Kukri knife
Steel and leather
Gurkha's knife, called a kukri
This is a Gurkha's kukri, a knife with a distinctive curved blade made of tempered steel. Whilst kukri knives have many general uses as everyday tools, they are most recognisable as the weapon of Gurkha soldiers. In addition to the main dagger, two smaller knives, one blunt and one sharp, are often held near the top of the leather scabbard. The blunt knife is called a chakmak and is used to start a fire with a flint stone, and the sharp knife is called a karda and is a general purpose knife often used for skinning. This kukri is from Nepal. Its two additional knives are missing.
Gurkha soldiers have fought in many armies, originally being contracted to fight for the British East India Company after the end of its 1814-1816 war with the Gorkha Kingdom in Nepal. Gurkhas fought for the British during the 1857 Indian Rebellion and later became an official part of the British Indian Army on its formation. As of 2013, Gurkha units exist in the British, Indian and Nepalese armies. In the British Army, serving Gurkhas are issued with a kukri from which they are never separated.
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