Kumar Kobras

S

Scott Hurst

Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
23
Yesterday I got two 18" Kumar Kobras from Uncle Bill. They are excellent. They are the best quality handmades I have bought to date. I look at these through a knifemaker's eyes so I know what to look for. I found no fault with their performance, construction, or finishing. I don't think I put that high a polish on my knives. It was the best money I have spent in some time. I have a wish list as long as my arm with a khukuri in hand. I am looking forward to buying for a long time, and to be honest I don't buy many knives anymore.

I found Kesar's mark of the half sun on one, but the other mark I couldn't make out or it wasn't listed. It looks like a half circle, flat side up, with a vine or slightly curving single flame coming out of the top? Can anyone offer any info?
 
Scott - I agree with Bob. The second mark sounds like the butter lamp mark of the Kami With No Name (part of BirGhorka lore :) ) "He" is actually three kamis, who farm and supplement their farm income at the forge. Their mark can vary. I have a 12" AK, marked with a "/\" in the center of the bowl of the butter lamp. My Malla (still my favorite) has a small dot, off center at the bottom of the bowl, and there have been pics posted by another member with a blank bowl. With or without names, there has to be some accounting of their work, so I've decided this must be their "time card" system. All this trivia adds to the mystique, but they produce some unbelievably fine blades, attested by the "HI" on the other side of the blade.
 
I have a 22" Kobra, of new stock 5160 with a wood handle, made and marked by Bura. It is very strongly constructed, yet the weight distribution is such that it is light, fast, handles very well and cuts with authority. In short, it is just about everything I could hope for in the way of a fighting khukuri, and it is no less than what I would expect from the Royal Kami himself.

Were I to buy another khukuri, it'll probably be a 20" AK, or a 20" Gelbu Special. Of course, I'll request that it be made by Bura, with a special attention to keeping the weight down on the knife.
 
I have made this statement several times in the forum and elsewhere: Guys who know most about knives are my best customers and knifemakers know about as much as anybody. Thanks for report from the field, Scott.

And, Bob, I think you're right about the mark. And, Wal, I think you're right, too. The butter lamp varies in its configuration and I think it is for the "timecard" purposes.

Many kamis farm small plots of land along with their smithing -- those who inherited the land for the most part. Just like old Kancha Kami, Pala's neighbor up in the Solu, who made some of the first khukuris HI offered.
 
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