- Joined
- Aug 11, 2012
- Messages
- 282
Hi everyone,
I've been here as a member since August, and finally wanted to intro myself. It's been awhile, and late in coming.. but there was a rhyme and reason for it.
Whilst online, I refer to myself as K, as it is the first initial of my hawaiian name. At least until there's a certain level of trust. Although, when in financial transactions, my first name is disclosed through paypal so Auntie Yangdu, and Karda both know my name.
My forum name is the result of an old callsign of mine, and actually started out as an insult to my inheritance of family tattoo I've had for almost all of my life. The nature of my previous, and now my current career being the factor that motivates my cautions; OPSEC, personal security, habit.. and just being a generally suspicious and slightly paranoid person by nature. That being said, I wanted to relate how I found all of you, and this amazing corner of bladeforums.
I stumbled upon this portion of bladeforums, because of some off-time research I was doing for a few years. Not very consistently, and only when it crossed my mind; otherwise it would not have taken me several years. Please forgive my vagueness and ambiguity; it is by design.
During one of the conflicts we are embroiled in, one of my team members liberated it from it's recently deceased owner. I came to learn later (like this past August), that it was a BAS type khukuri.. albeit kind of unrecognizable until it was cleaned up a bit. The handle was ill-fitting, and looked to have been patched up, with layers of a cloth and rubber 'tape' around it. The blade was amazingly stout, but the edges near the tip, and from the cho to the sweet spot, had chips, waves and dings. The sweet spot was still usably keen, and looked to be sharpened with a coarse stone. The one thing that my eye kept being drawn to, was the engraved inscriptions that were uncovered after lifting the tape that covered the bolster and heel. There was no sheath.
Back then, I knew what kind of blade it was, having served in different parts of the world. But I wasn't well-versed.. just little bits of info, from some of the brits I served with at times. So I did know who the Gurkha's were, where Nepal was located, and why the blade was a national treasure to them. I have owned a few replica type "kukri's" in the past, but never saw a genuine one. It was a curious thing to me, having encountered one in a different country.. but it didn't pique my curiousity anymore than that initial thought.
At least at the time.
Fast forward to July/August this year. I found some pics of my old teammates and I during that timeframe.. and there was one where he had it tucked into his LBE, and I remembered the blade. Of course, I started looking for "Kukri's" and conducting searches online for "genuine kukri's" and all of that. Up until then I didn't know what a "kami" or what "kami marks" were.
Imagine my surprise, when I stumbled onto this subforum.
Now here is the part that makes me wonder.. and leaves me a bit unsettled.. and of course this is all speculation on my part. Who does it belong to? When did they lose it, and how did the enemy acquire it? I do wish there was a way to cross-reference the names of those who purchased one from HI?
It seems to be an older one, because there was no U.B. on it for Uncle Bill.. (that I can recall) but it did have the ubiquitous engravings near the bolster. I think it was an older style bolster at that. It also looked to be a bit thinner at the spine than the ones I've seen in these posts. Unsure if it was a villager khukuri, as the finish was very non-existent, with a layer of dirt, some rust spots.. scratches.. and overall heavy patina.
I truly hope it wasn't lost to the enemy from one of our guys over there (American, Canadian, Brit, etc..) but you never know.
It will perhaps be impossible to find out who it's original owner was.. but if there ever was a chance, I would contact my old teammates family, and see if they still had it with them. I'd like to give it back to the first owner.. or family of the first owner.
So anyways.. this is how I've come to be here.. and acquired a few khukuri's along the way. Good to meet you all. I still have alot more to read, and after that, I'll start on the archives.. though I have perused them a bit already.
Be safe.. stay blessed.. and have fun.
K
I've been here as a member since August, and finally wanted to intro myself. It's been awhile, and late in coming.. but there was a rhyme and reason for it.
Whilst online, I refer to myself as K, as it is the first initial of my hawaiian name. At least until there's a certain level of trust. Although, when in financial transactions, my first name is disclosed through paypal so Auntie Yangdu, and Karda both know my name.
My forum name is the result of an old callsign of mine, and actually started out as an insult to my inheritance of family tattoo I've had for almost all of my life. The nature of my previous, and now my current career being the factor that motivates my cautions; OPSEC, personal security, habit.. and just being a generally suspicious and slightly paranoid person by nature. That being said, I wanted to relate how I found all of you, and this amazing corner of bladeforums.
I stumbled upon this portion of bladeforums, because of some off-time research I was doing for a few years. Not very consistently, and only when it crossed my mind; otherwise it would not have taken me several years. Please forgive my vagueness and ambiguity; it is by design.
During one of the conflicts we are embroiled in, one of my team members liberated it from it's recently deceased owner. I came to learn later (like this past August), that it was a BAS type khukuri.. albeit kind of unrecognizable until it was cleaned up a bit. The handle was ill-fitting, and looked to have been patched up, with layers of a cloth and rubber 'tape' around it. The blade was amazingly stout, but the edges near the tip, and from the cho to the sweet spot, had chips, waves and dings. The sweet spot was still usably keen, and looked to be sharpened with a coarse stone. The one thing that my eye kept being drawn to, was the engraved inscriptions that were uncovered after lifting the tape that covered the bolster and heel. There was no sheath.
Back then, I knew what kind of blade it was, having served in different parts of the world. But I wasn't well-versed.. just little bits of info, from some of the brits I served with at times. So I did know who the Gurkha's were, where Nepal was located, and why the blade was a national treasure to them. I have owned a few replica type "kukri's" in the past, but never saw a genuine one. It was a curious thing to me, having encountered one in a different country.. but it didn't pique my curiousity anymore than that initial thought.
At least at the time.
Fast forward to July/August this year. I found some pics of my old teammates and I during that timeframe.. and there was one where he had it tucked into his LBE, and I remembered the blade. Of course, I started looking for "Kukri's" and conducting searches online for "genuine kukri's" and all of that. Up until then I didn't know what a "kami" or what "kami marks" were.
Imagine my surprise, when I stumbled onto this subforum.
Now here is the part that makes me wonder.. and leaves me a bit unsettled.. and of course this is all speculation on my part. Who does it belong to? When did they lose it, and how did the enemy acquire it? I do wish there was a way to cross-reference the names of those who purchased one from HI?
It seems to be an older one, because there was no U.B. on it for Uncle Bill.. (that I can recall) but it did have the ubiquitous engravings near the bolster. I think it was an older style bolster at that. It also looked to be a bit thinner at the spine than the ones I've seen in these posts. Unsure if it was a villager khukuri, as the finish was very non-existent, with a layer of dirt, some rust spots.. scratches.. and overall heavy patina.
I truly hope it wasn't lost to the enemy from one of our guys over there (American, Canadian, Brit, etc..) but you never know.
It will perhaps be impossible to find out who it's original owner was.. but if there ever was a chance, I would contact my old teammates family, and see if they still had it with them. I'd like to give it back to the first owner.. or family of the first owner.
So anyways.. this is how I've come to be here.. and acquired a few khukuri's along the way. Good to meet you all. I still have alot more to read, and after that, I'll start on the archives.. though I have perused them a bit already.
Be safe.. stay blessed.. and have fun.
K
