Questions about 3 new khurkris

C

Conajohara

Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Messages
89
Hi!
I've purchased some Atlanta Cutlery khukris. One is a Budhume with 20 in. overall length and 2 3/4 in. wide and 7/16 in. think.
I was wondering if the handle (which is just a short rat-tail tang going through a bolster and held in place with himalayan epoxy and having no buttplate or keeper) will hold up to heavy use?
The knife is extremely well made and marked with characters on the spine.
The other knife is a WWII model, marked with M.I.L. k. a symbol almost like a Roman numeral II and 43. The handle is riveted in place with 2 rivets and has a buttcap, and there are 6 rings around the handle, but no raised ring. Anybody know what this might be?

Also, I got one of their issue khurkris called an M3. It is of modern construction, quite sturdy and razorsharp. It has a riveted handle also. It came with papers showing a draft drawing, contracts and a certification of authenticenty of being an Indian army khurkri.
The knife was 17 in. long and 1/4 in. thick. Does anyone know, is this the actual Indian army Ghurka regiment khurkri?

Thanks for any information!
 
Conajohara - have you got any photos? I be interested to see the inscription on the spine of your budhune kukri.

thks,
--B.
 
Hi,
Well your WW11 sounds from the markings like a similar we discused here before, but probably,

MIL = Metal Industries Lahore

11 = mk11 model
43 = year of manufacture

or else in the murky world of kukri models it could represent, a mark11/m43 transitional model!

I have no idea what K stands for but as a pure guess perhaps knife or kukri is possible!

Fascinated to hear you got a 20inch Budhume! I Would definatly like to see photos! I thought I was lucky when I got a 17 inch one!
Did you order it as a Bhojpure or a langopate? Ingraving as well, WOW! If the handles is done well it should last at least 10 years, maybe a lot more. {mind you its probably over 100 years old already!}
If its a real Budhume in reasonable condition it is a great collectable!{I might even swap you my spare 1927 British army stamped Gurkha pioneer stabbing kukri for it, for to use as a real user!}
{its my favorite user, its fantastic!}

AS for the currant M3 I have not handled one, so I have no idea!
but I am sure some people round here will have!

Spiral
 
Thanks to Bruiseleee, Beoram and Spiraltwista for all the great info!
Spiraltwista and Beoram, I'll try to get a picture posted.
I ordered the khurkri as a longleaf. Is that what Langopate means?
Beoram, I asked a lady that works at my job (she's from India and reads Hindi) what the inscription means. She understood the individual markings as a possible religious blessing. The rubbing I made of the marking wasn't clear enough to read precisely.
Again, thanks for all the info.
Spiraltwista, sorry but I'll hold off on the trade - I like mine too much! But thanks for the offer - I'll keep it in mind for the future.
 
Conajohara,

I don't think the inscription is actually a blessing (though I haven't exactly figured out the meaning of the devanagari inscriptions on these kukris), though I understand why your Hindi-informant might think they could be.

From the inscriptions of these AC kukuris I've seen so far, all of them have a definite pattern:

all begin with phrase 'shrii 3 chandra' and then another word which so far has been different on each khukuri and then a four-digit number (or a 3-digit number in one case).

this first word 'shrii' is often used in religious blessings (as it can have the meaning like 'blessed', but here I believe it must mean something like 'honoured' ('shrii' is also used as a formal title for a man, 'Shrii Smith' would be sort of like 'Mr. Smith', though a bit more formal & respectful). 'chandra' is literally "moon", but here it is either the name of a person ('chandra' is a common element in male Indian/Hindu names) or perhaps a regimental/division name (JP and I still haven't quite figured this out). The next word is probably the name of a smaller military division, as the words have been things like 'Sun' (surje/surya) or 'lion' (sinha) which seem like likely 'platoon' names. The number is obviously some sort of encoding, but I don't know what it refers to.

But I would be most interested to see your particular inscription, since I've been trying to understand the overall import of these inscriptions; and the more 'data points' I have, the better chance I have to understand the pattern.

I have a provisional analysis of three other AC kukri inscriptions on this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=271213


cheers,
Ben

Originally posted by Conajohara

Spiraltwista and Beoram, I'll try to get a picture posted.
I ordered the khurkri as a longleaf. Is that what Langopate means?
Beoram, I asked a lady that works at my job (she's from India and reads Hindi) what the inscription means. She understood the individual markings as a possible religious blessing. The rubbing I made of the marking wasn't clear enough to read precisely.
Again, thanks for all the info.
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