Nepalese bowie

[Tim Simmons]

This arrived today. I have cleaned the blade of surface rust. It is very sharp indeed and quite heavy like a kukri with the back starting at 5mm thick. The blade is hollow ground on both sides and has a false edge on the back of the tip. Although rough in finish it is far from crude being very comfortable in the hand. The blade is 26cm long and the horn handle 9.5cm. The leather on the scabbard is that thin paper like leather so often seen on Nepalese kukri, the only defect is that the side of the scabbard with the stitching has quite a few worm holes but for the money I cannot complain. If anyone can tell me more or has over examples please do not keep it to yourself .

[Lew]

Tim

Very nice! Maybe some type of knife for tiger hunts?


Lew

[not2sharp]

Here is a similar knife. There is clearly an association with Nepal; but, I do not know what these are called.

n2s

[Tim Simmons]

Yes Nepalese or possibly North Indian, Darjeeling? That is a big one. Are those squares 1"? The shape is ever-so slightly similar to that of Khyber knives and other knives from the region. Only a few weeks ago we were shown military Khyber knives with the same sort of guard.


Except Darjeeling is far away from the Khyber region .

[not2sharp]

Are those squares 1"?

Yes

Only a few weeks ago we were shown military Khyber knives with the same sort of guard.

Like this one?



n2s

[Tim Simmons]

Maybe someone who knows more on Nepal or the Khyber region swords and hilts might be able to help. I could also believe a Nepalese type hilt might be used in Darjeeling and areas east of Nepal. The guard is also like one we were shown on a Dha/Doa . I am going to speculate that these are from the east. On the map Nepal is a long way from the Khyber region.



This dha guard could be seen as similar or a derivative.

[Ian]

Tim:

That dha is an interesting one. I would say it comes from Assam or nearby, although the S-guard has a Chinese flavor. Then three part handle suggests Kachin influence too.

Very interesting sword.

Ian.

[spiral]

Intresting subject & pieces guys.

I have had a few of them, They are definatly made in Nepal, possibly India as well ,but I have no idea of what they are realy called. Although I did here the term Churi on one occasion from a Nepali dealer. But sadley he seemed slighty uncertan of the exact prounoceation & just said it was a villagers knife up in the mountains.

There are many antique styles of knife in Nepal that we dont often see in the west, althought I didnt see any antique ones of these. These all seem definatly mid 20th century to me.

Darjeeling although in India has a population of mainly Nepal descent. Many areas in India have massive Gurkha {Gorkha} & Nepali populations & have done for at least 150 years. {Currently over 100,ooo Nepali citizons in thier armed forces & probaly 5x that amount of Nepali ancestry. Probably are similar situation as more people of Irish descent in America than in Ireland.}

Gurkhas have fought The Afghan tribes since about the 1840s I think {many who today are of course in Pakistan a country the British {& others} invented {same as Iraq.} by drawing a line on a map, tying together tribes who had fought for years as is they were a common people.,

Afghan style weapons turn up in Nepali collections & would certanly have got to the British hill stations & garrison towns of which Darjeeling is one.

So diffusian of ideas is possible.

Spiral

[Tim Simmons]

Please excuse me I forgot to mention that the Dha is not mine and came from the archive.

[not2sharp]

Just googled "churi" and came up with this Pakistani weaver's knife.

Also turned up this definition:

“Churi” in Nepalese means “Knife”. It literally means a domestic or household cutting tool used to benefit a user.

Edited to add this link: Perhaps it is a Chugri?

http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/churi.html


n2s

[spiral]

Interesting N2S Seems it could be related? Hard to tell.

Seems I was correct in picking up the dealers uncertanty!

Me... "whats this knife called,wheres it from? whats it for?"

Him... " Well , Its am uuummmm knife, From a village up a mountain, for cutting"

Spiral

[not2sharp]

Here is another example:



It is described here:
http://www.antiques-arms.com/catalog...roducts_id=971

All signs point towards Nepal or the Gurkhas.

n2s

[spiral]

Heres another one with identical carving patterns to the classic shell carved wooden Nepali kukri scabbard.

Spiral,

[Tim Simmons]

This has turned out to be quite interesting one could draw an arc E,W or W,E alone the Chinese border into Afghanistan or Assam/Burma.

[spiral]

Indeed it is Tim!

All that area is also of historical Gurkha service.

For holding the borders of the empire together against the hoards who couldnt be reliably & regularily either beaten or bought.

{Still the same service areas today actualy, Brit Gurkhas in Afghanistan & Indian Gorkhas in Assam & Nepali Army bordering China. {ex. Tibet of course.}


Spiral

[Tim Simmons]

This ended yesterday, just remembered I saved the picture. Just over 11 inches long so a fairly small blade.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

This has turned out to be quite interesting one could draw an arc E,W or W,E alone the Chinese border into Afghanistan or Assam/Burma.

Just looking at the "arc" along the Chinese border again ... its called Tibet.

A lot of trade passed through Tibet, but this doesn't look like anything I'd think of as Tibetan. Maybe there is an example in the new book Ariel posted about?

[Tim Simmons]

Indeed that could well explain any such links. There is not an example in the new Met publication, but it is not too far a stretch of the imaginaqtion to see a relation to the long swords with same type of curved tip.

[spiral]

To me The last picture posted looks very similar to the early 20th centry Indian bowies made at Aurungabad but still bears resemblance to the more ethnic styles previously shown. Intresting.

Spiral