Posted 4 years ago
KayTK
(2 items)
Are they Gurkha knifes? The sheath is leather and both are extremely sharp. What were the little knives used for?
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Posted 4 years ago
KayTK
(2 items)
Are they Gurkha knifes? The sheath is leather and both are extremely sharp. What were the little knives used for?
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The accessory knives: Karda-used for fine cutting; Chakmak-used for sharpening the other two blades.
Thank you so much. Do you know anything else about them? Are they from India? Am I on the right track with Gurkha knives?
The large knives are kukris. Not all kukris were used by Ghurkas who are Nepalese soldiers. Kukris were originally tools used on farms and then adapted to warfare. The brass handled kukri appears to be decorative but still an effective tool. Does it have places in the sheath for a karda and chakmak?
The other kukri appears to have a bone handle and effective karda and chakmak and may be a military knife. Are both small knives sharpened?
In modern times Ghurkas were issued two kukri, one for field use and one for parade use. It may be that this set was made for that purpose, though I have never seen a brass handled parade kukri.
What are the dimensions of the knives and how thick are the blades?
I see now that both have karda and chakmaks. On my tablet so can't see or type really effectively..
These are pretty fancy so may have been made for an officer, either in Nepal or India, if they are military knives. Both Nepali and Indian military used kukris is at some point in time. I am leaning toward these being an officer's knives but the brass handle gives me pause.
Wow this is so interesting and informative Thank you for the time in replying. The two sets I believe have always been together and the leather sheaths seem very similar. The longer and less decorative (handle wise) is 36cm long and is surprising thin and extremely sharp (I have cut myself on it!) The handle has a bit of metal maybe brass in it. The smaller Kukris is more fancy but also sharp which makes me think it has been used and is not just decorative. All four of the little knives have been sharpened and the blades are quite worn. They belonged to my stepfather who died recently and was brought up in India in quite an affluent family. I came across a letter and photo from an Indian member of “staff” who I think is wearing some sort of knife/kukris. If I’m honest I’m fascinated and horrified by them. I have some other knives of his also. Am I able to post again to you helpful people?
PS Yes the little knives have a compartment each in the leather sheath
Unlimited posts! Welcome to CW!
I have a similar set that I picked up a few years back which were Indian army origin. I sliced two of my fingers open taking it out if it's sheath and I haven't touched it since.
My dad when he was in the army told me that a Gurkha has to draw blood every time they draw out the kukri from it's sheath. Usually only done in battle but if it wasn't used on an enemy they'd make a small cut on their hand instead.
My late grandad told me a story about when he was pinned down by a Japanese machine gun nest. A gurkha was nearby, snuck into the machine gun nest and silenced the gunner. He stood up smiling holding the Japanese soldiers head taken clean off with his kukri.
They're quite a weapon!
This is Rodney’s friend, I’m glad to see that I was partially correct about your knives and welcome to collectors weekly. There are a lot of nice people on here with a lot of knowledge.
It is very common for folks who don't know how to handle a kukri to cut themselves when sheathing or unsheathing it. Always hold the sheath by the sides when drawing the blade, never wrap your hand around the entire sheath and don't have your hand close to the top or edge side of the sheath when drawing or sheathing it.
I've known a few Ghurkas and they don't cut themselves when they haven't drawn blood before re-sheathing the blade. Not saying that it has never happened that a Ghurka has done that but it seems to be more of a legend than fact today. The kukri is a general utility blade, in addition to being a weapon, and is used for general camp craft when in the field. My field knife is 9 inch Nepali police kukri. The kukri has changed over time and is smaller and thicker than it once was but still a deadly weapon. I have antique 19th century kukris which are almost twice the length and much thinner than current issue military kukris in my collection. The older blades were more like a machete than the modern issue blades are. That is why I was curious about the length and thickness of your blades. Based on that information, my guess would be that these are post-WWII but I couldn't be positive without handling them.