KUKRI - the bushcrafters friend

KHUKURI \ KUKRI KNIFE: A mid-length curved knife comprising a distinctive “Cho” that is the national knife and icon of Nepal, basic and traditional utility knife of Nepalese, a formidable and effective weapon of the Gurkhas and an exquisite piece of local craftsmanship that symbolizes pride and valor which also represents the country and it’s culture. Believed to have existed 2500 years ago; “Kopi” is the probable source of the Khukuri that was used by Greek in the 4 th BC. However, khukuri came into limelight only in and particularly after the Nepal War in 1814-15 after the formation of British Gurkha Army. Basically carried in a leather case, mostly having walnut wooden grip and traditionally having two small knives, it is one of the most famous and feared knives of the world.

Kukri Blade
1.
Belly (Bhundi): Widest part/area of the blade.
2.
Bevel (Patti): Slope from the main body until the sharp edge.
3.
Bolster (Kanjo): Thick metal/brass round shaped plate between blade and handle made to support and reinforce the fixture.
4.
Butt Cap (Chapri): Thick metal/brass plate used to secure the handle to the tang.
5.
Cho/Notch (Kaudi): A distintive cut (numeric 3 like shape) in the edge functioned as a blood dropper and others.
6.
Edge (Dhaar): Sharp edge of the blade.
7.
Fuller (Chirra): Curvature/Hump in the blade made to absorb impact and to reduce unnecessary weight.
8.
Fuller/Groove (Khol): Straight groove or deep line that runs along part of the upper spine.
9.
Keeper (Hira Jornu): Spade/Diamond shaped metal/brass plate used to seal the butt cap.
10.
Main body (Ang): Main surface or panel of the blade.
11.
Peak (Juro): Highest point of the blade.
12.
Ricasso (Ghari): Blunt area between notch and bolster.
13.
Rings (Harhari): Round circles in the handle.
14.
Rivet (Khil): Steel or metal bolt to fasten or secure tang to the handle.
15.
Spine (Beet): Thickest blunt edge of the blade.
16.
Tang (Paro): Rear piece of the blade that goes through the handle
17.
Tang Tail (Puchchar): Last point of the khukuri blade.
18.
Tip (Toppa): Starting point of the blade.

Kukri Scabbard
1.
Chape (Khothi): Pointed mettalic tip of the scabbard. Used to protect the naked tip of a scabbard.
2.
Frog (Faras): Belt holder especially made of thick leather (2mm to 4mm) encircling the scabbard close towards the throat.
3.
Lace (Tuna): A leather cord used to sew or attach two ends of the frog. Especially used in army types (not available in this pic).
4.
Loop (Golie): Round leather room/space where a belt goes through attached/fixed to the keeper with steel rivets.
5.
Lower Edge (Tallo Bhag): Belly/curvature of the scabbard.
6.
Main Body (Sharir): The main body or surface of the scabbard. Generally made in semi oval shape.
7.
Strap/Ridge (Bhunti): Thick raw leather encirlcing the scabbard made to create a hump to secure the frog from moving or wobbling (not available in this pic).
8.
Throat (Mauri): Entrance towards the interior of the scabbard for the blade.
9.
Upper Edge (Mathillo Bhaag): Spine of the scabbard where holding should be done when handling a Khukuri

Cutting tool Used for domestic purposes, for kitchen use, for gardening, backyard clearance, household work, in and around living area; a basic cutting tool.

Outdoor For jungle use as a machete, during safaris, trekking, camping out in the woods, hunting, fishing, cutting and clearing bushes, branches /small trees, forestry activities, also used as hammer, digger etc, basically a survival tool.

Military For parade (Kukri drill), on duty or guard, training, exercises, warfare, combat, close counter fighting, army ritual ceremony, presentation (when an officer retires, he is given a special “Kothimora” sliver Kukri to mark his loyal service and duty), regimental insignia and distinction.

Religious and Cultural For beheading domestic animals during festivals (mainly Dashain), to perform ritual ceremonies (which requires slaughtering for example; vehicles opening), during marriage ceremonies (bridegroom with his traditional marriage dress), royal ceremonies (in the absence of the king, his kukri will represent him), special ritual occasions (particularly which requires blood and blessings), Poojas. Also in castes like Rai, Magar Gurung’s tradition, a kukri is buried along with the dead with a belief that by doing so it would destroy all his demons and sins. In remote villages there is a practice of presenting kukri to a grown lad to mark his manhood and maturity.

Presentation, Display and Collection As gifts (to honor or thank someone in a special way), for decoration (to decor or adorn ones place, a special way to enhance the beauty and ambient), Collector’s pride and preference, unique souvenir and memento, prizes and cup, owner’s prize possession, business promotion and awards.

