The Count-to-kehkuh Grip

Last Updated on June 14, 2021 by Staff

Count-to-kehkuh is a cross between Count-to-4 and Vulcan Grip. It inherits from Count-to-4 the curled tip segment of the thumb. It inherits from Vulcan Grip the use of the pulp of the ring finger, in support of the bottom chopstick. This grip does not provide much strength in compression, less extension. As a result, it is not a stable configuration in real eating situations. Its users often switch to the Count-to-4 configuration when attempting to pick up real food.

And yeah, “kehkuh” is how you say the number 4 in Vulcan.

Kehkuh vs. 4

Pictures below compare Count-to-kehkuh (below left) to its more stable configuration, Count-to-4 (below right). These are screenshots from different videos of the same user. The only visual difference between these two grips is how the ring finger supports the bottom chopstick.

Kehkuh vs. Vulcan Grip

Pictures below compare Count-to-kehkuh (below left) to Vulcan Grip (below right). They both look like the Vulcan salute 🖖. The only visual difference between these two grips is the thumb. In Count-to-kehkuh, the tip of the thumb is bent inward. In Vulcan Grip, the thumb is extended flat, in a Caswellian thumb pose.

Planetary gear grain and twirling

Following pictures illustrate the closed posture (below left) and the open posture (below right) of Count-to-Kehkuh. Similar to Count-to-4, this grip employs the thumb and the middle finger to twirl the top chopstick using the planetary gear train principle. The effect of the roll is clearly shown by the position of the thumb tip in these two pictures.

Following videos show the same bipod twirling of top chopstick being used by Count-to-kehkuh (below left) and Count-to-4 (below right). They are identical, as far as the thumb and the middle finger are concerned. Both videos show substantial Sideway Swing. This is already noted in the Count-to-4 article. Note how the thumb nudges the top chopstick outward.

In both videos shown above, the index finger drapes over the stick and the thumb, uselessly.

Unemployed index finger

In fact, the index finger is often lifted off the top chopstick, as illustrated below. These pictures also highlight, again, the planetary gear-style twirling of the top chopstick by the thumb and the middle finger.

Among alternative grips we have published so far, Kehkuh’s disuse of the index finger is second only to Dino Claws.

Views of Kehkuh from different angles

Here are various views of Count-to-kehkuh from different viewing angles.

Switching to Count-to-4 under load

As mentioned earlier, this grip does not provide much strength in compression. Following video shows the user switching from Count-to-kehkuh to Count-to-4, when picking up food. The knuckle of the ring finger provides much firmer support for the bottom chopstick (in Count-to-4), than the pulp of the ring finger (in Count-to-Kehkuh).

Lear new grips

Count-to-Kehkuh is an unstable grip. Users of this grip may consult information from articles on Count-to-4 and Vulcan Grip, for advices for improving dexterity and power of their chopstick grip. See how many alternative grips you can master.

Taiwanese: 比到某牽四

This grip is known as 比到某牽四 (pi kàu Bó͘-khàn sù) in Taiwanese. This is a transliteration of the English word “Count to Vulcan 4”.

Instagram Pictures

#CountToKehkuh

* pictures and videos: courtesy of u/sudakifiss.