A Case For the Kukri

When you're 'bugging in', there really is no limit to how heavy your gear and supplies can be.  Folks who are crafting their zombie apocalypse survival strategy to bug in have the main advantage of not worrying about weight and portability (for the most part), which means that much of their gear can have specific purposes.  For instance, they can buy a knife for working, and then another for fighting.

For those of us who are 'bugging out', our gear must be light, portable, and most of all, multi-purposeful.  The ability to combine two or three tools into one offers the capability of packing the most uses for single items of gear in the least amount of space and weight.  These tools are gold to the zombie survivalist.  Perhaps the best survival tool of them all is the Kukri knife.

The Helper at Camp

Many of us will be making a break for the wild when things go bad, which means that life will be lived at camp and on the trek.  Having a chopping knife is of the uttermost importance, as this will allow you to limb trees, make shelters and other structures, and chop firewood.  While this is mostly a job for an axe, the Kukri knife has been performing this function for hundreds of years in Nepal.  

Gurkha Kukri Knife

The Kukri has several advantages over an axe or tomahawk.  While the Kukri may not be able to down an entire tree the way an axe can, it is perhaps the only type of blade that has the ability to chop through thick limbs, even making quick work of wood for the fire.  At the same time, the blade profile allows for hacking away at weeds and dense brambles, something an axe cannot do.  It doubles its function as both a knife and a machete, carrying all the advantages and very few of the drawbacks.

**Note:  I'm not saying to leave the axe at home.  Axes and hatchets are indispensable for a long-term self-reliance scenario, especially if you want to hammer stakes and build a more permanent structure... however, for a short term scout, Kukri's become a fantastic alternative.  Not only that, but a Kukri can become ready for a fight quite quickly, whereas an axe or a tomahawk requires more time to unsheath and grab the handle properly.  Food for thought.**

The key is in the Kukri design.  If you refer to the picture above, you will notice that the blade is drawn forward.  This allows for the knife to have the essential 'forward weight' for chopping.  The nature of this design has made the Kukri into one of the most loved tools for bushcrafters and survivalists, due to its ability to fly through any material in its way.  In addition, a traditional Kukri handle has a large swell and a metal pommel at the very end.  This allows the user to keep a tight grip of the blade while swinging into the material.  Because of the capabilities of the Kukri knife, it has been the primary farming, jungle, and weapon of war for the highly renowned Gurkhas ...a people known for their horrific and awe inspiring deeds in battle... which brings us to the Kukri's second most important function.

The Decapitator

The Kukri didn't exactly receive its fame from being a useful tool in the jungles of Nepal.  The reason that tales of the blade travelled around the world was in its ability to hack through enemy soldiers.  Essentially, the Kukri is designed as a chopper.  The means that any time the Gurkhas came up against enemy soldiers in close combat ...one expected decapitations and dismemberment.

In fact, the Kukri's halmark design with the notching just above the handle has two purposes.  The first is ceremonial, as the notching resembles the hoof of a cow, reminding the Gurkhas to never kill the sacred Hindu beast.  The second is deadly, as the notching stops blood from dripping into the handle,  which makes it slick and affecting the fighter's ability to hang on to the blade while swinging.

In addition to the 'weight forward' design, the forward drawn angle of the blade prevents the fighter from having to angle his or her wrist while stabbing.

The Kukri is designed to decapitate and dismember the enemy, making it absolutely ideal in the event of a zombie outbreak.  As we all know, the key to disabling a zombie is to remove its head or destroy its brain stem.  The Gurkha Kukri knife is specifically designed to accomplish this task on coordinated, agile, and strong enemy soldiers ...to strike a well-placed blow from a Kukri across the neck of a hobbling, staggering zombie would be a rather simple, quick task.  Just ask Alice, she figured that out in Resident Evil: Extinction.

Even the fast ones can't stand up to dual wielded 'Kuks'

There you have it, folks.  The Kukri is perhaps the most useful blade you can ever possess in the event of a zombie pandemic.  Not only can it give you great service at camp, but these blades will make decapitating the undead look easy.

-K. H. Danielsen