Help with Nepalese kukri maker's mark....

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EChoil

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I just posted the following (excerpted here for brevity) in the "General Knife Discussion" section of this forum in response to a khukuri question:

My prized khukuri is one purchased by my parents, directly from the maker, in a Nepalese "village" during a trip they took in the mid- '60's. I remember they had one photo, now long lost, taken at the time showing an older, grizzled man with an assortment of khukuris on a table, his makeshift 'forge' glowing in the background atop what appeared to be a mound of dirt. It is obviously not a mass produced or machine ground product as very slight 'waves' in the steel become visible under the right light. My father described it as being 'hammered out on a stump." Whether this was literal or not I don't know.......

The only marking on the blade is " I • C • E ", a round dot between each letter as shown, stamped at the base of the blade. I have tried here and other sites to get some information on this blade stamp but have been unable glean anything information-wise on it. It seems a bit incongruous to me that this guy would neatly stamp such a thing on the blade, being a totally 'homemade" product in such a rural location. If anyone has any feedback on this maker-mark I'd appreciate it. It's the only 'mystery' surrounding the kuk and may remain unsolved.......​

My question for here lies in the second paragraph: Can anyone give me any information, or point me in the right direction to obtain info, on the described blade stamp/maker's mark? I've been curious for info on this for a long, long time.

As noted in the excerpt, I've tried getting an answer in various forum threads a few times previously with no luck. Thought I'd try one more time.

Thanks.......
 
Moving to the Cantina, as it's not an HI product. Someone may or may not be able to identify it for you.
 
this was likely a local blacksmith who never did much work outside of his village-- I C E may be an abbreviation of his name, a nickname, any number of things that the creator fancied, if it was purchased as you say -- and everything you say sounds reasonable, esp the "hammered out on a stump" as several pictures i have seen of nepali kami the anvil is usually little more than a wide iron stub sticking out of a stump; a picture would be cool, just to see this thing, otherwise my best guess is local guy with a mark unique to him?
 
Hi there EChoil,

I believe I've talked to you about your kukri before, the tale is certainly familiar.

When it comes to maker marks, generally only the large military contractors did this. If, as you say, your kukri was forged on a stump by a lone Nepali kami, then you have all the info you'll ever get... it's his mark. Though that poses the question: why stamp roman alphabet characters? The description you gave of the kukri sounds like an Indian made Garwal style kukri (possibly even a tourist kukri) though the ICE stamp is not one I've seen on other examples. Pics are pretty much essential if you hope to learn more
 
Silverjohn said:
Hi there EChoil,

I believe I've talked to you about your kukri before, the tale is certainly familiar.

When it comes to maker marks, generally only the large military contractors did this. If, as you say, your kukri was forged on a stump by a lone Nepali kami, then you have all the info you'll ever get... it's his mark. Though that poses the question: why stamp roman alphabet characters? The description you gave of the kukri sounds like an Indian made Garwal style kukri (possibly even a tourist kukri) though the ICE stamp is not one I've seen on other examples. Pics are pretty much essential if you hope to learn more
Click to expand...

Yeah...and thus the mystery to me too. I think you're right, I probably should stop chasing it. :)

For dirtbiker and you, I gave up on posting pics here long ago. Maybe when I upgrade to a membership level that makes it as easy as posting. Hell, I haven't even figured out the email system here.

Basically what you would see would just be what looks like the basic 12"-prox (however one measures a curved kuk blade) tourist trap kukri, with kauda and plain looking karda and chakmak, featured in so many pics with the exception that I parawrapped the handle long ago. The brass kothi fell from the sheath some time back and is gone.

Both knife and sheath are pretty basic, in fact the sheath is rotting in places, has no frog anymore and is hardly used for carry these days. I tend to just brandish it naked any more, kind of like I do myself on occasion...

Nothing fancy that's for sure, and well used but maintained. Hell of a workhorse though for a long time. The maker's mark isn't fancy and exactly as described above, letter height maybe 1/8th - 3/16."​

Gehazi....thanks for your comments as well. :)
 
Silverjohn said:
Hi there EChoil,.....
I believe I've talked to you about your kukri before, the tale is certainly familiar....
Click to expand...

Yeah, I get kind of long-winded and have unwound the tale of it a few times in different threads here. I think it's about time to stop. At least I've tried. :p
 
EChoil said:
For dirtbiker and you, I gave up on posting pics here long ago. Maybe when I upgrade to a membership level that makes it as easy as posting. Hell, I haven't even figured out the email system here.
Click to expand...

It doesn't get any easier than getting a photobucket account and selecting the
get the hang of posting them in service and support. Just make a thread there titled "test" and have at it. There likely will be people to help you figure it out.
 
Karda said:
It doesn't get any easier than getting a photobucket account and selecting the code. You don't even need a membership here. The attachment system here for pictures will drive you nuts to figure out. You can test post/get the hang of posting them in service and support. Just make a thread there titled "test" and have at it. There likely will be people to help you figure it out.[/QUOTE]

I still use photobucket even though I am a member. I find the interface very easy once you get use to it.
Click to expand...
 
gurkha berserka said:
That's another really cool and easy to use site. I just tried it and it was uber easy and intuitive. Thanks Moonw
Click to expand...

You're welcome, sometimes being too lazy to register an account but willing to put in a few minutes of googling yields great results for a lazy....errr, gentleman like me.
 
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