stag handled short sword and 'kukhri' arrived today. pics from my website:
(UK Penny in pics is same size as US Cent)
right side, 3/16"x7/8"x17 3/8" blade, 3.5" stag grip, no guard or pommel cap, full tang, end peened and ground flush with stag.
one long fuller each side from grip 3/4 to tip, two add'l. fullers in portion just before tip,
symmetrical both sides. blade spine is 3/16" at grip, distally tapers to tip area.
blade is flexible spring steel, some heavypitting near tip, staining & light pitting rest of blade.
grip is very old stag & very brown with age. blade thickness swells just at the grip, forming a shoulder for the stag to butt against,
so is not a cut down sword blade. have cleaned off any active rust with a
brass brush & wiped down with ballistol. no markings on blade. someone has suggested a north african connection, but the stag grip is a bit unusual.
left side
next one was sold as a 'gurkha knife kukhri/oriental dagger', which it ain't!
included here as a funny! we think it is a newly made rough villager bolo. i think it's one of the simpley produced 'cracker barrel' ones you can find in remote village stores or in the open markets, cheap & made for using, not display.
villager bolo right side, grip is 4"x1"x3/4". blade is 9 3/4"x 1 3/4" at widest, 1/4" thick at grip,
unsharpened ricasso, blade is distally tapered to the point,
rough forged and shows some evidence of folding/lamination in the steel.
scabbard is a very light wood, made in two halves and held together with rattan braided bands.
the white 5 part braided suspension with mini-carabiner is my addition.
have put 3 coats of oil finish on the assemblage. grip was very dark in original pic from ebay
and blade had a whitish cast. turned out to be dirt on grip & some gunk on the blade,
all of which came off with a soapy sponge prior to oil finishing the wood & ballistol for the blade.
bolo reverse side.
original pic pre-wash. i think of this now as my PI Kukhri....
