Hey guys I have recently got a kerambit and flicking it about and such is very fun, but I assumed it was just a bit of fun thing, like those ornamental swords you buy, they look cool but arent all that practical. Recently had a convo with an online friend who claims they are SUPER good for actual fighting if you have too. He claims that the loop for the finger is great so you dont drop it and it makes it hard to pull it away from you, and can be used as a kind of semi knuckleduster if needs be, and that the blade being on the bottom makes for better cuts increased force stabs. and it hides the blade a bit. I always assumed they were as stated above, a bit of fun. What do you guys think.
I think since you live in England you want to leave it as a display piece on your drawers. Are you that likely to be in a situation where you need one of those things? When I bought my pocket knife I did have a lot of fun flicking it open and shut though so I can forgive you for that edit: Thought. What I got from your post is that you always thought kerambits were a fun thing to look at but are now surprised they might be practical. Aren't they a standard weapon in FMA?
Of course i would never carry this or any knife other than a tiny (1 inch blade) pernknife, non locking in ANY situation. I was merely asking about their effectiveness as a real weapon, a machete is not something you would carry but if you had to use one it would work. The same cannot be said of some of the flashy , flicky weapons i have seen. And i think they are a staple in Penkak Silat ( I learned recently) didnt even know what it was when i bought it. Fun to twirl about on a finger and looks cool though.
I have a few. They are very effective if you know what you are doing and I don't consider them a flashy type blade to play with. As stated, you're probably not going to walk around carrying one.
It's a knife, at the end of the day. Sure it can be effective. At cutting things. Whether that's your go-to self-defense weapon is shakier, to my mind. Personally, I struggle to picture myself knifing someone, even in self-defense. More comfortable with the level of damage control possible with an impact weapon. But that's a personal choice. I wouldn't say that the kerambit is a standard FMA weapon. As noted, more common in Indonesian styles (e.g., silat). But, because of the proximity geographically to the Southern Philippines, the shared culture between those two locales, the tendency of many FMAers to also delve into silat, and the general fascination with knives in FMA, it's certainly common enough. I have a training kerambit myself. Also have a real one, but used it to take up some old carpet. Worked quite well for that.
The Kerambit was used in Silat as a secondary weapon. It was short and majority of it was concealed in the hand by the grip, and curvature of the blade which made it extremely hard to see, allowing it to be a great weapon. The spinning/flicking/flashy stuff was designed to make it an ellusive weapon. Although, because of the physical characteristics of the blade, it is one of the most labor intensive short blades to use. It can be extremely effective when used for picking at targets such as the rib cage, groin, inside elbows, and knees. Keep in mind though, that carrying the weapon on you in today's world is widely illegal.
They are, but buying two, even the practice ones, and running around the house pretending you are an assassin from a secret society of secret assassins would not be cool, but very, very sad! Seriously - Any chance of a picture Robin? We don't use them in our escrima school...but they come out in knife seminars. I'm looking forward to messing with them.
Thus speaks the voice of experience, from the sounds of it I'd like a Kerambit, I've also never seen anything to indicate they need to be paired to be effective, any more then any other type of knife does.
i actually carry a karambit knife as a personal defense weapon and i like the different applications that come with shape of blade and the utilizing the ring. in my opinion they're really effective. they ring is more for spinning and extending the grip and reach of the blade. i like that the blade can be tucked along the forearm to hide it from an attacker. and its not illegal the carry so long as it meets blade length and type requirements.
the kerambit is a wonderful close quarters weapon. hard to stab with but has a lot of cutting power for minimum effort. i was told by a teacher that the kerambit is great for 3 things: 1) in-fighting cqb. 2) ambush. 3) cutting rope/ seatbelts in awkward positions.
The kerambit is hardly a weapons fashion. It may not have the fan following of the katana. But it's a time-honoured piece of hardware in several important weapon traditions.