Myths and Beliefs The famous legendary story goes- every time a Gurkha draws his weapon out, if he was unable to find his enemy’s blood then he had to put his own, other story also goes- long time ago it was believed that Kukri was also used as boomerang; means; it was thrown towards the enemy, beheaded him and swung back to the user’s hand; kept under pillow to prevent bad dreams and nightmares, in villages and rural areas carrying kukri symbolizes manhood for boys, to keep away satins, ghosts and black magic, to safe guard and protect a family spiritually and religiously. As well, a very popular saying in Nepalese as “Kukri Bhanda Karda Lagne”, sarcastic meaning “To be over smart than his/hers elders”

Pride and Honor National icon, national weapon, national souvernity, symbols/monograms for many Nepalese Government departments and branches (army, police, security, forestry, scouts etc), representing Nepal internationally and worldwide, naming local products after “Kukri” (Khukuri Rum, Khukuri Choorot/cigarette etc), unique national memento and souvenir, honest and powerful recognition, trademark for security forces at war and peace, a precious gift used at the highest official level

Ornaments and wealth Precious and valuable ornaments (to adorn oneself with special curio type replica kukris), to show one’s status and size (gold and silver Kukris at home, office etc), history shows kings, ministers, generals etc displaying big expensive kukris to demonstrate power, money and pride.

But above all this a Kukri is a excellent full sized camp knife Ideal for all the tasks we'd ask of an Hatchet or small forest axe. And with the two smaller knives a far more complete outfit. THe smallers knives (usually 3" in length) are the Karda which is a utility blade ideal for whittling, food or game prep and all tasks the bigger blade is deemed to cumbersome for. The OTHER tool is a chakmak this is a sharpening device not really a stone more like a file ................but it is also the tool used with flint for fire light as in your standard flint and steel.

And as a parting thought - if you have to have a Kukri wielding buddy - fingers cross you have one like this ...............

Candle iin the wind

Illuminating the darkness, warding off that which scares us in the primordial night has always been one of mans concerns............nothing is as comforting on a night alone in the woods as a fire, a torch ya great 0 but a fire now thats a friend.

But what about modern man in our plastic world...........susperstitions bah......... the dark holds no fear for me .............. ya right, Ive camped many a lonely week both near and far and even I get spooked by the boogey man once in a while.

The Native americans called the boogeyman the Wind-a-go spirit, a creature which whispers in your ear, twisting your thoughts - scaring you or sapping your morale - the Indians say the only way to dispell a wind-a-go is to do something positive action .................how on a cold lonely night, in a place where a fire isnt a option I've often found a candle does the job nicely !

Ok, ok SPOOKs aside lets consider the humble candle!

I always carry a pair of tallow candles in my bergen, its a old habit learn from years of experience. Tallow is a edible veg oil so in theory a food source but better than this (you'd have to be bloody hungry to eat a candle) this type of candle has a long life - both on the shelf and in its burn time (typically 10 hours) thats a lot of illumination for a tent or shelter and its a lot of battery power saved!

More importantly a candle is a source of heat - we often burn candles in our teepees on courses to drive out the damp air - they warm the tent by a few degrees (in a snow hole this is critical) but more importantly they warm the tent to the eye casting a comforting welcoming golden glow!

Any candle will do of course - IKEA tea candle 100 for a £1 are almost as good - but I still prefer the long life candles and will often burn the tea candles saving the long life ones for real emergencies .............have you every wished you had a candle in that dark bothy or shelter?

No, next time you venture out into the woods try it - take a candle and see how you get on, not just for light but for the thousand of other uses they can be put to from lubing a bow drill bearing block to waterproofing matches .............

Vildmark and WEISS 2008

Sweden 2008.

This years Vildmark and WEISS were with out a doubt the best ones ever - from both an instructional and students prespective.

The weather was challenging as was the WEISS course but I am proud to say everyone still passed even after doing the bow drill test in a torrential downpour!!

The highlight for me was two fold - firstly the the high standard of the course and secondly the fact we have now had students from 8 differnet countries pass through the school making it a truely international course in every respect.

Factory over hand made - the knife question??!

Most Bushcrafters are of the impression that a hand made knife of carbon steel is the best they can get and many aspire to this.

But is it?

Is the hand made knife - pound for pound - a better tool?

Of course if you want something special - made to your specs using materials of your choosing like the Leuku below - then a custom job is the only answer but if your looking for a work horse - why spend all that time and money?

Technology is such that many factory made knifes are now cheaper than ever before and yet of the highest quality - perfectly mixed steels of flawless quality and digitally set tempers which can not be matched by the hand maker? Can they?

