My First Historical Khukuri-Long leaf Victorian


Almost 100% sure that the first one is a ra and the two flags on top of it mean its pronounced more like rei

The second letter is a mystery but I put my two guesses in the picture and removed from the proper letters a few parts to show how they could have been crippled to achieve what's on the blade. Is it a na or a ta or something else? I prefer na since its the only letter which would fit into any of the Nepali battalion name (a list of them here http://www.ikrhs.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=308) Now besides battalions named Rana, there is one called Raj but how Raj is usually spelled I think its out of question here. What do you think Verpra? Also whats the second letter in my blade? Could that help to determine the second letter in Ndoghouse's blade or do you think that it is something completely different?


Ndogshouse's and my blade's shape look identical.
The two letters in question are very very similar which could mean that the inscription is supposed to mean the same. But the order of the numbers is switched.
Also the prime ministers name is once in front and once at the back.
Then there is something scratched away and something engraved on top.
Did Kamis often make a bunch of spelling and handwriting mistakes but normally didn't bother since it was just knifes for normal grunts and not some officers?
But maybe then on Ndogshouse blade there were too many mistakes that they really had to scratch some things away and patch it up a bit but still left the numbers in the wrong order and the prime ministers name had to stay at the back?
Maybe Kamis as a lower cast couldn't write and copied things from a paper. Sometimes a new guy held the paper upside down or sideways, who knows?

edit:
Wow if I overlay (without even shifting it up or down!) my second letter with Ndoghouse's second letter they complement each other and really look like na. The only missing part will be the roof on top. Could they really have been so sloppy when writing? Missing 40% of this letter from Ndoghouse and some other 80% from mine? If everything else wouldn't have been very similar I wouldn't have even guessed that these fragments could be part of the same letter. Am I on to something and should apply at CSI or am I seeing things which aren't there? After all its late or already early morning.
 
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I was actually thinking "da" (द) for the second letter on mine but you may be right? It was earlier suggested that it may be "jha"(झ) as well.
Second letter on yours i was thinking "ja" without the "roof". They dont seem to use the roof unless they have to (eg. "ra?")?
They do in fact use numbers after the batallion or company sometimes. Check out Gehazis' blade. Ther is a "4" (४)just before the slash next to the battalion.
 
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Both Na and Ta come close when we consider second symbol to be two separate symbols. If it is indeed only one symbol (as opposed to two), then it does not resemble anything except Jha झ. I know it does not fit the names, but unfortunately, I just don't see how it resembles anything else in the standard script.....
Noteworthy that even today, many folks in Nepal do not know how to read or write. A century ago, literacy must have been much much worse. I would not be surprised if the craftsmen were illiterate. So I dig what Jens thinks/says. Its a real possibility they just put these symbols on as if they were drawing pictures without knowing what they were writing... Like how you and I would possibly inscribe Mandarin if given a few symbols written on a piece of paper (assuming we are completely unfamiliar with the script)....
 
verpra said:
If it is indeed only one symbol (as opposed to two), then it does not resemble anything except Jha झ.
Click to expand...
it is definitely one symbol because the mark with the red line was a remnant from before as evident by file marks over it and next to it is the slash followed by weapon no. In person it is obvious. Pic may not show it very well.

Oh cool... it was you telling me this from another thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1106248-First-post-ID-the-Kami
The first character looks like Ra + ai = Rai.. The second character is faded but looks like Jha (but can be Sa written in a really bad handwriting!)... The character in the middle is too faded to even guess ...
I would say it reads left to right --> Rai Jha 4 6 ?? Sri 3 cha ndra
 
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man these are real brain teasers. I like it.

What if the real pronunciation is indeed Rai Jha?

There is a kind of close looking word Raja = king or royal I think, and would be spelled like that राजा raja Now that's very different from what we see here and can be ruled out I think.

Can Rai Jha by any chance be written down as Raj (when somebody maybe less fluent in Nepali or English tries to write it in English letters? or maybe the ha at the end is kind of silent anyways?) Because in the link with the list of Nepali Units is a Raj Dal Battalion. The Dal could have been skipped because its not so important. Dal appears in every fourth name of a unit and maybe means something trivial like company, infantry or similar.

