Excellent kukri with, dare I say, a wootz blade
 

This is the first example of a kukri I have ever run across that sports a wootz blade. Has anyone else found an example? Obviously Indian made with the hilt of elephant ivory, nice gold koftgari and a wootz blade. Seems fairly early to me, possibly late 18th to early 19th century. Thoughts?

A lovely piece indeed! I Cant tell 100% from the photos that its not laminated steel from the photos, but take your word for it that its wootz as you have it in hand.. I know of 3 definatly wootz kukri , {sadley none mine. :( } I am sure there are others out there that are just not visible & need etching due to past cleanings & polishings.

I agree definatly Indian, Only once seen the seperate tubular reinforcment section behind the bolster before.{On a nearly identicle piece, as I recall.]

The T spine rather negates deep chooping but would still certanly work on a human & of course would be better for forcing a fatal wound through heavy clothing etc. on a downed opponent.

We will never know who it was made for but certanly Mararaja quality! Certanly pre. 1850 I am sure, possibly much older {late 18th C.}, hard for me to be realy certain.

What is its length of blade? weight & balance point in front of bolster?

I think someone sent me photos of it {or its brother] about 6 or 7 years ago but cant be 100% certan untill I spend a few hours going through old photos.


A wonderful piece! Congratulations!

Spiral

Absolutely stunning. Thats probobly the finest I've seen in private hands.
I am extremely envious! ;-) Very Very well done.

Wow. Truly outstanding. The holy grail of khukuris!

Steve

I am not much into kukuri's but this one is a gem . I would like to see some closups of the koftkagair but on first glance I would say early 19th century. If you get tired of it tell me

Kool Kuk :cool:

Ragards David

It is an astounding piece!! Unusual in many ways, as the wootz composition, the tubular reinforcement on the handle and what it seems to be a recurved blade. This is a very unique piece, if it can be said in this manner. It dreserves a very close study, even in a metallurgical laboratory. To know the provenance and original ownership would be of great importance.

Ward, on which elements do you base your dating of this piece?

RSWORD, if is it yours, I must congratulate for this piece, which has the value of a life time of collecting. It dreserves a special place on a great museum.
Regards

Gonzalo

I believe "spectacular" is about the only appropriate description that hasn't already been used. Congratulations!

dating is done by koftkagari as I mentionened that was on 1st blush if I see a closeup I may change my opinion. The decoration looks original not a late addition

A TRULY UNIQUE AND FANTASTIC EXAMPLE. CONGRATULATIONS. ROD

I´m sorry, Ward. I found two ways to understand your statement, and I only wanted to be sure. Thank you for your response. In which way the koftgari of the 19th Century is different from the made in the 18th Century?

RSWORD, would be you so kind as to give measures and weight of your piece? I would think that the blade itself is thin for a khukri, but wisely reinforced with the "T" back to give rigidity and the piece with koftgari decoration which goes over the blade (I don´t recall it´s proper name in english in this moment), to give amortiguation against vibrations. This piece is another unique feature on a khukri. But I can be wrong, as a thicker blade would give a maximum performance to this khukri. Thank you for your attention.

My best regards

Gonzalo

G'day Rsword,
It is always good to see a new, to me, style of kukri!
Thank you for sharing :)
To display my own ignorance I had thought this piece to be a relative of the tulwar handled similiar bladed examples(The T spine does not extend as far)
:o Congratulations on a knowledgeable acquisition :)

Cheers,

Dan

Thanks for all the feedback. The blade, when measured along the spine, is a tad over 14" long. The longer handle helps give the blade a nice feel and while not a big, heavy blade, the blade does have some heft to it. I am afraid I do not have a proper scale to weight it. The POB is 2 centimeters past the cho. The blade shape reminds me a bit of a Sossun Pata and perhaps the maker of this blade was familiar with those swords and incorporated some of those features, ie, T-back spine with hollow grind and beveled edge.

I'll try and post some close up pictures of the koftgari later this evening.

I fear that may push us from being a collectors forum... to a porn site. ;-)

What a beauty!!....just an amazingly elegant piece of unmatched quality!

Nice blade length & intriging balance point, definatly weighed as a fast fighter. {Mind you i never thought it was for splitting kindling!}

Found this photo in my libary, had it for years, not sure where it came from, I think someone asked me about it many years ago.

Look forward to the closeups!

Spiral

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...665detail2.jpg

Rick,
Have you found some secret source...wootz R' us!!!!!???
First a wootz blade on an Omani kattara!!!! which was really amazing, then this...incredible, and very very nice :)

In an equally rare instance, I am lost for words :)

All the best,
Jim

Yes, it resembles the sossun pata of the type Rawson calls "islamic form" (photo No. 1) and not the one he calls "hindu form" (photo No. 11), on "The Indian Sword". Also, he presents a khukri similar in some way to yours, with metal handle and the piece over the blade covered by koftgari, but with a very different form of hilt and blade and without kaudi (photo No. 26). Yours looks much better.

Thank you very much for your response.
Regards

Gonzalo

My wootz Kukri
 

I bought this kukri recently. Unique peice possibly?

Certainly wootz kukris are rare. Congratulations!

