Another Khukuri to Identify

C

Craig Gottlieb

Joined
Mar 8, 1999
Messages
1,760
Okay, here's a picture of a khukuri a co-worker of Marya's brought back from Nepal.

tourist.jpg


Anybody know what it may be? My guess is that it's a tourist-quality khukuri. The blade is rather thin, and probably isn't differentially hardened (I haven't done any blade testing because it's not my khukuri, but the handle seems hollow, which suggests that it's not meant for serious use).

The handle is bone.

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Craig,
You're correct - it's a tourist model, made by the Newari who are famous for their skill as engravers (NOT knifemakers). The bone handle, probably with only a partial tang, makes it pretty nonfunctional, even if the blade were up to any rough treatment, which it isn't. Still, they're nice to look at. I have one myself, but I wouldn't consider using it on anything tougher than cardboard.
Berk
 
Berk: My sentiments exactly. The handle actually sound's hollow when you tap it. But the interesting thing is that the tang does seem to be a full spike tang - I see the tang dimple extending through the buttcap. Do they "fake" this on the tourist models?

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Craig,
My guess is that there's a partial tang, stuck into a block of wood inside the hollow bone handle. The apparent tang end on the buttplate is probably (again just a guess) nothing more than a nail stuck into the opposite end of the wood block inside the bone.
Berk
 
Craig,

I had a cheap tourist model khukuri. The blade was loose and wiggled. While wiggling the blade the peened over piece on the end did not move. It was definitely faked.

Will
 
I'll bet it's got a full tang with Nepalese epoxy filing up at least part of the handle. Those bone handles are hollow, believe me I know..
smile.gif

 
Yeah, I guess the bone handles are hollow. I'm planning a trip to Nepal, and will be bringing back some "tourist" khukuris along with some other ones just for the sake of comparing.

Has anybody else had experiences actually using a tourist model?

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
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