kukris - rat tail vs full tang

LOL to me either way but I have to admit, kukris serve my purpose. I guess I paralleled a lot of suggestions from my past knife users.

Splendid. Needless to say everything has its drawbacks, and I think these issues has been raised in this thread. Perhaps with some exception (there always is), sticktang overall has a lot more advantages then fulltang.   Make sure to get back with your impressions of it. 


Of course you have now to decide if you want a rattail tang, that dont go through tha handle. Or a sticktang with visable tangbutton, keeper and buttcap. Or just tangbutton and keeper. 

I would say no buttcap would be what I would prefer, but since the buttcap protects the handle if dropped, or just against surroundings (rock), I can accept it.  

The confusion is truly out there, and I might ad that I am part of it. That is I am not 100 % clear on all the different tang types.


Below is an example on some tangs, now perhaps I am not smart but I dont think its really clearcut. Atleast there seem to be no really consensus about it. You could critizise the sources, sure. They may not be the best, but it illustrates my first sentence, the confusion is real.   If you look at the middle, partial tang AND rat tail, and if rattail is stick tang thats a blade having partialtang and sticktang...


Narrowing it down to Khukuris though, its a bit easier. We pretty much all know what fulltang is, and sticktang I think most would accept as a tang that goes through the entire handle, sometimes with keeper, ans sometimes other variations. 


So were does rattail come in? I use the word after seeing rehandling of khukuris from The Royal Nepalese Armory. Some had really not much to a tang and I sometimes refer to them as rat tails tang, but thats partial tang really. 


So no, you are not as confused as you may think. I think rattail shouldnt be used with khukuris, only fulltang, sticktang and partialtang. Because its not only the length of the tang that matters, but its thickness, geometry and potential welding. And thats not used with khukuris unless you are extending a tang or making repairs. 

Thanks! However I would take that with a grain of salt since KHHI still has this info written "A khukuri once drawn must taste blood before it is re-sheathed. And: Kaudi being as a sighting device to capture enemy’s view to behead him; the notch being used to disarm the enemy by locking his sword in it and snatching off from his hand " Origin of the Khukuri.


But I think that once again illustrates that there may be no general konsensus on this one. I think though that its part of the subject, we call the same thing different names. And how frustrating it may be, that we cant agree on labels, I dont think thats the most important. 



I bet most of us couldnt even agree on the definitions of what is a khukuri.   Oh its almost that I must create such a thread, in 1-5 points. What makes a khukuri a khukuri? Think about it, is it really that obvious? I think its not. 

Please tell me more about the partial tang khukuri, any pics of it and the separation? Was it bought new and in that case from where?


A lot of partial tangs beeing used, also shows one getting a handle re-attached. 

The khukuri in question was new. A village-made blade that I purchased from Himalayan Imports around 2003 or 2004. It was short, about 10"/250 mm, and had a very thick spine. But, it also had a little distal taper (a surprise) and a short, convexish edge. I was pleased, because the presence of a taper and the form of the edge made it closer to the antique that I own than any other modern khukuri that I'd seen.

I don't think that I have pictures anywhere - it was a long time back. The separation was complete. I had taken down and trimmed several young arbor vitae with a hatchet. I decided to try using the khukuri to reduce the resulting poles (approx. 2-3"/50-75 mm at the base)to fireplace lengths. I started by checking the integrity of the blade after each chop on my first length. Then, I switched to checking after each length. After no problems for half the lot, I decided to check after I completed each of the remaining poles. That was a mistake. The blade and bolster came free of the handle as I was raising the khukuri between chops on the next-to-last pole. I wasn't taking big swings, so nothing flew far and I was not injured.

The tang turned out to be fairly beefy, but short - no more than 1 1/2"/37 mm long, probably less. There was residue of the pitch/resin that is traditional to that type of blade on the tang and in the handle. HI warned me that they did not cover handle issues with these khukuris when I purchased it - which makes me think that they knew separations were an issue. Khukuris are not a particular focus for me, so the pieces went into my "project blades" bin. They sat there for about 10 years, until I gave them to a family friend who likes fix-it projects. I don't know what he did with them.

Could that have been for export/tourist?  

Thanks. I think that sometimes in all the discussions on what type of khukuri that is the "best" and how it should be used and for what.. it tends to forget the most importent source. The Nepali. What Khukuris are they using and how, a lot to learn here. See how the man sharpens the khukuri on some stone at the river? No fancy or complicated options there.


First video is also nice to see because, women, men, old and young work together.




Two other ones, but there are many more. Also recommend the ones that just shows daily life without any khukuri, or with an axe or motorsaw. This is from the amazing place from were the Khukuri comes. Nepal.

He spent his whole life in sheep 🐑 hut


Poor grandfather || He cross His entire life in the jungle

I looked on the GGK site and it talks about the process with full tang handles but not stick tang. I have two GGK kukris, both with stick tangs, and they seem rock solid, but that may not be much of an indicator.

Edit: Btw, interesting videos. No small part of the appeal of kukris is that they are working tools and and part of a living tradition.