I thought perhaps y'all would like to get some more info about the khuk at the top of the page. JP already gave his valuable comment on it, but I recall when I saw it first time it did seem to be a very old, high-quality Nepalese khukuri. It can easily be described as ladylike and delicate. The most conspicuous characteristic is the drop, which is very pronounced indeed (see measurements below). The handle beautifully follows the curve of the blade. The knife overall seems almost to describe a half-circle. It's not very large, and overall does not much exceed 15 inches. The blade has one fullered groove, and is shiny and smooth, and only very slight indentations of what might be hammer-forging blows can be seen when held to the light. The blade is exceedingly sharp. No file marks at all can be seen on this knife, even upon very close inspection by magnifying glass, with the exception of a small area where the blade enters the bolster, and even this is hardly noticeable. The "sword of Shiva" consists of two smooth, deep grooves running next to one another. The spine is conventionally shaped with a little ridge running in the middle of the spine. For a distance of 5 inches from the bolster, the spine is inlaid with a yellow metal, with an ornate and fine pattern. As the yellow metal is not tarnished in any way, and the khukuri has not been cleaned for many years, the possibility of the inlay being gold cannot be overlooked (and JP acknowledged this). The cho is not conventional according to modern standards, as the semicircle is quite wide, and the centre protrusion resembles a very small drop of water in shape. The bolster is steel, and it is so well finished and so perfect in its proportions, that it has me greatly impressed. The fit of handle to bolster is immaculate. The handle looks like wood, of which the bamboo-like grain follows the curve. But if it is wood, it is of a kind I haven't seen before. The material becomes so thin where it flares into the butt, that it is actually translucent when viewed against a strong light. There is some damage to the handle ridge: a simple chip, and an area on the ridge 7/10ths inch long which seems to be bug-eaten because it is actually hollowed out. What a shame! On the bolster side of the handle ridge there is a pattern of four minutely fine rings with a very slightly raised portion between them. The ridge itself is exceedingly high, and sharp. There is no scabbard -I would have liked to see the scabbard! The utter perfection of this khukuri makes me wonder how it is possible that a kami could have made it with relatively primitive tools in the fashion of the kamis today. It's got the patina which suggests age.
BELLY 1 9/16 inch
BLADE L 11 1/8 inches
DROP 3 15/16 inches
OVERALL L 15 1/16 inches
HANDLE L 4 7/8 inches
WIDTH AT R 1/4 inch
WIDTH AT B 3/16 inch
WEIGHT 9 1/4 oz
Thanks, JP! You see the guys are swooning about it, like I did when I took that slim form in my grubby paws...
[This message has been edited by Johan van Zyl (edited 06-26-2001).]
