Mystery to me

RUST,
This isn't a high end knife, although it could be classified at the higher end of a 'bazaar' or 'tourist' khukuri. The emblem on the scabbard is something made up by the Indians to give it a military look and add a little embellishment. No proper military khukuri from India or Nepal had a regimental emblem on the scabbard or butt of the knife.

It seems to be in pretty rough shape so proceed as you see fit, you're not going to ruin anything of rarity. This will also give you a chance to get to 'know' the style and when you get hooked you'll be buying knives from Bill like everyone else. They are the best newly made khukuris available.

The spelling you may want to use when searching the web is GURKHA vs GHURKA which is a quality maker of luggage, clothes and other neat stuff.

Good luck and have fun.
 
John,

Thank you - I suppose I have a project, now. I'm a bit relieved to know that it's touristy. This means that nothing of great value has been damaged. It also explains the absolutely ludicrous attempt at sewing the leather with inch-long stitches (I think).

I'll put before and after pictures on my site, once I'm finished.

I'll repeat, I like the way this looks. Would I be anywhere near accurate in calling it a Sirupati? I'd like my next knife to have similar lines, if somewhat higher value and craftsmanship.

-Rust
 
I had a post all written out and found out the hard way that one can't attach a pic that's once been attached,:( but at least the bot gave me the url as to where the pics are.;)

There's quite a lot of difference in your khukuri and a Sirupati style. The Sirupati is a much, much slimmer blade.
Later today I can provide the width of a Sirupai and an old M-43 blade if you like. It's gettin to late or early to go digging in the closet at the moment.;)

Rust there are some pix in this thread that shows an as forged Chainpuri blade that I finished out and made the handle and furniture for, also shows the unfinished blade as well.
The furniture is of copper and the handle is African Knobthorn provided by Uncle Bill and a good friend that only lurks here.:D
If you're looking for a really good DIY project I can guarantee the satisfaction of finishing out an as forged blade!!!!
I took a lot of artistic license with the blade and made it full curving instead of having the shoulder angle/
I also left the hammer dingy finish and then cold blued the blade to cover the steel grey places that were ground on.
I say the blade was 95% finished right out of the forge as compared to the actual work I done on it which made it about around 85-90% finished!!!!
All I would have had to have done was put an edge and handle on the blade and it would have been ready to go.:D

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=168925
 
Yvsa,

First off, I'm overdue to thank you for directing me to this forum. So thank you.

As to the DIY stuff, I'm starting to feel slightly less coherent as my blacksmith blood is heating up and I look at a section of leaf spring with predatory interest. I'm well aware that a knife is no project for a beginner, but I'm ambitious, and I -did- manage to hammer out a respectable if crude rail spike knife some time ago... Charcoal is cheap.

If I go ahead with this, I'll probably feel the urge to go my own way with the design. So, here's a question that should sound positively dense on this particular forum:

Precisely what is it that defines a Khukuri? The angle in the blade? I believe you yourself have designed one of the styles carried by HI - what criteria did you use to make it a Khukuri rather than some other sort of knife?

-Rust
 
Hi Rust,

Welcome to the HI forum! Good to have you aboard. Like I said back when you posted questions in rec.knives, you sure can get a lot more information from a picture.:)

I'll give your last question a try: To be a real khukuri, a knife has to have not only the forward bend, which can be either an angle or a curve, but it has to have at least the cho -- the notch in the edge near the handle. As you can see from Howard's FAQs, there are a number of different styles of cho that are pretty common, but according to the kamis, it isn't a khukuri without a cho. There are a number of other traditional elements, such as the "sword of shiva" -- the "decorative" groove in the side of the blade -- and the (usually diamond-shaped) keeper at the butt end of the handle, but those don't seem to be nearly as obligatory as the cho. From the (small) number of khukuris I have, I'd say that the only things you can really count on finding on a "real" khukuri are the curved blade, the cho and perhaps the basic handle shape with a flared butt end and the rings in the middle.

(How'd I do?:))

Paul
 
You did just fine, Paul, and so did everybody else. Many thanks for great help all and especially our resident expert, JP.
 
Well, sounds like all the listed elements are present in my fixer upper, so I can take my cue from that. Now I just need a couple decades worth of skill, and I'll be all set.

Once again, thanks to everyone for the warm welcome to this forum.

-Rust
 
The secret is to take your time, go slowly, enjoy yourself and you'll end up with something very nice.
 
Originally posted by Rust
Yvsa,

First off, I'm overdue to thank you for directing me to this forum. So thank you.

If I go ahead with this, I'll probably feel the urge to go my own way with the design. So, here's a question that should sound positively dense on this particular forum:

Precisely what is it that defines a Khukuri? The angle in the blade? I believe you yourself have designed one of the styles carried by HI - what criteria did you use to make it a Khukuri rather than some other sort of knife?

-Rust
Click to expand...

You're very welcome and I'm really glad you made it here. I knew you would like the Cantinas friendly atmosphere as well as getting your khukuri properly identified.:)

Rust this link leads to a description and pic of the YCS Khukuri and her tools I designed on Uncle Bill's sale site.

http://www.smoothsale.com/viewItem.html?item_id=79395

Paul did an excellent job of describeing what makes up the khukuris definition.:)

When I set out to design the YCS I asked for everyones input as to what they would like to see in a khukuri and then I added the little details such as the horn and bone inlay in the handles as well as the inlay of alternating brass and copper in the blade.
And everyone wanted, as well as loveing, deep well defined
fullers.
I also studied the pix of a lot of old khukuris as I love the full curving design that seems more predominant in the older khukuris and I shamlessly drew upon the old designs.
I made it too pretty for some and they don't want to put the khukuri to mundane and other utility work.
I keep saying that there is a great satisfaction derived from using such a beautiful tool for these tasks, but many still can't get over the idea.
And I keep saying that many of the Old West and Southern Bowies were highly decorated and used as everyday tools. And some still can't get around the idea. Oh well... :)

The 2 kardas of which the short one takes the place of the chakma and the 3 cornered awl contribute much to what defines the YCS and IMO are as important as the khukuri itself.
The YCS was designed to be the perfect kit for big game hunting although its weight is prohibitive to some even though the tools they carry anyway may equal the weight of the YCS anyway, just what people are used to I guess.:)

The khukuri takes the place of a hatchet or small axe to cut through the pelvic bone as well as removing the feet if one wished to do so.
And the 2 kardas should handle any skinning and dressing duties even if they might need the edge touched up before the job is
finished.
And although 5160 isn't a miracle steel it's still pretty dayumed good and among the better steels made IMO!!!!
The 3 cornered awl was made specifically to make holes in textile materials so the material would be less apt to tear and rip as it does many times when cut with a regular knife and will be helpful for some who want to wrap their big game animal in a tarp or tarps tied with rope in order to either hang the meat in a tree until it can be recovered or dragged back to camp with the least amount of damage to meat and hide.

And IMO the YCS is all that it was designed to be and more. I was and am still very surprised and impressed at the YCS's cutting ability each time I use it!!!!
I believe much of the YCS's success was also due to the kami's skill and experience as any deviations from the wooden model was an improvement to the overall design and not any design mastery on my part.:)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the future and I wish you all the luck!!!!:D
 
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