Old Kukri Letter Opener

[ddean]

Bought last November
7+ inches
heavy / thick brass
Similar hand graving both sides

 

[Rusty]

Can brass be tempered or is that bronze? Nice looking anyway.

 

[Nasty]

Tourist model...you can tell by the grain pattern on the handle. Fine for regular sized letter envelopes and such, but not up to the poly-reinforced ones or the brown manila 8 1/2 x 11.

Be sure you test it well before trusting *your* mail to it!

Bruise has done some test to destruction on these...try the search function to find the test reports.

 

[ddean]

Smells like brass / copper.

Forgot to mention,
Yvsa would like it,
full convex bevel from spine to edge.

 

[Yvsa]

Smells like brass / copper.

Forgot to mention,
Yvsa would like it,
full convex bevel from spine to edge.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Tourist model...you can tell by the grain pattern on the handle. Fine for regular sized letter envelopes and such, but not up to the poly-reinforced ones or the brown manila 8 1/2 x 11.

Be sure you test it well before trusting *your* mail to it!

Bruise has done some test to destruction on these...try the search function to find the test reports.

He he he!

 

[John Powell]

I really like these things. They're all made in India and seem to be a tourist/bazaar item rather than anything regimental. Those are literally miniature kukris with decent steel, scabbards and sometimes grips of ivory.

These brass items seem to stay in the 5-7" range and will be variously engraved. The crossed pair at the top say PTE. C.G. Woodward, 9th A.C.C. on one side and Bareilly and INDIA 1926 on the reverse. The engraved piece on the bottom is 7" in length for size reference. I also have a few pair that are mounted on placques. One is dated 1948 and the other is 5th GR after being absorbed into the Indian Army.

I buy these when I find them, but recently a pair went for way too much on eBay. They're nice trinkets, but....

 

[Daniel Koster]

Really like that second-to-last one....


So, I'm not the only one to like miniature khukuris....




Brass cannot be tempered - it's non-ferrous. But, that does look like either Brass, White Brass (german), or Nickel Silver (which can have a yellowish tint to it, especially when unpolished).

 

[ddean]

Almost forgot this one from last October's Arms Show.

My kothimoda letter opener...... :yawn:

Almost didn't buy it; it's so rough & cheap.
But I'm a collector...........
6 bucks.

The one I opened with cost twice as much;
and a much better buy.

 

[Semper Fi]

I thought a 12" K was a miniature khuk.

The Duck loves 'em.

 

[Ferrous Wheel]

Today we only really know how to work harden it, much of the tempering tech and such went out with the advent of Iron Age.

Nasty -LMAO!

Keith