Step 4 - Beating and Hammering
This is the most important stage during the process of making a khukuri. The shape and strength to a khukuri is given during this stage and entirely depends upon the master craftsman who rolls around the steel back and fourth, side-by-side while being beaten by two 3 kg hammers simultaneously. The steel is red heated regularly and beaten countless time to bring into shape and compactness of the steel. During the process the steel gets a curve shape and tang is also created to go through the handle. This heavy-duty work takes almost an hour.
Step 5 - Shaping
The rough shape formed at the earlier stage is now given the actual shape. The master craftsman uses 1.5 kg hammer to bring the rough to real shape. The still is regularly heated, beaten all around the surface to achieve the required shape. This is a very time consuming stage and requires a lot of skill and year's experience.
Step 6 - Notch
The steel is measured as per the length required. The whole length from tip to tail of a khukuri is measured by the standard scale. Normally, about 2/3 inches of extra area is measured on both sides of the steel as it later squeezes a bit while hammering and beating.
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