Kukhuri value?

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
5,786
I recently had the opportunity to see a large collection of knives and swords, most of which are from the East (many, many khukuris and the like) and was curious how much these may be worth? The collection is the personal knife collection of one B.J. Palmer, who is widely regarded as the Developer of chiropractic and was a mainstay of the television and radio businesses in the early half of this century. He travelled extensively in the East, and I know it's tough to say how much something is worth without more info, but I'm just curious how much knives and swords such as these may be worth. Some may be as old as 80-90 years, others maybe 50 years...
Steve
 
Steve, I have about 65 khukuris and some are as old as the late 1700s. Their value like any other antique is based on rarity, craftsmanship and history. Some that should have cost hundreds were less than $50, but Ive paid as high as $900 for a single presentation khukuri called a kothimora. No one has really yet put hard numbers to many of these things, but there are lots of junkers out there so be very wary. I'd love to see some of BJ Palmers collection.

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JP
 
BJ's collection consists of about seven huge presentation cases of knives and swords. I have only seen two of the boxes, which had a couple swords and a bunch of khukuris with very fancy sheaths. I am trying to find out the best way to restore carbon steel knife blades in the hopes that I can volunteer my services and help out cleaning them up (and also taking an inventory of what's there!). Maybe I can convince them to take pictures and post them on the net to get an idea of what they are worth. We'll see...
Steve
 
Steve, the 'fancy sheath' khukuris you describe may be the kothimoras I mentioned. They are usually velvet with silver filigree overlay and a small link silver chain attached. The knives themselves would also be fairly fancy and the blades highly polished and engraved. You ask about restoring these blades; are they that far gone? One of the critical mistakes in cleaning up an old khukuri is over polishing the blade. It drops the value down to almost nothing even if the handle, scabbard and small knives (chakma and karda) are fantastic. Please contact me if I can be of further assistance.

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JP
 
John and Chiro 75:

I would not even consider an offer of a thousand for my ivory handled Salyan and it's nine invory handled accessory tools if this is any help.

A picture of this knife can be found in the HI forum. John Powell has seen it.

Bill
 
Yes, I have seen it and WANT IT, but my own will have to present itself at a later date. CHIRO75 the last ivory handle I saw looked like a new khukuri on a standard blade and scabbard and that went for $350. The buyer got it for the uniqueness of ivory and not the knife. The whole thing was very, very plain. I have seen the presentation khukuris I mentioned before for sale in the UK for over $2000. Even well marked, honest military issue WW I & II models should come in between $175 and $350 again depending on markings, condition, etc.

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JP
 
Chiro, I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to say that I have been looking for a good ivory-handled khukuri for my collection, but can't find one that I liked at a price I could afford. I think I will have to end up having one of my Khukuris refitted with an ivory handle. I know that it won't have any historical value, but the beauty of the ivory is irresistable.

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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
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