The Khukri - Myth or Fact ?

[fearn]

To be clear, the problem with choking up on these blades is the central metal spike at the base of the edge. If you put your index finger on that point and rotate the blade around it, it's going to hurt. One might even hypothesize that some smith put the point there expressly to keep people from choking up on the blade.

The other issue is that, if you do choke up, you've got the mass of the handle hanging out at a weird angle (or the blade is at a weird angle). On a straight knife, choking up is great, because the handle is back, in your hand or out of the way, and acting as a bit of a counterbalance.

I won't say it wasn't done. I'm just skeptical that that was the original purpose.

F