Kothimora Kukri

kronckew · 2nd February 2022, 07:55 PM

The scabbard & rounded blade spine are an old style, designed for sash carry rather than a belt. Handle carving looks uncomfortable for everyday use. Real working khuks are generally made now of car/truck spring steel, high carbon. And differentially hardened around the 'sweet spot' of the blade where you chop, and softer near the tip and pommel ends so that they bend rather than snap in half. You can straighten a bent blade it the field, but a snapped blade is essentially useless. They typically have a short stub tang held in the grip by Himalayan epoxy (called laha, pine resin and buffalo dung with a dash of beeswax and brick dust. it's a form cutler cement). Full length tangs and full exposed tangs & rivets grip slabs are more for western owners. Nepalis figure a stub tang will only last about 5 years of heavy use before they need to replace the grip. full tang will last ten, an exposed 'chiruwa' tang and slabs will last twenty, and the blade will last generations. Most users out in the country can either make their own replacement grips, or have a village smith who can do it cheaply for them.

Anyway, yours looks like a relatively inexpensive decorative piece for rememberance by those who travel. I suspect it's relatively small sized for a khuk.

2nd February 2022, 07:55 PM	#12
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,239	The scabbard & rounded blade spine are an old style, designed for sash carry rather than a belt. Handle carving looks uncomfortable for everyday use. Real working khuks are generally made now of car/truck spring steel, high carbon. And differentially hardened around the 'sweet spot' of the blade where you chop, and softer near the tip and pommel ends so that they bend rather than snap in half. You can straighten a bent blade it the field, but a snapped blade is essentially useless. They typically have a short stub tang held in the grip by Himalayan epoxy (called laha, pine resin and buffalo dung with a dash of beeswax and brick dust. it's a form cutler cement). Full length tangs and full exposed tangs & rivets grip slabs are more for western owners. Nepalis figure a stub tang will only last about 5 years of heavy use before they need to replace the grip. full tang will last ten, an exposed 'chiruwa' tang and slabs will last twenty, and the blade will last generations. Most users out in the country can either make their own replacement grips, or have a village smith who can do it cheaply for them. Anyway, yours looks like a relatively inexpensive decorative piece for rememberance by those who travel. I suspect it's relatively small sized for a khuk.