W1 ARMY ISSUED MKII GURKHA KUKRI FIGHTING KNIFE
HISTORY
World War I saw the first British war Department designed and proofed kukris that were issued to Gurkha and Indian troops. Most of these knives were made in India and contracted out to many different facilities in Cossipore, Gorkhapore, Ghum, Dehra Dun, Rawalpindi, Cawnpore and Hassan Abdel. The Indian factories used rail stock and springs from discarded railway carriages, so blade stock came from the steel mills used in the manufacture of the original product and from the railway yards themselves such as the Insein Railway Works. After 1880 much of the steels used by Nepali manufacturers came from India. During this time, local, smaller contractors were chosen by the regiments themselves due to distribution problems or even poor workmanship.
When Commonwealth trooops landed at Galipoli was a contingent of Indian troops The Indian soldiers at Gallipoli were predominantly comprised of Gurkhas and Sikhswho fought on the front lines, transported equipment between battalions and operated the mule corps.
ITEM DESCRIPTION
This Kukri is a Mark II and has its original scabbard that has period been painted Brown Ochre. The Blade has the makers stamp for Cossipore and clearly dated 1916.
There are many kukri's on the market today with most of them being fake or souvenirs. This example is a proper Army issued example from WW1