Engraved Khukuris ?

Yvsa · Oct 12, 1999

:
Edutsi Wili,Pala et al.
Don't you guys be teazin Uncle about his name now.I looked up some of yours too.

Anyway.With the discussion of the engraved or carved Khukuris I got to wondering how it is done.

Which exactly is it,are they carved or engraved or is there any difference?

Is the embelishment done before or after hardening?

I have some mor questions,but I will wait on them a bit.
Thanks Uncle.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....

hehehe.

ghostsix · Oct 13, 1999

I have some.They are stippled and stamped.Not the cut engraving that we are used to.As the stippling is above the temper line,it would not make any difference when it was done.

Bill Martino · Oct 13, 1999

Some engravers stipple, others do not. I guess it is a matter of artistic choice.

The Newaris, the best engravers in Nepal, make many khukuris which they decorate up to outlandish proportions. They do the stippling or engraving before they harden the blade, and in fact, they often forget to do the hardening.

Bura and his son, Prakash, do their own engraving and it is the last operation. The blade is hardened and polished and then engraved. This leaves a crisp, clear engraving that has not been compromised by buffing.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

JAY H · Oct 13, 1999

That should be a nice Banspati.

ghostsix · Oct 13, 1999

I`m glad to hear that.I have a personel interest.

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Yvsa · Oct 14, 1999

:
Thanks Edutsi Wili.
I noticed on the Banspati that the brass looked carved rather than stippled,but I wasn't sure about the blade.It looks more carved,but being unfamiliar I sure wouldn't have known.

I assume the stippleing is done with a punch and a hammer??

Is the carving actually done with small chisels and a hammer?

Is it all freehand or is the desired carving drawn on the blade first?

Thanks again.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in....

hehehe.

Khukuri FAQ

Bill Martino · Oct 14, 1999

Yvsa, yes, yes, and freehand.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

ghostsix · Oct 15, 1999

Cut engraving has to,by its nature,be freehand.If you watch it,you would be amazed at how fast it is.Stippling is a cheapo,lacking in skill,or time.I`m not sure about the time.

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Bill Martino · Oct 15, 1999

Ghost, most of the village kamis who try to decorate their blades stipple them. Takes only one tool, or at most two or three, and is fast, easy and forgiving.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

ghostsix · Oct 15, 1999

Uncle,I have eyes.

Bill Martino · Oct 15, 1999

The better to see Mickey Mouse owl ears with.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

Yvsa · Oct 15, 1999

:
Don't the Nepali owls have ears like that? It seems on one of the documentaries I saw.......

In sereiousness Edutsi are any of the patterns carved of a floral type?
It seems that most cultures have some form of that if it be leaves and stems and flowers.I think the Scots used a Thistle on a lot of thier Dirks and Sgian Dhubs and perhaps other things I don't know about.
The Amaranth is popular with some cultures too.It figures a lot in much of the older "carved" leatherwork in the Americas.The leatherwork is something I have forgotten a lot of what I used to know about too.I do recall that a lot of it in the past was secret and passed on from father to son.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in....

hehehe.

Khukuri FAQ

Bill Martino · Oct 16, 1999

Yvsa, some of the patterns are floral -- usually the laliguras.

We have one Newari engraver who INSISTS on putting Mickey Mouse ears on the owls. Why he does this I really don't know. Bura hated it and so did ghost. I thought it was funny but, of course, I was not buying the khukuri, either. After ghost discounted for the ears I didn't think it was so funny after all.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html

ghostsix · Oct 17, 1999

I thought it funny once.I did not like it.Call it junk.Bill didn`t enjoy it the second time either.I saved the upset letter that he sent me.Nepal Ho won`t work forever. yvsa,you would have to see this owl to believe it.I sent Bill a scan.I don`t think that he would want to post it,however.
I kept getting this same Newari,no one else would do that twice.It has to be him.Most Nepalis know what an owl looks like.Look at Bura`s owl.I am a brother to dragons and a companion to owls,from long ago.That`s where it started.My Shoshone name is Red Bear,I`m not even going to try that,although there are bears in Nepal.I might have better luck.Other tribes are not all that welcome on the res.here,unless you come with a Chippawa,eg:Is that true in OKIE?

[This message has been edited by ghostsix (edited 17 October 1999).]