utlity blade shapes / knives from India

[marthandan]

try as i might, i couldn't find any utlilty / daily use knives from Indian history, apart from the pichan-katti.

could more enlightened members shed some light?

[Kittu]

hi mr marthandan i couldnt understand your question kindly post briefly what kind of knife you are searchig.As for daily use our knife is inkitchen always thanks

[Kittu]

Here is photo of a knife which was main knife of rajputs and it became so popular that even mughals adopted as their main knife at they used it daily thanks

[Skyman]

They used a sickle for everything here until kitchen knives became popular.

[Kittu]

They used a sickle for everything here until kitchen knives became popular.

[marthandan]

@ashokgodara...the katar was purely a military weapon - used mainly as an armor piercing dagger.
i do agree to a certain extent that the sickle was used for utilitarian tasks. it was also used in warfare, mind you. i have sickles that range in length from a couple of inches to one that is about 3 feet long.
but is it the only utility blade that we had?

[Kittu]

thanks for reply marthdhane,

[winnie_the_pooh]

Cutting vegetables with a katar would be an interesting experience

An all purpose knife would be the churri.

[marthandan]

Cutting vegetables with a katar would be an interesting experience

An all purpose knife would be the churri.

some pics, please?

[brihacharan]

Cutting vegetables with a katar would be an interesting experience
An all purpose knife would be the churri.

some pics, please?

Hi Marty,
> If you're referring to a 'Multi Utility' Indian blade - The South Indian "ARUVAAL" has been around for centuries!
> Be it to mend a fence, break coconuts, sacrifice a goat, self protection or chopping fire-wood etc. etc. this blade has no parallel in terms of its versatility!!!
> Sorry couldn't post a picture - If you could - that would be nice!
Briha

[essdee1972]

when england captured our land and everythimg that belonged to us was sent to england

What would they do with a few million kitchen knives? The Koh-i-noor is a different story!!

Marty, Khukri would be an example (unless you are considering purely India and not Nepal). Others would be different styles of Chuuris. Then the dah, dao, whatever you call it, probably a score different shapes.

Dunno about other parts of the country, but in Bengal, food prep was traditionally done on what we call a "boti". Which is basically a flat wooden piece with a metal blade on top at approx 110 degrees. (see http://www.fivetastes.com/traditional-i ... nsils.html under "boti"). You had to squat with a foot on the wooden block, and chop the food on the blade. The edge was facing inwards. Even my mom used to use this, it is only recently (say our generation) that Bongs have shifted to knives, that too mostly non-residents like me, and in urban centres. Blades used to be very thin, and I have seen my mother chop tomatoes for a salad finer than a chef! Some "botis" even had a coconut scraper on the top of the blade.

[brihacharan]

Dunno about other parts of the country, but in Bengal, food prep was traditionally done on what we call a "boti". Which is basically a flat wooden piece with a metal blade on top at approx 110 degrees. (see http://www.fivetastes.com/traditional-i ... nsils.html under "boti"). You had to squat with a foot on the wooden block, and chop the food on the blade. The edge was facing inwards. Even my mom used to use this, it is only recently (say our generation) that Bongs have shifted to knives, that too mostly non-residents like me, and in urban centres. Blades used to be very thin, and I have seen my mother chop tomatoes for a salad finer than a chef! Some "botis" even had a coconut scraper on the top of the blade.

> No South Indian or Bengali Home is complete without this amazing item
> A skilled person (mostly women) can dice, cut, chop & grate with the dexterity of a modern master chef - all this while talking to a family member, ordering the maid, admonishing the errant child or while having an argument with her husband
Briha

[Pradyumna]

In Odisha it is called ' Panikhi ' & all most all kitchens have it. Now the so called modern women/girls want to use knives after watching TV. They don't know how to use it.

[seedha.admi]

@AshokGodara

Do you know.... in the war katar was prohibited for acrobatic warriors such as spies and assassins as you can only use your legs while having katar in one or both hands. Well common sense but still I think this thing is the best war knife ever *Period*

[essdee1972]

Now the so called modern women/girls want to use knives after watching TV.

Well, the so-called modern men also wear shirts & trousers instead of dhotis, must be the idiot box at work, again!!

I would rather blame the shrinking size of the kitchens in modern apartments, as well as the increasing size of appliances. If I need a 800 litre 4-door fridge to store my beer, a microwave to heat the chicken tikka, a food processor to make cocktails, etc. etc. the space to crouch in the middle of the kitchen goes away. Plus, since many of us eat on a table rather than on the floor, use a western loo instead of Indian squattie, etc., the ability to crouch / squat for long periods of time has also gone away. I for one, can't be "satisfied" with a squattie toilet. Knees get locked!

The second factor is that development will always move towards easier ways of doing things. Is a knife easier to use than a "boti" - you bet (I can do anything to a vegetable with the right knife, with a "boti", I'll be missing fingers!!)! So...... however much a small minority may like "antique" and "traditional" tools (I like them too, especially when someone else is doing the hard work!!), development will ensure that more "energy efficient" devices gain prominence. I would honestly not like to ride a bullock cart all the 18 km to office, nor to keep dipping my feather quill in ink after every two words! And to be fair, I wouldn't like my wife to spend hours using a grinding stone when the same thing could be done in 2 minutes on a Morphy Richards!!

Not to say traditional tools were not good, they served their purpose when nothing better was available. Now, I don't mind buying an antique to hang on the wall, but using........duh!