Not a kukri...

[Stan S.]

Few more

[fearn]

That tends to shoot down my first guess of a Cocos Island knife with a new sheath. Swastikas and an eye of Shiva do suggest a Hindu origin. That said, I think there are a bunch of down-curved knives out there.

F

[spiral]

Maybe Hindu, or Maybe just later money making scratchings? certanly later sheath, definatly... Not Nepali.

dimensions please for clarity.. including ricasso.

Spiral

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by fearn

That tends to shoot down my first guess of a Cocos Island knife with a new sheath...

cocos island knives are fairly distinctive and while coming in different sizes, the scabbards and overall look are that they are essentially all the same shape, just scaled up or down. apparently there is only one family that makes them is why. steel supposedly came (comes from) the german battle cruiser emden that was run aground in the north of the island in ww1 after being damaged in battle.

[Stan S.]

Dimensions for clarity:

OAL: 17.5"
Blade: 11"
Blade width: 2" (widest point)

The hilt is long and carved out of a single piece of wood as can be seen in the pictures. It is attached to the tang by 3 rivets with large diamond or square shaped brass washers.
"Ricasso" is not really a ricasso, being that ricasso is a part of the blade. This thing is is clearly a swollen extension of the tang intended not to be covered by the grip, sort of like an intergrated bolster. It measures approximately .75" in lenght
Engravings dont appear to be a later addition but I have no way of telling for sure.

[fearn]

Kronckew,

Gives you a chance to show off your knives, at least. Good to see them.

F

[spiral]

Originally Posted by Stan S.

"Ricasso" is not really a ricasso, being that ricasso is a part of the blade. This thing is is clearly a swollen extension of the tang intended not to be covered by the grip, sort of like an intergrated bolster. It measures approximately .75" in lenght
Engravings dont appear to be a later addition but I have no way of telling for sure.

Thanks for the dimensions Stan.

Thickness of spine on blade & tang as well as the "disputed name area, in front of the hilt" Might also be interesting.

To my nind, A bolsters purpose is to "bolster" or support the blade handle join, generaly in the manner of a ferrule, normaly encircling at least part of the hilt/grip/handle area to prevent splitting & reduce lateral pressure in use to the blade, hilt area. At the very minimum it must be flush againt it to serve that function.. Eg. not out in front of the hilt!

A Riccaso is to to sometimes support the blade at its weakest point in the waist before the hilt & to provide an area to neatly finnish the blade bevel grinding,etc. { And according to some provide an area a forfinger can still be used upon.}

Your milage obviosly varies though.

Thats ok...Diversity is good.

Have a nice day....

Spiral

PS The "engravings" are hardly of the depth & engraving style found on Nepalese & Bengali kora/khonra Ram dao etc. Thats why I refered to them as scratchings. But there again your entitled to your beliefs.

Either way .. Enjoy... Its a curious piece indeed.

[David R]

For my twopennyworth, the grip looks to be a replacement, which is why it does not fit well to the "bolster". It is certainly not up to the workmanship of the blade. Re the engraving, that is neatly done and looks right to me. Anyone who has tried engraving steel will tell you that it is not easily done, which is why acid resist etching tends to be so common on the tourist pieces.
Try giving it a quick/light surface etch/stain with vinegar or cola on a limited area to see if there is an inserted edge or differential temper. I did that on one of my unknowns and it revealed an edge treatment that sent me off in a different and successfull direction of search. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15348 Swasticas are/were used by many cultures including Native American and Bronze age European before the Nazis spoiled it for everyone. The eye symbol also appears in a lot of cultures, still painted on boats in the Mediterranian and, I believe, the Pacific.