Nepal, Kingdom. A Gurkha Kukri

Kukri with a magnetic steel blade, characteristic of blades manufactured from removed British railway rails, with a very sharp blade (dhaar) and a semi-sharp tip (tuppa), designed with a bevelled edge (patti) that runs from the tip to the notch (kaudi) and incorporates a wide spine (bitheu/beet). The blade is designed with a flat chest (ang) and without fullers (chirra), with dual grooves (khol) running from the peak (juro) through the belly (ghanti) to the bolster (kanzo), the ricasso (ghari) unmarked on both sides. The blade exhibits scattered contact marks and surface wear overall, along with nicks on the sharpened edge from active use. The blade is embedded into a wooden handle that embodies two pairs of rings (dora), along with a raised ridge (harhari), is designed without rivets (khil) and is finished with a flare (chata), the butt without a metal cap, the khuki exhibiting wear along the edge of the butt and measures approximately 470 in length. The accompanying scabbard is composed of three pieces of wood: (i) a larger piece forming the obverse and exhibiting an ornate and intricate engraving featuring multiple swirls, arches and patterned rules, along with incorporating a hole with a pin inserted, that allows the khuri to be secured in place to the scabbard as the pin passes through its notch, the pin in metal with a two-piece construction and having a copper-coloured head; (ii) a wider piece in the centre that exhibits a nice grain in the wood and runs the entire length of the scabbard and forms a slot in the throat that allows the blade of the kukri to rest between it and the larger piece; and (iii) a third piece on the reverse that butts the wider piece and is finished with a point at the mid-point of the wider piece, highlighting the contrast in the grain of the wood of the two pieces and is designed with two oval holes to house two smaller knives, both with magnetic steel blades and wooden handles with metal caps, one of the knives designed to appear as a miniature kukri, the other knife curved but without the traditional look of a kukri, with the blades and caps on both knives exhibiting surface rust. The scabbard exhibits a few wear spots and chips in the wood and measures approximately 390 mm in length. Fair.