The 4 letter "B"-word

[Stan S.]

Well, it looks like I scored me a nice Bhuj (a.k.a. axe-knife, a. k. a. elephant knife) on eBay. I ended up spending quite more than expected but as long as the wife does not find out, I think I should be safe

How rare are these exactly? I only see them very occasionally available and while there are some variations, many are identical to the one I got. It is almost as if most were issued to a single regiment or an army at the same point in time and are slowly trickling into the hands of collectors. Also, this a hack and thrust weapon, right? I remember reading somewhere on-line that bhuj could also be hurled at an enemy as a javelin of some sort. This does not make much sense, as the weapon is clearly too head-heavy with nothing to counter balance it at the back. What do you think? I would love to be pointed to some historical references of bhuj (or would a proper plural form be “bhujes”?) being used in battle. All comments are welcome as always.

The pictures below are from the listing: