Old Kukri Knife

[kootenay joe]

This Kukri is 13" and feels 'perfect' in hand and the edge is truly sharp, i.e. this a well made user Kukri, not tourist.
I bought it from a well respected knife dealer who said "Nepal, circa 1800". The "Nepal" is likely correct, the "1800" could be off by 50 or more years ?
The handle is a piece of a leg bone of some animal, not human.
One side of the handle has brass fittings and painted dots and inlays of amber ?
The back side of handle is plain. There likely was a pommel over the open handle end.
The blade surface is marked by many individual stampings, mostly circles to create an image of a serpent ? on the front and a pattern with symbols on the back.
The sheath front is brass ? with pattern of serpent & sun. The back side is leather. Wood lined inside.
I'm sure the handle markings and the blade markings and the brass markings all have a specific meaning or tell of a legend. I doubt it is random artistry.
Kukris are a specialized group of knives with long history, much variety and many fakes. I am hoping someone here might be a student of Kukris and can give some interpretation of this knife.
Pics here & in post #2.
kj

[kootenay joe]

rest of pictures.
kj

[Reverand]

That is a very unique knife. I do enjoy studying the pictures. Because there are so many 'tourist shop' versions of these, I would not have looked at it long enough to spot it as a real kukri.
Thank you for sharing!

[kootenay joe]

I have a few tourists Kuks and had an authentic military Kuk but i doubt any tourist ones have been made with a bone handle or with this degree of intricate detail.
I think this is a 'special' Kukri, meaning the details denote a certain citizen or military rank, or used in a ceremony, perhaps Buddhist, etc., not just your EDC kuk of 200 years ago (or whenever).
kj

[zed6309]

I collected khukuris fir 40yrs and have had all sorts from tourist to antique and military issues khukuris , personally I see these as tourist khukuris, if you look up specially made knives for people they are much nicer made and have real silver and quality engraving , still great khukuri to have in a collection

[Gunsil]

Roland, I hate to say it but your "reputable dealer" just lost my vote of confidence. I agree the knife is a tourist piece and probably post WW2. One big problem is the hollow handle which certainly would not hold up to the heavy chopping action these were made for. All of these made for military or use had full tang construction for strength. Also the chasing work on the blade and sheath is kind of "mickey mouse", or tourist grade.

[kootenay joe]

Wow. I am surprised. The markings on the blade do not look "Mickey Mouse" to me but i have not seen any 'non-Mickey Mouse' for comparison.
I have also not see a piece of bone used for the handle but the above 2 posts seem to indicate bone handle is commonly seen on tourist knives ?
The reputable dealer is best known for "Sheffield Exhibition Knives" but has dealt with every type of knife known for 40+ years. He was specific re date: "circa 1800", not '1800's'.
So i am the 'sucker' here as price was 'moderate', not cheap.
However it does have the best in hand feel of any Kukri i have handled. It is 'blade heavy' but not so much to take away from feeling balanced in hand.
And the edge is close to shaving sharp.
I do not doubt the 'tourist' assessment but i am surprised that a tourist item has such a good in hand feel and a well ground sharp edge. I think of tourist knives as often embellished but lacking a properly tempered functional blade and good in hand feel.
kj

[Gunsil]

Yes, many were made with bone handles but the ones meant for use had bone scales over full tang construction rather than a hollow bone handle on a short tang. Of course many had wood or water buffalo horn scales. I am sure you must see that a hollow handle with a short tang would not be optimum for heavy chopping which is what these were all about.

[kootenay joe]

This one is 13" OAL so not a 'chopper' Kuk. More like a 'slice your neck' Kuk. A full well secured tang would make for a stronger knife.
I think the smaller sized Kukri's are not intended for chopping but i don't know what else people in Nepal & India used them for. I have seen a picture of a prisoner being escorted by a soldier who is holding a kukri blade edge across his throat. It looked to be a 'smaller' kukri.
kj

[zed6309]

Traditional khukuris have a push tang or rats tail tang , the modern issued khukuri Service #1 has a rats tail tang and bone handles , if you can get hold of a military khukuri like a mk2 your feel the difference in your hand I've used a khukuri since the 80's for camp chores and other than one more recent one they all was rats tail tang and held up well, if you look at villagers khukuris they are pretty much always rats tail tangs,even the Gurkhas private purchase khukuris a lot of the time are rats tail tangs , a bit like a swords tang

[kootenay joe]

Paul, thank you for this great post. Rat tail tang = you can see peened over end in pommel ?
The range in size for kukris seems to be about 12" to ~ 20", so likely there are different intended uses, based in part on size.
I would like to know what the smaller kukri's were used for ?
And is my kukri a copy of a vintage one ? Or are these handle decorations done only on tourist knives ?
Can you link me to a picture of blade 'work' similar to mine but not "mickey mouse" as described by Gunsil above ? I would like to see an authentic not tourist Kukri, with this type of blade embellishment to see what Gunsil is referring to.
kj

[Quick Steel]

Paul, I'm greatly enjoying your photos. A lovely collection.

[GSPTOPDOG]

Thanks for the great photos! I have been interested in Kukries for years. I worked with some guys from Nepal when I was overseas and a couple of them brought back kukries for me when they returned from leave. I then traveled to Nepal and spent a month there travelling around looking for blacksmiths in small villages to buy Kukries right from the source. I found some here and there and also some older ones and I came back with a backpack full of them. Whenever I can find a unique one I try to add it my collection.

[GSPTOPDOG]

As I said earlier, I went to Nepal and traveled to small villages to buy Kukries right from the source. I could speak a little Nepali and Hindi so that went a long way to getting around the back roads. Here a couple of ones I bought. As most people know a dollar bill is 2.61 inches wide and 6.14 inches long, so you can get an idea of the size. They are big and heavy choppers!

[GSPTOPDOG]

I would say your Kukri is definitely NOT from the 1800's and most likely post WWII as someone else stated. I posted some pictures on the end of this thread of two Kukris I got in Nepal that are about 50 years old (the larger one I am all most 100% sure of it's age as I bought it from the original owner at his house). So you can get an idea of the wear and patina of one made in the 1960's.

[kootenay joe]

Great working Kukris !
My question still is: "And is my kukri a copy of a vintage one ? Or are these handle decorations done only on tourist knives ?
Can you link me to a picture of blade 'work' similar to mine "
I would like to see other examples of Kukris with similar blade work & handle decorations. As it is tourist and post WW II, there should be others in collections and as home decorations.
kj

[zed6309]

Yours could be from the 1950's -60 possibly made in India, tourist khukuris go back years so still could be old , never seen one with a hollow handle ? Most khukuris are 10inches - 13inches and used for more chopping tasks , your find traditionally villagers used this sized knives and not small ones , tourist wise the lions head khukuris are the most type found and in different sizes , but for display only , I'll show your pic on a khukuri group I'm on if that's ok and possibly get more info

[kootenay joe]

Yours could be from the 1950's -60 possibly made in India, tourist khukuris go back years so still could be old , never seen one with a hollow handle ? Most khukuris are 10inches - 13inches and used for more chopping tasks , your find traditionally villagers used this sized knives and not small ones , tourist wise the lions head khukuris are the most type found and in different sizes , but for display only , I'll show your pic on a khukuri group I'm on if that's ok and possibly get more info

Paul, when you give size 10-13" is this overall length ? or blade length ?
Mine is 13 1/4" OAL and blade is 8 3/4". It seems to me to be too small for chopping. I have a few other kukris that are more like 20" OAL and these are heavy and are effective choppers.
kj

[zed6309]

Blade length 10-13 I've had a few modern inch full tang khukuri with 11mm thick spins that cut like a meat cleaver as heavy bladed I prefer more traditional khukuris

[kootenay joe]

What are small Kukris like mine with 8 or 9" blade used for ?
kj

[zed6309]

Traditional khukuris are bigger as used for chopping as deshned for , as for most small decorative khukuri there more for display ,

[zed6309]

I got a few replies and as I thought

[kootenay joe]

Thank you Paul for showing my kukri to the kukri collector group. Confirms what Gunsil, yourself & others have said. I am disappointed but did use it to cut up veges for my stew and the tip end of edge cuts nicely. So it is now my "Kitchen Kukri" that can double as self defense in case of home invasion by hoodlums or feral cats.
kj

[zed6309]

No problem Joe perfect kitchen khukuri enjoy it mate

Regards
Paul

[Jedwin]

Can anyone help me date this one. No markings but very well made.