We are all familiar with the Forst Mora - made popular by Mr Mears and now the standard issue tool by most of the better schools for novices but what of Brusletto or Helle ...... Martinni or any of the other Finnish or scandinavian makers with centuries of tradition behind them?

They all offer a vast array of tools so much so thant even the most picky of people must find one among the range they like!

Of course theres the argument - "well as in any hobby you should have the best tools you can afford" but does price really reflex quality?? Or does price actually just reflect the fact that a hand maker can not make the same type of knife in the same time span and with the lower overheads of a major factory?? If so then surely the "best tool you can afford" isnt a reflection on the tool and its ability but on the name of the maker?? Your paying for a brand name - Alan Wood knives for example, I've owned two and while the workmanship is great they cut the same as a Mora clipper - indeed in use the clipper is more versatile.

Recently (with the down turn in the global and UK economy) I decided to veer away from the hand made ranges and look at the mass produced tools out there ..........and have been pleasnatly surprised how good they really are.


My favourite (pictured above) came from Attleborough Accessories in Norfolk and is the Brusletto Middelalder - a factory custom job aimed at collectors and as such a limited run - which originally was rrp £70 BUT they are now selling at £30. For this price you get a lot of quality in the knife and it now piggy backs with my Wilderness Knife as my field utility knife!! The feel of the tool is excellent and the quality equally so ...........it certainly matches any hand made knife I've ever owned!


Other knifes in the Brusletto range I like are the Bamsen (my oldest knife which I used for many years until I joined the woodlore team) the Granbit and Troll are both equally good and make fantastic utility tools.


Of course ALL of the above doesnt detract from the pleasure you get from receiving and owning a unique hand made tool - but if your looking for a work tool, if your more practical than romantic, and if you want to own many knives for the price of one then a mass produced knife may be your answer .............after all even Mors Kochanski preferred one (the Erikson mora) to a custom job and as a man with a life times more experience than most people how can we fault him.....................


So next time your pondering a new cutting tool - give the factory ranges a thought - with the money you save you could even afford to go out into the wilderness and use it ")

Out with the old in with the new part 2

During our recent Fasach Ile course the old style Kelly Kettle won its strips ............now since they moved production of the kettles to eastern Europe I've not been a fan - the older models were bomb proof but the new???

Anyway as luck would have it being so impressed in Scotland I decided to search for a new and better item thats similar to the Kelly ............. and loo and behold I found one ..........made in Britian by the guys who used to make the old Kelly Kettles - happy days!!

Even better - where the Kelly Kettle just has a cork bung - these have whistles, which do two things - whistle when boiled but also by sealing the spout they also ensure both a quicker boil time and no boil over!!

Coming soon to the trading post the new Kettle is known as a GHILLIE kettle and as well as being better made, more varsatile it also comes in three sizes thus making it more adaptable to the users uses from the lone hiker to small or large groups!

It also comes with a decent carry sack which has sholder straps so it can be carried like the old school slipper bag!!

And .............phew the list goes on - if you seal the spout with cling film and replace the whistle its waterproof seal means you can carry it full of water - thus not depleteing you drinking water on day hikes!!

As you can see I'm impressed - thats why I decided to start stocking them!!

The king is dead long live the king!!

Out with the old - in with the new??

Once upon a time the wily woodsman could wander far and wide with just his possibles bag, knife and axe as his only tools.........

Nessmuks trinity - hatchet, knife and pocket knife are proof of this - but can the modern traveller do the same?

Can we, in a day and age of techno gear get by with just a couple of simple tools?

I think not - the trinity still exists but I think if Nessmuk was alive today - even he would use a multitool!




Over the last 20 years I've experimented off and on with various models from the original Leatherman - threw the Gerbers and SOGS - and back to the new Leathermans and I think it safe to say the Leatherman WAVE has come to be my favourite - its certainly earnt its stripes on the last few trips I've had and now if a perminent addition to my kit!

Another modern replacement is the possibles pouch or bag - not so long ago I was told by a top outdoorsman that wearing a possibles pouch made me look like a re-enactor. Not so long ago same said person was wearing one and now even sell them .....so proof of the pudding is int he eating a possibles pouch is a handy bit of kit ........but again in recent times I've found myself replacing my traditional leather pouch with the modern version of it - either a snugpak Responce Pak or the USMC 3 in 1 pouch its modelled upon.



Regardless which pouch you go for (the only real difference being the 3 in 1 converts to a shoulder bag) the room for gear is impressive offering us the ability to carry a waterbottle and mug in the main section, first and survival items in the side pockets and or the front pocket ect ect - and yet taking up no more or extra space on our body!!

Out with the old in with the new .............in those two cases I say YES!

Fasach Ile - the movie

Well I've been playing again - sometimes a picture paints a thousand words so enjoy!