Yeah, I heard the same story about the same amount of time ago..
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Vicious rumour that did the trick (and still does) to put off the enemy (or any new bloke) and highlights just how tough the little buggers are, because they would cut themselves to prove the point when new blokes were around. However if any enemy were around they would save themselves the pain. The Khukuri was the back up weapon if the rifle failed. It comes in a few varieties and is used from farming to fighting.
Mick
The ones used by the Ghurka's of WW1 era are monsters of knives (I own one) quite capable of taking off heads, so yes you could use them to clear a path if pressed, but they have a bit more weight than your average BOLO and would prove tiring after a while.
Mick
Being such a weight forward design they also hold their own in a chopping role. Give a Khukuri a.nice convex grind and you could easily lop off medium to large branches.