id & handle-repair questions

beoram

beoram

Joined
Nov 27, 2001
Messages
1,780
[with apologies to Walosi ;)]

really 2 questions--1 about identification & 1 on 'repair'

picked up another khukuri (at a good price, just put a bid in and didn't think I'd get it). Looks a bit like what John Powell has described as a WWII or just post-WWII [officer's?] model, made in India. It has the straight shoulder and is missing both chakma & karda (looks like it was never equipped with either). No markings anywhere on it:

45-kh-2.jpg


it has bone inlayed into the handle, however, a piece is missing on the 1 side:

45-kh-1.jpg


has anyone suggestions on repair? that is, where would I find 'slabs' of bone that I could cut and fit in?

cheers all once again, B.
 
More stuff that's outta my league but maybe the experts can help. It seems that getting "aged" bone to match might present a problem.
 
thanks Uncle Bill - hopefully someone will be able to help me with identification & restoration suggestions. B.
 
Another thing you can do is go to http://www.hideand fur.com
and check out any bones they have.
We ndns use a lot of bone in different handicrafts so it shouldn't be to hard to get you some.
The size may be the most difficult part along with the cutting and shaping as the bone will be in its natural state.
A couple of us skins on here can even tell you how too age the bone if you wish. :)

Oh and I will need the size of the bone you need. I have some very well aged deer and American Buffalo that may work for you that I wouldn't mind sharing.;)
 
Originally posted by Yvsa
Another thing you can do is go to http://www.hideandfur.com
and check out any bones they have.
We ndns use a lot of bone in different handicrafts so it shouldn't be to hard to get you some.
The size may be the most difficult part along with the cutting and shaping as the bone will be in its natural state.
A couple of us skins on here can even tell you how too age the bone if you wish. :)

Oh and I will need the size of the bone you need. I have some very well aged deer and American Buffalo that may work for you that I wouldn't mind sharing.;)
Click to expand...

:D :D many thanks Yvsa :D :D

actually i don't have it yet - hopefully it's in the air (or on wheels at least) - so I'll have to wait until I see it in the flesh to know what size bone I need (and whether it's ivory or bone, it looks like bone to me, but then again I don't own any ivory; the replacement is going to be bone in any case).

I was thinking that finding the right size bone would be the most difficult bit, but looking at the photos again, I notice that it'll need bevelled....but it'll give a project to do ;)

thanks again Yvsa, I'll drop you an e-mail then.

--------------------------------------

looks like a WWII model to me...certainly more modern with the shoulder-type (but then again what do I know)...any ideas anyone?

cheers again, Ben.
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
You're a good guy, Bro.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bro. I do try most of the time....;)

I'm kinda anxious to see it come in to know whether it's bone or ivory. If it's ivory I may still be able to help out, notice I said, "may be able to."
The reason I say that is I have a couple of small pieces of that whitetail deer antler I cut into when I made the handles for my 2 karda's for my 18" AK.
That antler looks more like ivory than any bone I've ever seen, and quite far from looking like the more porous bone or the regular everyday variety of antler.
I just don't know how much I have left or if what I have will be large enough.
 
I might be able to get a small slab of the spotted deer horn from Nepal. It looks more like ivory than ivory.
 
Many thanks Yvsa & Uncle Bill! :) :)

I'll have to wait until I get it (and then perhaps I'll be able to determine the material better or at least post better photos so that the more knowledgeable could help) to know about the bone/ivory question.

cheers again, Ben.
 
Ivory would make more sense on this than bone. Looks like it was made in India just as the war was closing and this probably wouldn't have had a c&k. Check it all out when it arrives and let us know.

I don't think it will be too difficult the replace the missing piece. Nice clean cuts. One of the forum's expert craftsman can help, right YVSA?
 
Originally posted by John Powell
Ivory would make more sense on this than bone. Looks like it was made in India just as the war was closing and this probably wouldn't have had a c&k. Check it all out when it arrives and let us know.

I don't think it will be too difficult the replace the missing piece. Nice clean cuts. One of the forum's expert craftsman can help, right YVSA?
Click to expand...

