Kukri and boot knife?- Old junk?

christek · 14th June 2012, 02:00 PM

Hello all,

I have had these two old knives for many years, before I had them they were my grandfathers. I know they are both quite old, and clearly in relatively bad condition. I may be wrong here, but I am pretty sure the larger one is a 1950's Indian made 'tourist' Kukri. The other knife's design is not unlike an old World War II boot knife, but I can't find an exact match so far in my research. The Kukri markings are quite hard to make out- you can just make out a design on the blade and the word 'India'. The markings on the other knife are a bit easier to see, they appear to be 'William Rodgers' and 'made in Shefield, England'

Can anyone confirm my findings? Should I clean up these old knifes?
Regards.

Rich · 14th June 2012, 06:34 PM

Can't comment on the kukri, but the Rodgers is a standard "hunting" knife of about the same time as the kukri and not a military issue item.

Rich

mross · 14th June 2012, 06:38 PM

You are correct on the kukri.

Atlantia · 14th June 2012, 07:24 PM

The Kukri is a commercial item made for export in India of decoration or 'souvenir' quality only. Circa 1970s.
These are unbelieveably common and not generally worth saving, but some earlier ones have 'better' blades (the later ones being untempered plated rubbish), so a light clean might be worthwhile if you fancy using it for ..... anything?

The Rodgers belt knife could be as old as around WW2. A good standard british sheath knife that was in production for many years. Worth cleaning up to use for camping whittling etc.

VANDOO · 14th June 2012, 09:27 PM

I AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. THE KUKRI WOULD PROVIDE GOOD PRACTICE IN BLADE CLEANING AS YOU CAN DO NO HARM THERE. THOUGH IT IS A SOUVINEER TYPE AND OF LOWER QUALITY IT CAN STILL SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FORM IN A COLLECTION, ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING.

christek · 15th June 2012, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VANDOO

I AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. THE KUKRI WOULD PROVIDE GOOD PRACTICE IN BLADE CLEANING AS YOU CAN DO NO HARM THERE. THOUGH IT IS A SOUVINEER TYPE AND OF LOWER QUALITY IT CAN STILL SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FORM IN A COLLECTION, ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING.

Great Idea Vandoo, I will clean it up, I certainly need the practice!

Thanks for info/comments gentlemen, its always much appreciated

After a bit more reading around, it would appear that this particular model Rodgers belt knife was also widely issued and used as a scout knife post World War II. According to most sources, a William Rodgers Sheffield England fighting knife is a design of the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife (see pic). The Fairbairn-Sykes knife was designed just before World War II and became famous for its use by British commandos- it is a double edged knife. It would seem that many people appear to get the William Rodgers knives confused with each other- thinking that the hunting knives were military issue etc. There are so many different models with similar design points that I can understand the mix ups. It is also probable that some other William Rodgers knives (that were not double edged fighting weapons) were issued to British/Allied troops. They do seem to be well respected knives.

Regards.

14th June 2012, 02:00 PM	#1
christek Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 52	Kukri and boot knife?- Old junk? Hello all, I have had these two old knives for many years, before I had them they were my grandfathers. I know they are both quite old, and clearly in relatively bad condition. I may be wrong here, but I am pretty sure the larger one is a 1950's Indian made 'tourist' Kukri. The other knife's design is not unlike an old World War II boot knife, but I can't find an exact match so far in my research. The Kukri markings are quite hard to make out- you can just make out a design on the blade and the word 'India'. The markings on the other knife are a bit easier to see, they appear to be 'William Rodgers' and 'made in Shefield, England' Can anyone confirm my findings? Should I clean up these old knifes? Regards. Attached Images

14th June 2012, 06:34 PM	#2
Rich Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: comfortably at home, USA Posts: 432	Can't comment on the kukri, but the Rodgers is a standard "hunting" knife of about the same time as the kukri and not a military issue item. Rich

14th June 2012, 06:38 PM	#3
mross Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 478	You are correct on the kukri.

14th June 2012, 07:24 PM	#4
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	The Kukri is a commercial item made for export in India of decoration or 'souvenir' quality only. Circa 1970s. These are unbelieveably common and not generally worth saving, but some earlier ones have 'better' blades (the later ones being untempered plated rubbish), so a light clean might be worthwhile if you fancy using it for ..... anything? The Rodgers belt knife could be as old as around WW2. A good standard british sheath knife that was in production for many years. Worth cleaning up to use for camping whittling etc.

14th June 2012, 09:27 PM	#5
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	I AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. THE KUKRI WOULD PROVIDE GOOD PRACTICE IN BLADE CLEANING AS YOU CAN DO NO HARM THERE. THOUGH IT IS A SOUVINEER TYPE AND OF LOWER QUALITY IT CAN STILL SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FORM IN A COLLECTION, ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING.