beestonboxer Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 Today if all goes well I am picking up a new addition to the collection exiting yes but at the same time a little apprehensive, its a MK1 Gurkha Kukri dated 1915 , apprehensive because I know the subject of Gurkhas Kukris especially with great war dates is a little bit of a minefield with many fakes out there on the market. It was a bit of a on the spot decision to make the offer on it, hoping that I had correctly remembered the rights and wrongs about the MK1 Kukri ( 1903-1915 ish ) my initial thoughts on picking it up for the first time was the weight of it, seemed much heavier than ones I had handled in the past and the sheer quality of the knife and scabbard, the scabbard being a beautiful brown leather with exquisite stitching on the reverse. Anyway I must make tracks and head forth, if I don't do anymore posts in the near future its because I am still wiping the tears from my eyes not those of joy but because ive brought a ringer. Fingers crossed but I am sure it ticks all the right boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 Fingers and toes crossed for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinBattle Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 Exiting day Not contemplating suicide I hope!!! Don't you have to cut yourself whenever you draw it from its sheath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beestonboxer Posted 28 February , 2015 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2015 well I think I am in the clear comments most welcome especially regarding the stamp on the blade. overall length 18 inches, blade length 13.5 inches, weight of knife without scabbard a whopping 969 grams , I cant believe the weight of it. Scabbard also looks to be dated 1915 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 Well this looks "right" to me but I suppose a good wrong 'un will look right! An horrific weapon to be on the receiving end of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beestonboxer Posted 28 February , 2015 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2015 Well this looks "right" to me but I suppose a good wrong 'un will look right! An horrific weapon to be on the receiving end of. Yes nearly a kilo of sharpened steel used in the correct manner would certainly cause horrific injuries - death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 I know nothing about these but it looks good to my eye. Glad it worked out for you. I too had a new acquisition today..... A Lebel 1886/93 rifle. TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 28 February , 2015 Share Posted 28 February , 2015 For background information, the FIBIS Fibiwiki page Gurkha Rifles has some links which however are located in the footnotes on the page. http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php/Gurkha_Rifles One of these links is not currently working, but the contents can be seen on this archived version https://web.archive.org/web/20140220115928/http://torabladesforum.co.uk/19th-century-accounts-of-the-kukri-in-action_topic2439.html William Pennington in his autobiography Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India (2003) reports being saved in WW2 Burma by a Gurkha who beheaded a Japanese who was about to kill the author (page 333). Pennington also reported seeing Ghurkas playing football with severed Japanese heads (page 332). (Pennington was a Boy Soldier in the 1930s and subsequently served in Burma with the Royal Artillery as a Forward Observation Officer, for which he was awarded the Military Cross) Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 1 March , 2015 Share Posted 1 March , 2015 well I think I am in the clear comments most welcome especially regarding the stamp on the blade. Your blade and leather markings show ' Co ' being the Cossipore Arsenal mark, ' I ^ G ' being the Indian Government ownership mark, and the ' 1915 ' the date of manufacture. Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beestonboxer Posted 1 March , 2015 Author Share Posted 1 March , 2015 I know nothing about these but it looks good to my eye. Glad it worked out for you. I too had a new acquisition today..... A Lebel 1886/93 rifle. TT yes im very happy with it, the quality of it far outshines any other Kukri I have handled before. Yours also sounds like a nice acquisition I like the look of the lebel rifle it served the French army well for many years took a look at the numbers manufactured 3,450,000 it says a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beestonboxer Posted 1 March , 2015 Author Share Posted 1 March , 2015 Thanks for the input, does anyone know what the 10 stamped on the blade represents ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 1 March , 2015 Share Posted 1 March , 2015 These are a minefield, these are the markings on a fake in my possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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