John - thanks for the expert evaluation :). I was pretty much on target then, thinking it was WWII or just after. Curious as to what indicators lead you to believe it to be made as the war was closing rather than at an earlier point or after the war.

Cheers again, Ben.
 
as I said on the 'pre WWI' thread, it's feast or famine here--I wait over a fortnight for one khukuri and then order another a few days ago and both arrived today!
Just put a last minute, low bid on this one, but I'm glad I did! :D It's about 17inches (12inch blade), and weighes just a nudge under 1&1/2 lbs., but it feels much lighter--in fact it feels brilliant in my hand! :cool:(except for the missing bit of bone/ivory :() The balance on it is fantastic!!! Excited to repair it to make the feel perfect....

Here's a couple of basic pix I took:

M43-bl.jpg

M43-sh.jpg


nice looking old frog on it

hexagonal buttend

as to whether it's bone or ivory....I dunno, I don't own any ivory, and the only bone I have (other than my own :P) is a set of carved bone chess-pieces. But it does look like old piano keys....maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will be able to make something from these pics:

ivory1?
ivory2?
ivory3?

It looks like it's seen real service--there's a couple of dings near the tip and one in the sweet-spot. Even more telling though, is the state of the hangers, which have been 'repaired' (in order to still be able to attach it to a belt) with a bit of old boot-lace!!! (close-up) Rather think that this looks a bit more like a field-repair than a home-repair ;).

As to the missing bit of bone or ivory...the dimensions are:

*55mm length at the longest part (50mm in the middle, 47 at the shortest end)
*20mm across
*4-5mm thick

JP suggested that this looked like a late war piece made in (Dehra Doon?) India--does that make it a M43? What exactly qualifies a khuk as an M43?

Quite pleased with this one - looking forward to repairing it.

Any assistance with 'provenance' information and repair is greatly appreciated :).

cheers again all,
--Ben
 
Out of my area, really, but having handled very little ivory and lots of bone, I lean toward ivory, from the pics. To have enough density to support the edge along its' length, shown in the one pic it would have to be bone from one seriously heavy critter to maintain that unmarked line along with the other signs of use.
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
I could offer you some of these chicken bones from dinner. :D
Click to expand...

They aren't wide enough, they're the wrong color....STOP THAT! now you've got my Cairn sniffing the screen...where's the Windex???
 
Originally posted by BruiseLeee
I could offer you some of these chicken bones from dinner. :D
Click to expand...

Suggesting that I cello-tape them together and glue them on??? ;) :D ;) B.
 
Originally posted by Walosi
Out of my area, really, but having handled very little ivory and lots of bone, I lean toward ivory, from the pics. To have enough density to support the edge along its' length, shown in the one pic it would have to be bone from one seriously heavy critter to maintain that unmarked line along with the other signs of use.
Click to expand...

Size is decieving from the pic to the scale.:)
55 mm is only about 2 1/4", longest point.
20 mm is about 13/16", width.
and 4-5 mm is only about 1/4" or so, thickness.
And that's a LOT Smaller than what I had it pictured from the 1st pic!!!!
And that will help make it easier to perhaps come up with a match for it, but if it's bone one can always cheat a little.:)
I'm gonna wait a while, but it may be another natural material that hasn't been mentioned in that vein as yet.
Ben sorta set us up unintentionally by saying it was bone or ivory. At that point everyone else forgets about any other material.;)

OH Okay!!!! I Won't Wait!!!!;) Look at the grain in the horn scale underneath the black or dark material an almost white or cream colored material.
What if the material is all from one or two humongous old Horns with both black and white coloring?
I have seen lots of horn that matches the color, only thing is that horn gets thin real quick and to find it in any thickness means it has to be an extra large horn or maybe from more than one animal.

Anyway I think we may be able to match it to a degree that will or should make Ben happy. We'll have to see what the experts say about this. I wouldn't know ivory from a buttonhook unless I was told.
Just thinking about different possibilities.:)
The horn I have is gonna be close if it comes to trying to match ivory and right now I'm thinking any I have left is too small!!!!!!!:(
 
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