Verpra, do you think the second letter after my Rai could also be a fragment of a Jha (like in Ndoghouse) or is it more likely to be something else?
 
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Well I drank the squirrel-flavored kool-aid and ordered a long leaf from AC. Pics to come shortly.
 
Here she is :D:thumbup:

nXMSiju.jpg


yX85xPA.jpg
 
You guys are horrible examples for me. I was just browsing AC and IMA, a bad sign.
I notice though that they are reversed one has the long leaf cheaper than the other but the other has the Bhojpur's cheaper than the other, reversed if you follow the flow of my creek.

I'm kind of enamored with the Bhojpur but I think the Long Leaf is the history maker and maybe a better first choice.

Course the best choice for a guy on my side of the tracks would be to stay off the internet and not read yall's post. Very bad influence all of you.

I'm happy for you Phil, history right there in your very own hands.
 
Bhojpure was cheaper on both sides except one version with original sheath and side knifes which is a bit more than a long leaf but worth to have a complete set.

Btw AC has free shipping over $150 with a code. Ima has 5% off with a code obtainable by signing up for their emails.
 
Yeah I got the 5% deal for signing up for emails, didn't notice the free shipping with 150$ purchase at AC. If I can come up with 13 more bucks I'll hit that 150 mark and they can have it all for a piece of history.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Nice one philllllll did you translate it yet?
Click to expand...

Nah I haven't been that ambitious yet. It does have the Sri 3 Shandra at the beginning I think. I need to work on cleaning off some of the cosmoline, first.

Bawanna, I think the long leaf is a cool first choice because they have the stamps on the spine.
 
philllll said:
Here she is :D:thumbup:
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Very nice one philll. Similar to Gehazis. Definitely not any of my ancestors handwriting. That's the neatest i've seen yet. Looks like the short handle ones coming from AC lately like Jens's blade. I got a new one on the way so ill add it to this soon as I get it.
Heres my first try: shree 3 chandra "ra" "ja" 3/12

Jens... look here is another one with a number after Battalion/co.
BTW. I noticed "raj" ( रा ) is the same Rajkumar uses on his mark as first character. Check it out!
 
Jens Schuetz said:
man these are real brain teasers. I like it.

What if the real pronunciation is indeed Rai Jha?

There is a kind of close looking word Raja = king or royal I think, and would be spelled like that राजा raja Now that's very different from what we see here and can be ruled out I think.
Click to expand...
राजा This is exactly whats on philllls blade. Maybe his blade was Palace guard duty?
Can Rai Jha by any chance be written down as Raj (when somebody maybe less fluent in Nepali or English tries to write it in English letters? or maybe the ha at the end is kind of silent anyways?) Because in the link with the list of Nepali Units is a Raj Dal Battalion. The Dal could have been skipped because its not so important. Dal appears in every fourth name of a unit and maybe means something trivial like company, infantry or similar.
Click to expand...
The also have one listed they think translates to sri Ram (श्री राम) Battalion but is not on the list. रा=raj म=ma Therfore राम=rajma? So i see what you mean.
Verpra, do you think the second letter after my Rai could also be a fragment of a Jha (like in Ndoghouse) or is it more likely to be something else?
Click to expand...
 
ndoghouse said:
राजा This is exactly whats on philllls blade. Maybe his blade was Palace guard duty? The also have one listed they think translates to sri Ram (श्री राम) Battalion but is not on the list. रा=raj म=ma Therfore राम=rajma? So i see what you mean.
Click to expand...

That would be super cool. It seems like it was made with care. It's still very sharp and there is a very shallow fuller on both sides of the blade. The handle may look a bit short, but it fits my medium sized hand just fine.
 
well Auntie never replied to my email
so I went ahead and ordered from AC
got a regimental Kukri and a Longleaf hand select and a sheath for it
I left the factory edge I am more than confident in my skill to make it quite sharp
pics to follow later next week
 
philllll said:
Nice!
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In these the ja is very clear. I am starting to think that it was indeed am attempt at changing the jha into a ja by filling it in half.... The other theory of ra ma seems plausible but the symbol does not resemble ma... I am preoccupied with some crap that has piled up on my desk but will do some research into this soon.
 
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