, throwing weapon, and were heavy and wide enough in the blade to use a hammer in some situations. They could also be used for processing game if you kept it sharp enough. I get that they probably just didn’t have exposure to those kinds of weapons from a different part of the world,,,but I bet it would have been a wonderful tool for some trappers on the frontier

 

[Dale Lilly]

Love that rascal; have no use for one, however. Dale

 

[Flying B]

Probably because these were so much cooler.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Probably because they had no idea the kukri existed and trade with Nepal was non existent.

I'm rather fond of them also.

 

[JeffG]

I think you could get away with it. Trading to the "Orient" was pretty common on the west coast when Mexico occupied California. Ships docked and traded in the San Francisco area.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

N

I’m just curious here… why didn’t frontiersman carry Kukris? I figure that if a single tool could be pressed to replace three then why not? Kukris are a curved blade that were used by the Nepalese Gurkhas in combat and survival. They performed the tasks of an axe, machete, fighting knife, kitchen knife, throwing weapon, and were heavy and wide enough in the blade to use a hammer in some situations. They could also be used for processing game if you kept it sharp enough. I get that they probably just didn’t have exposure to those kinds of weapons from a different part of the world,,,but I bet it would have been a wonderful tool for some trappers on the frontier

Nice knife. Too bad it’s bent.

 

[Teliliad]

I think you could get away with it. Trading to the "Orient" was pretty common on the west coast when Mexico occupied California. Ships docked and traded in the San Francisco area.

View attachment 217694

I mean same time period, styling is pretty similar aside from the shape and thickness of the blade…

 

[Teliliad]

So did a smidgen of digging…just learned that there was a whole nother fur trade with china where north western sea otters were the primary focus. We harvested sea otter pelts up by Washington state, Oregon, and even Alaska. And then we floated them over to china to trade for stuff, which was then floated back to the US and sold. Nepal borders India and china… so it really depends on how friendly those nations were as to the aspect of possibility? Did the fur trade coincide with the construction of the continental railroad at all… just wondering…but the Nepalese didn’t start migrating to the US until the 20th century so that idea is out of the question.

 

[Nazgul58]

I have a Kukris that was given to me by a neighbor of my fathers about 20 years ago. I knew him well from living in the area a long time. He was helping clean out a house a distant relative had when he died. Our neighbor said the man's son threw it in the trash and he though I would like it. He said he remembers being a youngster, he was in his late 60's at the time, and the deceased telling him stories of WW2. He had served in the Burma area with lots of combat experience.
It resides in my gun cabinet and wish it could tell me where it had been and what it had seen.

I often wonder if he picked it up in battle, was given to him by a ferocious local warrior, captured from a dead enemy , or bought at a bazaar for a souvenir .

Don

 

[Loja man]

It’s an interesting thought!!! Personally I would take a belt axe and smaller skinner over a big chopping knife. But we all have our preferences.

 

[SOLANCO]

Not a great design for stabbing. It might be a good knife to have if my opponent had one,
There are way too many potential variables in a knife fight to say you should always have this or that weapon.
My all purpose camp/utility knife may not be the one I should fight with. If i am taken by surprise I had best be able to fight with whatever I can put my hand on.
In that circumstance, mind set and training will be more important than any blade consideration. And this: Shooting and killing someone at a distance is one thing. Feeling your blade take his life as you struggle to free it from his ribs is quite another,
Should you be faced with using a knife in this kind of circumstance? Squeamish is likely that very last thing you can afford to be.
Be very sure you are justified in your use of force.

 

[Colonial Boy]

I had two of them back in 1955, I was doing a short stint as a BHQ Orderly room clerk and the Quarter Master came in one day and invited the Orderly room staff to come next door into his domain, we trooped in and there was an open crate of kukris, he invited us to take a couple each as he was returning them for sale through Ordnance.
Seems that the Battalion bought them privately for issue as fighting knives but ‘higher up’ got to hear of it and it was stopped as apparently only the Gurkhas could use them in the British Commonwealth forces.

 

[Kmcmichael]

I believe we develop preference in tools subconsciously in our early experiences with them. I have a preference in a certain kitchen knife. I’ve seen people do everything with a paring knife. Beduins think their traditional knife is great etc. Unless one grew up with that it might seem odd to use, but some will just like new things. An axe head and smaller knife would be easier to forge in my opinion. There were difficulties and considerations when making larger blades.

