Antique Nepalese Gurkha Bhojpure Kukri Knife

[Aragorn243]

Came across this during one of my daily bayonet searches and then spent about a week or so researching and comparing prices before committing to buy. They claim it's the real deal and I have no reason to dispute it.

For an original Nepal knife with military provenance, this is a bargain basement price from what I was able to find.

Came today, covered in cosmoline, wrapped in plastic. Wood handle missing nothing, just a few scrapes and dents. Blade is rust free but does have a couple of staining spots. The edge did need dressing up a bit but not much. No British marks that I can find but it is serial numbered in standard letters and numbers on the top of the blade. IMA is the seller, $89.99 is the price, shipping is free. I did have to pay state sales tax on top of that.

Took about 10 minutes to clean up and it looks just like the one in the photo except the stains are different.

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[twh]

Neat knives. I bought four at Smokey Mountain knife works on a trip to Gatlinburg about three years ago. They had acquired probably 30 and I was able to pick through them was and get some nice ones with the scabbards. Out of the batch I sorted through I only found one with a broad arrow acceptance mark and that went to my youngest son. I would suggest going on the IMA sight and picking up a copy of the book that covers the story of the acquisition of the Nepalese cache of weapons.

[browningautorifle]

Thing I've never been able to sort out...is the handle. Mine came from the Ghurkas in 1976 when they were in Wainwright Alberta and there were two identical found. They were numbered two apart, they have horn handles. These with wood handles that claim to be original and the ones that claim to be "Issued to British Officers serving with the Ghurkas during WW2"...have wood handles. I thought the originals had horn handles...? I made the scabbard myself after 40 years...

[Aragorn243]

In my research I found most with wood handles. The IMA knives are pre WWI. Many WWI knives actually have makers marks on them as in the complete company name, etc. They also may or may not have the broad arrow on them. Serial numbers may be in Nepalese script rather than English/Arabic. WWI and WWII issue seem to have a metal cap on the end. Mine does not and I cannot figure out how the wood handle is held on. It does have the metal on the blade end. I have not really cleaned the handle up at all. Figured I'd wipe it down with linseed oil but haven't gotten around to it yet. Horn grips are post WWII maybe? I don't know.

[Flying10uk]

The Worldwide Arms website currently has 2 versions of the Kukri knife listed on it's website, both coming from Nepal. One version is said to be of British WW1 issue type for Gurkha use and the other is said to be earlier specifically intended solely for Nepalese issue. The accompanying pictures indicate that the British version is Broad Arrow marked with a serial or part number in english style letters but it doesn't make it clear if all the British examples are marked this way. The Nepalese version appears to be marked with native Nepalese writing. Both versions appear to be offered for sale with no scabbard.

[browningautorifle]

Horn grips are post WWII maybe?

Agreed. Mine is probably made within a ten year period of when it was found. The belly shows extensive sharpening as it's slightly flattened. The handle is held on by riveting through the brass pommel, which is double thick because of two pieces.

[Howard]

I was in Kathmandu, Nepal a couple of years ago and bought a Gurkha knife, just like the one pictured in the first comment, from a soldier standing guard at a temple we visited. There are no numbers or marks on it that show it was military. I think the reason is that he had it for standing guard duty because it was spit shined and really looked good, it looks cheap after I got it. Paid 30 dollars for it. I still like it because it did come from a soldier real or not.
Most of the houses in Kathmandu have a shop under them and sell knives like this. I do not know how they make money because the shops all seem to have the same items, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of knives there. Some are plain, like mine, or really ornate which cost a lot more.
Seeing that knife brought back memories of the trip, which was a really good one. It is a really different world there, lots of people.

[Aragorn243]

Mine was sold as 1890's vintage but has English letters and Arabic numerals as the serial number so assuming is has some British provenance. I cleaned the handle some today but it didn't change its appearance at all and I still can't tell how the handle is fastened. There is no hole or screw on the end where you would expect one to be.

[Flying10uk]

What I call "cheap tourist Kukri knives" often seem to have the word "India" marked on the blade and must have been turned out by the millions.

I thought that a rod passes through the handle and the end of the rod is then peened/riveted over?

[Aragorn243]

I thought that a rod passes through the handle and the end of the rod is then peened/riveted over?

Nope, even stuck a magnet on the end to see if it was camouflaged with dirt. Nothing.