Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Appearance of the Kukri in Classical South Indian Culture

Emanuel · 3rd March 2010, 06:19 PM

Hi Chris,

Perhaps you should clarify what you are looking for and how you are defining khukri. The kink is present in some form or other...the mid-axis of the blade is angled forward. The treatment of the spine is irrelevant I think, some have a very strong angular "kink" while other have a very smooth and gentle wide-angled curve. The example in the frieze is of the latter variety. Many of the 16th century pieces have a very strongly angled spine. I'll scan the pages when I get home tonight or tomorrow.

Attached are some pictures from "El Armamento Iberico" Fernando Quesada Sanz. It shows examples of the Greek kopis and the Iberian falcata, very similar weapons, very khukri-like, but both developed differently. The kopis is suggested to have developed from the Egyptian and Sumerian kopesh/sappara, themselves developed from an axe, while the falcata is thought to derive from celtic knives.

Also check out Spiral's pictures from the Kathmando National Museum You can see that the old 18th century khukri are often large, sword-sized and have a very smooth spine, no "kink" as in British pattern and post-WWI khukri.

I look at khukri as a branch of a general stream of experimentation in blade design that may have started with Macedonian incursion, earlier, or later, both independent and related. It's very hard not to see the kopis as a direct ancestor, but the falcata shows the possibility of a parallel development, so we shouldn't rule out the same with the khukri/South Indian blades.

Food for thought...

Emanuel

3rd March 2010, 06:19 PM	#18
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hi Chris, Perhaps you should clarify what you are looking for and how you are defining khukri. The kink is present in some form or other...the mid-axis of the blade is angled forward. The treatment of the spine is irrelevant I think, some have a very strong angular "kink" while other have a very smooth and gentle wide-angled curve. The example in the frieze is of the latter variety. Many of the 16th century pieces have a very strongly angled spine. I'll scan the pages when I get home tonight or tomorrow. Attached are some pictures from "El Armamento Iberico" Fernando Quesada Sanz. It shows examples of the Greek kopis and the Iberian falcata, very similar weapons, very khukri-like, but both developed differently. The kopis is suggested to have developed from the Egyptian and Sumerian kopesh/sappara, themselves developed from an axe, while the falcata is thought to derive from celtic knives. Also check out Spiral's pictures from the Kathmando National Museum You can see that the old 18th century khukri are often large, sword-sized and have a very smooth spine, no "kink" as in British pattern and post-WWI khukri. I look at khukri as a branch of a general stream of experimentation in blade design that may have started with Macedonian incursion, earlier, or later, both independent and related. It's very hard not to see the kopis as a direct ancestor, but the falcata shows the possibility of a parallel development, so we shouldn't rule out the same with the khukri/South Indian blades. Food for thought... Emanuel Attached Images Last edited by Emanuel; 3rd March 2010 at 06:52 PM.