Markings on lost-in-war kukri (to Rusty)

Here*s what mr. Powell mail to me:

"Hello Robert,
This is a very standard, low quality knife made for the 'tourist' trade. It
is not a military issue and the markings are insignificant. It was probably
made within the last 10 to 20 years.

Hope that answers your questions.

Sincerely
John"

Kurdy
 
Well, Kurdy, that's your answer.

Maybe not what you were hoping to hear, but it gave you an introduction to a very different culture, country, and people, and maybe some dreams. I envy you for the cultural heritage you have, the Greeks, Romans, Macedonians, and then I have experience with the Paiutes and their culture, the story of the origin of the Ghost Dance, Sonam has his stories of growing up in India and Mohd those of Malaysia, the folks from the Phillipines, from Australia, etc., and on and on, people with so much to shsre and learn from.

"Ghostsix" once said something about you couldn't know your own culture without understanding another.
 
Thanks, Rusty.

That khukri I found maybe worth nothing but has it*s own story. And it is nice experience finding hidden stories about things we love (and collect).

Kurdy
 
My understanding is that many soldiers intentionally bring common, standard or cheap knives into the field for the reason that they may be lost or left behind like the one you found. You still have an authentic battlefield artifact, one that the soldier who carried probably had some stories about. It may not be a great monetary find but it is a piece of history.
 
Gee guys, you make me feel like I've done Kurdy an injustice here. Not so.

Whether it is a tourist piece like this or something with a rich history, as long as the kukri brings something to the owner it's important. I went through many, many cheap and poorly made knives and each one taught me something.

It is not true that a Gurkha would take such a knife into the field in anticipation of it being lost or damaged. They got the very best they could knowing that their life may depend on it and that a poor knife would just be extra weight.

------------------
JP
 
That's not the way I read what Kurdy said at all. Or the way I feel either. When intangibles influence what you collect, a symbol is still a symbol.
 
And here's another thought - as Oakeshott points out in The Archaeology of Weapons, just because a weapon is found near the scene of a battle doesn't mean it was used there at that time if it seems out of character. Here, just because a "gurkha knife" was found near where some Gurkha peacekeepers were stationed doesn't mean it was necessarily a Gurkha's knife. As the popularity of this forum and the international nature of its membership prove, the fame of the khukuri as a weapon is worldwide. It's entirely possible that this could have been the personal sidearm of a member of any of the three or more combatant groups in the area over the last several years.
 
I did not think you were doing any injustice, my comment about soldiers and cheap blades should be clarified and certainly may not apply to Gurkha troops. In other places in the website, the question has been raised as to what knife special forces groups use, mostly the SEALs, as a lot of knives make the claim of being the "official" SEAL knife. Some members of the forums who are in the military have stated that most soldiers use something like a $40.00 Kbar Marine combat knife rather than some several hundred dollar custom Randall or something. The reason being a Kbar is much easier to replace if it is lost or broken. I am not in the military and never have been so I am only reporting what I have heard elsewhere.
 
Maybe we should find owner of the knife and hear his story.

P.S.
Rusty is right, I don*t feel injusticed - everything is OK.
 
And small corrections - Berkeley:

- there were two sides in confrontation
- knife was found in UN container
 
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