Thread: Combat Knives?

Yeah i saw those, not so sure you wouldn´t do just as well with a trad one for a fraction of the price.

Mick, the little square profiled thingy for sharpening, how is it used?

You use it like a steel. It isn't so much a sharpening device. Think of it like a strop or a really fine hone. You use it to upkeep a sharp edge, but given time and patience you can resharpen your blade with it. The steel used in the 'Chakmak' is harder than the steel in the knife. Essentially the Chakmak has been hardened, but not tempered or tempered to a lesser degree than the knife to leave it harder. You can also use the Chakmak as a steel with a flint for firelighting. During the 19th and earlier 20th century military Khukuri didn't come with a Chakmak or the small knife that you have beside it is called a 'Karda'. A pouch called a 'Khalti' was also left off the sheath, it used to carry bits and pieces like a flint etc. Prior to the 19th century most Khukuri came with Karda, Chakmak and Khalti, but Khalti haven't been included back since the re-introduction of Karda and Chakmak since the 20th century. A shame really, as it would be a great survival knife with that little pouch to put some bits and pieces in.
There is heaps of information on Khukuri and Ghurka here Khukuri House :: About Us - Khukuri House - Nepal's First Genuine Gurkha Knives Shop - Buy Gurkha Knives/Khukuries Online . I'm not affilitated with them of course. I came across the site while trying to find out more about my own knives.


Mick

Thats great Mick, Thanks mate.

So it's a matter of drawing the Chakmak down the blade at the angle of the bevel? the must take some practice, will give it a go, guess like you say its a kind of stropping. hard to do free hand though. The blade came with a good "working edge" on it apparently.

The website has some good pics of sharpening technique actually

I also notice that the website you pointed out are prepared to do customs.. maybe a way to get the Khalti you wanted?

Looks like mine would be service number one, thinking of ordering one of the G14's though, looks like it would be closest to the WWII one you have.

To use the Chakmak, hold the knife in a point down position with the edge in a comfortable, accessable position (I put the edge away from my body. Don't want to gut/castrate myself if it slips.). It's easier if the tip spine section of the blade is sitting on a workbench top or a similar surface that may get marked. An off cut of fence paling, chopping block or something is good for that too. Then just like you are using a stone to sharpen the knife, angle the Chakmak to the bevel/edge. You can use the flat of the Chakmak for polishing (like a strop) or if the edge needs a little more aggression, you can tilt the Chakmak to run the sharper corner edge down the blade. Personally, I just use a small fine diamond hone to up-keep the edge, solely because I am more comfortable with that. But it's always nice to know you can use the Chakmak if you need to.
My big Khukuri knife equates to either 3rd or 4th issue...4th issue...Just pulled up the website to check for differences . Our modern, water buffalo handled Khukuries are called 'Service Number One' (you're correct), which has got to give you an insight into the importance placed on the Khukuri by their true Ghurkha users.


Mick

I ended up picking up a Becker bk-2.

Awesome knife and very sharp. Able to take quite a beating too.

For those into Ghurkas, my favorite is this story
Badass of the Week: Bishnu Shrestha
Slightly dramatised but the facts are correct. It was mentioned in several news feeds, though in a less colorful fashion.
EDIT:
This one is nice too
http://badassoftheweek.com/gurung.html

Sadly the end of the second story is true, for years our government didn't think that the best and most dedicated soldiers we had deserved a pension on par with the rest of the army or the right to live here..

they were good enough to guard prince harry in afghanistan though

Originally Posted by tekbow

Sadly the end of the second story is true, for years our government didn't think that the best and most dedicated soldiers we had deserved a pension on par with the rest of the army or the right to live here..

they were good enough to guard prince harry in afghanistan though

Yeah. No doubt politics had a lot to do with that. How one can argue that a VC decorated veteran has not done enough for Britain is beyond me. But when the going really gets tough, they still want the Ghurkas around.

Originally Posted by Bruno

If I thought it would not get me arrested, I'd carry this.



I've been drooling over this knife for a long time. I may just end up buying it to keep it on my nightstand as a 'just in case' knife.
Like they say in the description: this knife is not a general purpose knife. It was designed for 1 purpose only.
And I am willing to bet that someone seeing this knife would lose motivation very rapidly.

Bruno I like your taste in knives,its really nice-but here in the U.S we have a saying "Dont bring a knife to a gun fight"=its a nice knife-but it would get you shot...just my two cents

I know I'm quite late to the party, but since it's still being referenced, I thought I'd comment on the Spyderco Bruno linked. I'm not sure which model that is, but I have been carrying a Tasman Salt for over a year now. It's quite similar to the one pictured. Fits great into the 5th pocket of my jeans; if what I'm wearing doesn't have one I either clip it to the inside of my front pocket or inside the back waistband of my pants/shorts. I know it looks scary, but I think it would make a pretty bad weapon. You can't stab with it, because of how the tip points. You can slash, but with such a short lever arm, I would think it would be easy to lose your grip. It is, on the other hand, a fantastic box opener; terrific for sawing through whatever, and I find the curved blade makes the knife much less likely to slip off whatever you are cutting in the event that the stroke hangs. I don't know about the one you showed, but since the Salt I have is in the sailor's line (extremely corrosion resistant at the tradeoff of softer metal), I'm pretty sure the one purpose it is actually designed for is cutting rope.

But yes, if I pull it out, people take notice. I actually refrain from using it in public because the attention is definitely unwanted. When I'm going somewhere where I think I will have to cut in public, I also take along a stockman to avoid the notice.