I have an old gurkha knife...

T

tcortez

Joined
Mar 31, 2000
Messages
3
I have an old gurkha knife (sorry, I don't know the specifc name) that my parents had lying around. I figure it is about 30 - 40 years old. It is 16-17" long, I have the sheath but not the little knives (pardon my ignorance). The blade is in OK shape (stamped India) but my father had put a grinding wheel to it at some point. The black handle has what appears to be some termite damage but not real extensive.

My question is: how do I find out if this is a real gurkha knife or a cheap imitation? Does it have collector value or should I use it as a work knife?

Thanks for any help.

P.S. I think I can get a photo to someone if that helps.
 
Originally posted by Craig Gottlieb:
TCortez: If you can post a picture on the forum, that will give us all something good to work with. Click on the URL below to learn how to post a picture. Or, contact Blackdog, who can usually do it for you.

Excited to see what you have.

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/ubbcode.html
Click to expand...

****

I probably should read the instructions but...Let me try this.
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=3519

or

snapshot.html


Don't know why the photo doesn't come through but the link seems to work, I think...

[This message has been edited by tcortez (edited 04-01-2000).]
 
tcortez,
Welcome to BladeForums. The quality of the horn handle and buttcap in the pix of your khukuri clearly show that it's well made for use, not tourist junk. It could be a military issue piece of WWII - Korean War vintage. but if so the scabbard appears to be missing a belt frog. The insect damage and power tool grind marks detract from its collector appeal a little, so unless a collector more knowledgeable about Indian khukris than I recognizes it as a priceless war relic, I'd say it should make a good using knife. Beware that it probably has a thinner (_only_ 1/4" or so) blade, of unknown quality steel, than most modern Nepalese khukuris, so its stregth under lateral stress is an unknown (translation-you might break the blade if you try to use it as a sharpened prybar). For a dependable working khukuri you might want to check out the websites accessible through both khukuri forums here on BF.
Berk
 
Thanks for your help. I guess it's not worth posthing this on ebay. This knife is only about 3/16" thick so I won't be doing any prying with it, not that I would be doing any prying with a sharp cutting instrument. I've got a $1.50 blue bar for that.

Is there a name for this particular style of knife/khukuri? Were Gurkhas the only ones issued these during WWII/Korea??

Thanks again for your prompt feedback. Sign of a good message board.
 
tcortez,
Whether it's worth putting on eBay depends on your expectations. Since you got it for free, anything over your listing fee is pure profit if the buyer pays for shipping
smile.gif
. I imagine your knife would easily make an opening bid/reserve of 35-40 bucks. My ignorance of Indian and military khukuris is fairly deep - I dabble mostly in Nepalese khuks - but there are some knowledgeable military collectors who frequent eBay, and I've seen prices in the $200+ range for Indian khukuris that didn't appeal to me as much as yours`does.
Although all Gurkhas were issued khukuris, not all khukuris were issued to Gurkhas. Many Allied troops in the CBI Theater in WWII carried them. For lots of info on Gurkhas, khukuris, and whether a sharp knife can be expected to be a prybar, I suggest you look here.
Berk
 
I agree with Berk: I'd put it on Ebay for sure. If it's worth a bunch, the bidders' wars will ferret out a good reliable price.

A note on the handle: The buttcap has some brass work that is stylistically similar to the Dhankute we offer. Could just be a coincidence . . .

------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top