nice ivory gripped khukuri

John Powell

John Powell

Joined
Mar 9, 1999
Messages
1,440
For your viewing pleasure:
a large knife from around 1870-1890 with a good hollow ground blade and matching ivory karda and chakmak.
The engraving and detail is quite exceptional while the scabbard unfortunately is missing the important straps and 'buttons'.
View


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JP
 
Very beautiful khukuri, John. I love that bladeshape, and the handle isn't anything to schoff at either.
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Thank You, John!

That is what I call EYE CANDY!!
(well, now that I'm "older"
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Beautiful blade, and it looks like a real monster. How long is it?

edit: Duh, just noticed the tape measure in the picture. Very nice.

[This message has been edited by David Park (edited 06-22-2001).]
 
Yes, Uncle, I did.

It was made for someone with considerably smaller hands than me.

It's a great rig, however, even if I'd have to grip it with three fingers!
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Craig
 
I think you have to resort to a two-fingered grip with the karda and chakma.

Be careful swinging that one, John.
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:
I'm with Brother Walosi on this one!! Indeed "eye candy" for us old farts and young ones as well.
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Very beautiful and the ivory looks really well cared for. That khukuri must have been in a perfect storage.
And a wonderfully executed cho that sure hasn't suffered from
"cho creep."
Thanks for the pic John!!!!


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Yvsa.

"VEGETARIAN".............
Indin word for lousy hunter.
 
:
Bob IIRC it was Berk that brought "Cho Creep" to our attention. All of the earier made khukuris had the cho very close to the handle while the later ones keep getting further and further away from the handle.
It's possibly a good way to date a khukuri.

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Yvsa.

"VEGETARIAN".............
Indin word for lousy hunter.
 
A very good theory that has lots of anomolies... the kamis didn't read the guide book and seem to do whatever they liked over the ages.

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JP
 
John is a scholar of khukuris who has handled thousands, and is given to great precision in his writing. I am a duffer who has seen a few hundred, and am prone to broad generalizations. I still say that this khukuri is a good example of the proposition that "you can tell an older khukuri 'cause it has a relatively shorter handle (especially the part behind the ring), and the cho is noticeably closer to the bolster."
P.S. - and I'm willing to bet that general proposition is true 95% of the time or better.

[This message has been edited by Berkley (edited 06-22-2001).]
 
Berk,
I'll give you 95% on the handle if it's not a hanshee, but only 50% on the cho theory.

How's that for odds?

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JP
 
Cho creep is evident between shop 1, the Kami Sherpa/Gelbu run shop 2 ( in it's last stages, the original Birgorkha ) and the out- in-the-country specially constructed as a smithy, Birgorkha we know today.

Whether it applies to khuks in general I will leave to John Powell. I suspect it only occurs when there is a ( for all purposes ) very abundant supply of good steel. Where there is a limited supply I would imagine the cutting edge is as long as feasible ( cho close to the bolster ) while keeping other factors proportionate to produce the khuk best suited to the job with the material available. This is the strength of the rat tail through tang instad of the full tang. The same amount of steel, one Panna Butta ( tang riveted through ) 15" khuk, one 17" or 18" rat-tail tang.

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"Holiness is not a very serious business, and it is a very serious business indeed. I misspeak - it is not a solemn business."
 
...Oh now John. Who you trying kid here? Kmart had a whole bin full of these on sale
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The khukuri village idiot
 
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