 

[Teliliad]

Not a great design for stabbing. It might be a good knife to have if my opponent had one,
There are way too many potential variables in a knife fight to say you should always have this or that weapon.
My all purpose camp/utility knife may not be the one I should fight with. If i am taken by surprise I had best be able to fight with whatever I can put my hand on.
In that circumstance, mind set and training will be more important than any blade consideration. And this: Shooting and killing someone at a distance is one thing. Feeling your blade take his life as you struggle to free it from his ribs is quite another,
Should you be faced with using a knife in this kind of circumstance? Squeamish is likely that very last thing you can afford to be.
Be very sure you are justified in your use of force.

Actually, while you’re right and a wide curved blade is not particularly great for a thrusting attack, the Kukri has design features that lend very well to the concept. True the shape of the blade is not optimal for the action. But the spine of the blade is about 1/4” thick. This makes the blade heavy. Combine that with the sweeping shape of the front of the blade and stabbing in a downward motion, ie at a target laying in the dirt, it will split right through the rib cage. In addition if you stabbed some one in the gut with it, that wide spine would cause a long triangle shaped wound that would be very difficult to suture, especially in the field. And the angles created by the shape and width of the blade make tearing it downward, after said stabbing, causing mortal wounds near impossible to recover from. The Gurkhas used these knives for combat and survival to great effect from their inception to the present day. My details on this story are a bit hazy, but at one point the French invaded Nepal. Somewhere around 5 Gurkhas infiltrated a French encampment and used their Kukris to severe the heads off of every other Frenchman without waking the rest. So half the camp woke up to their numbers brutally and effectively cut in half with such stealth that none of the living were roused from their sleep. The Gurkhas are tough as nails. There was one retired Gurkha on a train. He killed 5 armed men with his bare hands, so imagine what he could do with a Kukri. Point is I agree with you point that the knife isn’t pointy enough, however put that knife in the hands of a Gurkha, all points are null and void.

 

[Teliliad]

I believe we develop preference in tools subconsciously in our early experiences with them. I have a preference in a certain kitchen knife. I’ve seen people do everything with a paring knife. Beduins think their traditional knife is great etc. Unless one grew up with that it might seem odd to use, but some will just like new things. An axe head and smaller knife would be easier to forge in my opinion. There were difficulties and considerations when making larger blades.

I agree with that sentiment. I actually have my preference set in either a Marine issue Kbar or a small folder. I can do just about anything I need to with that combo. Got my little smith and Wesson folder on me now. I was just thinking the Kukri would make sense for the application of fur trapper or mountain man.

 

[Fitzhugh Williams]

Somewhere around 5 Gurkhas infiltrated a French encampment and used their Kukris to severe the heads off of every other Frenchman without waking the rest. So half the camp woke up to their numbers brutally and effectively cut in half with such stealth that none of the living were roused from their sleep.

I have heard that same story about North Africa in WWII. Makes me wonder if it's true or just a "good old story" that was passed down and altered to fit the times.

 

[Red Owl]

I always thought they were used like a manchette, to clear away underbrush, etc. Most now for sale- I was always worried the steel was sub-par.

 

[Bobby44]

I had two of them back in 1955, I was doing a short stint as a BHQ Orderly room clerk and the Quarter Master came in one day and invited the Orderly room staff to come next door into his domain, we trooped in and there was an open crate of kukris, he invited us to take a couple each as he was returning them for sale through Ordnance.
Seems that the Battalion bought them privately for issue as fighting knives but ‘higher up’ got to hear of it and it was stopped as apparently only the Gurkhas could use them in the British Commonwealth forces.

My first encounter with a kurkis was on a return trip from a mixed forces exercise. A highlander of dubious lineage had one that came with a story. He was on night picket in Africa when he felt the knife by his throat and a hand going inside his shirt. He froze solid until the hand found his tags and a voice said " Ok Tommy. You can go". Gurkhas did not fool around with their stealth or meaning. Scotty carried a kurkis he got in Africa with him as a reminder to be a little more alert. I saw lots of 'stuff' that I was too young to appreciate in those days.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I always thought they were used like a manchette, to clear away underbrush, etc. Most now for sale- I was always worried the steel was sub-par.

Avoid the cheap Atlanta Cutlery versions. The ones from Nepal are high carbon and take a wicked edge you can shave with.

 

[The Miner '49er]

I had two of them back in 1955, I was doing a short stint as a BHQ Orderly room clerk and the Quarter Master came in one day and invited the Orderly room staff to come next door into his domain, we trooped in and there was an open crate of kukris, he invited us to take a couple each as he was returning them for sale through Ordnance.
Seems that the Battalion bought them privately for issue as fighting knives but ‘higher up’ got to hear of it and it was stopped as apparently only the Gurkhas could use them in the British Commonwealth forces.