By looking at the age cracks in the two close-up photos below (one provided by Rsword and the other by Spiral) I would say that these could very possibly be the same kukri. :shrug:

Best, Robert

youngbladerunner: While superficially similar, this isn't a kukri. It is (IMHO) an extremely good yataghan or, as mentioned above, Sossun Pata. Congratulations, it is truly beautiful!

Cheers - Russel

Youngblood, perhaps it would be helpful if you would post larger pictures of your piece with measurements. I disagree with Russel, but he may be right. I feel that what I am suggesting would help us settle the issue.

Robert, the pictures that you posted are in fact the same kukri. I have held this in my hands.

I too wouldn't call it a Kukri but more a Kukri Hybrid as there are a couple of Kukri elements. What it lacks to be a proper Kukri is the Cho/Kaudi.

Of particular interest is the fine multi fuller arrangement along the spine. They are very nice. Something seen on higher end Rajasthan Sosun Patta.

I'd place it in the Northern Sindh areas at a glance with the blade perhaps from further East.

Gavin

Thanks for the info guys. From the tip to the bolster is 16 inches and overall length in 21.5 inches.

I would say wootz yes.
Could the blade have been altered from original? It may have been a sossun-patta at one time and then altered.

Good piece indeed regardless.

Ric

I do see your point with the larger pictures - no cho.

Not sure what to do with it. Nice in any case.

It may well be some form of hybrid. The lack of Cho wasn't my only reason to doubt it being a Kukri, occasionally one finds Kukri without a Cho (I don't have one but I have seen images of very old Kukri without a Cho). What got me was the form of the hilt. It seems very much like a Balkan Yataghan.

Spiral or one of the other IKRHS guys would be able to make a better judgement that me.

Whatever it is, it's beautiful!

Russel

To me its not a kukri although it has some similarities, To me Id say its more of an Indian or Afghan yataghan.

Interesting piece though!

Spiral

I probably missed this thread when originally posted and seen it only now.
I have encountered several good Khukuri with wootz blade. I managed to pull out from our archive two examples with close ups on the blades:

I guess this begs the question: does the hilt style and lack of cho make this piece in question other than a kukri?

Hello,

The handle construction seems to be of Bukharan style no? (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14093)

Emanuel

I don't know......it could be a little lower south, like say north India? The blade style I have seen from there. The handle - reminds me somewhat like a khanjarli from the side view (as I now think of it).......

Personally I see the handle as the hybrid aspect. The grip ring is that of one present on a Kukri and in about the same place and the protruding ears is more like the longer Afghan/Sindh swords but the presence of the grip strap is in line with North west India, Bukhara and other regions further removed.

Gavin

I was intrigued by the argument about definitions: kukri or sosun pata. AFAIK, kukri ( or proto-kukri) was brought to Nepal by the Rajputs who had sosun patas galore.

Both are just Kopis-type blades. Perhaps, kukri in its classical form was just adapted to the landscape and the size of the inhabitants?


Here is something I wanted to ask your question about: would you define it as a kukri or as sosun pata? It ain't no Afghanistan or India, for sure:-)

Good one Ariel! :D

Id guess Its a worn out kora, given a second life. ;)

To me the splayed hilt kukri grip ring looks more Chillanum style than kukri style.

But whats in a definition, some kukris don't have a grip ring, some don't kaudi. Generaly I think a full length T spine means its not a kukri, but that's just my opinion. I think a Hindu could want a kaudi on any weapon its both practical & symbolic.

Some kukri have kora or khanda style grips.

These hybridised mix & match designs are great but truly defining them will probably come down to personal opinion, when they have mixed features. :shrug:

Spiral

Please pay attention: it has a VERY old scabbard that fits the current blade like a glove. How would Kora fit there?

What prompted you to see re-worked Kora? Specifics, please. We see tons of Kukris with " Kora" handles; are they all, in your opinion, reworked Koras?

Where did you see Chillanum features?

It does NOT have a T-spine.

I was paying attention Ariel:..... It was you who failed there.

When I stated "To me the splayed hilt kukri grip ring looks more Chillanum style than kukri style." I was referring to youngbladerunners piece not yours. The clue to that was The statement "the splayed hilt kukri grip ring looks more Chillanum style than kukri style." ;)

You say "We see tons of Kukris with " Kora" handles; are they all, in your opinion, reworked Koras?" No some are very genuine, even some of the tulwar handled ones are genuine as well! {not many though. :eek: }

You also say "It does NOT have a T-spine"

I never thought it was, but both youngbladerunners piece & one of Artzis have.

As for your kora hilted Nepali Hybrid/unusual oddjob, Koras have been around for hundreds of years, Its re life could have been a hundred years ago. or more!

Many re worked blades get new scabbards, this is common in many countrys...Even your own. After all its nice when the blade fits the scabbard. :)

Sorry if my talking of the features of youngbloods kukri/hybrid in a separate paragraph or sentence confused you.

I thought the splayed hilt, T spine & Chillanum ring piece references would be enough to help anyone deduce which of the featured items in this thread I was talking about at any one time would be clear.


Spiral :shrug:

OK Gentlemen, please keep it civil.....

Spiral,
Having read the first 2 lines of your message addressed by name to me and then to the item I have just shown, I assumed that the rest of your message was also referring to it.
Perhaps, you could have stated in the beginning of the third line that you were changing the horses. Might have made your comments more clear. What do you think?