A pig in a poke :-)

Tatyana Dianova · 30th January 2010, 08:30 PM

Quite a usual story: an eBay kukri with two very bad pictures (never make such pictures when selling weapons :-) Here are the original seller’s pictures:

Tatyana Dianova · 30th January 2010, 08:31 PM

From these pictures I was pretty sure that it is quite old (at least first half of 20th c.), so I risked to buy it (as any other pig in a poke it wasn’t expensive :-) When I’ve received it I found out that it is very thick, massive, heavy and large thing (almost 50 cm long), and on couple of places an old bright polish with Damascus pattern was still visible – a good inspiration for cleaning!
The final result was really fascinating, that’s why I want to share it. The skill of the old Nepali village smiths was really high! And it looks like originally these kukris were polished and etched to reveal the pattern – it was a question that bothered me for a long time.
As usual, I will be grateful for any comments :-)

Norman McCormick · 30th January 2010, 09:03 PM

Hi Tatyana,
I think you've just disproved the old adage about 'being unable to make a silk purse from a sows ear'. Spiral, as you know, is the one who will be able to help you on this. If I were you I would drop him a P.M. to have a look as he might not pick up on the Kukri angle from your title. My knowledge in this sphere is very limited but it is impressive, seems early and certainly looks a genuine 'user'. It is nice to get a 'good' surprise from eBay!!!!
My Regards,
Norman.

Ferguson · 31st January 2010, 02:20 AM

That is truly stunning. I have only 1 kukri with any pattern at all, but yours is amazing.
Congratulations!
Steve

Battara · 31st January 2010, 02:26 AM

I think it is rare to get one with a pattern on it. I also think it is older than 20c. Nice puppy!

spiral · 31st January 2010, 02:48 PM

Wow nice one Tatanya!

A lovely old piece indeed, it reminds me strongly of this one.

Although your laminations & photo quality are much finer!

Spiral

Tatyana Dianova · 31st January 2010, 07:04 PM

Thank you all for he compliments and comments! I have some other old Kukris: all of them have laminated blades, but the pattern is random, functional and has a very low contrast. Normally I leave them bright polished, without any etch… That’s why I wanted to share this piece, finding it truly fascinating!
Spiral: it looks that your Kukri is from the same sword smith ‘school’ as mine :-) Thank you for showing it! Do you have any guesses or theories about their provenance or age? I am pretty sure that both are pre-WWII and most probably from Nepal, but I would like to know more :-)

30th January 2010, 08:30 PM	#1
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 695	A pig in a poke :-) Quite a usual story: an eBay kukri with two very bad pictures (never make such pictures when selling weapons :-) Here are the original seller’s pictures: Attached Images

30th January 2010, 08:31 PM	#2
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 695	From these pictures I was pretty sure that it is quite old (at least first half of 20th c.), so I risked to buy it (as any other pig in a poke it wasn’t expensive :-) When I’ve received it I found out that it is very thick, massive, heavy and large thing (almost 50 cm long), and on couple of places an old bright polish with Damascus pattern was still visible – a good inspiration for cleaning! The final result was really fascinating, that’s why I want to share it. The skill of the old Nepali village smiths was really high! And it looks like originally these kukris were polished and etched to reveal the pattern – it was a question that bothered me for a long time. As usual, I will be grateful for any comments :-) Attached Images

30th January 2010, 09:03 PM	#3
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,597	Hi Tatyana, I think you've just disproved the old adage about 'being unable to make a silk purse from a sows ear'. Spiral, as you know, is the one who will be able to help you on this. If I were you I would drop him a P.M. to have a look as he might not pick up on the Kukri angle from your title. My knowledge in this sphere is very limited but it is impressive, seems early and certainly looks a genuine 'user'. It is nice to get a 'good' surprise from eBay!!!! My Regards, Norman. Last edited by Norman McCormick; 30th January 2010 at 09:28 PM.

31st January 2010, 02:20 AM	#4
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	That is truly stunning. I have only 1 kukri with any pattern at all, but yours is amazing. Congratulations! Steve

31st January 2010, 02:26 AM	#5
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,220	I think it is rare to get one with a pattern on it. I also think it is older than 20c. Nice puppy!

31st January 2010, 02:48 PM	#6
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Wow nice one Tatanya! A lovely old piece indeed, it reminds me strongly of this one. Although your laminations & photo quality are much finer! Spiral

31st January 2010, 07:04 PM	#7
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 695	Thank you all for he compliments and comments! I have some other old Kukris: all of them have laminated blades, but the pattern is random, functional and has a very low contrast. Normally I leave them bright polished, without any etch… That’s why I wanted to share this piece, finding it truly fascinating! Spiral: it looks that your Kukri is from the same sword smith ‘school’ as mine :-) Thank you for showing it! Do you have any guesses or theories about their provenance or age? I am pretty sure that both are pre-WWII and most probably from Nepal, but I would like to know more :-)