Laminated Kukri

[Philip]

A really good one! The laminations on this are actually finer than on most Tibetan blades. Most collectors don't think to polish kukris thinking them to be rather unremarkable, merely functional blades, but I've encountered surprises in my career in polishing. Though Nepal's proximity to Tibet suggests that this might be a local production influenced by a neighboring, dominant culture, there are others that show the influence of India. Like several with the "pools and eyes" pattern weld seen on a lot of talwars, and wootz examples as well. The most beautiful one that I worked on, once owned by the kukri expert John Powell, was finely forged in a way that the laminations looked like a forest of pine trees covering the entire surface of the blade.