Large sword what is this termed?

LindaJ · Jun 28, 2006

This thing is truly bad looking. What is it termed
and what do these sell for?

It's 30" in overall length http://www.geocities.com/research_images/MassiveSword.jpg
and very heavy. Has a scabbard. Blade measures 2 3/4" wide at one point. Not elegant by any means not balanced at all.

The blade is not signed by a maker but does has some stippling to the steel in the form of a simple design including "India" spelled out. I think this was for tourist trade from that. It belonged to a friends father who collected swords and knives. Which is where all the images I have been posting are from. But this would have been collected a ways back although there has almost been tourist trade in most places to varying degrees.

Merek · Jun 28, 2006

It is a Kukri / kuhkri etc. various spellings.
There is a subforum here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=739

tedwca · Jun 28, 2006

Does it have lions head on the pommel? If so it is almost surely a tourist blade. Post it in the Cantina http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=796
At 30" it's a ceremonial style khukuri for beheading goats in an annual ceremony, albeit a tourist copy.

Andrew Taylor · Jun 29, 2006

I bought one of those brand new about 25 years ago for 18.00 UK Pounds at auction. As I started to collect authentic khukris and other knives and bayonets, I sold it at auction last year and got 8.00 pounds for it. The original knife was made in Nepal, but this one is a tourist copy made in India. They are forged from lorry leaf springs. The scabbard should hold two little knives, one sharp, a Karda utility knife, and one blunt a chakma for burnishing the blade.

You have shown me yours, I'll show you mine

LindaJ · Jun 29, 2006

Hi Andrew,

It's only fair we exchange images

afterall a picture is worth a thousand words. To use an old saw... The one I have is obviously from India - it's stippled onto the blade. That's kinda kool the blade is made from Lorri springs... and that it's purpose was/is to behead goats. I guess that would be kinda tough to do hence the weight. Do they still use these for that? This one has no companion utility knife or sharpener.

I had an idea that this was a tourist trade item because of the "India" on it LOL and it was not that well made looking. And the balance is baad. On the real ones, are they more balanced? I mean, easier to heft? Is there quality present?

Mongo-man · Jun 29, 2006

IIRC those very big blades where used to sacrifice larger animals then just goats, animals like the ox. They don't cut the throat, they chop down full power and sever the head.
I have a 30" sirupate blade and it's very handy. It can chop large pieces of wood out of a tree. And it's also usefull for homedefense.

littleknife · Jun 29, 2006

LindaJ said:
I had an idea that this was a tourist trade item because of the "India" on it LOL and it was not that well made looking. And the balance is baad. On the real ones, are they more balanced? I mean, easier to heft? Is there quality present?

There are old Indian made khukuries which were very high quality.
Recent make Indian khukuries though are just turist trades.
As for the balance, these were not used as parriing swords or cavalry sabres. All khukuries are meant to be blade heavy, that is why they have a different balance.
The long and heavy ceremonial khukuries don't have to be very well balanced, since their purpose is not fighting but delivering a powerful chop to an immobilized target. The khukuries used in real battles were shorter and lighter.

Andrew Taylor · Jul 1, 2006

LindaJ said:
Hi Andrew,

It's only fair we exchange images after all a picture is worth a thousand words. To use an old saw... The one I have is obviously from India - it's stippled onto the blade. That's kinda kool the blade is made from Lorri springs... and that it's purpose was/is to behead goats. I guess that would be kinda tough to do hence the weight. Do they still use these for that? This one has no companion utility knife or sharpener.

I had an idea that this was a tourist trade item because of the "India" on it LOL and it was not that well made looking. And the balance is baad. On the real ones, are they more balanced? I mean, easier to heft? Is there quality present?

The blade on the one in my picture does have nail punched pattering, but the picture only shows a bit of it. 'Proper' (for want of a better word) kukhris are easy to wield and have lighter, but stronger blades that the one you have. I have a very old kuk with a silver hilt that is a pleasure to swing around and is sharp as a razor. This is it.

This one is smaller and was given to me by a British major in the Ghurka regiment. He carried it all through WW11. Officers don't normally carry them, but this one was a gift from his men. It is very light, but once again razor sharp.

The pictures below are from a Himalayan Imports deal of the day on Blade Forums. They show quality.

I have a similar one made by Bura who is the 'royal kami' to the Nepalese royal family.

This lady is Yangdu, owner of Himalayan Imports. The khukri in the picture is functional and would easily remove the head of an animal.

This goat is about to meet its maker. Notice that the khukri is broad and heavy.

More pictures here http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/Ceremony.htm#Blessings and ceremonies

And there endeth the lesson

LindaJ · Jul 2, 2006

Andrew Taylor said:
The blade on the one in my picture does have nail punched pattering, but the picture only shows a bit of it. 'Proper' (for want of a better word) kukhris are easy to wield and have lighter, but stronger blades that the one you have.

And there endeth the lesson

Yeah the one here is very awkward. And it appears to be somewhat oversized compared to these more serious (pro) blades. I had a feeling that real instruments would have been of much better quality than the one I have here. Quite impressive to display on the wall for sure!

Large sword what is this termed?

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