Like many of you, I love to keep knives, not only for self-defense, but to maintain a unique collection of weapons. It may sound surprising to you that I have more than hundreds of different knives. For past couple of years, I have focused my interest on the knives. I explore and do research on different knives available in the modern times and in the past. Among the great collection of knives, the least I have are the karambit knives. Maybe, I was unaware of the interesting designs, multi-uses and strength of these knives.
I also have a collection of a few vintage knives, the knives used on several famous occasions such as a Bowie knife used in the American Civil War. I like learning about the history of these knives and how they had been used in the past. Last week, I got an opportunity to learn about the karambit knives. I was not pretty keen to know about these knives, but their unique curved style encouraged me to do so. So, following are a few significant things I learned about them.
The origin of Karambit knives
The knives which we know as “Karambits” all over the world are called “kerambit” in Malaysia and Indonesia. This exotic blade was used by the West Sumatra Minangkabau people in their agrarian culture. During the 11th century, karambit knife was an indispensable device for the farmers to harvest root-crops and rice.
It had a shape like a claw and was known as Kuku Macan which means a tiger’s claw. The Indonesian warriors considered karambit as a last-resort tool opposing the Dutch colonists. Karambit knives were used as self-defense tools a long ago by the Indonesian women who tied them to their hair. Several modern weapon designers still consider karambit a feminine tool.
The parts of traditional karambit knives
The traditional karambit was not different from the modern ones. A simple traditional karambit had three fundamental parts.
Handle
The handles of traditional karambit knives were mostly made of buffalo horn or hardwood. Like the modern models of karambits, the older ones also used synthetic materials including metals. The traditional karambit handles were stronger and durable.
Curved Blade
When it comes to cutting blade, the traditional knives were different from the conventional knives. The main difference is that karambit blade is curved just like a tiger’s claw. The traditional blades also varied, as there were knives without or with serrations, and were double as well as single edged.
The Retention Ring
In the modern karambit knives, you know it as the safety ring. The karambits of 11th to 13th century also possessed safety ring or retention ring. However, it was not necessary to incorporate a safety ring in the karambits, but as they evolved, the ring became essential part of these knives. Even in the modern days, a safety ring is the item which sets these knives apart from the other knives. So, I learned that there were no design differences between the ancient and modern karambit knives.
