Hello, I posted these over at Ramanon, but thought some of you folks may also get a kick out of them. Some photos of several rough/rustic khukuris that I bought in my hometown earlier this year. Place = Gangtok, capital of the state of Sikkim in India. Sikkim, a tiny state east of Nepal, was an independent (or semi-independent, depending on point of view) Buddhist kingdom until the mid-1970s and is now a state of India. Population is predominantly of Nepalese origin, with the ethnic Lepchas and long-time settled Bhutias (people of Tibetan origin) making up a much smaller minority.
Here in the eastern Himalayas (Sikkim, Darjeeling and adjoining areas), the khukuri you see most commonly today is of this design, mostly Sirupate and Chainpure, with wooden scabbards. Broader blades are not as commonly seen as these slimmer ones. Perhaps the proximity to Eastern Nepal is a reason for this? In parts of Assam and Bhutan where there are sizeable pockets of Nepalese origin people, the khukuri I have seen being used often is the slimmer bladed style. It might be different in other parts of India with Gurkha/Nepalese populations (Northeast India, Dehradun and parts of Northern India, etc.) I havent looked into this closely.
Another thing, the numerous terms commonly used in the West for various styles of khukuris is not very prevalent here over here for the common man, every style of khukuri is pretty much a khukuri, and he will not split hair over different style names for khukuris with minimal differences. However, the one style name that I have heard used often over here is sirupate. Most everybody understands it and uses it, to the extent that sometimes Ive even heard the term being used in place of khukuri.
I talked to a few khukuri sellers in Sikkim and they told me that these days they get most of their khukuris from Nepal (Eastern Nepal mostly), as these are of a consistently better quality than the ones made by local smiths. Also, with a larger number of smiths turning out khukuris in Nepal, the supplier could be assured of consistent volume as well. Even then, the quality varies quite a bit, with a lot of khukuris I saw being really rough affairs.
Customs officials in the India/Nepal border can be pretty discouraging for small-time business operators, so these guys usually have their khukuri supplies smuggled in. Otherwise paying duty at 5-6 different points, as well as getting harassed at every turn, would cut into their meagre profits.
PLEASE NOTE: These are just my observations based on recent visits when I was paying closer attention to khukuris than before, so my conclusions may be different after further observations ... in other words, please do not take my words as gospel!
OK, now for the photos:
Khukuris lined up at the the bladed objects shop in the vegetable market, Lal Bazaar, Gangtok. The little store sells everything from khukuris, knives, saws to gardening tools, rat traps, carpentry tools, etc. Clientele is primarily local townsfolk as well as villagers who come into town to buy/sell, especially during the weekend market. Only a few tourists venture down here so these khukuris are definitely what you could call villagers or made for local consumption, and not meant for tourists.
Here I am checking out some bigger khukuris, shopkeeper in the background
These look like smaller, poorer, rougher, country-cousins to the HI Panuti knives!
continued below ...
Here in the eastern Himalayas (Sikkim, Darjeeling and adjoining areas), the khukuri you see most commonly today is of this design, mostly Sirupate and Chainpure, with wooden scabbards. Broader blades are not as commonly seen as these slimmer ones. Perhaps the proximity to Eastern Nepal is a reason for this? In parts of Assam and Bhutan where there are sizeable pockets of Nepalese origin people, the khukuri I have seen being used often is the slimmer bladed style. It might be different in other parts of India with Gurkha/Nepalese populations (Northeast India, Dehradun and parts of Northern India, etc.) I havent looked into this closely.
Another thing, the numerous terms commonly used in the West for various styles of khukuris is not very prevalent here over here for the common man, every style of khukuri is pretty much a khukuri, and he will not split hair over different style names for khukuris with minimal differences. However, the one style name that I have heard used often over here is sirupate. Most everybody understands it and uses it, to the extent that sometimes Ive even heard the term being used in place of khukuri.
I talked to a few khukuri sellers in Sikkim and they told me that these days they get most of their khukuris from Nepal (Eastern Nepal mostly), as these are of a consistently better quality than the ones made by local smiths. Also, with a larger number of smiths turning out khukuris in Nepal, the supplier could be assured of consistent volume as well. Even then, the quality varies quite a bit, with a lot of khukuris I saw being really rough affairs.
Customs officials in the India/Nepal border can be pretty discouraging for small-time business operators, so these guys usually have their khukuri supplies smuggled in. Otherwise paying duty at 5-6 different points, as well as getting harassed at every turn, would cut into their meagre profits.
PLEASE NOTE: These are just my observations based on recent visits when I was paying closer attention to khukuris than before, so my conclusions may be different after further observations ... in other words, please do not take my words as gospel!
OK, now for the photos:
Khukuris lined up at the the bladed objects shop in the vegetable market, Lal Bazaar, Gangtok. The little store sells everything from khukuris, knives, saws to gardening tools, rat traps, carpentry tools, etc. Clientele is primarily local townsfolk as well as villagers who come into town to buy/sell, especially during the weekend market. Only a few tourists venture down here so these khukuris are definitely what you could call villagers or made for local consumption, and not meant for tourists.
Here I am checking out some bigger khukuris, shopkeeper in the background
These look like smaller, poorer, rougher, country-cousins to the HI Panuti knives!
continued below ...
