A knife was recently given to me, It’s a beast of a knife:
It’s alled a Khukuri (sp?). I believe it is from India. It’s a little less than a foot long, curved, with the inside of the curve sharpened. I have two questions:
It’s a Ghurka’s knife from Nepal. You’re never supposed to unsheath it completely without blooding it. It’s curved to facilitate decapitation.
Thanks China Guy, but HOW exactally does the curveture assist in cutting heads off? You also raise another question: what are the consequences of unsheathing it without “blooding” it?
There are no consequences. It is only a traditional thing. Feel free to unsheath it all you want.
and i would assume that the inverse curve prevents slippage when it catches on the spine.
The curve also puts more weight farther from the hilt, lending momentum to any cutting attack. What you have is the traditional knife of the Gurkhas. Serious badass Nepalese warriors who have fought alongside the British army since Victorian times.
I encourage you to go to http://www.google.com and search for info on “Gurkha”…you’ll be very impressed with what you find.
I understand that it is “only a traditional thing.” but I guess my question is, what (if any) consequences does that tradtion hold for the unweary unsheather?
probably death, dismemberment, cast into hell (or an equvalent); you know, the usual. 
Well if you’re not tired… oh, I’m too weary to nitpick spelling.
This is a fairly common tradition in many cultures that carry blades. I’ve heard several versions over the years and never heard an consequence associated with it. It’s more like a reminder of good behavior, analogous to the rule of thumb for people who carry concealed handguns that you should never draw unless you intend to fire. That is, don’t play with it, don’t brandish it, don’t use it as a threat. Draw it, use it, put it away.
I don’t know if this applies to the Ghurka tradition, but it’s true in other cultures where the warriors say the same thing about their blades.
The curve and shape of a khukri put the weight of the blow towards the end of the blade, while the curve actually “pulls” the blade into the wound, making for a deeper cut. A strong man with a properly sharpened khukri can cut through a 2x4 in three or four strikes. It’s not an ellegant stilletto-type weapon like a Fairbairn-Sykes knife, it’s a bloody chopping weapon, designed to produce massive wounds.
In function, it’s not unlike a Thracian Kopis, sometimes called a Falcata.
I had one of these once. Down near the hilt, on the blade side, you should notice a little, sharp notch. The tradition is that if you draw the weapon without drawing blood, then you should grip the notch with your thumb until you draw your own blood before sheathing the knife again.
Personally, I think it might be a myth to add to the Ghurka mystique and legend.
My ex-colleague was a Ghurka officer, and he collaborates the drawing blood. A Ghurka will cheerfully show his Kukri if asked and then cut some part of his hand to draw blood before re-sheathing it. They may just show part of the blade without pulling it completely out of the scabbard.
Another ex-colleague (man those Swiss Bank guys got around) was a member of the Imperial Officer Corp in Japan. Well, he served during WW2 in Burma and walked out to Thailand to surrender at the end of the war. Anyway, he said they were afraid of the Ghurkas. Not petrified in fear, but that the Ghurkas were bad asses, were going to inflict casualties, and they liked to decapitate the losers. Too be avoided if possible and fought to the bitter end otherwise. Back to the OP, he also said the Khurki’s gave 'em the willies.
When I was a child I lived near the Gurkha barracks in Church Crookham, England. On a school visit to the barracks I was told the following about the kukri:
Not about the knife more about the Gurkhas
http://www.army.mod.uk/army/organise/infan/gurkha/
A friend of mine met a few of them when he was in the RLC. He said they were the most polite people he ever met and fantastic soldiers as well.