Karambit
A knife of the Minangkabau of western Sumatra with a sickle-curved blade and a finger ring, originally a farming tool, today a pencak silat weapon.
Quick Facts
IndonesiaAbout the weapon
The karambit is a knife with a sickle-curved blade, originating with the Minangkabau of western Sumatra in Indonesia. According to folk tradition it was inspired by tiger claws. It originally served as a farming tool for digging out roots, gathering during threshing, and planting rice. We have not been able to establish its time of origin in the sources. It spread through Indonesian trade networks to Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar; Bugis fighters from Sulawesi were especially known for using it. The blade can have one, two or three edges. A handle of water-buffalo horn, wood or ivory ends in a finger ring that prevents losing the knife during work or combat; thanks to it, a worker need not put it down between tasks. The karambit is used to attack with a slash, a hook and a strike delivered like a punch. It belongs among the weapons of pencak silat and Filipino martial arts. From films we know it for instance from John Wick 3 and The Raid 2, and it also appears in the fourth season of the series Reacher and in the video games Far Cry and Street Fighter 6.
Films
- The Raid 2 (2014)