The Tinguian and Ilocano Peoples--an ethnography based on the work of Cole

[A. G. Maisey]

Ian, in respect of this:-

" --- A curious feature on each of these knives is a small cut-out notch at the ricasso where, presumably, the forefinger would rest rather than slide down onto the sharpened edge ---"

this notch is called a "choil", its purpose is to permit the entire length of a blade to be sharpened (A.G. Russell)

There has been lengthy, ongoing debate about the choil in modern custom knife circles, but its purpose is clear;- it permits the entire length of a cutting edge to be sharpened and prevents damage to other parts of a knife during the process of sharpening.

It has the incidental effect of providing a warning to a user when his hand moves too far forward on the hilt, and in some knives the choil can be made large enough to permit the hand to move onto the blade, in this case the choil retains its original function, but loses its original form, in that it forms an unbroken line with the hilt, and is sometimes given a checkered or cross-hatched surface to prevent slippage.

In a work knife that is intended for detail work, the Balinese work knife shown below provides a design that permits full on-blade control, in that the section of blade that declines to the cutting edge from the hilt ferrule is left wide and unsharpened, a mere finger notch cannot provide anything like the same degree of blade control, and in a heavy blade that was expected to be used at times for chopping, a finger-on-blade design would have an adverse effect upon practicality.