In Praise of the "ordinary" kukri !

Andreas Volk · (#1)

Dear fellow kukri enthusiasts!

It sprang to my mind recently - thanks to Justin - that in most of the posts here I only show my "repersentative kukris".
Which i think is a pity, as some of the "worn out" kukris and scarred kukris can be a very intersting field of study.
Even the tourist pieces, of which some date back to the 1960s (not to speak of the kukris made for the "victorian tourist"),
have something to offer. So to quote John Powell:

..... you can learn something from every kukri

So this is not to soften our policy to stick with antique and vintage kukris. We should still focus on those but for example some of the tourist pieces show some resemblance to historical designs.

Of course there is no "ordinary" or "typical" or "standard" kukri. Even among the tourist pieces there are differences.I just called the ordinary s those kuks make up the majority of kukris available on the market (including antique markets

) today.

So this is the thread to post your "non eye catchers"

Please find attached a pic of a few of mine from top to bottom:

1. tourist type kukri with a carved handle of greenish-brown horn
2. tourist type kukri with a handle made from black horn and the usual "thing" at the pommel that might resemble a lion head
3. fake military kukri (doesn't even look military ...)
4. something that was sold as "working kukri" made in Nepal.

with this collection posted I'd like to encourage you to show your ordinary kukris.

best regards

Andreas

Andreas Volk · (#2)

.. to be a bit more specific on the tourist pieces, on the picture below you see on top the "usual" tourist piece.
The blade is dead soft - no hardening, but the kauri is still intact and it balances as good as some of my pre 1950 villagers.
And well - that thing on the pommel could be everything - looks like some of the chewing gum I left under the school desk
25 years ago.

But the one below - with the greenish brown handle (mud coloured) that has a hardened blade and balances quite good.
It was sold to me as a WW2 kukri in my early days so I was ripped off - no doubt about it.
But with an unclear picture that blade design looks close to some
of the WW2 issue pieces.
When I unpacked it and looked at the copper nails in the handle I immediately knew that this is an bazar piece and that had just
been ripped off. Yet I'm still happy that I have it. Thanks to this kukri I know that not all tourist kukris need to be low quality.
The handle is plain but follows the traditional design features and the blade is OK and could stand some use (and to be honest
I didn't pay that much for it - I think the shipping was more expensive than the kukri)

regards

Andreas Volk

Andreas Volk · (#3)

... and a more closeup picture of the grips of my tourist beauties.
So with me now revealing that not all of my kukris are top notch I hope to see some of our "none eye-catchers" as well.

thanks a lot in advance

Andreas

BerkleyB · (#4)

Andreas,
JP is certainly right, you can learn something from every kukri. Unfortunately, the lesson from this one is that an inexperienced buyer shouldn't be swayed by an eBay seller's glib description and poor photos. Or maybe the lesson is that rust and worm holes don't necessarily equal great antiquity. OTOH, if one is looking for a "typical" kukri in a purely mathematical/statistical sense, I believe more Indian tourist kukris with punch-dot ornamentation, chromed blades, horn grips with dot inlays and vaguely lion-head shaped pommels have been made than any other style.
In any case,

an ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own

-Shakespeare, As You Like It
Regards,
Berk

BerkleyB · (#5)

Sorry - still having problems posting pics. One more try...

Andreas Volk · (#6)

Berkley !
Great specimen ! Thanks a lot for sharing ! You are most certainly right about the numbers of these made.
If we can agree that the lion headed, black horn handled, 12 inch blade length, soft metal kukri with dotted India punched into
the blade is a pattern it would easily outnumber any other pattern made kukri.

Yet looking at yours two things spring to mind.
1. The handle is "curved" in itself while the one of mine is more straight. In this the makers - I assume completely unintentionally -
created a grip tha vaguely reminds me of the pre 1930 kukris.
2. Your blade seems more slender than the one shown by mine - how does it balance ?

A close to perfect specimen ... and your Shakespeare quote is 100% spot on. My black handled kukri is the first
one I bought with own money (I had a borrowed one of the same style before). It may be ill-favoured but is the foundation
of my collection and certainly not for sale nor trade !

Great !
Hopefully more of these pieces to come !

Andreas

Manouchehr M. · (#7)

Andreas

Thank you for this great thread. HAve you see examples with lionhead which have a tempered blade? Or are all of them soft?

Regards

Manouchehr

Andreas Volk · (#8)

Hi Manouchehr.

Thanks a lot for raising a very important point here. The "lion head" does not need to be an indication for
a tourist piece. I'm aware of a few nice lion headed kukris that were made for officers (I assume) and are vintage beauties
with hardend tempered blades. Unfortunately I don't own one of those

But I'm aware that some fellow collectors do! So if one could post a picture of his eample I'd be very thankful.
Or even if you're unsure - let's have a look. On indicator is that the lion haed can be clearly identified as such. They are
beautifully made and there is no question about what
they are meant to represent.

But before a "run on lion headed kukris" starts - these versions are very rare.
On the tourist lion headed kukri I "think" I once handled one with a tempered blade (but that was about
20 years ago and since then my understanding of hardening, tempering and kukris has changed a bit

).
So I don't know what my judgement would be today if I'd hold the same blade again.

Thanks again
Andreas Volk

Manouchehr M. · (#9)

Hi Andreas,

Thank you very much for your input. Long time ago, I handled an Indian version with such a lion head. First I was thinking that it should have been a blade without temper, but to my surprise it was a hardened blade! Unfortunately I do not have pictures of it.

Regards

Manouchehr