A pig in a poke :-)

spiral · 3rd February 2010, 12:53 AM

Well Tatanya Ive learnt a few things over that last 10 years, including that you have got a couple of peices I seriously covet! So congratulations on that & your impecable charm of course!

I personly shy away from magic formula & rules of thumb with these as some kukris would be intended for different specific uses no matter what the formula came up with, but yes the specification details do help the completness of the picture.

I wonder if the steel is what the English called "shear steel"?

If it is it is laminated in its making but doesnt enhance the beuty of the blade in any way & was just a way of making steel of good quality & great cutting pottential before high quality steel alloys became easier to obtain. I dont usualy leave such pieces in anm etched condition myself although its always interesting to see the work that went into making them.

IMHO though, that is a very well forged & ground Dia Chirra kukri, { Translates from two vallys in Gurkhali} It appears typicaly Derhadun construction as made by Garhwal smiths. A shame its lost its bolster.

Dating post 1900 definatly, probably C.1910 to C.1920 could be 1920s , definatly pre. ww2 though.

Made for show and fighting, probably for Senior NCO or British Officer or some other reasonably well off European.

The structure of buttcap is very military in style though for that period..

Made for last ditch self defense not primary weapon or utility tool, {Officers & Senior NCOs would carry pistols as well & didnt have to cut there own firewood!.} definatly not made for sacrafice. Although it could still tame many a goat I am sure!

It was also made to look good & be shown of to the owners peers I am sure!

Jonathan

p.s. To fit a replacment bolster from a matching sized junk kukri without diissembling evry component would be impossible, without having a Kami or lohar on hand to make one for you in situ it would be a difficult construction probaly most suited to a silvrsmith in the west.

Heres a link to one chaps ingenious way of getting round a similar problem but I think it still requires dissasembly of handle.

linky...

Tatyana Dianova · 3rd February 2010, 01:52 PM

Jonathan, thank you a lot for the information and your compliments! And I think you know that the best compliments for the collector are some kind words about his much beloved sharp and pointy things :-) I believe that you have a marvelous Kukri collection yourself since you know the subject so well!
I have thought that the Dia Chirra kukri was at least as old as ‘A pig in a poke’ Kukri and that it is also from Nepal (they have similar specifications and handle design) – and I was wrong both times... There exists no magic formula sadly…
The blade construction of the second Kukri is pretty typical (well, 4 of 5 Kukri that I own have such a blade construction). I mean it is not a ‘shear steel’, but a laminated construction, with hard steel on the cutting edge plus some layers of steel on the both sides (a variation of http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5908) . I keep such blades un-etched too…
I was afraid that the bolster is pretty much unrestorable: I do not want to remove the handle - and soldering steel is pretty difficult :-) The buttcap is steel, so bolster should be also steel, not brass, as in the link… But anyway, thank you for the link, maybe it will be useful for some other kukri in the future :-)

spiral · 6th February 2010, 09:31 AM

I am glad some of that was of use Tatanyia!

Ahhh yes your steel grip dia chirra I remember to!

Its funny butto my eye some random patterns have there own beuty & that one is such, Some can have ugly patterns & those I dont leave on show.

Take care,
Jonathan

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3rd February 2010, 12:53 AM	#1
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Well Tatanya Ive learnt a few things over that last 10 years, including that you have got a couple of peices I seriously covet! So congratulations on that & your impecable charm of course! I personly shy away from magic formula & rules of thumb with these as some kukris would be intended for different specific uses no matter what the formula came up with, but yes the specification details do help the completness of the picture. I wonder if the steel is what the English called "shear steel"? If it is it is laminated in its making but doesnt enhance the beuty of the blade in any way & was just a way of making steel of good quality & great cutting pottential before high quality steel alloys became easier to obtain. I dont usualy leave such pieces in anm etched condition myself although its always interesting to see the work that went into making them. IMHO though, that is a very well forged & ground Dia Chirra kukri, { Translates from two vallys in Gurkhali} It appears typicaly Derhadun construction as made by Garhwal smiths. A shame its lost its bolster. Dating post 1900 definatly, probably C.1910 to C.1920 could be 1920s , definatly pre. ww2 though. Made for show and fighting, probably for Senior NCO or British Officer or some other reasonably well off European. The structure of buttcap is very military in style though for that period.. Made for last ditch self defense not primary weapon or utility tool, {Officers & Senior NCOs would carry pistols as well & didnt have to cut there own firewood!.} definatly not made for sacrafice. Although it could still tame many a goat I am sure! It was also made to look good & be shown of to the owners peers I am sure! Jonathan p.s. To fit a replacment bolster from a matching sized junk kukri without diissembling evry component would be impossible, without having a Kami or lohar on hand to make one for you in situ it would be a difficult construction probaly most suited to a silvrsmith in the west. Heres a link to one chaps ingenious way of getting round a similar problem but I think it still requires dissasembly of handle. linky...

3rd February 2010, 01:52 PM	#2
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 737	Jonathan, thank you a lot for the information and your compliments! And I think you know that the best compliments for the collector are some kind words about his much beloved sharp and pointy things :-) I believe that you have a marvelous Kukri collection yourself since you know the subject so well! I have thought that the Dia Chirra kukri was at least as old as ‘A pig in a poke’ Kukri and that it is also from Nepal (they have similar specifications and handle design) – and I was wrong both times... There exists no magic formula sadly… The blade construction of the second Kukri is pretty typical (well, 4 of 5 Kukri that I own have such a blade construction). I mean it is not a ‘shear steel’, but a laminated construction, with hard steel on the cutting edge plus some layers of steel on the both sides (a variation of http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5908) . I keep such blades un-etched too… I was afraid that the bolster is pretty much unrestorable: I do not want to remove the handle - and soldering steel is pretty difficult :-) The buttcap is steel, so bolster should be also steel, not brass, as in the link… But anyway, thank you for the link, maybe it will be useful for some other kukri in the future :-)

6th February 2010, 09:31 AM	#3
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	I am glad some of that was of use Tatanyia! Ahhh yes your steel grip dia chirra I remember to! Its funny butto my eye some random patterns have there own beuty & that one is such, Some can have ugly patterns & those I dont leave on show. Take care, Jonathan