Kukri from Birmingham (UK) antique arms fair.

[RobT]

Marc M.

I too have seen for sale rather pedestrian hilts (and blades for that matter) paired with kothimori sheaths but consider this, it is relatively simple to make a blingy sheath. It is quite another matter to make an elegant hilt with ornate furniture and even more difficult to make an elegant blade. I suspect that many online sellers have had kothimori sheaths made up for ordinary khukri in an effort to substantially bump up the price. I have in my collection a khukri with a tourist level blade (clumsy in profile and complete with the typical punched dot decoration). Its only redeeming feature is a rather simple but nicely done zinc and brass hilt. The khukri came with a kothimori style sheath. I only bought it because it was embarrassingly cheap and the blade had “BAHRAIN” inscribed on it. I believe that this khukri is a souvenir piece that was sold to a US soldier by an enterprising member of the Gurkha contingent in Bahrain. The sheath notwithstanding, it is not a kothimori by any stretch of the imagination.

Sincerely,
RobT

ps. By the way what is the length of your blade

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by RobT

Marc M.

I too have seen for sale rather pedestrian hilts (and blades for that matter) paired with kothimori sheaths but consider this, it is relatively simple to make a blingy sheath. It is quite another matter to make an elegant hilt with ornate furniture and even more difficult to make an elegant blade. I suspect that many online sellers have had kothimori sheaths made up for ordinary khukri in an effort to substantially bump up the price. I have in my collection a khukri with a tourist level blade (clumsy in profile and complete with the typical punched dot decoration). Its only redeeming feature is a rather simple but nicely done zinc and brass hilt. The khukri came with a kothimori style sheath. I only bought it because it was embarrassingly cheap and the blade had “BAHRAIN” inscribed on it. I believe that this khukri is a souvenir piece that was sold to a US soldier by an enterprising member of the Gurkha contingent in Bahrain. The sheath notwithstanding, it is not a kothimori by any stretch of the imagination.

Sincerely,
RobT

ps. By the way what is the length of your blade

Hi RobT
As a former blacksmith I know how difficult it is to forge a good quality blade, mastery of material and tools is essential. For me the blade is the most important part of a knife, dagger or sword without neglecting the whole. That things are put together is known to me as a collector but never thought that kukri's are embellished to look like kothimora. Length of blade is 14” measured in a straight line.
Best regards
Marc

[RobT]

Hi Marc M,

I believe that the size of your blade indicates that it was made when armed conflict (whether civilian or military) was considered very likely and a khukri was expected to be a primary weapon. In support of this contention, I offer examples from my modest collection. Of the sixty-three khukri I have, only nine are 14” (35.56cm) or more. (For obvious reasons, I’m not counting the 2 very large ceremonial items I have.) Of the aforementioned nine, three are shree tin Chandra marked blades and another is quite probably Gurkha military but bears no marks. Of the remaining six, I consider only three to be of post WWI (or possibly post WWII) manufacture. One has large, teardrop shaped bone inlays in a wood hilt with carved decoration and brass furniture (ferrule and butt cap). Another has a tin chirra blade with carved decoration on a horn hilt and brass furniture (ferrule, butt cap, and decorative disc). The third I suspect of having been made by a smith outside the culture. It has a crudely shaped but very heavy blade, a panna batta hilt (repaired with some sort of very hard, green substance), and a flat slug of metal for a ferrule. I call it my frankenkhukri.
Based on my interpretation of what is shown in my collection, I would bet an aesthetically pleasing, large size khukri of good manufacture like yours was made prior to WWI unless there is obvious evidence to the contrary (brass ferrule, etc). For me (as it is with you), the blade is of paramount importance. I think that the excellent quality of your khukri makes the question of whether it is a kothimori or not, irrelevant.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi Marc M,

I believe that the size of your blade indicates that it was made when armed conflict (whether civilian or military) was considered very likely and a khukri was expected to be a primary weapon. In support of this contention, I offer examples from my modest collection. Of the sixty-three khukri I have, only nine are 14” (35.56cm) or more. (For obvious reasons, I’m not counting the 2 very large ceremonial items I have.) Of the aforementioned nine, three are shree tin Chandra marked blades and another is quite probably Gurkha military but bears no marks. Of the remaining six, I consider only three to be of post WWI (or possibly post WWII) manufacture. One has large, teardrop shaped bone inlays in a wood hilt with carved decoration and brass furniture (ferrule and butt cap). Another has a tin chirra blade with carved decoration on a horn hilt and brass furniture (ferrule, butt cap, and decorative disc). The third I suspect of having been made by a smith outside the culture. It has a crudely shaped but very heavy blade, a panna batta hilt (repaired with some sort of very hard, green substance), and a flat slug of metal for a ferrule. I call it my frankenkhukri.
Based on my interpretation of what is shown in my collection, I would bet an aesthetically pleasing, large size khukri of good manufacture like yours was made prior to WWI unless there is obvious evidence to the contrary (brass ferrule, etc). For me (as it is with you), the blade is of paramount importance. I think that the excellent quality of your khukri makes the question of whether it is a kothimori or not, irrelevant.

Sincerely,
RobT

Hi RobT
Thank you very much for your further explanation, very informative for me, my knowledge is limited as far as kukri's are concerned. A collection of sixty three kukri's is pretty impressive, pictures are always welcome. The ferrule is steel ( magnet sticks). I am very satisfied with my kukri and the fact that it is not a kothimora is of no importance. The question came to me because of the remnants of blue fabric on the scabbard, a different finish than the standard kukri scabbards. Since I suspected my kukri was older, but found no examples of scabbards with a cloth finish, kothimora might have been an answer , hence my question on this great forum.
Best regards
Marc